Chapter 16: The True Culprit—The Clear Sky Clan!

The true culprit wasn't Spirit Hall after all!

In the live broadcast room, the Heavenly Dream Ice Silk, who had answered ahead of Ah Yin, was penalized for providing an incorrect response. Many were stunned by the revelation, feeling a mixture of shock and relief.

Despite many suspecting that Spirit Hall was too obvious a choice for the culprit, they hesitated to answer differently. After all, the broadcast had provided no alternative clues. Perhaps the question was meant to mislead them into overthinking it.

With the mistake made by the Heavenly Dream Ice Silk, it became clear that the answer wasn't as simple as Spirit Hall. But if Spirit Hall wasn't the culprit, then who was?

Could it be another faction that manipulated the conflict between Spirit Hall and the Clear Sky Clan? Was it the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the Tiandou Royal Family, or the Xingluo Royal Family?

Many were indecisive, worried about giving a wrong answer, which could result in severe penalties like the loss of soul rings or levels of soul power. The stakes were high!

The true culprit wasn't Spirit Hall?!

On the other side, after the system declared the Heavenly Dream Ice Silk's answer incorrect, Ah Yin was deeply shaken. She had always believed that Spirit Hall was responsible for her and Tang Hao's plight, having been pursued relentlessly by Spirit Hall's previous Pope Qianxunji, which led to her sacrifice.

If Spirit Hall wasn't the culprit, then who was? Was the human world so complicated, or was she simply too naive?

In the broadcast room, no one dared to answer immediately after the Heavenly Dream Ice Silk's mistake. Those who knew about Tang Hao and Ah Yin were too scared to respond, and the ten thousand-year spirit beasts who had witnessed the broadcast, like Emperor Tian, the Titan Giant Ape, the Sky Blue Bull Python, Snow Emperor, Ice Emperor, and Deep Sea Magic Whale King, were even more cautious.

In Windmill Village, Lin Yu, having three chances to avoid penalties, decided to take a risk and answer that Spirit Hall was the culprit before the Heavenly Dream Ice Silk did. However, the system declared this answer incorrect!

Lin Yu furrowed his brows, deep in thought.

So, Spirit Hall wasn't the culprit? Then who could it be? It seemed that the real Douluo Continent, which he had traversed, had fixed some of the plot holes from the novel. For instance, Ah Yin's exposure and subsequent pursuit by Qianxunji was a significant plot hole. Tang Hao, who knew Ah Yin's identity, should have known better than to bring her to a big city where her true identity could be discovered. This oversight led to their pursuit and Ah Yin's eventual sacrifice—a glaring plot hole!

While readers of the original novel had criticized such issues, the novel's flaws were never addressed. But in a real-world scenario, if Tang Hao wasn't insane, there had to be a reason.

Recalling some conspiracy theories from fanfiction, Lin Yu's eyes began to flicker with realization. Perhaps the answer was clearer than it seemed.

[System: The true culprit behind Ah Yin's sacrifice should be the Clear Sky Clan!]

Taking a deep breath, Lin Yu slowly submitted his answer, keeping it hidden on the virtual screen.

After answering, Lin Yu waited anxiously. Based on his deduction, combining the original plot with the current broadcast content, and excluding Spirit Hall as the culprit, he believed the Clear Sky Clan had a 70% chance of being correct.

After a few seconds of tense waiting, the system's response came.

[Ding! Congratulations, host. The answer is the Clear Sky Clan. Correct!]

[Reward: Choose one spirit bone under 1,000,000 years!]

Suddenly, the system's cold voice echoed in Lin Yu's mind.

Haha! It was indeed correct!

After receiving confirmation, Lin Yu was elated.

[Ding! Would you like to reveal your answer on the live broadcast?]

Following the reward announcement, the system's voice rang out again.

"Of course, reveal it!"

Lin Yu smiled slightly as he responded. Just as before, if someone answered correctly, the system would announce who got it right. Since the answer couldn't be hidden forever, it was better to reveal it and bask in the moment!

Once Lin Yu agreed to display his answer, it appeared on the virtual screen.

[Lin Yu: The true culprit behind Ah Yin's sacrifice is… the Clear Sky Clan!]

[Huo Yan Zhen (curious): Oh? Someone else has answered. But this name—could it be the same person who answered the first question correctly? How could the answer be the Clear Sky Clan!]

In the Clear Sky Clan, Huo Yan Zhen was almost laughing out loud. In his view, the Clear Sky Clan was the least likely culprit. After all, the Clear Sky Clan had suffered greatly due to Tang Hao and Ah Yin's situation and had been in seclusion ever since. Why would anyone intentionally inflict such severe damage on themselves?

[Tang Xiao (angry): @Lin Yu, kid, what nonsense are you talking about? The Clear Sky Clan could never be the culprit. Why would we betray Haotian? Because of the matter between Haotian and Sanmei, our clan is still recovering from the losses. Who would deliberately inflict such severe damage upon themselves!]

[Yu Yuan Zhen (thoughtful): I also find it hard to believe that the Clear Sky Clan is the true culprit. It doesn't make sense to cause such self-inflicted damage. It's not reasonable!]

After Lin Yu revealed the Clear Sky Clan as the culprit, many influential figures began to dismiss it, claiming it was just a childish mistake. The notion that the Clear Sky Clan would inflict such damage on itself seemed absurd!

However, while many messages flooded the virtual screen, Ning Fengzhi and Bibi Dong furrowed their brows but did not immediately refute Lin Yu's answer. There was a possibility that it might be correct...

[Ding! Notification: Lin Yu's answer, 'The Clear Sky Clan is the true culprit,' is correct!]

[Reward: Random 100,000-year spirit bone x1, reward issued!]

As these blood-red words appeared on the screen, all those who had mocked Lin Yu were left stunned and silent. Their expressions froze as waves of shock surged through them.

What! The Clear Sky Clan was really the culprit?!

In an instant, countless people were dumbfounded.

This is unbelievable!

Hmm… The current plot differs from the original novel. Maybe the main characters are from a parallel world, and the version of Douluo they experience is different from ours.

But why does the original impression seem to have Ah Yin's pregnancy revealed, whereas Tang Hao's exposure of Ah Yin was different from this version?

Did I remember incorrectly, or did the original Douluo novel change, or is this a Mandela Effect? So strange!