In the past, the scene on the sky screen moved away from Tang San, Bibi Dong, Qian Renxue and the others, swiftly shifting to the Star Dou Great Forest.
Ancient trees blotted out the sky, miasma hung over swamps, and gorges plunged into darkness. As the view swept past, the same scene was playing out in every place where Soul Beasts gathered.
Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts roared at the heavens as the presence of their cultivation plummeted.
Soul Beasts with tens of thousands of years of cultivation lay curled up on the ground, their massive bodies trembling as the Soul Power they had gathered over the years visibly dispersed.
A Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear with twenty thousand years of cultivation lay sprawled on the ground, unable even to lift a claw.
Its dark-gold eyes were filled with terror and bewilderment. It didn't know what it had done wrong or why everything was being taken from it.
The Star Dou Great Forest, the Sunset Forest, the Soul Hunting Forest, Death Canyon, the Fallen Horse Plains, the Far North, the Devil Whale Sea...
In the places where Soul Beasts roamed, the divine punishment had reset their cultivation to zero, just as it had for humans.
Beneath the sky screen.
The Sky Azure Bull Python Da Ming and the Titan Giant Ape Er Ming watched the sky screen in silence.
"Just as I thought. Even gods couldn't escape divine punishment, so how could Soul Beasts be spared?"
Da Ming gave a bitter smile.
Before, he had only been worried. Now it was confirmed: when divine punishment descended in the future, Soul Beasts would have their levels reset to zero too.
Besides Da Ming and Er Ming, countless powerful Soul Beasts beneath the sky screen fell silent after seeing this.
Then came endless roars and howls!
Beneath the sky screen, however, the various human factions breathed a sigh of relief.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Ning Fengzhi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, relief in his voice. "Thank goodness the divine punishment punished the Soul Beasts too. Otherwise, if only human levels were reset while Soul Beasts kept their cultivation, humanity across the entire continent would probably face an overwhelming calamity."
"Indeed." Sword Douluo Chen Xin nodded, a rare trace of lingering fear on his face. "If those Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts kept their cultivation, with no humans at the Titled Douluo level to hold them in check, they could sweep across the continent."
"Oh, right!"
"Uncle Jian, go to Shrek Academy immediately and bring Rongrong back!"
"Although we don't know how she evolved her Martial Soul in the future, she can't stay there any longer. Many people wouldn't want to see a powerhouse with the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul emerge."
Remembering something, Ning Fengzhi hurriedly gave Sword Douluo the order.
Hearing Ning Fengzhi's words, Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo both changed expression.
They instantly understood how serious the situation was.
"I'll bring Rongrong back right away!"
Sword Douluo left those words behind and vanished on the spot.
At the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial palace, Xue Ye also breathed a sigh of relief.
He had just been wondering whether the Soul Beast forests in the north of the empire would erupt in chaos if only human levels were reset. Now, it seemed he didn't need to worry.
Spirit Hall.
Bibi Dong sat alone in the Pope's Hall, tapping her fingers lightly against the armrest. Though her expression was still dark, the gravity in her brow eased slightly.
"The Soul Beasts were reset to zero too..." she murmured. "That's good, at least there won't be a Soul Beast tide in the future."
She kept her gaze fixed on the sky screen.
What concerned her more now was whether the sky screen could show the true reason the divine punishment had descended.
Across the continent, countless people were wondering the same thing.
If they could learn the true reason for the divine punishment in advance, perhaps they could change that outcome.
"The future can definitely be changed!"
She sneered. "If the future were set in stone, why would the sky screen show it to us?"
"The sky screen is showing us the future, letting us see it,"
"It must be so we can change the future!"
Once Bibi Dong thought of it that way, she was less worried.
"So the most important thing now is to keep watching the sky screen and find out why the divine punishment descended!"
"Only by learning the truth can we find a way to change it!"
Beneath the sky screen, many people had considered the same thing.
They began paying even closer attention to the changes on the sky screen.
And the sky screen did not disappoint.
After showing how both the Soul Beasts and humans had their levels reset to zero, the scene shifted back to the first person it had shown: Wu Wei.
[Name: Wu Wei] [Age: 19] [Cultivation: Level 0] [Soul Rings: None]
"Why is the scene back on this Wu Wei again?"
"Hasn't he already gone mad? What else is there to see?"
"Could the divine punishment in the future actually have something to do with him? Did he cause it?"
"Now that you mention it, that makes sense. He was the first person to appear on the sky screen..."
"He could very well be the culprit!"
"He must have done something that outraged heaven and earth. Otherwise, how could he have such high cultivation at such a young age, and such a terrifying Soul Ring Configuration..."
"If you put it that way, Sea God Tang San is pretty suspicious too!"
"..."
When the crowd saw the sky screen return to Wu Wei, they began discussing him once more.
Most suspected that Wu Wei might be the culprit behind the divine punishment that occurred in the future.
Of course, some suspected Tang San as well.
Each of their analyses sounded convincing, down to the last detail.
Wu Wei himself, the object of all this attention, remained completely unaware.
Feeling how utterly depleted his body was, Wu Wei stopped laughing wildly.
Since everyone's level had been reset to zero, the contest from here on would come down to who could cultivate back the fastest.
Hum-
"Martial Soul Possession!"
Wu Wei first summoned his Martial Soul, wanting to see what had become of it.
Roar-
The illusory image of an enormous Azure Dragon formed behind Wu Wei, then attached itself to him.
"Good, my Martial Soul hasn't regressed!"
Seeing what his Martial Soul looked like, Wu Wei was even happier.
The Martial Soul he had first awakened wasn't the Azure Dragon he had now, but a Wind Spirit Snake, and his Innate Soul Power had been only level five.
His present Azure Dragon had evolved step by step.
He had been worried that his Martial Soul would regress after his level was reset!
"I wonder if the final battle will still happen?"
Wu Wei gazed in the distant direction of the battlefield, uncertain how things would develop from here.
According to the original plot, Tang San would soon revive, then defeat Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong and destroy the Spirit Hall Empire.
But now that divine punishment had descended, he genuinely couldn't guess whether the great battle would still take place.
"Without any levels or cultivation, a battle between mortals won't be much to watch. The most important thing is to hurry back and cultivate my strength again!"
Wu Wei murmured to himself, then turned to leave.
Boom-
Boom-
But just as he turned, two streaks of light fell toward him in broad daylight.
They smashed two enormous craters into the ground, throwing up clouds of sand and dust.
"Cough, cough..."
"Cough, cough... that hurts..."
Two women's coughs came from within.
When Wu Wei got a clear look at the women climbing out of the two deep craters, his eyes widened.
Angel and Rakshasa?