Chapter 633: Making the Monsterfolk Great Again
On a vast grassland on the floating continent, Jiutian Liu strolled forward with the casual air of a CEO inspecting his own company. His face showed no trace of the tension or anxiety one might expect before a battle.
This was because he was absolutely certain of victory.
More importantly, he knew countless eyes were watching this fight. Winning wasn’t enough; he needed to win spectacularly, to convince the audience wholeheartedly that he was the people’s champion.
Only by doing so could he gather more popularity, Qi Luck, investments, and support.
With each successive victory, he could elevate his Qi Luck and strength to their peak before the final showdown with Kuang Tianqing, allowing him to unleash the full potential of his Finance Department daoist arts.
To achieve this, Jiutian Liu had mobilized a vast online army to generate hype, all to attract more viewers to his battle and amplify the impact of his victory.
Even his previous win had already brought him significant gains.
Suddenly, Jiutian Liu’s gaze sharpened. A figure pierced through the clouds, hurtling toward him at high speed — his opponent for this battle, Xue Yueshi, the second-ranked student from Heavenly Demon University.
Seeing this, Jiutian Liu smiled faintly, stepped into the void, and ascended step by step. Forming a Dao Seal with his hand, he pointed at Xue Yueshi and declared, “Thunderstorm!”
“Reorganization!”
“Suppression!”
As if uttering divine decrees, Xue Yueshi’s speed plummeted with each word Jiutian Liu spoke, as if burdened by countless debts. Her explosive aura withered drastically.
Jiutian Liu had repeatedly cast Finance Department daoist arts, weakening Xue Yueshi’s cultivation art levels. He reduced three of her cultivation arts from Level 20 to Level 19.
“Level 20 cultivation arts represent a qualitative transformation. Without the support of Level 20 effects, their power diminishes by at least thirty percent.”
“With three cultivation arts simultaneously weakened by thirty percent, her overall combat strength has plummeted.”
Jiutian Liu seemed to have anticipated this outcome. He advanced steadily toward Xue Yueshi, his aura growing increasingly dominant, until he had completely suppressed his opponent.
To weaken an opponent using Finance Department daoist arts, sufficient intelligence is crucial. The more comprehensive and detailed the information about the opponent, the more potent and precise the weakening effect.
Jiutian Liu declared proudly, “Xue Yueshi, I’m ranked second only because Dao Qiankun is first.”
“You’re ranked second because your strength is only second-rate.”
Minutes later, having finished his battle, Jiutian Liu returned to his starting position and noticed Kuang Tianqing looking at him.
Kuang Tianqing asked, “Did you have fun with my junior sister?”
Jiutian Liu replied coolly, “Don’t be impatient, Kuang Tianqing. We’ll meet in the finals.”
Kuang Tianqing laughed. “If you can keep winning, that is.”
Jiutian Liu turned away, thinking to himself that this exchange would make a great clip to boost his popularity and reinforce his fans’ confidence.
Then, Zhang Yu’s battle footage appeared in Jiutian Liu’s Bionic Eye. “Zhang Yu, don’t let my efforts be in vain. Gather all the intelligence you can and pave the way for me to claim the throne…”
Kuang Tianqing snorted inwardly, already adding another entry to her mental ledger: “Jiutian Liu — direct provocation. And he beat my little brother to a pulp.”
At the same moment, Jiutian Liu, who was watching Zhang Yu’s battle, narrowed his eyes in surprise. “Zhang Yu… what is he planning?!”
Ying Mingchi possessed the bloodline of a High-Tier Monsterfolk and had lived in their world since childhood.
In the High-Tier Monsterfolk world, the fewer monsterfolk traits one displayed and the closer one’s appearance resembled a human’s, the purer their bloodline was considered, and the more highly regarded they became.
Having been born with a dragon head, Ying Mingchi was clearly unpopular among the High-Tier Monsterfolk. Many believed his bloodline was impure, leading to this atavistic trait and uncontrollable primal instincts and base nature.
While the High-Tier Monsterfolk ostracized him, humans despised Ying Mingchi’s strange appearance even more.
Thus, in the world where Ying Mingchi grew up, neither monsterfolk nor humans accepted him. Both realms were filled with contempt, ostracism, insults, and other negative emotions toward him.
Some might ask, “If the High-Tier Monsterfolk rejected him, what about the Low-Tier Monsterfolk?”
The Low-Tier Monsterfolk didn’t ostracize Ying Mingchi, but he looked down on them.
He would rather cultivate and live alone than associate with these impoverished, weak, and uncivilized Low-Tier Monsterfolk.
In this solitary existence, Ying Mingchi encountered the Human-Monster Origin Theory and became its staunch supporter.
“Monsters are our ancestors; humans are merely a branch of the monster lineage.”
Due to his severe ancestral bloodline reversion, Ying Mingchi gradually unlocked his latent potential and even unearthed knowledge hidden deep within his bloodline. He gradually comprehended fragments of the Monster Saint’s Myriad Transformations Divine Scripture.
Though only fragments, he later discovered at Celestial Monsters University that these fragments not only greatly enhanced the military-grade cultivation technique Celestial Demon Myriad Transformations but also improved various Immortal Dao Technologies related to reproduction.
“How can such a powerful cultivation art be a black art?”
“This knowledge flows in our blood — why is it considered a black art?”
