Chapter 433: A New Path for Soul Beasts The Demon Cultivation Method
After discovering the reason why the other fragment had helped the Ice Empress, Huo Yuhao and the Skydream Iceworm were at a loss. However, their curiosity was piqued upon seeing the Ice Empress' confident demeanor. It seemed she truly had a method that would allow soul beasts to ascend to godhood on their own.
When they questioned Elder Ye, he provided his answer: "As of now, there are only two ways for soul beasts to become gods. The first is to obtain a divine position granted by the Divine Realm, which would naturally allow one to ascend. However, ever since the Dragon God's rebellion, all beast deity positions were erased from the Divine Realm, and all deities were strictly forbidden from passing down their positions to soul beasts. Because of this, that path is now impossible."
"The Dragon God's rebellion? So that's the reason we soul beasts cannot become gods?" As a soul beast, the Skydream Iceworm had just learned why their kind was barred from godhood. Before, all he knew was that the Divine Realm forbade it, and he had assumed it was simply because humans looked down on soul beasts. But now, it seemed that wasn't the case at all.
The Dragon God… He didn't know who this figure was, but they must have been truly remarkable to have caused the entire Divine Realm to establish a permanent rule barring soul beasts from divinity.
"What about the other path?" Huo Yuhao asked curiously.
"The other path is through Soulbond Masters!"
Elder Ye explained, "A soul beast can form a contract with a human, establishing a symbiotic relationship. Both sides benefit and grow together. The soul beast avoids the tribulations of the heavens, and at the same time, breaking through to godhood is no longer hindered. This method circumvents the rules set by the Divine Realm in a rather clever way."
"This method exists?" Huo Yuhao and the Skydream Iceworm were astounded. Thinking back to the soul spirit system they had devised, they suddenly found it laughable.
Everything is relative.
Compared to the Soulbond Master system, the soul spirit method was nothing more than a delay of the inevitable extinction of soul beasts. Fundamentally, it still involved soul masters extracting soul rings from soul beasts to enhance themselves. In the end, it still required killing soul beasts it changed nothing.
"Could it be that the Ice Empress plans to use the Soulbond Master method to sign a contract with a human and ascend to godhood?" Huo Yuhao asked curiously, while the Skydream Iceworm perked up its ears.
Elder Ye shook his head and said, "Although this method is good, given the current relationship between soul beasts and humans, it is not ideal. Moreover, that scorpion is too proud by nature. How could she be willing to share her power with a human and serve as their stepping stone?"
"And considering that the other fragment sought my memories… I deduced that they are using a third method!"
"What third method?" Huo Yuhao and the Skydream Iceworm immediately pressed for answers, their curiosity unbearable.
"The Demon Cultivation Method!"
Elder Ye enunciated each word with weight.
"Demon Cultivation Method?!"
Huo Yuhao and the Skydream Iceworm murmured, instinctively feeling that this was something profound and powerful. They didn't understand it yet, but it sounded formidable.
Before they could ask further, Elder Ye began explaining the concept.
"First, you must understand: what is the fundamental difference between humans and soul beasts?"
This question stumped both Huo Yuhao and the Skydream Iceworm.
After pondering for a moment and still failing to come up with an answer, they shook their heads honestly, admitting their ignorance.
"Wisdom!" Elder Ye glanced at the two clueless individuals and shook his head helplessly.
"Wisdom…"
Huo Yuhao fell into deep thought, recalling past experiences. He realized yes!
The core difference between humans and soul beasts was indeed wisdom.
Unless a soul beast had a high level bloodline, even those that had lived for ten thousand years possessed pitifully low intelligence. Humans could easily deceive and manipulate them.
Only soul beasts that had lived for a hundred thousand years could attain intelligence comparable to humans.
Because humans possessed wisdom, they were able to develop an advanced civilization centered around soul tools. They could strategize, optimize their soul ring configurations, and even create techniques to compensate for their physical limitations. These were things that low intelligence soul beasts could never conceive.
The scariest part was that intelligent humans were numerous!
But among soul beasts, those with wisdom were extremely rare. Even those that did possess wisdom spent their long lifespans either sleeping or hunting based on instinct, absorbing energy to extend their years. They never studied or researched like humans did. It was as if their minds operated on an entirely different level.
Wait! Could it be that the so called Demon Cultivation Method was a way to grant wisdom to soul beasts?
Realizing this, Huo Yuhao shuddered.
At that moment, Elder Ye's voice echoed in his mind.
"Correct, you've guessed right."
"The Demon Cultivation Method is a way to unlock wisdom within soul beasts! It frees them from being shackled by instinct and grants them intelligence beyond their primal nature. They learn to think, to study, just like humans do."
"When soul beasts gain wisdom on par with humans, they are no longer mere beasts, yet they cannot be considered human either. That is why I have given them the title of 'Demon.'"
Huo Yuhao was utterly shaken. At the same time, a deep sense of confusion arose within him. He couldn't understand why Elder Ye who had been a savior of humanity in his lifetime had gone to such lengths for soul beasts. Why had he deliberately created an entirely new path for them?
Would soul beasts, once transformed into demons, still be able to coexist peacefully with humans?
If humanity's greatest advantage wisdom was no longer unique, what would happen then?
Huo Yuhao couldn't make sense of it, but his instincts told him it wouldn't lead to anything good.
Fortunately, Elder Ye's next words put him somewhat at ease.
"However, the Demon Cultivation Method is still only theoretical. To establish an entirely new path is no easy task," he sighed. "Even until my death, the 'me' of my past life was unable to perfect this method. I only managed to sketch a rough framework."
"And now that my soul has scattered and my memories have become fragmented, even that rough framework is disjointed and incomplete."
"I see… so that's why the other fragment wanted your memories to obtain the knowledge related to the Demon Cultivation Method and complete it," Huo Yuhao realized.
"And the Ice Empress clearly looks down on the Soulbond Master method, so she wants to pursue the Demon Cultivation path. But since this path hasn't been fully developed yet, she needs the memories of the other fragments…"
"But Elder Ye, can your other fragment actually complete the Demon Cultivation Method?" Huo Yuhao asked curiously.
"Difficult!"
Elder Ye's answer was firm.
Huo Yuhao finally felt relieved, unaware that sometimes, whether something is "difficult" or not depends entirely on a single person's determination.
(End of Chapter)
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