Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1291 - 1284: Bottom-tier

Chapter 1291: Chapter 1284: Bottom-tier

"Continue," Luo’er nodded, a rare lack of new questions emerging.

"The connection between Spirit Control Masters and cultivation is simple; it lies in the beasts they train. As you’ve seen, the beasts here generally have an inner core, including the Scouring Sky Beasts, which is why when a Scouring Sky Beast falls, the beasts would consume the Source river," Zisu said.

"Spirit Control Masters perform meticulous surgery on the beasts, cutting open their bellies to find their inner cores and then carve Runes onto them. It doesn’t need to be too complicated; just enough to explode at the will of the Spirit Control Master."

"The beasts whose inner cores have been imprinted with Runes do not die; the Spirit Control Masters take care of them until they recover. After recovery, these beasts become moving bombs at the Spirit Control Masters’ disposal. So, the scene we witnessed that day was the work of Spirit Control Masters; the inner cores of those birds and beasts had all been marked with Runes, just waiting for the Spirit Control Masters’ command to detonate," Zisu continued.

"What a formidable tactic, what a despicable tactic," Luo’er couldn’t help but frown.

"Your attitude largely reflects the world’s view of Spirit Control Masters," Zisu said with a smile, "which is why I said it’s a highly controversial profession. Unlike Flow Redirect, not many like Spirit Control Masters; the vast majority simply despise them."

Speaking thus, she took a deep breath and said with lingering fear, "It’s just that I didn’t expect those Spirit Control Masters would actually carve Runes on the inner cores of Scouring Sky Beasts to use against Lingyuan City. It’s utterly despicable."

"Indeed, the explosions that day were caused by the release of magic energy; no wonder it knocked down both the airboat and the Scouring Sky Beasts," Luo’er nodded, murmuring to himself.

However, having analyzed this much, a question followed. In their understanding, Magic Cores and Magic Crystals were essentially the same – this was already confirmed by Dwarven scientists, who also verified it through dissection. So, how do Spirit Control Masters detonate Magic Cores?

It’s well-known that Magic Crystals, despite storing vast amounts of magical power, are very safe minerals; even when ground into powder, the magic within doesn’t escape. It’s only through an Output Symbol that the stored magic in a Magic Crystal can be guided out.

This reminded Luo’er of the Zhuyan People’s Magic Crystal Bombs, which used specific Runes to release the magic inside a Magic Crystal instantly, causing severe magical fluctuations. If the method of Spirit Control Masters is similar to that of Magic Crystal Bombs, then these fellows must also possess a certain level of Rune Magic.

"As for the other paths in the Nine Streams, there isn’t much to say, so I’ll just give a brief explanation," Zisu said, "Heavenly Craft is basically like surveying, a supplement to cultivation. If a cultivator wants to achieve a perfect state of cultivation, they need to find a place with abundant spiritual energy and build specific buildings to get twice the result with half the effort. That’s primarily what Heavenly Craft does; there’s not much to it."

"Uh-huh, I get it," Luo’er nodded. The Heavenly Craft Zisu mentioned roughly equated to geomancers. Given the magical environment of the Otherworld, such a profession was indeed necessary.

"Pill Path mainly revolves around alchemy, which likewise assists cultivation," Zisu continued, "Even though this path is within the Nine Streams, it’s quite sought-after. The powerful nobility and even the Imperial Court nurture such talents to aid their own cultivation."

"As for the remaining three paths, they are commonly referred to as the Lower Three Streams, also known as the vile paths. They are Poison Path, Soul Snatching, and Star-shattering; as you can tell from the names, they’re not reputable disciplines," Zisu said.

"There’s even such a term as the ’vile paths’?" Luo’er asked, puzzled.

"Of course, there is," Zisu patiently explained, "Just as Royal Dao and Ba Path are opposed yet united, the internal factions of the Nine Streams are in conflict with each other."

"People in Kyushu typically call Heavenly Craft, Pill Path, and Flow Redirect the Upper Three Streams; these are more likely to be recognized by the mainstream. Divine Machines, Curse Art, and Spirit Control are called the Middle Three Streams; these are harder to be accepted by the mainstream. Poison Path, Soul Snatching, and Star-shattering are called the Lower Three Streams; these are despised by the mainstream."

