Those two revelations left the entire Douluo Continent dumbfounded.
Shrek Academy.
Yu Xiaogang and Tang San both froze in place.
Yu Xiaogang stared fixedly at the Heavenly Screen, raising a hand to rub his eyes hard.
He looked again.
It was still there.
He staggered back two steps and nearly fell, barely catching himself against a table.
Beside him, Dai Mubai, Ning Rongrong, Ma Hongjun, Oscar, and Zhu Zhuqing were all utterly stunned, their mouths hanging open, unable to speak.
Only after a long while did Yu Xiaogang speak in a hoarse voice.
"These martial souls... the Azure Tide Sacred Dragon, the Azure Nether Heaven-Slaying Sword..."
"According to what the Heavenly Screen said, compared to those two, our martial souls are practically garbage..."
Tang San's gaze, however, did not linger on the martial souls.
His eyes were nailed to another line of text.
"Teacher... look at their cultivation..."
"Deities!!"
Yu Xiaogang jolted and hurriedly looked.
[Cultivation: First-Level God] [Cultivation: First-Level God]
Two of them, both deities!
He was completely stunned, his pupils trembling violently.
"Two deities... and they only ranked sixteenth and seventeenth?!"
"Why is this happening?! This... this completely contradicts the theory!!"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could a continent that survived through technological development have deities?"
Crash-
His legs gave out, and he collapsed to the floor, his face ashen.
"I actually mocked a deity just now!"
Beside him, Tang San's heart pounded with terror, cold sweat sliding down his spine.
Fortunately, he had barely joined in during those earlier rounds of mockery.
Given the standing of those two, if they ever dug up old grievances and settled accounts...
He, Tang San, certainly did not want to appear on that list...
He did not want to die again!
Meanwhile, at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
All three men froze in place.
The teacup in Ning Fengzhi's hand tipped over with a clatter, spilling scalding tea all over his robes, but he did not even notice.
Gu Rong's entire body twitched, again and again, making even his white hair tremble along with him.
The veins bulged on Chen Xin's hand as it pressed against his sword hilt, and the scabbard hummed and shook.
Only after a long while did Ning Fengzhi find his voice again.
"How? How is this possible?"
"Their martial souls are actually this heaven-defying?"
"Could the Heavenly Screen... no, impossible... the Heavenly Screen couldn't be lying!"
Gu Rong stared at the line [Martial soul: Azure Tide Sacred Dragon], his throat bobbing.
"A bloodline... they actually have a true dragon bloodline... and it's undergone tens of thousands of years of evolution!"
"And my Bone Dragon just has defense and space, two utterly unremarkable traits..."
"No wonder... no wonder they dared speak so arrogantly."
The stronger and purer a beast martial soul's bloodline was, the stronger that beast martial soul would be.
His martial soul had already lost!
Ning Fengzhi suddenly noticed something, and his voice changed.
"Look at his cultivation. First-Level God!"
The other two immediately looked at that line.
Though they did not know exactly what being a First-Level God meant.
They knew what a deity was!
That was a supreme existence!
Chen Xin stood dumbstruck for a long while before muttering two words through a dry throat.
"...Holy shit."
"Is this even a continent anymore? How could there be gods?"
Gu Rong murmured along with him.
"Was I just... insulting a god? And comparing myself to a god?"
How could his cultivation possibly compare to a god's?
This was clearly an old man toying with a naughty child!
He felt as though he had drunk himself senseless!
Chen Xin withdrew his gaze and looked at the other two, showing a trace of bewilderment for the first time.
"What should we do next?"
Ning Fengzhi waved his hand weakly.
"I don't know... we can only wait and see."
Gu Rong, however, refused to accept that and slapped his thigh.
"It's all that dumbass Yu Xiaogang's fault! He keeps whipping everyone up!"
"He said a continent that developed through soul tools would be garbage at martial soul cultivation, but now they actually have deities!"
Ning Fengzhi's eyes lit up.
"Ah, you've hit the nail on the head!"
"When the time comes... if they hold us accountable, how about we throw some cold water on Yu Xiaogang?"
The three exchanged glances and smiled in unison.
The Clear Sky Sect.
