Xiang Yun listened to Xiang Huang's voice transmission.
So there was more to it. The Eight Great Super Sects did indeed appear to remain harmonious.
After all, they still had common enemies: the Western Xuan Region and the super sects beneath the Eight Great Super Sects. The blood feud between the former and the Eastern Xuan Region had accumulated over time, and competition for resources was a major reason for it.
As for the Eight Great Super Sects, every one of them wanted to be the boss. The boss got to play with the best women and eat the best food.
Every so often, a super sect would try to challenge the prestige of the Eight Great Super Sects. The eight sects guarded against one another and wanted to drag each other down, but they couldn't allow someone else to rise up and take a share of their resources.
But since competition existed, there was a limit to how harmonious things could be. They were only relatively harmonious.
At the very least, the sect competition was a fuse for hatred. In the original story, hadn't Lin Dong wiped out the entire younger generation of the Yuan Sect, forcing him to flee the Eastern Xuan Region?
Then, after he returned from the Chaotic Demon Sea, it entered the wrap-up phase.
The Dao Sect and the Yuan Sect had always been at odds, and the other sects weren't particularly willing to wade into those muddy waters. But now the Primordial Hall was going to try as well.
After all, Xiang Yun wanted to be the boss too!
In this world, what room was there to seek common ground while setting aside differences? Only the strong reigned supreme!
"Of course. Since Elder wants to test it on yourself, there's no need to find anyone else. Your control over Qi and blood is stronger than those disciples'."
Xiang Yun smiled.
His tone was no longer as forceful as before.
This was also a senior who had contributed to the sect in past sect competitions.
The sect competition was cruel, but it was also how the various sects fought over resources, such as the spiritual veins of heaven and earth Origin Qi and the various resources he used.
There was also the division of the territories of the dynasties under their command.
One was determined through the Hundred Dynasties War, the other through the sect competition. Until someone completely flipped the table, the rules still had to stand.
That was also why Xiang Yun had put some effort into deriving Battle Body Divine Abilities. At the very least, he had to improve the Primordial Hall's overall strength.
Otherwise, the Primordial Hall's efforts to nurture him would have been wasted.
Xiang Yun explained the Battle Body Totems he had derived in detail. They weren't particularly rare; Battle Arts Peak had studied them too.
After all, they were Battle Body Divine Abilities. If they weren't driven by Qi and blood, were they supposed to be driven by Origin Energy?
At first, Xun Fa thought it was nothing unusual. It seemed the Young Hall Master had only scratched the surface and already wanted to claim credit.
But Xiang Yun's next words stunned Xun Fa.
"Many of the lines on these totems are only on the surface. Every type of demonic beast or vicious beast has several crucial points. I call them Divine Ability Marks."
"The reason the demon race's bloodlines can evolve is that their most fundamental Divine Ability Marks are the same. That may well be the essence of the demon race's innate divine abilities."
"After that, their continual evolution is just a matter of adding bricks and tiles to these key Divine Ability Marks..."
Divine Ability Marks?
Xun Fa frowned slightly and began thinking about the patterns of the demon races and vicious beasts he had studied before. It seemed...
There really were some similarities. He had thought it was only natural. Was that the key?
"A battle-art totem is made by branding Divine Ability Marks into the skin, flesh and blood, or even the bones. But a battle-art divine ability certainly won't be very powerful at first, and its power also depends on the Divine Ability Marks branded."
"However, by continually fighting and killing demon races and vicious beasts of that type, absorbing their martial arts, and even tempering the body with their demon blood, you can make your physical body spontaneously absorb the patterns of their divine abilities."
"Brand them deep into your own bloodline, and they can be passed down from generation to generation without changing your own bloodline!"
With that,
Xiang Yun manifested his Tyrant Body Ancestral Form, startling everyone present once again.
Some of them hadn't seen it clearly before.
