Chapter 146: Attribute Conflict, Weakening Through Generations
Faced with Zhu Zhuqing's question, Yu Tianlin thought about it for a moment, then gave his answer.
"Of course it's cheating."
Yu Tianlin felt he had worked hard in cultivation, but there were plenty of people who worked hard. There were definitely people in the world who worked even harder than him, yet they still could not compare to him.
So hard work alone was not enough. Talent mattered, but having something extraordinary mattered even more.
"Cheating," however, was not a word Zhu Zhuqing understood.
"Simply put…" Yu Tianlin scratched his head, not sure how to explain it to her, so he could only say, "Human abilities have limits. You have to become something that surpasses humanity."
Zhu Zhuqing looked completely lost, like she was listening to nonsense. She could not understand what he meant at all.
To surpass humanity would mean to stop being human.
"Alright, I'll stop messing with you." Yu Tianlin coughed, cut off his rambling, and his expression became a little more serious. "I'm in a good mood today, so I'll tell you something real."
"Zhu Zhuqing, you're from the family of the Duke of Youming in the Star Luo Empire, right? And Dai Mubai is from the Star Luo royal family. Am I right?"
"That's right."
When Yu Tianlin mentioned Duke Youming, Dai Mubai, and the Star Luo royal family, Zhu Zhuqing's expression turned colder, but she still nodded.
"I deduced it from your Martial Soul and surname, and his Martial Soul and surname," Yu Tianlin said. "According to records kept by our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, a long time ago, the Martial Souls of your 2 families were extremely powerful, at least much stronger than they are now. But as time passed, they gradually weakened until they became what they are today."
"The White Tiger Martial Soul was on par with our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul 1,000 years ago. It was not inferior at all. It was top of the top. But the current White Tiger Martial Soul has fallen a bit. It can still be ranked among top Martial Souls, but it's at the lowest tier of that top level."
"As for your Netherworld Cat Martial Soul, it was considered a top tier Martial Soul 1,000 years ago, but now it's only slightly above average."
Yu Tianlin's explanation sounded like he was talking casually, but Zhu Zhuqing showed no impatience. She listened carefully from beginning to end.
"The reason is an attribute problem," Yu Tianlin concluded. "The light attribute within the White Tiger Martial Soul has been greatly weakened, maybe even completely gone. The dark attribute of the Netherworld Cat Martial Soul is the same."
The White Tiger was supposed to carry the light attribute, yet Dai Mubai had never shown it, as if he only had physical power. White Tiger Blazing Light Wave and White Tiger Meteor Shower were just simple external Spirit Power attacks, and they did not carry the light attribute.
In the original story, when Dai Mubai fought Yu Tianxin, their physical strength was evenly matched. But every time they clashed, Yu Tianxin's lightning invaded Dai Mubai's body, causing paralysis and other negative effects. Dai Mubai only won because he was lucky enough to have eaten the Chrysanthemum, which made him nearly indestructible and able to quickly dispel the paralysis. Otherwise, he would not have been able to defeat Yu Tianxin.
That was because Dai Mubai's White Tiger Martial Soul did not have the light attribute anymore. If it did, then even without the Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum, he could have cleansed negative effects on his own through light attribute power, and he could even have used light to suppress his opponent.
Zhu Zhuqing was the same. Even with the Netherworld Cat Martial Soul, she lacked dark attribute abilities and could only rely on pure physical speed to become an agility type Spirit Master.
Yu Tianlin's former bodyguard, Zuo Jianping, had the Shadow Lizard Martial Soul and was also an agility type attacker. He had a unique skill called Shadow Escape, disappearing into shadows and reappearing from shadows. Not only was he fast, he was also strange and unpredictable, making him hard to deal with.
In the end, both the Dai family's White Tiger Martial Soul and the Zhu family's Netherworld Cat Martial Soul had lost their inherent attributes and kept only their physical traits.
Why did this happen?
Zhu Zhuqing was stunned. In the past, she could barely protect herself and could only focus on cultivation. She had never had time to think about things like this. This was the first time she had heard it explained so directly.
This time, Yu Tianlin did not answer right away. He simply looked at Zhu Zhuqing, waiting for her to find the answer herself.
"Darkness and light… vanished…" Zhu Zhuqing muttered, her delicate brows knitting together. Then, as if something clicked, she blurted out, "Could it be that their attributes cancel each other out?"
"That's right, exactly." Seeing that she had found the answer, Yu Tianlin nodded. "Because your 2 families kept marrying each other, the light attribute and the dark attribute kept clashing, so they naturally canceled each other out. Little by little, your Martial Souls lost their own attributes."
Light and darkness, when controlled, could be combined through technique to produce even greater power. But reproduction was not technique.
In this situation, the light and dark attributes could not be controlled. They would instinctively annihilate each other until one attribute disappeared, and the remaining one would still be greatly weakened.
Unless a miracle happened, with odds even lower than 1 in 1,000,000,000, the light and dark attributes would not cancel. Instead, they would both remain, and the newborn would have twin Martial Souls.
"So that's how it is…" Zhu Zhuqing's expression turned complicated. "Does that mean the marriage between the Zhu and Dai families was a mistake from the beginning?"
"It can't be said it was always wrong," Yu Tianlin said. "Even our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan discovered the problem between your 2 families. Your families should have realized it long ago too, but they still didn't stop the marriage alliance."
"At the start, it was a mistake, but now it doesn't matter. The mistake has already been made. The attributes in your 2 Martial Souls have basically canceled out. Another marriage won't make things worse. On the contrary, it helps consolidate your position."
In the early stages of the marriage alliance, the impact was small, so no one noticed. By the time they realized, it was too late, and there was no way to fix it.
Since it could not be repaired and could not get much worse, the 2 families chose to go all in, strengthening the alliance through continued marriage to secure their rule.
"After telling you all this, what I really want you to understand is this." Yu Tianlin's tone steadied. "If you want to 'cheat,' then the first step is to rediscover the dark attribute you were supposed to have, and restore your Netherworld Cat to the level of a top tier Martial Soul."
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