Chapter 19: Evil Wolves in a Wasteland (1/2)

Chapter 19: Evil Wolves in a Wasteland

When Su Chen knelt down, Shi Kaihuang became serious. At least, his expression had.

He gazed intently at Su Chen, as if he were closely sizing him up.

Finally, he said, “About half of what you said was right.”

Su Chen was slightly stunned.

Half?

Had he accidentally overlooked something?

Shi Kaihuang slowly said, “Part of the reason why I am unwilling to accept disciples has to do with differences in thinking, but that isn’t all.”

“What?” Su Chen was shocked. Even after that speech, he still refuses me? Just what do I have to do to tempt him?

As he was lost in bewilderment, Shi Kaihuang continued, “But this also doesn’t mean I don’t want to have a disciple at all.”

This unexpected turn of events left Su Chen confused.

After staring blankly for a moment, he recovered. “Does Senior mean I haven’t yet met his standards? Please, guide me.”

“Standards?” Shi Kaihuang stared blankly for a moment as he mulled on the phrase, then laughed gently. “Is that how you interpreted what I meant? Well, you can call it that, I suppose.”

His tone was warm and calm. Evidently, his attitude towards Su Chen was very different from before. Su Chen’s words had reached him.

He glanced at Su Chen and said, “I can understand you want to follow through on your oath and walk in the footsteps of your ancestors, and I respect that decision. But do you know what awaits you on this path?”

Su Chen thought for a moment, then replied, “Hardships! Extreme hardships. The human race has been pursuing this dream for so long without much success, so this path isn’t easily treaded on by anyone. If I choose to walk it, I must realize I can’t stop. I have to keep going, no matter how hard it gets, no matter how badly I want to give up. Even if that means I’ll spend my entire life without reaching the end.”

A mocking expression appeared in Shi Kaihuang’s eyes. “‘Even’? ‘May’? ‘Difficult’? You planned on walking down this path without a clue of what that entails?”

What does he mean? Su Chen was speechless.

He had pondered many nights on the difficulties he would face, but listening to Shi Kaihuang, he felt like he was missing something.

This…… What is happening? Su Chen did not understand at all.

Shi Kaihuang gently waved his hand.

The fish in the water dispersed as if by command.

“If you want to understand, I need to correct you about one of your concepts,” Shi Kaihuang said slowly. Su Chen diligently listened.

“Humankind’s pursuit of breaking through the restrictions of bloodlines has not actually taken tens of thousands of years. The human race’s control over Origin Energy has developed over time. Early on, the human race was ignorant. No one understood how to control Origin Energy. At that time, the human race was content with just having power. How could they afford to be picky? But as time went on, and the human race began to harness the powers of bloodlines to strengthen themselves, all kinds of methods for controlling Origin Energy began to appear. New cultivation realms were constantly being discovered, eventually resulting in the seven cultivation realms we know of today. After the discovery of these seven realms, the Origin Beasts went into hibernation, as well as the Primordial Beasts, and humankind finally established their own territory. This was where the desire to surpass the Beast Race originated, which was why there was a need to break through the restrictions of bloodlines. The dream of breaking through this restriction actually originated from the slow passage of time. It is not nearly as ancient as you think it is, and even more it is not nearly as difficult as you think it is.”

hi Kaihuang’s last sentence sent a tremor through Su Chen. “It’s not nearly as difficult as I think it is?”

“Absolutely!” Shi Kaihuang nodded. “You might not understand, so let me rephrase it. What if I told you that someone successfully developed a method to reach the Blood Boiling Realm without the aid of a bloodline a long time ago?”

“That’s impossible!” Su Chen yelled instinctively.

As of now, the human race could only reach the Qi Drawing Realm without the aid of a bloodline. Although it was possible to reach the Blood Boiling Realm without a bloodline, the success rate was only around 20%.

If the first attempt was a failure, the next one would require the support of a bloodline.

Because of this, a foolproof method to reach the Blood Boiling Realm without a bloodline did not exist. Or so Su Chen thought.

But now, Shi Kaihuang said that hundreds of years ago, the human race already possessed a foolproof method of reaching the Blood Boiling Realm without a bloodline. What did this imply?

This implied the dependence of the human race on a bloodline had decreased, and that more mid-to-low layer Origin Qi Scholars would appear with less effort. This would also result in a much firmer foundation, leading to the appearance of more powerful Origin Qi Scholars.

But even after 100 years, this hadn’t happened. In fact, today was the first time Su Chen heard of the existence of this method.

“Why have these techniques never been passed down?” Su Chen asked.

“Why didn’t you pass on your Erupting Firebird or your method of surpassing the Soaring Snake bloodline restrictions for the Flying Flower Hands and Snaking Mist Steps? Did you publicly announce your findings?” Shi Kaihuang countered.

“This……” Su Chen paused.

Why hadn’t he passed on these findings to others? Why hadn’t he announced how he had broken through the bloodline restrictions for the Flying Flower Hands and the Snaking Mist Steps?