"The prolongation of this decisive battle year after year, it seems, carries a distinct whiff of conspiracy," Jun Moxie considered the matter gravely for the first time. "The extension from a ten-year limit to a century was understandable; a century allows not only your Xuan Beasts but also many of humanity's supreme experts to participate twice, or even three or four times in the Heaven-Seizing Battle! But to suddenly stretch it to the present five hundred years—while perhaps manageable for the Xuan Beasts, for us humans, it is an exceptionally insidious design!"

Jun Moxie held up a single finger: "As everyone knows, once Xuan Force cultivation surpasses Earthly Xuan, one can utilize Xuan Qi to extend their lifespan. Those at the Divine Xuan level generally live to be one hundred and fifty to two hundred years old. If one can advance further, reaching the Sovereign realm, lifespan can be further extended, but it will not exceed the absolute limit of three hundred and fifty years." This information Jun Moxie had gleaned from Ying Bokong. However, regarding the realm above Sovereign, even Ying Bokong knew nothing.

In truth, experts existing beyond the human Sovereign level do exist. Those at this tier generally possess lifespans between four hundred and six hundred years. It is likely your Master's cultivation has reached this level. In fact, according to the records of Tian Fa, experts who advance even further beyond this level can enjoy even longer lives, though they are exceedingly rare, as in a millennium, there are at most only three or five such powerful individuals.

Or perhaps it can be put this way: any expert who has participated in one Heaven-Seizing Battle, calculating based on the current five-hundred-year limit, will find that the vast majority will never have the chance to participate in the next one! This is because those qualified to enter the Heaven-Seizing Battle must, at the very least, have cultivated for one to two hundred years to reach that height. The next such battle is scheduled five centuries hence; human lifespans simply will not stretch to witness the next decisive confrontation. Even the most astonishingly gifted geniuses can only shine brilliantly once, constrained by the ultimate limitation of human power. Therefore, concerning the Heaven-Seizing Battle, it relies solely on the relay of knowledge from one generation to the next," Mei Xueyan sighed deeply. After all, those beings capable of living a thousand years through Xuan Arts existed only in myth and legend.

Every single Heaven-Seizing Battle turns out to be the most tragic and desolate catastrophe. Every single expert who participates, no matter how mighty, enters with the firm resolution of death, bringing their direct disciples along to watch, to witness the brutality of the alien race and the sacrifice of their own masters! Thus, the torch is passed down generation after generation.

Mei Xueyan’s beautiful eyes became somewhat distant: "I was once privileged enough to be taken by the previous Saint King of Tian Fa to observe a Heaven-Seizing Battle. At that time, I was merely a tiny level seven..." Here, she trailed off, letting out another deep sigh.

The Saint Kings of Tian Fa across several generations have explicitly stated that the extension of the time limit is nothing more than a conspiracy hatched by those alien races. Five hundred years is a duration they can afford to wait for; we cannot. Although they too must undergo generational changes, the harsh reality of life among their race is far more severe. Adhering to the great principle of 'the weak perish, the strong survive,' each of their generations produces countless experts. But for our continent, it results in crippling gaps! Five centuries is too long, and humanity's ingrained habit of complacency and forgetting becomes the greatest enemy to the will to fight!

If that is the case, why not simply cross the towering mountains and slaughter the entire alien race, eliminating the future threat? Jun Moxie frowned.

Do you think the countless experts of the past were fools? If this calculation could succeed, it would have materialized long ago; many powerful figures have already attempted this approach. However... generally speaking, anyone capable of crossing that river must be a master among masters, an expert among experts! Looking across the entire continent, in any given generation, there are only a few dozen such individuals. And on the other side, they too have many strong individuals waiting, watching with hungry eyes. Moreover, the alien race numbers in the millions, and their settlements are extremely dispersed. How could they possibly be wiped out in one fell swoop?

If one were to rush over rashly, the only real outcome would be being hunted down and annihilated. The chasm of Tianzhu Mountain is not just a barrier for the alien race; it is also our barrier!"

Mei Xueyan let out a breath. "A permanent solution is naturally ideal, but we... cannot achieve it! Based on the current situation, simply maintaining the defense against invasion is incredibly difficult, let alone launching an offensive? Furthermore, the environment on the alien side is utterly hostile. Humans or Xuan Beasts arriving there would struggle to secure even the most basic conditions for survival, making it impossible to inflict significant slaughter!"

Jun Moxie remained silent, though his mind was racing. The matter was indeed fraught with difficulty, containing several insurmountable hurdles. Firstly, the Three Saints and One Fiend all harbor separate agendas and are long past united. Secondly, there is the lack of a truly powerful, cohesive force. If there were three to five hundred individuals, all at the Sovereign realm, who could be commanded with unified authority, once they successfully crossed over, even if they couldn't extinguish the enemy entirely, they would surely cripple the alien race's vital strength. Even if the alien race adheres to 'the weak perish, the strong survive,' not every single one of them can be a true powerhouse!