"Why does the Lower Three Streams provoke such disdain from the mainstream?" Luo’er asked.

"Because these three disciplines are truly unscrupulous," Zisu said, "Poison Path naturally needs no explanation, as it deals with poisons. As for Soul Snatching, one can tell from the name that it’s a nefarious skill that snatches the cultivation of others. Cultivators of this category prefer shortcuts and don’t cultivate earnestly; they like to seize the cultivation of others, which is why they are scorned by the world."

"As for Star-shattering, this is a school despised by all cultivators and even worth a combined effort to exterminate," Zisu said.

"Why so serious?" Luo’er asked.

"’Star-shattering’ may seem like a beautiful term, but in reality, the ’star’ refers to a cultivator’s Qitian. These Star-shattering masters can easily shatter a cultivator’s internal Qitian, directly causing the cultivator to lose all their cultivation."

"But if it were only so, then Star-shattering would be similar to Flow Redirect. So why is its reputation so much worse? It’s because, unlike Flow Redirect, which can be recovered from, once someone is struck by Star-shattering, that cultivator becomes truly crippled. Something like the Qitian, once shattered, is almost impossible to restore. Those who are lucky enough not to die end up unable to cultivate for the rest of their lives, which for the cultivation-enthusiastic people of the East Continent is undoubtedly the most despairing thing," explained Zisu.

"I actually quite like this method, even though it sounds a bit cruel," Luo’er nodded and said.

"In fact, we like it too; it’s just that we can’t find such people. Under the relentless suppression by the cultivation powers, the Star-shattering school has almost been lost. An occasional Star-shattering master appearing in the jianghu will immediately be besieged by the cultivation powers and can hardly survive," Zisu shrugged, a hint of regret on her face.

"I think I understand now," Luo’er nodded with comprehension.

Through the conversation with Zisu, Luo’er had a good idea about the magic system of the East Continent, which is primarily based on cultivating the Dantian, divided into Royal Dao and Ba Path. And surrounding this cultivation system, there are unique schools like the Nine Streams.

But no matter what, cultivation is definitely an integral part of the East Continent’s magic system that cannot be ignored. Unlike the Western Continent Church Court, which holds the power of magic, the East Continent seems to be a nation of cultivators, from the Imperial Court to the common people, all with great enthusiasm for cultivation.

Of course, Luo’er didn’t want to judge which system was right or wrong. Objectively speaking, the monopoly of magic in the West Continent has created an unsurpassed status for the Church Court, but it has limited the excessive influence of magic on the real world.

On the other hand, in the East Continent, although cultivation is widespread among the population, this prevalence has led to many social issues, and the governance of the countries is in disarray. The relationships between countries and between the nobility and the Imperial Court have become incredibly delicate due to the oversaturation of power.

Imagine if the Earth’s armies had attacked the East Continent instead of the West Continent, what kind of situation would they have faced?

Luo’er felt that, without considering the poor command structure, the Earth’s armies could have very well fought the Western Continent United Army.

But facing the armies of the East Continent, especially the forces of the Dongsheng Empire, no matter how well-organized the Earth’s armies were or how perfect the command system, the only outcome awaiting them would probably have been a crushing defeat, even more severe than in the Second Otherworld War.

Therefore, to defeat the Dongsheng army, one cannot look down on these people with the unique arrogance of Earthlings. These people are dangerous fighters; they follow the rules of this world and are definitely not enemies that can be easily defeated.

"Thank you for telling me so much," pulling his thoughts back, Luo’er looked at Zisu and sincerely expressed his gratitude.

"No trouble at all, I didn’t have anything else to do anyway, and having a chat with you is actually quite nice," Zisu smiled, shaking her head.

She glanced toward the students reciting spells in the distance but caught Tangmo squinting her eyes, puffing with anger while staring at her, so with a smile, she patted Luo’er on the shoulder and said, "Your little lover is jealous again; go keep her company. I’ve got my own things to do."

With that, she turned and left Luo’er.

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