Star Dou Great Forest.
Gu Yuena leaned against a giant rock by the Lake of Life, her fingertips gently caressing the Cultivation Technique manual in her hands. Sunlight filtered down through the dense canopy, casting a faint halo over her long, silver hair.
"These things are truly interesting." She murmured to herself, a flicker of contemplation flashing in her purple eyes, "They can really help increase one's strength, and even mental force can be used for Cultivation. If humans were to Cultivate this way in the future, I fear it would be a catastrophe for us Soul Beasts, wouldn't it?"
Over these past few days, she had carefully studied these Cultivation Techniques, then selected a portion of the more intelligent Ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts to conduct trials. Only after confirming there were no issues did she begin formal Cultivation herself.
After a period of Cultivation, Gu Yuena was surprised to discover that her strength had indeed increased slightly, and her mental force had also made progress.
Although this increase was negligible compared to her massive base of strength, and an ordinary person would never be able to detect it.
Even she herself only vaguely felt that there had been a slight change.
But becoming stronger is still becoming stronger.
She looked into the distance; Di Tian, Bi Ji, and Zi Ji had also been practicing these Cultivation Techniques, and the aura on their bodies was a bit more solid than before.
If they continue to Cultivate through these techniques, perhaps Soul Beasts might also be able to break through that boundary and ascend to become deities?
Gu Yuena lowered her eyes and shook her head gently.
She knew clearly in her heart that this was not an easy task.
Di Tian was a living example. He had once followed the Dragon God and was basically considered a god. But after the Dragon God was slain and they fled the God Realm, Di Tian's strength had gradually fallen to what it was today.
Ultimately, it was because the God Realm had a rule—Soul Beasts were not allowed to become gods.
No, not just Soul Beasts; any existence that was not of the Human Race was forbidden. Once discovered by the God Realm, they would send people to encircle, suppress, and capture them.
Even if one could barely break through the limit using these Cultivation Techniques, one still had to face the problem of the Heavenly Tribulation. If one could not pass the Heavenly Tribulation, everything would be for nothing.
Di Tian stood to the side, silently listening to Gu Yuena's words, and nodded slightly.
"Indeed, Master," he said, "However, if the Axis Cult perfects and promotes the series of things like artificial Spirit Bones and spirit rings, I fear human Spirit Masters would no longer need to hunt us Soul Beasts to obtain spirit rings and Spirit Bones as they do now."
He had a good impression of the Axis Cult. Furina had given them many benefits and had reached a cooperative relationship with their Master. Moreover, the things the Axis Cult researched could indeed reduce the pressure on humans to hunt Soul Beasts. This was a tangible benefit for the survival and reproduction of Soul Beasts.
Gu Yuena, however, shook her head.
"You cannot think that way."
She stood up, her long silver hair swaying gently with her movements.
She walked to the lakeside, gazing at her reflection in the water, her tone calm but carrying a hint of coldness: "Even without Spirit Bones and spirit rings, Soul Beasts themselves are highly nourishing items for humans, especially for Spirit Masters. I have inquired from the people sent over by the Axis Cult; many Advanced Spirit Master Academy cafeterias prepare ten-year or hundred-year Soul Beast meat as food for their students."
She turned to look at Di Tian, a complex light flickering in her purple eyes: "Furthermore, even if one can artificially create spirit rings and Spirit Bones, things like Ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts' Spirit Bones remain rare. For Soul Beasts above ten thousand years, their entire bodies are treasures. You should know this better than I do."
She had done her homework. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. Although she was cooperating with Furina and their common enemy was the God Realm, she could not put all her eggs in one basket. The threat that the Human Race posed to Soul Beasts must always be kept in mind.
Di Tian was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.
He had seen too much of human greed. If everyone could become stronger, then everyone would surely want to be stronger than others. By then, Soul Beasts would still be the first target to suffer. His previous thoughts had been too simple.
Gu Yuena continued: "Besides, we are now preparing to attack the God Realm. All Soul Beasts that have gained intelligence must try to practice these Cultivation Techniques, primarily those of ten thousand years and above."
She explained: "Soul Beasts over ten thousand years old have high intelligence and are relatively strong; practicing these techniques will yield twice the result with half the effort, and they are the most likely to become subsequent combat forces."
After all, they were going to confront gods; even a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast was nothing but an ant in front of a god. Apart from top-tier existences like Di Tian and the others who might have the power to fight, the rest were simply not up to par.
But since they had obtained the Cultivation Techniques, it would be a waste not to let them practice. Based on the idea that one shouldn't put all their eggs in one basket, making the overall strength of Soul Beasts stronger was also for the sake of countering the increasingly powerful humans in the future.
"As for..." Gu Yuena paused, her gaze casting toward the weak Soul Beasts active in the forest in the distance, "Those below the thousand-year level can be taught by other fellow Soul Beasts who have already practiced."
Although thousand-year Soul Beasts have intelligence, most of it is limited. Many of those weak Soul Beasts can only reach the thousand-year level in their entire lives; wanting to break through to ten thousand years without an Opportunity is as difficult as ascending to the heavens.
Hundred-year Soul Beasts are even lower. As for ten-year Soul Beasts, they are basically no different from ordinary animals, just possessing a bit of Soul Power and a slightly stronger physique.
Even Advanced Spirit Master Academies generally only use hundred-year Soul Beasts as food ingredients. Ten-year Soul Beasts are rarely used alone; most of the time they are mixed with ordinary ingredients.
Whether they can successfully Cultivate is another question entirely.
"Yes, Master," Di Tian replied respectfully.
He then spoke again: "Speaking of which, Master, what is your opinion on those... humans who want to unite with Soul Beasts?"
Gu Yuena was stunned upon hearing this.
She held her forehead and fell into deep thought.
What Di Tian was referring to was that group of Martial Soul scientists led by Dr. Da Mu. Especially Dr. Da Mu, who had already gotten together with a Three-Tailed Beautiful Demon Fox that had eaten shapeshifting grass and transformed into a human beast-girl form, and he even gave her the name Su Daji.
Other scholars followed suit, trying to date Soul Beasts, and some had already succeeded.
They seemed to really want to unite with Soul Beasts to produce unique offspring. There were even more outrageous ones who said they wanted to act as matchmakers for Di Tian, to let his descendants obtain the Martial Soul of the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King.
Before Di Tian could express anything, Bi Ji and Zi Ji had already refused one after another.
But that group of people still wouldn't give up, and were even researching whether they could pass on the Vicious Beast Martial Soul through other means. For example, by taking the genes of Soul Beasts...
Whenever Gu Yuena thought of this, she felt quite a headache.
She raised her hand to rub her temples, and after a long silence, she finally gave her answer.
"Let them be."
Her voice carried a hint of helplessness, and also a touch of resignation: "As long as they don't cross the bottom line, there is no need to pay attention to them. Just remind them not to go too far."
She curled the corner of her lips into a self-deprecating smile: "Perhaps... this is also a path that Soul Beasts can choose in the future."
When she said this, she herself felt it was somewhat funny. Because even she herself didn't quite believe it.
But trying it wouldn't hurt.
Di Tian bowed slightly and replied in a deep voice: "Yes."
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/DaoistRoeoNQ
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"