1568 Mock?
Normally, he would have ignored this bit. After all, all supreme grade beasts had poor reproductive abilities. It only became worse the stronger they became. However, from Ri’s explanation, it wasn’t just a normal level of poor…
First, Dream Panthers could only give birth to one child in their lifetime. Second, while beasts had varied gestation times for their babies, the Dream Panthers were on a completely different level. While a normal time was 9 months, they took 10 000 years to nourish and birth their children.
What did this mean? It meant that only dao experts of their race could even think of giving birth to children taking lifespan into consideration. There wasn’t even a point to attempt conceiving until they became dao experts. And, since higher cultivation equated more difficulty in birthing a child, they began even further behind the starting line.
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The Dream Panthers were truly dealt a horrible hand. Who knew whether it was truly that they couldn’t break into Half-Step Transcendent Realm, or if they simply didn’t have a large enough sample size to birth a talent that could?
Who would have known that even after having this exposed that Nine would begin to laugh? The clear sneer in her eyes could make anyone uncomfortable.
‘You know nothing. Do you believe us Dream Panthers are unaware? Fools believe that we can’t break into the Higher Existence realm because there’s some sort of cap on our potential. This isn’t true at all. Not only is that not true, but we know exactly how to break into the Higher Existence Realm.
‘It’s because we know the method that I know your so-called ‘help’ is useless. Come! Kill me then!’
This secret was likely something Nine would have taken to her grave, but at this point, she just didn’t see the point in hiding it anymore. Whether she died here or somehow managed to make it back to BPA, the outcome was the same. In all likelihood, her Clan was finished.
At the end of the day, she wasn’t One, Two or Three, she was just Nine. On top of that, no one was guaranteed a higher cultivation when it came to the dao realm. It was very possible that even with all her talent, Nine might never enter the peak dao realm, it was even possible that she might never fill another meridian. This was the tragedy of dao experts.
If she was going to die anyway, why not go out with her head held high? She would make sure that the last memory of Dream Panthers in this world was one filled with dignity.
Dyon sighed. ‘You still don’t get it, do you?’
Nine’s expression didn’t waver.
‘Sometimes you might be willing to die, but your enemies aren’t willing to let you. Why would I kill you, now that I think about it? Why can’t I lock you up and put you in a cage? Would you die with dignity then? Or would you die a shell of yourself?
‘Also… Do you not find it odd that I’m not surprised to hear your words?’
Nine faltered, a crack appearing in her resolve. That was right… He didn’t express any surprise when I said that my Clan has long since known what was needed for us to break into the realm of Higher Existences.
The reason was obvious. Though Dyon didn’t know the way, nor did Ri, the World Tree did. As the center piece of Elvin culture for so long, the World Tree which acted as Ri’s pseudo master of course knew many things. One of which was this very secret here.
‘Your Clan is very special in that you’re one of the few beasts with great soul talent. In fact, you’re perfect all around. Your bodies are exceptionally powerful. Your souls are talented even beyond that of some Half-Sprites and talented humans. And, your qi talent is excellent. On top of this, the Legacy of your Clan is impeccable. Your bloodline hasn’t declined through countless epochs and as such, the knowledge of your ancestors has never diluted.’
Nine trembled.
‘Unfortunately, you pay a heavy price for this. In exchange for your bloodlines remaining perfect, you must deal with terrible birthrates. The price for a bloodline that never declines is quite steep, no? But the price to enter the Higher Existence Realm and transcend is even higher.
‘Due to your excessive amounts of talent, the bridge you must cross to become a Higher Existence is far more difficult… You cannot do it unless you form a nascent soul!’
Nine felt as though a bolt of lightning had hit her from above. This secret of the Dream Panther Clan was one their leaders had carried since their inception. Yet, a human boy, no elf, was speaking of them nonchalantly. How was this even possible?
“That’s right.” Nine said hatefully. “The price for keeping our blood pure is high. More than 95% of our birthed children are female, we can only birth one child, our gestation period is obscenely long, and our reproduction systems don’t respond to seeds that aren’t from pure blood Dream Panthers.
“As if this wasn’t enough, we have to form nascent souls, something only transcendents can form perfectly, while we are still dao experts if we ever want to enter the Higher Existence Realm.”
Dyon smiled. ‘And your talented clan found a method of doing this, no?’
“Are you trying to mock me?” Nine said angrily. “We did find a method, but it’s impossible to use. It requires treasures rarely seen on this mortal plane!”
‘But the treasures aren’t the problem, now are they? If I’m correct, your Clan might even have a few sets of what’s necessary that you’ve accumulated during your years, no?’
Nine grit her teeth. “HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DUAL CULTIVATE WHEN WE HAVE NO MALES?!”