Everyone was dumbfounded.
From the sect master and elders down to the junior disciples sweeping the floors, everyone had their heads tilted upward, holding the exact same pose.
Inside the main hall.
Several elders opened their mouths.
"This... this..."
Half an hour passed, yet they still could not get a single complete word out.
Tang Xiao was dumbstruck too.
He slowly lowered his head and looked at his right hand resting on the armrest.
His fingertips were trembling slightly.
The tremors were faint but rapid.
Even he had only noticed them just now.
Ever since the Heavenly Screen's revelation, that hand had never steadied.
He had considered that they might surpass his own side.
But he had never imagined they would surpass them like this!
After a long silence, the second elder finally spoke, his voice trembling.
"This... how is this possible... how could deities be on a continent?!"
"Shouldn't they have ascended? History... that's what the historical records say!"
The third elder swallowed, his voice wavering.
"No wonder... no wonder they dared call ours junk hammers..."
"So any random person on their rankings is a god..."
The seventh elder slumped into his chair, his face drained of color.
"We're finished, finished... our Clear Sky Sect was shouting the loudest just now, showing off and mocking them right in front of deities... we even dared say the deities didn't know shit!"
"Now we'll be the first ones they settle accounts with!"
Tang Xiao took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.
But no matter what he did, he could not calm down.
Because one fact hung glaringly on the Heavenly Screen.
They had offended a continent with more than one deity!
If the other side retaliated...
There was no need to think about it.
They were screwed.
Unless they had a god helping them too, but how was that possible?
He closed his eyes, then swept his gaze over the ashen-faced elders below and spoke gravely.
"Everyone, does anyone have a good way to spare the Clear Sky Sect from this calamity?"
The main hall fell deathly silent.
Just as everyone exchanged helpless glances, the second elder's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Clan head! I have an idea!"
"Shift the blame onto Yu Xiaogang!"
"After all, he was the one whipping everyone up from beginning to end!"
"And... and think about it. They're already gods! Deities surely wouldn't slaughter innocents, much less go on a killing spree!"
"As long as we clearly distance ourselves from the blame, all the fault belongs to Yu Xiaogang. The deities can discern even the finest autumn hair, so they'll naturally spare our Clear Sky Sect!"
At those words, the elders' eyes lit up, and they all nodded.
That was right!
That made sense!
Tang Xiao looked at the Heavenly Screen, then at the second elder, and nodded.
"Agreed!"
One death was better than a whole group dying!
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's main hall.
After reading the Heavenly Screen, Yu Yuanzhen's aged face streamed with tears.
"We're finished..."
"They're deities! How did this happen? How is this possible!"
"I was cursing them the fiercest just now. We're finished!"
He slumped in the seat of honor, beating his chest and stamping his feet, tears and snot streaming down his face.
Just moments ago, he had been laughing loudly here, waiting for their Soul Master rankings to appear so he could thoroughly mock them.
Instead of Soul Masters, what came were deities.
"Could it be... that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, which has stood for a thousand years, will be destroyed in my hands?!"
Below him, every elder trembled in terror.
No one knew who started it, but a different thought quietly spread through the crowd.
Leave the clan.
Run for it.
They did not want to die!
The clan was indeed a thousand-year-old lineage, but their lives were their own!
Just then, the grand elder, Yu Luomian, stepped forward.
"Clan head! I have an idea-"
"How about making Yu Xiaogang take the blade for us?"
"After all, he started every single thing! He started the insults, he made up the enslavement theory, and he was the one shouting about soul tool development and kneeling to apologize-"
"We expelled him from the sect long ago anyway. He's nowhere in the clan genealogy. If he dies, he dies!"
At those words, every elder's eyes lit up at once.
Yu Yuanzhen froze for a moment, then smiled.
"Good idea!"
Meanwhile, at Shrek Academy.
Yu Xiaogang was lying limply on the floor.
He sneezed several times in succession.
Once, twice, three times...
"Achoo! Achoo!!"
Yu Xiaogang rubbed his nose as an inexplicable chill rose in his heart.
"Something's wrong..."
"Could it be... that the Soul Masters of the Holy Spirit Continent are trying to find a way to kill me?"
Before you continue