Now that they looked at it, it was truly lifelike, just like a member of the demon race. Only the fluctuations it gave off weren't those of an ordinary demon.
"Just like my physique. It can be called a bloodline, or a Battle Body Divine Ability!"
Everyone looked at Xun Fa, Hong Wuji included. Though he was at the Samsara Stage, he leaned more toward body refinement and hadn't done much research into Battle Body Divine Abilities.
He also knew he wasn't suited to working on them.
Xun Fa therefore had the greatest attainments in the Primordial Hall, but he had fallen deep into thought. Xiang Yun didn't stop and continued, "These are the Divine Ability Marks I derived for three types of vicious beast: the Vicious Demon Tiger, the Savage Iron Ox, and the Black Feather Eagle..."
"Branding these three with Qi and blood should let you obtain the Vicious Demon Tiger Baleful Aura, the Savage Ox Hoof, and the Black Feather Eagle's extreme speed, respectively..."
"If you want to continue transforming, you'll have to temper them with the blood of the corresponding types of vicious beasts and demons, or even Demon Spirits..."
Xiang Yun used Qi and blood to outline three strange patterns, which floated above the Primordial Battle Hall. They looked intricate, yet possessed a beauty all their own.
"This..."
Xun Fa looked at the three patterns, and two streams of tears inexplicably ran from the corners of his eyes. The people in the hall exchanged glances. Did these patterns have some sort of magic?
Xiang Huang looked at Xiang Yun, thinking there was some secret mental art in the patterns.
But Xiang Yun shook his head. He hadn't done anything to them.
"This is it, this is it..."
Xun Fa murmured, and the Qi and blood around him suddenly surged.
The next moment, layer upon layer of pale black smoke emerged around him, carrying a sinister, baleful air and a hint of decay.
Everyone present had trained in the Primordial Mountain Range, so they naturally knew what it was.
"It really worked?"
The people in the hall looked at one another, especially Hong Wuji, whose old face could no longer maintain its composure. Before, he had only been making an excuse.
He had wanted to keep the older generation in check, but when Xiang Yun told him it was possible, he had only half believed him. If nothing came of it, at worst he could suppress the matter until Xiang Yun reached the Samsara Stage.
Then the dispute would die down again. Who would have thought that, in so little time, Xiang Yun would produce an initial version?
Was this really a disciple he, Hong Wuji, could have?
"All right, I've given your Divine Ability Faction what it wanted. Of course, continuing to perfect it and achieving the power you want won't be that simple."
"It will require a great many resources from demonic beasts and vicious beasts..."
"Don't worry. I'll send people to the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range to kill them. If necessary, I'll act personally!"
"Also, this requires careful pursuit of the body refinement path. After all, if your Qi and blood aren't strong enough, carrying an increasingly powerful battle body..."
"Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on those fellows myself. If anyone dares stir up trouble over the Body Refinement Faction and the Divine Ability Faction again, I'll be the first to object!!"
Xun Fa didn't even wait for Xiang Yun to finish before thumping his chest.
Xiang Yun thought, Now the demon race is in trouble. Does this mean I've changed the Primordial Hall's path of maintaining close ties with the demon race...?
Uh.
Xiang Yun still offered a reminder. "Elder, you should choose carefully. Some among the demon race are close to us and to the human race, so it would be best not to be too aggressive."
"And some aren't easy to provoke. We also have to consider whether the Hall Master's body can withstand it!"
At the very least, the Primordial Hall couldn't deal with members of the demon race at the Reincarnation Stage right now!
"Young Hall Master, do you think this old man is a fool? Naturally, I understand that. Still, Hall Master Hong is too weak. Hall Master Hong, you need to get stronger quickly!"
"Otherwise, how will you safeguard Young Hall Master Xiang's path to becoming Hall Master?"
Hong Wuji: ?
How had it become a matter of him being too weak?
And how had it become his job to safeguard Xiang Yun's path? Was Xun Fa the Hall Master, or was he?!