There Are Always Fools Who Think They're Clever

The night was deep, yet atop the rails, a train thundered and howled past.

The design of spirit-power trains had been modeled after trains of the past, with their transmission structures largely copied over, only their energy source replaced by spirit power.

There was no doubt that as an energy source, spirit power was far superior to the coal and electricity of the past. It was more durable, easier to replenish, and more stable; it could even enhance the machinery itself. As a result, much of the localized technology of Apocalypse World had found a vibrant second spring here.

And when such a colossal thing traveled through the wilderness, its greatest advantage over ordinary cultivators riding flying swords was its safety.

Whether it was a flying sword or any other mode of transport, cultivators ultimately relied on manipulating spirit power to move, and that genuinely drained their own strength.

Spirit-powered machinery did not need to worry about any of that.

Most spirit-powered machines had simple operating methods entirely separate from a cultivator's usual logic. Under special circumstances, even mortals could temporarily take over their operation.

Moreover, most demonic beasts were not particularly intelligent. They judged threats by the accumulation of size and spiritual power.

It was an instinct carved into their bloodlines through generations of inheritance.

Ordinary cultivators, even with cultivation to support them, were merely somewhat troublesome pieces of good meat in the eyes of those demonic beasts. So long as an opportunity arose, hunting them was perfectly natural.

After all, the weak were prey to the strong, and life and death were left to fate. To demonic beasts possessed of only simple intelligence, even if a hunt failed today and they died at a human's hands, it merely meant tomorrow's possible death had arrived early.

It was no