Xiao Chen heard the system's explanation and nodded in strong agreement.
Under the rules of the Douluo Continent, Soul Beasts had always been treated with extreme injustice.
Humans could cultivate into gods, but Soul Beasts could not.
"System, are you actually the incarnation of some Soul Beast? Is that why you want to change the rules of this world?" Xiao Chen asked.
The System Spirit shook its head. "If I were a Soul Beast, I'd have destroyed this world's Divine Realm long ago. I simply can't stand the rules of this world."
The System Spirit paused, then continued, "I've been to plenty of cultivation worlds. In fantasy and immortal cultivation worlds, the strong prey on the weak. It's perfectly normal for cultivators to hunt monsters and magical beasts to improve their cultivation and obtain resources."
"But in other fantasy worlds, hunting other races isn't necessary for gaining strength. Even if they don't hunt them, cultivators can still improve their cultivation."
"But this world is different. Here, Soul Masters can't continue to increase their Soul Power unless they hunt Soul Beasts and add Spirit Rings to their Martial Souls. So Soul Masters in this world can hunt Soul Beasts with a clear conscience."
"That's basically giving the humans of this world a high-minded excuse to hunt Soul Beasts!"
"With these cultivation rules in place, humans and Soul Beasts will always be mortal enemies, and the gods of this world do nothing. So it's only a matter of time before Soul Beasts go extinct!"
The system spoke at length, laying out the flaws in the rules of the Douluo World.
Xiao Chen agreed with the system's assessment. He knew very well that even though the Spirit Pagoda and Soul Spirits would appear later, they could only slow the extinction of Soul Beasts, not change its inevitable outcome.
Once Soul Beasts went completely extinct, Soul Masters would be unable to advance. No new Soul Masters would emerge, and after the old ones died, Soul Masters would eventually disappear from history.
Xiao Chen didn't believe the gods of the Divine Realm could fail to see this.
Just as the system had said, those gods knew the rules were flawed, yet did nothing.
At one point, they claimed Soul Beasts couldn't become gods because the Dragon God had brought disaster upon the Divine Realm, so the Divine Realm had restricted Soul Beasts from ascending.
Later, they claimed Soul Beasts couldn't become gods because the Dragon God had decreed it. They were always finding a way to shirk responsibility.
In Xiao Chen's view, measuring a Soul Beast's strength by its age was a joke to begin with.
In human eyes, Soul Beasts were nothing but products on a shop shelf, each with a price tag.
A hundred-year-old one had a low price, while a thousand-year-old one had a high price. Their cultivation and age existed solely to determine the grades of Spirit Rings for humans.
Humans could become gods in just a few decades, and the key to becoming a god was their Spirit Rings, which came from Soul Beasts.
Meanwhile, Soul Beasts had to face a Heavenly Tribulation every hundred thousand years. After hiding and struggling to survive for a million years, they could be told by the gods of the Divine Realm that Soul Beasts could never become gods, rendering all their efforts meaningless.
Those gods could clearly bestow Spirit Rings upon Soul Masters, which proved humans could potentially form Spirit Rings without relying on Soul Beasts.
If the gods of the Divine Realm had put even a little effort into studying this, the flaws in the Douluo World's cultivation system would have been resolved long ago.
"System, can I form my own Spirit Ring without hunting Soul Beasts?" Xiao Chen asked at once.
"Of course! But doing so would directly conflict with this world's rules. The moment you do it, you'll definitely come to the attention of the Divine Realm. I don't need to explain what the consequences would be, do I?" the system replied.
"Understood!" Xiao Chen knew how serious the problem was.
The System Spirit continued, "Host, don't lose heart. As your strength gradually grows, my functions will become more comprehensive. When the time comes, I'll naturally be able to conceal you from the workings of fate!"
Xiao Chen nodded. He knew there was no point rushing this.
"System, are Soul Beasts only able to grow stronger over time? Can't they cultivate into gods the way humans do?" Xiao Chen asked.
"Alas..." The System Spirit sighed. "The rules of this world have fixed the way Soul Beasts think. We can set aside the Soul Beasts that haven't developed intelligence. Even those that have lived for hundreds of thousands of years understand their circumstances, yet they never try to change anything!"
"The Divine Realm measures their strength by their age, and they measure it the same way themselves. They're just far too simple-minded."
"The humans of this world are lucky. If even one of those Soul Beasts that lived for hundreds of thousands of years had figured things out, the Douluo Continent would have been plunged into chaos long ago!"
"Host, think about it. If you knew your people were destined to go extinct, and the ones responsible were right there in front of you, what would you do?" the system asked.
"That goes without saying. Even if it cost me my life, I wouldn't let them get away with it!" Xiao Chen replied without a moment's thought.
The System Spirit nodded. "Exactly!"
"The rules of this world have made humans and Soul Beasts mortal enemies. Soul Beasts know humans covet their Spirit Rings and Soul Bones, yet all they do is hide. If even one Soul Beast had figured things out, it would have led the Soul Beasts into the human world and slaughtered its way across it long ago."
"If the Divine Realm didn't interfere, humans wouldn't stand a chance against Soul Beasts. With a little planning, Soul Beasts could cause immense devastation in the human world, even if they couldn't wipe out humanity on the Douluo Continent!"
"Even if the gods intervened, Soul Beasts could fight them to the death. They're doomed to go extinct anyway, so they might as well make sure no one else gets to play. They could cut off the path to advancement for Soul Masters and leave the gods to amuse themselves!"
The system's analysis was crystal clear. Soul Beasts really were a source of great instability. The only reason Soul Masters had been able to carry on without incident was that the Soul Beasts were too kind—or too foolish.
If the Soul Beasts ever rose up, win or lose, Soul Masters would disappear from history. Soul Beasts took far too long to mature; a gap of just one or two thousand years would be enough to end the Soul Masters for good.
"Actually, I can understand why the Divine Realm decreed that Soul Beasts couldn't become gods, but it should never have pushed them to the brink of extinction."
"Gods should be all-embracing, yet they look down from on high and have never truly shown compassion for any living creature."
"Soul Beasts are born to serve as containers for Spirit Rings, while Soul Masters spend their lives trapped by the limits of their cultivation. What they call divine grace is nothing but a charade to select their successors. How ironic!" the system said flatly.
Xiao Chen nodded. "That's right. The root of it all is that the rules of this world are flawed, yet the ones who made those rules have never even considered changing them!"
"Exactly!" the system agreed. "But these aren't things you need to worry about right now. For the moment, just help me retrieve that Black Mane Wolf's soul!"
"There's a reward in it for you!" the System Spirit said with a smile.
"What do I need to do?" Xiao Chen asked.
"Just walk over and touch the Black Mane Wolf's corpse!" the System Spirit replied.
Xiao Chen nodded and looked around.
Chu Ruolan and the others were keeping watch nearby. Ma Yan had already absorbed the Spirit Ring, and now he only had to fuse with it.
Seeing that they weren't paying attention to him, Xiao Chen walked over to the Black Mane Wolf's corpse.
He placed his hand on the Black Mane Wolf's head. A faint glimmer flashed across his palm, and the system drew the Black Mane Wolf's soul into the System Space.
"All done. Here's your reward. You can claim it whenever you like!" An image appeared on the system interface.
"This is..." Xiao Chen was startled. "Is this a Head Soul Bone?"
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