Chapter 489: Horrible People of the Strange Race
Translator: Novel Saga Editor: Novel Saga
"The situation you've described makes it seem that things get more conspiratorial as the time between two successive battles increases," Jun Mo Xie solemnly considered the matter for a while before he spoke-up, "It was fine when the ten years' period was extended to a hundred years. After all, you Xuan Beasts would easily be able to live through a time span of hundred years. Moreover, even the extremely strong humans would be able live that long. In fact, they might even be able to take part in two… or maybe even three or four Battles for Seizing the Heavens! But, that short time period has been extended to five-hundred years now. So, the Xuan Beasts are still fine. But, this plan takes a sinister turn when it comes to us humans."
Jun Mo Xie raised a finger, "Everyone knows that an individual can extend their lifespan by drawing support from their Xuan Qi if their Xuan cultivation crosses the Earth Xuan Level. And, an individual can live up to a hundred-and-fifty to two-hundred years if they reach the Spirit Xuan Realm. And, they can prolong their life even further if they go a step further and reach the cultivation level of a Great Master. But, they won't be able to extend it beyond the limit of three-hundred-and-fifty years," Jun Mo Xie had learned this from the Solitary Falcon. However, even Solitary Falcon didn't know about the levels above that of the Great Masters.
"Actually, there are humans who are stronger than the Great Master Level. And, those people can have lifespans ranging from four-to-six-hundred years. I'm sure that your master's cultivation should've reached such a level. In fact, the records in my Tian Fa suggest that one can even go beyond this level. Humans can become even stronger, and can extend their lifespans even further. But, such people are very few in number. And, that's because there have been very few people in the past thousand years who have reached such a high level.
"Those who had participated in the last Battle for Seizing the Heavens will have added another five-hundred years to their age by now. So, it could be said that a vast majority of them would have no chance of participating in the next decisive battle! And, that's because one needs to train for at least two-hundred years in order to become strong-enough to qualify for participating in the Battle for Seizing the Heavens. However, the next battle will take place over five-hundred years after the last one. Therefore, the lifespan of humans wouldn't allow them to participate in the upcoming battle since it would take place after five-hundred years. Even the most talent and extraordinary humans would be bound by the limitations of human lifespan. Therefore, they would only be able to blossom for one decisive battle. Consequently, the only way for them to fight the Battle for Seizing the Heavens is to pass the torch onto future generations," Mei Xue Yan sighed deeply. "After all, those who live for over a millennia due to their Xuan strength only exist in myths and legends.
"Every Battle for Seizing the Heaves is tragic and catastrophic; it's a miserable calamity. Every strong expert that goes to fight in it must go only upon embracing the notion of certain death; no matter how unreasonably powerful they are. And, it's the same for their disciples. After all, the disciples have to stand aside and watch their masters sacrifice their lives to those savage outsiders. This is the way they've been able to pass-on this torch from generation-to-generation..."
Mei Xue Yan's beautiful eyes seemed somewhat pained as she spoke, "I was fortunate that the-then Lord of Tian Fa had taken me to watch the Battle for Seizing the Heavens in those days. I was still a very small seventh level at..." she didn't speak further. She only let out a deep sigh.
"Every Lord of the Tian Fa Forest has always stated that the extension of these timespans between each consecutive Battle for Seizing the Heavens is clearly a conspiracy of those strange men from the other side. They lay waiting for five-hundred years. They are willing to do that. But, we can't. Those people also go through generational changes. But, the conditions over there are extremely horrible. Their lifestyle is based on eliminating the poor. Survival of the fittest is their most important principle. So, each of their generation sees the rise of countless powerful beings in their ranks. But, this side of the continent is riddled with many faults. This time period is too long for us. Moreover, it's very easy for humans to forget things and get comfortable instead. And, this is an even bigger enemy to a person's fighting spirit than the wear and tear of continuous fighting."
"Why don't we just cross over the mountains and kill those outsiders? Won't it be better if we get rid of these future problems?" Jun Mo Xie frowned.
"Do you take all the countless extremely strong entities from earlier as fools? Your blabbing would've been a reality if it were possible! In fact, this solution has already been tried by many powerful experts. However, it is extremely difficult to cross over. There are some very powerful experts who are able to cross over to the other side. But, only a very few of such people are present throughout the continent in each generation; maybe around ten at best. However, there are countless powerful beings waiting at the other side. In fact, they are patiently waiting as if we're their prey. Moreover, there are millions of them over there. And, they live extremely scattered. So, how can we kill them all at once?"
"We'll probably be killed to the last man if we hastily rush over. The Pillars of Heaven Mountains aren't merely a moat for those creatures on the other side. They are also a moat for us people on this side!"
Mei Xue Yan sighed and continued, "Ending it once-and-for-all would obviously be great. But... it's impossible! Look at current circumstance… we're hardly able to maintain the capability to withstand their invasion! So, what attack can we speak of? Moreover, the environment at our enemies' side is extremely harsh. The conditions over there are so harsh that humans can't even be guaranteed of their survival. Even Xuan Beasts can't be assured in this regard! So, we simply can't talk about carrying out a huge slaughter!"
Jun Mo Xie became silent for a while, but he continued to calculate in his mind. [This is a very difficult matter. Moreover, it has tons of hard-to-negotiate problems. We have the Three Holy Lands on one hand. They are planning the vicious fight for supremacy, and can't work towards one goal anymore. Moreover, we don't have enough strong fighters in our ranks. We'd need a few hundred Great Master Level fighters for something like this. Moreover, these said-fighters would need to be consolidated under one command. Such a team could easily cause a great deal of damage to the opposition's forces even if they don't succeed in destroying them in one fell swoop. It is true that the enemy eliminates the weak amongst them, and preserves only the strong. They surely follow the 'survival of the fittest' rule. But, it's unlikely that all of them would be extremely strong.]
