"Soul Beasts cultivate from the moment they are born. They are divided into five tiers — ten-year, hundred-year, thousand-year, ten-thousand-year, and hundred-thousand-year. Each leap between tiers represents a qualitative transformation for a Soul Beast. Once a Soul Beast's cultivation breaks through the ten-thousand-year barrier, its intelligence grows rapidly. At a certain point, it becomes no less sharp than a human's."
"In a sense, Soul Beasts and our Soul Masters' Martial Souls share the same principles. Their cultivation years determine their strength, but their innate talent matters equally. Just as you were a Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power — compared to an ordinary tenth-level Soul Master, you were already far stronger at that stage. The species of a Soul Beast is like the quality of a Martial Soul. But even that is not absolute."
"When a Soul Beast reaches the hundred-thousand-year level, every single one of them attains a wondrous tier. At this level, the strength of any Soul Beast is almost indistinguishable from the next. Your Xiao Wu, for example — she was originally just a Soft Bone Rabbit, but once she cultivated to the hundred-thousand-year level, she was in no way inferior to a Titan Giant Ape of the same rank. However, upon reaching the hundred-thousand-year level, Soul Beasts face a choice."
Tang San listened with rapt attention. This description of hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts was something even the Great Master had never taught him.
To him, it was like stepping into an entirely new world.
"The position of a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast among Soul Beasts is the same as that of a Titled Douluo among Soul Masters — they have already reached the pinnacle. At that stage, their strength is extraordinarily powerful. In a one-on-one confrontation, even a Titled Douluo would struggle to defeat them, and might even be killed. But possessing intelligence no lesser than a human's, they now face the choice between two paths."
"The first is to maintain their current strength, drifting along as they are. At the hundred-thousand-year level, they already exist in defiance of heaven's order. No matter how powerful a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast may be, it can live at most another thousand years. After that, death is inevitable. The second path, however, is a gamble — one far more dangerous. It is transformation."
"Transformation?" Tang San looked at Tang Hao in surprise.
Tang Hao nodded. "That's right — transformation. Transforming into a human form. Because among all living beings, humanity possesses the greatest potential."
"A Soul Beast that transforms into a human must cultivate all over again. If it can reach the Titled Douluo level and then successfully break through the hundred-level barrier, it will be freed from the limits of its lifespan — immortal, undying. An existence akin to a god."
Tang San said, "Then wouldn't every Soul Beast choose this path? Eternal life — surely that's what any living creature would pursue."
Tang Hao replied evenly, "Do you know how many, among the small number of hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts, choose this second path?"
Tang San shook his head.
Tang Hao said, "According to the records of our Clear Sky School, among all known hundred-thousand-year Soul Bests, fewer than one in ten have chosen the second path."
Tang San was visibly shocked. "Why? Isn't it true that choosing the first path means only a thousand years of life? The second path offers a chance at eternity — why wouldn't they take it?"
Tang Hao let out a cold laugh. "If only it were that simple. A Soul Beast's cultivation is incomparably more difficult than a human's. Once they choose transformation, there is no turning back. In other words, a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast that has transformed cannot revert to its beast form unless it is killed. Its original body becomes the Martial Soul of its human form, and all of its previous abilities vanish entirely. Soul Power must be rebuilt from nothing, bit by bit. Though they cultivate far faster than ordinary humans and do not need to hunt other Soul Beasts to obtain Soul Rings, they must interact with humans during this process — they must absorb the aura of a human body, or they cannot make progress."
"Moreover, once they choose this path, their lifespan becomes the same as a human's. If they fail to break through the hundred-level barrier within a human's natural lifespan, they will live for only a hundred years. Between a thousand years and a hundred years — you can imagine which most hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts would choose."
"What's more, while ordinary Soul Masters cannot detect a transformed hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast, any Soul Master at the Soul Douluo level or above who pays close attention can still uncover the truth. Especially before a Titled Douluo, they have nowhere to hide. The only reason Xiao Wu was never discovered was because of that plant on her body. It peculiarly masked her aura, which was why she could remain safe at your side all this time. Today, precisely because that flower left her presence, her identity was exposed before the Pope and the others."
"Think about it — facing a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast, and a transformed one at that, with only the weakest of power — would Spirit Hall's people have let her go?"
"The cultivation of a transformed hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast is divided into three stages. Before their Soul Power reaches the sixtieth level, they are in what is called the Infant Stage. At this stage, any Soul Master at the Soul Douluo level or above can detect them. Once they pass the sixtieth level, they become far safer — though they must also interact with humans even more closely. This stage is called the Mature Stage. Even a Titled Douluo, once such a beast has cultivated past the sixtieth level in Soul Power, cannot perceive its true nature. Thus, a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast that has passed the sixtieth level can be said to have truly become human. At that point, there is no difference between them and a human being."
"Once they reach the ninetieth level, the hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast's cultivation enters its final stage — the God Transformation Stage. Just like our human Titled Douluos, they charge toward that undying eternity."
"Undying eternity." Tang San repeated Tang Hao's words. To him, the concept held little real weight. Undying? Could a person truly live forever?
He did not wish to dwell on such things. By now, his mood had gradually recovered from the excitement of seeing his father and the sorrow of Xiao Wu's departure.