Douluo Continent: A Thousand Miles of Cultivation

But perhaps this is simply the law of Earth, and has nothing to do with the world of fantasy.

"Because soul beasts have no choice!"

My mother said that if a soul beast doesn't transform into human form and reaches the 100,000-year level, it will only have a lifespan of 1,000 years.

Rather than live for a thousand years, it's better to transform into a human and have the chance to achieve immortality.

At this point, when her mother was mentioned, Xiao Wu became depressed.

Qian Shui, however, strongly disapproved of this behavior. "Do you really understand the meaning behind this and the price it comes from? Are you sure it's not just because you're blindly following your mother?"

Such a thing was completely unthinkable for a simple-minded rabbit like her. "I..."

"Making choices blindly without understanding the consequences or the truth will only bring disaster upon yourself! You've wasted your entire 100,000 years of life!"

Qian Shui was long past the age of casually criticizing others, but he still couldn't help it, after all, he knew a lot of the truth and understood many things about the future.

Xiao Wu was speechless after being talked to, and even her rabbit-ear headdress drooped. Although she was puzzled by Qian Shui's stance, she had indeed been caught by Qian Shui while running around foolishly, which was undoubtedly a disaster.

"Forget it, forget it. You should start thinking about how to be a decent human being. You're acting like a beast. Even if I don't catch you, someone else will kill you sooner or later!"

"They actually dared to go to Spirit City to participate in the Elite Tournament? Where did they get their confidence and courage? The outcome of the encirclement and sacrifice was less a result of the Spirit Hall's actions and more a result of their own arrogance. They were purely killed by their own stupidity!"

Looking at this audacious rabbit, Qian Shui found it hard to find anything to say, including Tang Shenwang's bizarre self-perception and values.

'This is like walking into a trap. If I were Tang San, I would have committed suicide out of shame because of my arrogance and caused the death of my lover. Why would I seek revenge?'

Why should they let you off the hook? Do you think everyone in the world is your mother?

If they release it, that's noble; if they don't, that's their right.

Putting aside Bibi Dong's true intentions, her willingness to concede defeat and give up the soul bone at least shows that she's done her job properly on the surface, without losing any sense of propriety or magnanimity.

"Why be human! I refuse to be a despicable and shameless human!"

For Xiao Wu, this was no less than giving up her dignity as a soul beast. "Since I've already given up being a soul beast and chosen to take human form, what else is there to say?"

After a pause, Qian Shui calmly replied, "Being despicable and shameless is human nature, as are courage and perseverance."

Your current assessment is meaningless because it is not comprehensive enough; you lack sufficient understanding.

Greed, anger, and ignorance; love and separation; wine, women, wealth, and anger.

Humans, as the most intelligent of all beings, can occupy the entire living space of the Douluo Continent and cultivate at a speed far exceeding that of soul beasts. This cannot be explained away so simply by despicable and shameless means.

It's far more complex than you currently understand it.

Baseness is human, and so is nobility.

At this point, Qian Shui stopped in his tracks, stood still, and said, "The biggest difference between humans and monkeys is..."

He stopped there, stunned.

'I was so stupid, I was so focused on showing off that I forgot this is fantasy, and whether evolution is even true is still questionable...'

What is the biggest difference?

Xiao Wu didn't refute Qian Shui. The gap in her knowledge and understanding meant she could only listen obediently. She didn't understand anything else, but at least she agreed that people are complex, just like everything Qian Shui, a real human being, did.

But she didn't understand why Qian Shui had stopped.

Qian Shui replied helplessly, "Sigh, never mind. What I just said was one of the reasons why I wanted to arrest you. Anyway, you don't know, so there's no point in saying it."

Xiao Wu's curiosity was piqued, and she pressed on, "You really didn't capture me for my soul ring and soul bone?"

This is also the issue of her life that she cares about most and is most conflicted about.

"There's a little bit, but not much. What I really want to know is the origin of humankind. I originally thought you'd lived long enough to know something."

Hearing Qian Shui's reason for capturing her, she really couldn't understand it. At least, soul beasts would never dwell on this issue. In any case, the vague answer was that soul beasts originated from the Dragon God, which was beyond doubt.

"Why? Does it matter?"

"It's important, and it's not important. If I were an ordinary person, I would only care about what I eat tomorrow, what kind of wife I marry in the future, and where I will be buried in the end."

But I am a practitioner; if I do not know where I came from, how can I face the future?

Xiao Wu had absolutely no motivation to think about these things. "I feel like you're just thinking about meaningless questions. Even if you knew the origin of humanity, what good would it do? Would it make your soul power cultivation any faster?"

"It's not impossible!"

"what?"

Xiao Wu was completely baffled, but Qian Shui's stare made her feel uneasy. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You may not know it, but it may not be as useless as you think."

'Transformed soul beasts, those are really interesting!'

Qian Shui recalled the speculations of some big shots back then—"Do you think that humans today might be descendants of transformed soul beasts?"

This assumption is bold, but it is very logical.