With this thought, Jun Moxie couldn't help but recall his exclusive subordinates, the Soul Devouring Remnants of Heaven. If it were them... He paused, then shook his head. Currently, those fellows, while powerful in their own right, were still too low in individual strength; the strongest among them was only at the initial stage of Earthly Xuan. They probably couldn't even ascend that mountain. But if they had a few more decades...

He shook his head again. That would be too late!

A man should kill while young; a man should achieve glory before his hair turns gray! If one waits until one's temples are white, even if one achieves an unparalleled feat, one will already be nearing the end of life.

"There is one thing that puzzles me greatly. Since ancient times, the Xuan Xuan Continent has been remarkably inclusive; Xuan Beasts are accepted by humans. Why can't we attempt to accept those alien races? Since they can also be called 'people,' they should possess forms close to humans, shouldn't they? What is truly so different about the Alien Race? Their strength is so formidable; if we could accept and assimilate them, wouldn't that be a solution?" Jun Moxie asked, genuinely curious.

"Alas, you haven't seen the Alien Race," Mei Xueyan responded, "so you don't comprehend the horror of their existence, nor the depths of their filth and disgust! That is why you entertain such naive and ignorant notions!" Mei Xueyan's face carried an indescribable expression, one of extreme revulsion, as if even mentioning them made her feel contaminated and soiled.

"Oh?" Jun Moxie leaned in, deeply intrigued. "Then what do they look like?"

"The appearance of this race... how best to describe it? Their primary racial characteristic is being hermaphroditic—somewhat akin to human conjoined twins, yet neither half can survive independently if separated. This, too, is one of the great weaknesses of this race, summarized by countless predecessors. However, where there is a disadvantage, there is often an advantage. Because they consist of two bodies, the meridians within can compensate for each other's deficiencies. Thus, no matter what martial art they cultivate, they achieve results with half the effort. Their appearance is hideous, and their actions are even more savage, utterly devoid of humanity. To say they lack humanity isn't entirely accurate, as they do not qualify to be called human in the first place!" Mei Xueyan said, wrinkling her brow.

"These conjoined humanoids seem to have a very peculiar, even bizarre martial art circulating within their race, allowing them to conceal their tracks in the shortest possible time, or even transform directly into a dead tree or merge into water. In short, they are infinitely mutable, which is extremely vexing," Mei Xueyan said, pausing in thought.

"Conjoined twins? All conjoined twins?" Jun Moxie's eyes widened. He had often heard of conjoined twins as a medical condition, but he never imagined it was an entire race here... But listening to Mei Xueyan describe their martial arts, it sounded strangely familiar?

"Their techniques bear a slight resemblance to the mysterious art you previously displayed!" Mei Xueyan mused for a long moment before finally speaking.

"What, similar to my technique? What do you mean? You clearly saw that this young master is a strapping, handsome young man of seven feet! How could I possibly be associated with those damned conjoined entities?"

Young Master Du, who had been listening intently, became instantly enraged upon hearing the Great Beauty Mei's assertion. "Based on what you say, those conjoined beings utilize at best the so-called Five Forms Concealment Art, and even then, the crudest version! How can that be compared to this young master's peerless Creation Art of Heaven and Earth, the Yin-Yang Evasion? To equate them is to look down on me too much!"

"Young Sir, please do not be angry. I am well aware of what you speak of. Although your technique bears a faint shadow of similarity, the difference in foundational standards and quality between them is vast—truly heaven and earth apart, not comparable at all. Take, for instance, my specialized Heaven and Earth Cage divine ability; it is the greatest counter to their technique, capable of slaying them in an instant. While this ability can also restrain Young Master Jun, at most it achieves only temporary confinement. To bring about your death, it is wholly insufficient. I even surmise that the reason I can restrain you is precisely because your cultivation is shallow. If your Master were to employ this divine ability, my Heaven and Earth Cage would be considered a success if it could even achieve a restraining effect!"

Mei Xueyan explained, seeing Jun Moxie's displeasure, and out of necessity, she paid the great young master a flattering compliment.

Hearing Mei Xueyan's praise, even the usually composed Young Master Jun felt a surge of gratification. However, this was not the time for complacency. Jun Moxie pressed on: "Then what sort of weapons do they favor, and what is their level of cultural attainment?"

"This race seems to exclusively wield a type of long, slender saber as a weapon, and over thousands of years of evolution, this blade has become quite extraordinary, capable of executing peerlessly sharp strikes.

"Moreover, every time they strike, they invariably shout their catchphrase. Since the language and culture of our two continents differ greatly, we have no idea what they are shouting—it is truly maddening..."

"Even if they are conjoined, they are still human, aren't they? Perhaps just peculiar in appearance. Could it be..." Jun Moxie blinked, appearing like a curious child, wishing he could immediately capture a conjoined alien and study it thoroughly.

"Ahem..." Mei Xueyan found the subject somewhat difficult to broach. After hesitating for a moment, she hardened her resolve and said, "You don't understand... these... conjoined beings, every single one of them consists of one male and one female, two made into one body."

【Ti: Dear reader, the current chapter has reached the last page of this book】

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