At the beginning, the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was actually opposed to Lu Jingming's plan, since this approach would inevitably lead to the loss of many lives.
After all, for negative energy to be transformed, it must rely on the World Tree's memory abilities to give the energy a tangible, physical form.
Only then can the World Tree turn slain negative energy monsters into positive energy.
But monsters created from pure negative energy are deeply hostile toward sentient beings—this malice is no joke.
Moreover, the negative energy that the planet has accumulated over countless years could very well give rise to god-level monsters.
At that point, if gods of the same level don't intervene, the Douluo Continent might genuinely face extinction.
Additionally, monsters formed of negative energy often possess far greater combat power than other beings of the same level—even gods are no exception.
It's just like how evil Soul Masters are generally stronger than normal Soul Masters at the same rank.
Naturally, the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was firmly against a plan that, if it spiraled out of control, could destroy the world.
After all, caring human is the core principle for the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata and Raiden Makoto.
Even though the humans here aren't from their original world, they still couldn't bear to see needless suffering.
However, Lu Jingming made a promise: he would have the World Tree collect the memories and souls of those who died tragically, so they could enjoy happy lives in the virtual world created by Herta.
Compared to suffering endlessly in reality, being able to live happily in a virtual world was at least some comfort.
Although Makoto and the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata were compassionate, they weren't inflexible.
After weighing the pros and cons, they ultimately agreed to Lu Jingming's plan and decided to help him.
As for why the contamination zone encountered by Skywater Academy was so unusual—with all the monsters being humanoid and modeled after the Golden Guards, Lu Jingming, and others—that was due to the planet's instinctive choices.
The prototypes for these monsters came not only from the planet's own memories but also from Lu Jingming's memories.
Thus, the monsters in these contamination zones included not only famous historical soul masters and soul beasts, but also all sorts of strange and unique creatures.
The planet's will also had its own instinctive desires—it wished to evolve as soon as possible, so it chose to gather massive amounts of negative energy together to try to create a super-large contamination zone.
In this way, it could clear out a huge amount of negative energy at once, converting it into positive energy to accelerate the planet's evolution.
And because of its instinctive affinity for Lu Jingming, the planet used his Haiyuan City as the template when forming this contamination zone.
The black-armored soldiers Shui Bing'er and her group encountered were actually the Golden Guards of Haiyuan City.
Whether Douluo Continent's people could clear this contamination zone would depend on the abilities of the soul masters.
The planet's will wouldn't consider such complex factors; it only followed its instinct to evolve.
"If you don't hurry, even stronger monsters will show up!" Lu Jingming couldn't help but mourn for the soul master world for three seconds.
With Haiyuan City as the template, this contamination zone might even spawn evil versions of Dan Heng, Changli, Jingliu, and Herta.
At that point, what could the Spirit Hall and the two great empires do to fight back?
Of course, Lu Jingming wasn't worried that things would become truly unmanageable.
He had his own plans. Even if the Spirit Hall and the two empires failed to handle the situation and let the contamination zone grow unchecked, he would have his own countermeasures.
Besides, he'd come mostly for fun and wouldn't intervene unless things went completely out of control.
Originally, he just wanted to watch the soul master tournament and see, firsthand, people and events he'd only read about in novels in his previous life.
However, after arriving in this world via the Cosmic Juggernaut Inverted Horizons, he inexplicably felt a pull that led him to this contamination zone, where he happened to witness Shui Bing'er and her group entering.
He even saw Blackened March 7th kill a Soul Sage in one shot with an arrow.
Bear in mind, Blackened March 7th was only at the Soul Emperor level.
Though the original March 7th now had the strength to defeat a Soul Sage too, her attacks were nowhere near as decisive as her blackened counterpart.
Lu Jingming, finding this interesting, recorded Blackened March 7th's powerful strike, already planning to mess the real March 7th with it later—just imagining her shocked face made him grin.
…
In Heaven Dou City, the city guards spotted Shui Bing'er and her group hurrying over and immediately became alert, raising their spears and preparing for trouble.
While they didn't think anyone would actually attack Heaven Dou City, it was their duty to be cautious—any mistake could be disastrous.
