Lotus Pods Sway Beneath the Flowers and Leaves

"That was a difference between races. Fellow Daoist Zhang, you needn't belittle yourself. What mattered most to cultivators like us was our own understanding of heaven and earth. Ha ha..."

The Chu-surnamed cultivator smiled and offered the reassurance casually, though in his heart he was still proud to be a cultivator of the Devil Race.

"From what you've said, Fellow Daoist Zhang, have you met an even stronger body cultivator of the Human Race?

"As far as I know, the best-known body cultivators of the Human Race on the Lost Continent belong to Buddhist sects. Their Vajra Arhat Bodies are formidable indeed. Outstanding body cultivators outside those sects are exceedingly rare."

Li Yan seemed to sink into a brief recollection. Then he nodded, only to shake his head.

The Chu-surnamed cultivator was taken aback by his expression and could not tell what he meant, but Li Yan soon explained.

"I did encounter a body cultivator of the Human Race during a training journey. He was terrifying, though he wasn't a Buddhist. His cultivation was on par with mine.

"I thought my own body-refining skills were respectable, but when we fought, he struck three times in succession and left me coughing blood on the ground.

"In the end, he spared me because we were both of the Human Race. His attacks were so fierce that I've never forgotten them."

"Did you ever learn what sort of constitution he had?"

The Chu-surnamed cultivator gave a slight nod. Since the subject had come up, he asked in passing.

The bloodline of the Human Race ranked only around the lower end of the middle tier in the cultivation world. Zhang Ming's Body Refining Technique was already impressive. For him to happen upon an opponent even stronger than himself was wretched luck.

To be defeated