Universal Cultivation!

The air in the secret chamber seemed to pause for a beat.

The confusion on Yang Wudi's face slowly turned into an even deeper bewilderment.

He stared at Zhou Xuan for several breaths, trying to find some trace of a joke on his face.

He found none.

"What do you mean?"

Yang Wudi's voice sank. His pace slowed, each word popping out one by one.

"You want mortals to fight Demonic Beasts? Isn't that just sending them to their deaths?"

"Who said anything about having them fight directly?"

Zhou Xuan stood.

"If mortals can't fight Demonic Beasts, then we make them no longer mortals."

As those words came crashing down, everyone in the secret chamber reacted differently.

Old Mystic's mouth opened into a perfect circle.

Yang Wudi looked as if he had been nailed in place, his mind buzzing.

Yang Mie stopped wiping his sword.

Second Brother crouched on the chair, his pointed ears perking up, forgetting to chew the shard of Sinking Silver in his mouth.

"Are you insane?" Yang Wudi blurted.

His eyes went wide, veins bulging along his arms.

"Mortals are mortals! They have no Spirit Root, their meridians are blocked, and they can't even perform the most basic Qi Induction. How are you going to make them cultivate? Even if you have heaven-piercing ability, you can't change the bones they were born with, can you?"

"Is this thing called aptitude really as important as you all think?"

Zhou Xuan walked to the Geomantic Map and tapped a finger against the light screen. The image switched to a live view of Jade Dragon City's square.

Millions of mortals knelt densely packed across the square, facing the Golden Light Divine Statue as they prayed with devout faith.

The golden motes rising from above their heads gathered into a