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Legend has it that, long, long ago, there was a Daoist named Qing Yangzi between heaven and earth.
He firmly believed that the origin of animals was much older than that of humans.
He thought that humans were nothing but evolved from some kind of animal.
Apart from differences in thought and intelligence, humans were merely a higher form of animal.
When the epoch began and the era of cultivation dawned, the human race had martial artists while the Beast Race had monster beasts.
The biggest difference between martial artists and monster beasts lay in the fact that humans cultivated much faster, nearly at double the speed of monster beasts.
Yet the strength of the Monster Race was in their inherently powerful bodies, such that martial artists of the same realm found it hard to break through their defenses, making them almost no match for monster beasts.
But precisely because of their strong bodies, each advancement required too much vital energy, resulting in their cultivation progressing exceedingly slowly.
Monster beasts often killed each other, for consuming the flesh and blood of their kind could increase their vital energy.
…
Qing Yangzi always pondered a method, whether it was possible to fuse the bloodlines of the human race and monster beasts.
To allow the human race to maintain their original cultivation speed, while also possessing the robust physiques of monster beasts.
As the first monster beast of the Beast Race to bear Destiny, Tyrant Emperor’s impact on his kin was akin to the profound influence True Martial Great Emperor had on the human race.
Before his ascension, Tyrant Emperor passed on the Cultivation Technique, the Great Emperor’s Technique "Force Jue", that he cultivated, to many monster beasts, hoping that more talented disciples would emerge among the Beast Race.
After several epochs, a python snake shed its skin to transform into a True Dragon, bearing the Destiny of that era.
As the guiding cultivation technique on its path was the "Force Jue" of Tyrant Emperor, to honor the Emperor and his spirit of selflessness, the True Dragon declared itself the "Strength Emperor."
In the age of the Strength Emperor, Qing Yangzi approached him, shared his vision, and hoped to create a perfect species.
The Strength Emperor readily agreed, and after hundreds of years of joint efforts of the two, a new species was born, "Half-Beast People."
Their experiment could be said to have succeeded, but also to have failed.
The cultivation speed of the Half-Beast People might not be as fast as that of martial artists, yet their physical strength was greater.
Although Half-Beast People couldn’t surpass monster beasts in physical strength, their cultivation speed far exceeded that of the latter.
Simply put, Half-Beast People combined the advantages of both martial artists and monster beasts but also amalgamated the disadvantages of both.
However, the mere existence of this species was tragic, as they bore features common to both the human race and monster beasts and thus were not accepted by either.
What was more terrifying was that due to the impurity of the bloodlines within Half-Beast People, simply put, there was bloodline conflict.
The end result was that when the conflict reached an irreparable point, their whole body’s bloodlines would decompose and ultimately lead to death.
The Strength Emperor regarded this as his own fault and went through great lengths to find a way to save the Half-Beast People. 𝔫𝖔𝔳𝔭𝔲𝔟.𝖈𝔬𝔪
At last, he found the Pure Moon Altar.
These Half-Beast People only needed to change their blood every three months; under the suppressive power of the Pure Moon Altar, their lifespan could be greatly extended.
But as people often say, there’s something detestable about those who are pitiable.
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In that era, the Half-Beast People, leveraging the guilt felt by the Strength Emperor towards them, could be said to have acted tyrannically, looking down upon both the human race and the Beast Race.
After the Strength Emperor ascended, the Half-Beast People were immediately subjected to sanctions.
The Half-Beast People of that era could be said to be targets of universal condemnation, nearly brought to the brink of extinction.
Only a few Half-Beast People occasionally managed to hide and cling to survival, and over countless epochs, the population of Half-Beast People once again expanded.
These Half-Beast People established a sect gate near the Pure Moon Altar and named it the Myriad Beasts Sect.
Because much time had passed, the misunderstandings and dissatisfaction people had towards the Half-Beast People had gradually diminished.
.........
Xu Zimei and Ren Pingsheng, after a long journey, returned to the True Martial Holy Sect, which recently seemed unusually bustling.
Many disciples were discussing the matters of the competition between the seven sects, as well as the talented disciples from each sect.
The competition between the seven sects was considered the liveliest and most grand event in the Extreme West Region.
Held every three years, there was only one requirement for the participating disciples, they must not be over thirty years old.
Each sect could send no more than ten disciples to participate in the competition.
It is said that after the seven major sects stabilized the situation in the Extreme West Region, they mutually agreed to hold this competition every three years, a tradition which was actually quite ancient by now.
This year, it just happened to be the True Martial Holy Sect’s turn to host the competition.
Invitations had already been sent to the other six major sects half a month in advance.
At this moment inside the great hall of the True Martial Holy Sect, the atmosphere was somewhat quiet.
The Third Elder spoke up, "Sect Master, we’ve received a message from the Myriad Beasts Sect saying they are going to close their mountain gate and will not participate in any affairs for the time being.
It’s estimated they won’t be able to make it to the competition between the seven sects this time."
"What’s going on?" Xu Qingshan frowned slightly and asked, "Didn’t they agree when we sent the invitations earlier?"
"We are still investigating the matter. It may be something that happened recently," the Third Elder replied. "Although there is no conclusive evidence yet, I suspect it’s related to the bloodline in their bodies."
"You are in charge of this competition, and I don’t want any accidents to occur," Xu Qingshan said indifferently. "Since they are not coming, then let’s announce to the entire Extreme West Region that it will be changed to a competition between six sects."
"How should we select the disciples for the competition this time?" the Third Elder asked. "The core disciples are mostly over thirty years old and can’t participate.
If no one has any objections, I’ll select disciples from within the Inner Gate according to the rankings on the Hidden Dragon List."
"Xia Hui is not over thirty years old, it’s just that he usually disdains competing for the list, so he is not on the Hidden Dragon List," the Fifth Elder said from nearby. "His strength absolutely qualifies him for this grand competition. Third Elder might want to consider it."
As the words of the Fifth Elder fell, the Sixth Elder, Xiao Ruoxue, quickly followed up, "Xiao’er may not be on the Hidden Dragon List, but she has fully inherited the Empress’s legacy. She must have a place in this competition."
"How can I make selections when you throw in your candidates like this?" the Third Elder looked at Xu Qingshan with some dilemma and said, "Sect Master, why don’t we hold an internal competition within the sect? The higher-ranked disciples will then represent the sect in the grand competition."
"There’s no need for that trouble, I am aware of both Xia Hui’s and Baili Xiao’s strengths, just include them on the list. As for the other disciples, select according to the rankings on the Hidden Dragon List," Xu Qingshan said. "Spread the word that in three days, we will select the disciples for the competition based on the rankings of the Hidden Dragon List.
That should get those who usually hide their strength to fight hard for a place on the list."