He couldn't help but think of the troops under his own command — Heaven Destroyers and Soul Devourers. [If they...] Jun Mo Xie couldn't help but shake his head as their thought crossed his mind. [My household guards aren't strong enough yet. Even the strongest one is too weak; he's only at the Earth Xuan first rank at this time. I fear they won't even be able to cross Supporting the Heaven Mountain's passes. But… if this was to happen after a few decades...]
He shook his head. It was too late.
If you wish to kill a real man — you must do it when he's immature. Its never easy to kill a man once he has grown up. It's possible that the man might not be able to achieve much in his lifetime. However, they will certainly have gained experience once they've matured…
"There's something I find a bit odd. The Xuan Xuan Continent has always been tolerant to the co-existence of Xuan Beasts and human. So, why can't we accept those people as well? Moreover, they can be considered as 'human'. So, shouldn't they resemble humans in some ways? Those outsiders... how are they different?" Jun Mo Xie asked since he was still confused, "Moreover, they're quite strong as well. So, why can't they be accepted and assimilated into the population here?"
"Ah, you haven't seen those outsiders. So, you don't know how horrendous they are. Moreover, you don't know what filthy and disgusting condition they are in. And, that's why you have this childish and naive way of thinking!" Mei Xue Yan looked speechless. It seemed like she felt disgusted. In fact, it appeared that she found this entire issue so filthy that she felt the filth even while discussing it.
"Oh?" Jun Mo Xie seemed quite interested on the contrary, "What do they look like?"
"The appearance of that tribe... how does one properly describe it…? Their appearance consists of dual body features. They somewhat resemble those deformed human twins who are born conjoined. But, one half of the body can't survive after the loss of the other half. In fact, countless senior experts in the past had figured this to be these outsiders' primary weakness. But, their disadvantage is also their advantage. That's because their bodies consist of two individuals. Moreover, the meridians inside their bodies can complement each other. And, they can cover any insufficiencies of the other half in this way. So, their techniques display twice the effect even with half the effort. Their appearance is also very repulsive, and their conduct is even crueler. It can be said that they aren't humans! Therefore, it would be inaccurate to say that they have no human qualities. But, that's because they can't even be considered as humans in the first place!" Mei Xue Yan frowned as she spoke.
"Moreover, the tribes of these conjoined people have extremely strange and bizarre techniques. They can hide themselves in the shortest of time period. They can merge into trees and water. In fact, you could say that they can transform their forms. And, this can cause a huge headache," Mei Xue Yan muttered to herself irresolutely.
"Conjoined people? All of them are conjoined?" Jun Mo Xie stared wide-eyed. He had often heard that being conjoined was a defect. But, he had never thought that there would be an entire tribe of such people. However, he then heard Mei Xue Yan describe their techniques… [Doesn't that sound familiar?]
"Their techniques appear similar to the wondrous techniques you had used earlier," Mei Xue Yan muttered to herself for a long while before she finally spoke-up.
"What do you mean by their techniques appear similar to ones I displayed? You can see that this Young Master is a real man – a truly handsome youngster! How can you even compare me to those shitty deformed people?!"
Jun Mo Xie had been listening carefully, and with keen interest. But, that statement from the extremely beautiful Mei Xue Yan left him feeling very angry. [The techniques used by those conjoined people can at most be considered as a 'Five Elemental Escape' technique. And, that's an extremely lowly technique! How could that compare to the incomparable Art of Unlocking the Heaven's Fortune? Or the Yin-Yang Escape? This is too big an insult!]
"Don't get mad, Young Master. I know what you're trying to say. Your techniques had a hint of similarity with theirs. But, I obviously know that the two are too far apart when it comes to the quality of it. In fact, it is like the difference between heaven and earth! You can't speak of them in the same breath. However, my World Cage technique is the greatest nemesis of their techniques. After all, I merely need to raise a hand in order to kill the greatest of enemies. My technique can even imprison you. But, it can only do so for a short while. In fact, I reckon that you might be able to break away if you put everything into disabling my imprisonment. Moreover, I guess that I can restrain you only because your cultivation is still very low. However, I'd be surprised if my World Cage worked against you once you've reached your master's cultivation."
Mei Xue Yan's words came rather unexpectedly for Jun Mo Xie. After all, Mei Xue Yan had intentionally placed Young Master Jun at the top while placing herself beneath him.
Jun Mo Xie couldn't help but feel elated at Mei Xue Yan's flattering words. But, Jun Mo Xie continued to question even when he was swimming with pride, "What kind of weapons are these people adept at? And, how good are they with them?"
"Those outsiders seem to use only long and slender blades. Their blades have evolved over the millennia. Moreover, they know extraordinary ways of slashing and stabbing. And, they also have this habit of shouting a chant while using their blades. But, the culture and language of the rest of the continent is very different than theirs. So, we can't understand their chants. In fact, it becomes very annoying…"
"These people may be conjoined. But, they're still people, right? Is that image so very strange? Don't tell me..." Jun Mo Xie blinked. His eyes were filled with a daring and inquisitive color. In fact, he had a great urge to go and capture one of those outsiders right now so that he could examine them.
"Ahem..." Mei Xue Yan coughed. She seemed a bit uncomfortable. The beautiful woman hesitated to open her mouth for a while. However, she eventually steeled herself and spoke-up, "You don't know these conjoined people… Each one of them are one man and one woman joined together as one person."