A suspicion arose in Ying Mingchi’s mind: “The greater the ancestral reversion, the stronger the bloodline awakening, the deeper the comprehension of this cultivation art. Yet the High-Tier Monsterfolk have always discouraged ancestral reversion, glorifying human forms and shaming monstrous forms… This is suppressing ancestral reversion, suppressing bloodline awakening, preventing us from accessing knowledge within our blood, preventing us from obtaining this black art.”
“Is someone trying to suppress the monsterfolk by preventing us from accessing this knowledge?”
Ying Mingchi dared not share his thoughts with anyone, let alone reveal anything about the Monster Saint’s Myriad Transformations Divine Scripture.
The Human-Monster Origin Theory and the emergence of bloodline cultivation arts gradually solidified an unshakeable conviction in Ying Mingchi’s heart.
“The bloodlines of monsterfolk are superior to those of humans, possessing greater potential.”
“It shouldn’t be monsters chasing human forms, but humans chasing monster forms.”
As his achievements grew and he came into contact with more Golden Core and even Nascent Soul-level monsterfolk, Ying Mingchi discovered that many great demons at the Nascent Soul stage secretly harbored similar thoughts.
“Alas… the older generation of Spirit Transformation cultivators remains stubbornly entrenched in their beliefs. Only when they die and are replaced by a new generation can the teaching direction of Celestial Monsters University be changed.”
But the commencement of this year’s Ten Greats League gave Ying Mingchi a new objective.
“If I can secure first place, if I can choose an Immortal Sect Technique…”
“I will select an Immortal Sect Technique that can transform human bloodlines into monster bloodlines.”
“With the power of Immortal Sect Techniques, we can attract humans, converting all those who seek Immortal Dao Technology into monsterfolk.”
“Let humanity yearn for the monster form!”
“Make Monsterfolk Great Again!”
At that moment on the battlefield, Ying Mingchi summoned wind and rain, conjuring rolling black clouds that pressed down on Zhang Yu’s position.
In Ying Mingchi’s eyes, monsterfolk discrimination advocates like Zhang Yu were obstacles to the resurgence of the monsterfolk.
Ying Mingchi thought to himself, “Whether it’s to win the Ten Greats League championship, to secure the possibility of the monsterfolk’s resurgence, or to combat monsterfolk discrimination and boost their morale, I will defeat you!”
As he pondered, thunder roared and lightning crackled. The tempestuous storm Ying Mingchi had unleashed continued to swell, relentlessly advancing toward Zhang Yu’s location.
Simultaneously, Ying Mingchi’s draconic eyes locked onto Zhang Yu, and he coldly declared, “I hope you’re more durable than your senior sister.”
Hu Yuntao snarled, “You little beast!”
Zhang Yu’s figure flickered, and he surged skyward, charging toward the giant dragon hovering serenely atop the churning black clouds.
Zhang Yu grinned, “I hope you’re easier to ride than your Junior Brother.”
Ying Mingchi snorted disdainfully, and with a sweep of his dragon claw, bolts of lightning flashed from the dark clouds, striking toward Zhang Yu.
At the same time, lines of projected subtitles appeared behind him: “Zhang Yu, understand this: humans have never been superior to monsters.”
“In many ways, we are inherently more powerful than humans.”
“If Dao Qiankun hadn’t already died, I would have loved to challenge him in weather control, to test my thunder magic against his, instead of wasting my time disciplining you like this.”
Amidst the relentless barrage of lightning, Zhang Yu retreated step by step.
But in the next moment, Ying Mingchi’s gaze shifted slightly. His senses detected that the rain clouds in the sky were still expanding, relentlessly pushing beyond his control.
“The rain clouds are spreading beyond the battlefield’s boundaries? How is this possible? I clearly…”
Ying Mingchi’s dragon eyes swept across the battlefield, and lines of data appeared in his Bionic Eye, displaying real-time changes in temperature, humidity, and spiritual energy levels across the area.
He quickly realized what was happening and glared at the rising water vapor below, then at the Heavenly Sun Radiance God, who was continuously heating the water.
“That bastard…” Ying Mingchi thought. “Evaporating water to increase humidity and expand my rain clouds.”
As the rain clouds continued to spread, eventually breaching the battlefield’s boundaries, violation notices for unauthorized weather manipulation began appearing in Ying Mingchi’s Bionic Eye. With a furious roar, he desperately tried to shrink the rain clouds back to their original size.
At the same time, the giant dragon roared, “Zhang Yu, what are you doing?!”
Zhang Yu feigned confusion. “What am I doing? I’m just fighting normally.”
Of course, Zhang Yu wouldn’t admit that his water manipulation and the Heavenly Sun Radiance God’s heat amplification were intended to influence the weather. If he did, the fines would come crashing down on him.
But watching the giant dragon struggle to shrink the rain clouds, Zhang Yu grinned.
“Aren’t you supposed to be competing with Dao Qiankun?”
“If it were Brother Dao, he wouldn’t be afraid of fines.”
As Spirit Realm characters projected into the air, Zhang Yu roared, and the Azure Water Golden Crystal Armor condensed more and more moisture, gradually unleashing a torrential flood that filled the sky.
Meanwhile, the Heavenly Sun Radiance God blazed like a Great Sun in mid-air, continuously evaporating vast quantities of water that surged upward, causing the rain clouds to expand further.
Ying Mingchi thrashed wildly within the rain clouds. The very storm he had unleashed moments ago now weighed him down, each new fine notification adding to his burden.
“Zhang Yu, you’re courting death!”
Seeing the endless stream of fine notifications still popping up, the enraged Ying Mingchi slashed at Zhang Yu with a vicious claw.