After all, Tang San, Tang Wutong, and Tang Wulin also failed to obtain spirit rings. The latter is debatable, but Tang San is definitely not an option.

Because he did indeed die once.

However, this theory cannot explain the existence of weapon spirits. How could there be spirit beasts like the Clear Sky Hammer or the Seven Kill Sword?

Xiao Wu looked at it with disdain; even someone with her intelligence couldn't believe it.

"I know about weapon spirits, but what about beast spirits?"

So there's one more thing I want to confirm with you: the soul beasts that transformed into humans truly became human, right?

If this were on Earth, the DNA would be completely altered at a microscopic level, which is impossible, but this is a fantasy world.

"I'll probably become a real human after I reach maturity, and I'm confident that you won't recognize me then!"

At this point, Xiao Wu even puffed out her non-existent chest.

"Then what are you so proud of? Why not just wait until you're fully grown?"

His chest, which had just straightened, slumped again. "Because I can only grow by interacting with humans!"

Chapter 101 Rabbit and Man

"This rule is indeed a bit ridiculous, but it also seems to make some sense."

Qian Shui had considered the issue that soul beasts needed to come into contact with humans to grow and transform.

Although I always felt that someone's settings were nonsense and not rigorous, in reality, you can't blame those things when you come to Douluo Continent.

"Reason? That's just how the world works, what reason could there be?"

"Have you ever thought about why the rules of heaven and earth have to be this way?" Excluding the martial spirit system created by the higher-ups, the only reasonable explanation is, "Without getting close to humans, one cannot truly become a human!"

"Have you ever observed a baby? At birth, they are like blank slates. They can only acquire information about the world by imitating those around them, and this initial learning is the most fundamental thing about being human."

Qian Shui understood this very clearly. He was a baby, so he wasn't a blank slate. At least in terms of language learning, he couldn't learn as quickly as a baby passively.

"Similarly, if we magnify this phenomenon and apply it to transformed soul beasts, then that becomes the object of our imitation."

On a deeper level, it's highly likely that such a transformation also requires imitation. When you, as a soul beast, transform into a human, your body imitates and continuously improves itself by referencing humans. And for imitation to occur, an object to be imitated must exist, and such imitation can only be done by being close to humans and living among them.

Whether or not Xiao Wu understood the theory after it was explained was another matter, but she did understand the large amount of knowledge involved in Qian Shui's explanation.

She just kept nodding, without any sense of questioning or disproving. She just felt that what Qian Shui said sounded impressive but was actually quite vague, so she subconsciously believed it.

Anyway, nodding means understanding, that's what Qian Shui thought. In the past, that little angel understood things quite quickly, unless she didn't want to listen.

"Anyway, now that you've transformed into a human, you should behave well. I have high hopes for you!" He raised an eyebrow, patted Xiao Wu's shoulder, and continued walking forward.

"Being a person?" Xiao Wu didn't shout "no" like before; instead, she seriously considered the question.

"How should one conduct oneself?" Xiao Wu blurted out as she hurried after Qian Shui, "Imitate you?"

"Hey, you're not a baby, what are you trying to imitate!"

After talking for so long, all this guy remembered was the word 'imitation,' but Qian Shui recalled the unpleasant memories from when she first transmigrated here.

After thinking for a moment, a slight smirk appeared on his lips. "How about this, I'll give you a surname!"

Although there is no choice in this, the children will have the same surname as their parents and ancestors, or the girl will take her husband's surname, etc.

It seems your mother doesn't have one, so we'll have to start somewhere else.

Does this mean anything?

"A surname is a legacy, a family's honor or shame, and a fundamental aspect of being human."

A person who has no name or surname, especially no surname, basically means that there is no past to remember, which also means that there is no hope for the future.

While it's not accurate to directly judge them as bad, on the surface, such an existence is almost synonymous with an outcast.

Qian Shui didn't care about surnames, but he felt somewhat humiliated to be forced to change his surname.

"Okay, you have a point."

Regardless of whether it made sense or not, Xiao Wu was blindly following along.

"Then what surname do you think would be best for me?"

"Millions of years of cultivation, all for a single dance. How about calling it Thousand Dances?"

Qian Shui didn't know what her mindset was; perhaps it was the idea of ​​naming a pet.

"Why is I called Qianwu? I'm a 100,000-year-old soul beast!"

Xiao Wu put her hands on her hips, clearly annoyed. "Qian Wu, Qian Wu," she said, as if she were some kind of brainless, thousand-year-old soul beast.

"You can also call yourself Wanwu, or even Shiwanwu!"

"I think I should just forget about it...it sounds awful..."

"No!"

Having succeeded in his evil scheme, Qian Shui carried Xiao Wu on his back—oh, it was Qian Wu—his lips twisted into an extreme grin, as if he were about to burst into wild laughter at any moment.

"By the way, what you just said was that you guessed that Beast Martial Souls might be descendants of Transformed Soul Beasts? Why is that?"

What about weapon spirits?

Qian Shui has some analysis and speculation on this matter, but now is not the time to discuss it.

"Let's talk about it next time."