Among the human tribes, most ordinary people were still born with nine apertures and one head, two hands and two feet.
Their forms were entirely normal.
Only certain special individuals were born with unusual traits.
Yet these unusual traits were not present from birth, but slowly manifested and changed as they grew older.
Perhaps "mutation" was not quite the right word. It was more like awakening the abilities within their bodies.
Most of those who awakened such unusual traits possessed innate powers. Those born with ox heads had boundless strength by nature; those with wings on their backs could spread them and soar through the skies; those with three eyes could see strange phenomena clearly; those with red hair could control fire; and so on.
Ling Qing had once examined them closely with the Dharma Eye of True Insight and discovered that humanity's transformations were not because their bodies contained vast amounts of genes from other races.
Rather, their bloodlines themselves were diverse and ever-changing.
After some people were born, a distinct tendency emerged from within those diverse and mutable bloodlines.
At that point, the tendency would gradually alter their fleshly bodies and reveal their extraordinary abilities.
Training could further strengthen this transformation.
Those without a clear direction of change remained in their original forms, and their abilities were in fact the most balanced.
But balance also meant mediocrity. The speed of improvement in every aspect would ultimately never match the speed of deliberately improving a single aspect.
Thus, it was these people with innate unusual traits who protected the tribe.
These people with innate unusual traits gradually came to occupy positions of leadership among humanity, becoming either chiefs or guardians.
Gradually, humanity also came to a consensus, calling these people with innate unusual traits shamans.
The term meant guardians