As Shui Bing'er's group approached the gate, they slowed down and showed their passes.
Once the guards confirmed their identities, they relaxed their vigilance and let them enter the city.
Even though they knew Shui Ming'er was most likely doomed, the group still held onto a sliver of hope—maybe Shui Ming'er was still alive, waiting for rescue.
"Are those the contestants from Skywater Academy? They're really beautiful, especially the leader—she looks like a goddess descended to earth. If I could marry her, that'd be amazing!"
One guard gazed longingly at Shui Bing'er's group.
"Stop dreaming—they're all soul masters!" another guard snapped.
They were just ordinary soldiers, not even close to the level of a soul master—how could they possibly attract the attention of Skywater Academy's female soul masters?
"True, but what happened to them? They look like they've just been crying. Who would dare bully Skywater Academy's students?" the first guard asked in confusion.
Skywater Academy was all-female, with plenty of admirers and strong backing. Who could possibly have the guts?
"Hey, isn't that Shui Bing'er and her group? Why are they in such a rush?"
Huo Wu, a red-haired girl out shopping, noticed them and looked puzzled.
"It really is them. What happened?"
Feng Xiaotian, who had tagged along with Huo Wu, also noticed and was curious.
"Let's follow and see—something must have happened!" Huo Wushuang said seriously.
He noticed that the usually calm Shui Bing'er had red eyes and an anxious look, and the academy's teacher was nowhere in sight—a bad feeling crept up.
"Come on, back to the hotel—they're heading that way."
Huo Wu and Feng Xiaotian sensed something was wrong, lost interest in shopping, and hurried after them.
…
"What did you say? Your aunt—!"
As soon as they returned to the hotel, Huo Wu heard the team leader, Huo Lin, exclaim in shock.
"What happened?" The arrival of Shui Bing'er's group drew a crowd, and Huo Lin's outburst made everyone curious.
What could unnerve a Soul Sage-level powerhouse so badly, even to the point of tears?
"What do you mean? Ming'er—how could this be? I don't believe it!"
Not just Huo Lin—even Feng Ying, the teacher from God Wind Academy, appeared with a look of disbelief.
Soon, Huo Wu, Feng Xiaotian, and the others learned what had happened.
Once they heard that Skywater Academy's teacher Shui Ming'er had likely perished, they understood Huo Lin and Feng Ying's reactions.
After all, many knew that Huo Lin and Feng Ying were both suitors of Shui Ming'er, and had fought over her many times.
"I have to save Ming'er—she's still waiting for us, she'll be fine!"
Huo Lin had lost all composure, thinking only of saving Shui Ming'er.
"You idiot, calm down! If Ming'er couldn't make it out, you'd just be throwing your life away!" Feng Ying, though also anxious, remained rational and didn't act rashly.
He knew he and Huo Lin were about equal in strength to Shui Ming'er.
According to Shui Bing'er, Shui Ming'er was probably defeated instantly, without any chance to resist.
Given the enemy's terrifying power, even if he and Huo Lin went together, they'd just be walking to their deaths.
The priority was to seek stronger help.
In Heaven Dou City, the only help Feng Ying could think of was the royal family or the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Besides, with a contamination zone appearing near the city, the Heaven Dou Empire would never ignore it.
As for returning to the academy for reinforcements, it was too far—the Soul Douluo would arrive too late, and by then, it would all be over.
Even if Shui Ming'er was still alive, being trapped so long in the contamination zone, she'd likely be corrupted into a monster.
Feng Ying, knowing Huo Lin was emotionally unstable, tried to calm him down.
Then, Feng Ying left with Shui Bing'er to seek help, while Shui Yue'er and the others stayed behind.
Huo Wu and her group hurried over to find out what happened.
When they heard that Skywater Academy had encountered a newly formed contamination zone and even Shui Ming'er was lost, Huo Wu and the others gasped in shock.
What kind of terrifying contamination zone could instantly kill a strong Soul Sage, leaving no chance to escape?
Shui Ming'er was no ordinary person—she was one of Skywater Academy's top experts, and could survive even against Soul Douluo.
Yet she died without even activating her Martial Soul True Body—unbelievable.