"Evil human scum, die!"
The Titan Snow Demon King lifted its head and roared toward the heavens, surging white light bursting from its body. A domain of ice attribute energy spread for several hundred meters around it, before the giant beast stepped forward with pillar-like legs and charged straight toward Mu Yang.
"Evil human scum?"
Being cursed—not by a person, but by a beast—instantly darkened Mu Yang's expression.
Humans and beasts irreconcilable—it truly wasn't without reason.
Looking back on the original story, if one substituted Xiao Wu's perspective, then indeed, the vast majority of Spirit Masters in the Spirit Master world could be considered "evil." After all, countless spirit beasts fell beneath the blades of Spirit Masters each year.
But the good or evil of Spirit Masters could not be judged solely by Xiao Wu's experiences and what she had seen. Murderous villains existed, yes, but they were by no means the whole.
Furthermore, though people said humans loved to fight amongst themselves, spirit beast society was even more prone to infighting. At the very least, aside from a handful of utterly depraved evil Spirit Masters, humans did not treat their own kind as food.
It wasn't that the moral bottom line of Douluo's humans was higher than that of Earth's, but rather that outside deserts and snowy plains, Blue Silver Grass grew everywhere. No matter how hungry one was, so long as there was grass to chew, one needn't eat people.
Mu Yang admitted that countless spirit beasts died every year at the hands of Spirit Masters. But even more spirit beasts perished at the claws of stronger spirit beasts.
Take Xiao Wu herself for instance—before transforming into human form, had she not eaten Blue Silver Grass?
Her rabbit mother was a life. Were those low-aged Blue Silver Grasses not also spirit beasts, not also life?
Of course, that rabbit was forgetful. She only cared about those close to her and paid no mind to others. Otherwise, she would not later have accepted Liu Erlong—who once, in her grief from lost love, had slaughtered an entire spirit beast forest—as her godmother.
Moreover, the reason Spirit Masters and spirit beasts were natural enemies was not only because Spirit Masters needed to hunt spirit beasts for spirit rings to advance, but also greatly tied to what spirit beasts had done to humanity in ancient times.
Back then, the Spirit Master system had not yet developed. Their numbers were few, their overall strength feeble.
At that time, humans were the bottom of the food chain on the continent. Vast numbers of humans were reduced to blood food for spirit beasts. More than once, humanity teetered on the brink of extinction.
Now that humanity had grown strong, faced with such an ancient racial hatred—along with the tangible benefits of hunting spirit beasts—how could they not strike back?
As Spirit Masters' strength developed, more and more spirit beasts were hunted, inevitably drawing hostility from spirit beast powerhouses.
But the hostility of such spirit beast powerhouses did not distinguish between individuals. In their eyes, regardless of who you were, regardless of what faction you belonged to, regardless of whether you had ever slain a spirit beast—if you were a Spirit Master, or even simply a human, even if you possessed no spirit power at all—you were their enemy.
If the Spirit Master community's strength had been insufficient, then they could only swallow such hostility, unable to retaliate.
But as time passed, the power of Spirit Masters grew. Since spirit beasts showed hostility, and since Spirit Masters already needed to hunt spirit beasts to advance, naturally the blades were drawn.
Thus, Spirit Masters continued to die beneath spirit beast claws, while spirit beasts continued to die beneath Spirit Masters' hands. Over time, hatred only deepened, until it evolved into today's irreconcilable state between humans and beasts.
It could be said that the reason Qian Xunji once persecuted Tang Hao was not merely to seize the Blue Silver Emperor's hundred-thousand-year spirit ring and bone, nor solely to suppress the Clear Sky Sect—it was also because of this racial conflict.
After all, Qian Xunji's identity was not ordinary—he was the Pope of Spirit Hall. Spirit Hall was the strongest, most widespread Spirit Master organization on the continent.
From the broader perspective, Qian Xunji, as Pope, represented humanity's Spirit Masters. Even if Tang Hao had not been a disciple of the Clear Sky Sect, Qian Xunji would never have tolerated a transformed spirit beast establishing itself within human Spirit Master society.
Likewise, Spirit Hall would never have allowed Tang San, who carried half spirit beast blood, to grow into a powerhouse among human Spirit Masters. Especially since Tang San did not belong to Spirit Hall, but to one of their rivals—the Clear Sky Sect.
"Lowly cur, if I don't teach you a lesson, you'll never know how many eyes the King of Horses really has!"
Facing the Titan Snow Demon King's barking, Mu Yang scolded it without the slightest courtesy.
Having made up his mind, Mu Yang did not intend to outright kill the Titan Snow Demon King, but he would break one of its arms to teach it a lesson.
In this world of the weak eaten by the strong, a powerhouse's dignity could not be provoked. If one was unfortunate enough to be weak, then one had to be prepared to be slaughtered.
On this point, Mu Yang—once an Earthling—adapted quickly. Because now, he was no longer a weakling at others' mercy, but someone who could wield the knife himself.
"Mu Yang, who is this King of Horses? How many eyes does he have?"
At this moment, Shui Bing'er beside him asked curiously.
Mu Yang: "…"
He glared at her in exasperation, then took out a Blue Jade Rising Dragon Ginseng, strengthened by Spirit Avatar, and swallowed it. His aura instantly surged upward.
Immediately after, the Ice Phoenix Flame Shadow Martial Soul possessed him, and five scarlet spirit rings flared out.
Notably, among these five scarlet spirit rings, the third, fourth, and fifth all carried three golden patterns each.
Next, waves of blue light and white light burst forth. The Iceflame Domain and the Killing God Domain manifested one after another.
Against the Titan Snow Demon King, whose cultivation was only about two hundred thousand years, there was no need for Martial Soul Fusion skills.
With his Spirit-forged Gold Armor, bolstered by an 80% all-attribute boost from the Blue Jade Rising Dragon Ginseng, plus his many hundred-thousand-year spirit bone skills and the spirit skills of the Iceflame Saint Shadow Martial Soul, it was more than enough to crush the Titan Snow Demon King.
"What?!"
The charging Titan Snow Demon King, upon seeing the five spirit rings shining on Mu Yang's body, instantly widened its eyes, its face filled with disbelief.
As one of the rulers of the Extreme North, the Titan Snow Demon King's knowledge far surpassed ordinary spirit beasts. Of course, it understood what golden-patterned scarlet spirit rings represented.
Without a doubt, this human Spirit Master—whose Martial Soul showed only five spirit rings—was one of the rare twin Martial Soul holders within the Spirit Master world.
After all, a mere five-ring Spirit King would never dare appear in the core region of the Extreme North, let alone with such unimaginable spirit ring configurations.
Unimaginable indeed. At the very least, the Titan Snow Demon King was utterly stunned. Never before had it seen a Spirit Master with spirit ring configurations of such a level.
A hundred-thousand-year first and second spirit ring could be overlooked. It had never been to the Star Dou Forest, so it did not know the situation there. But in the Extreme North, there were many hundred-thousand-year spirit beasts. With enough patience and sufficient strength, it was not impossible to find two.
But to possess a third, fourth, and fifth spirit ring all bearing three golden patterns—now that was truly shocking… shocking even to a beast!
For additional chapters
Versatile mage {40 chapters}
Douluo Dalu:This Soul Master is to Weird {30 Chapters}
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