I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

Amidst the explosion, Dai Yuanyang took another half step back, seemingly surprised that this seemingly frail man possessed such strength.

He Chong pressed forward relentlessly, his other hand transforming into a palm strike, slapping the air with a loud bang, aimed directly at Dai Yuanyang's abdomen.

Just then, Dai Yuanyang's lips curled up slightly.

The distance between the two suddenly increased, and He Chong's strength, which was at its peak, was fleeting due to this change in distance. By the time he touched Dai Yuanyang, he was already at the end of his rope and no longer a threat.

Dai Yuanyang dodged the palm strike that extended to the limit, without retaliating to give the opponent leverage, and instead used his free hand to whistle towards He Chong's ear.

At that moment, the distance between the two seemed to shrink considerably, so much so that Dai Yuanyang's fist, which had previously appeared to be hitting thin air, actually struck He Chong's temple squarely.

These moves happened in the blink of an eye, in just a few breaths. Lu Ban could only get a general idea of ​​what was happening thanks to his [True Sight].

There are many rules in sparring, but attacks on the lower body, head, and face are all potentially fatal and are therefore not allowed in ordinary matches.

At this moment, Dai Yuanyang's fist was clearly heading towards He Chong's head, and everyone around sensed something was wrong.

Du Ming was the first to act. He reached out and stood between the two men, his hand landing perfectly on Dai Yuanyang's fist, deflecting the force.

"Gentlemen, let's talk this out. Don't get physical here. What if you break something?"

Du Ming separated the two men and spoke. His words were simple yet powerful, touching the hearts of both men. His words prevented them from fighting again, or rather, from developing any desire to fight.

"I tried to reason with you, but you didn't appreciate it. Now that things have come to this, I can't say anything more."

Dai Yuanyang took several steps back, and only spoke after he was completely out of their attack range.

"But I am determined to obtain the position of Xuanjun this time. Please guide me in the future."

Immediately afterward, Dai Yuanyang turned and left Jiangcheng Theater.

"...What was that just now? It was so cool."

Lu Ban suddenly asked.

His voice broke the silence. Seventh Master glanced at Lu Ban, a smile spreading across his wrinkled face.

"Brother Lu, you haven't seen how the other members of the Nine Schools truly operate in the martial world, have you?"

Seventh Master pointed at He Chong.

"The He family's Yin-Yang Eyes can see through Yin and Yang, and can sense danger and opportunity in advance. Combined with the kung fu and fist techniques that their ancestors learned in Wudang Mountain, they created a set of kung fu that can predict the enemy's moves and see the big picture from small details."

He Chong flexed his wrist but did not respond, seemingly still pondering the game they had just played.

"As for the Dai family of Zhaixing, theoretically they are skilled in hand-eye coordination, able to steal things when people are not paying attention. At the same time, the Dai family also has some special abilities. It is said that they can steal some unexpected things for a short time. It is said that they can steal time and space. Has he already mastered it?"

Seventh Master seemed to realize something.

"Seventh Master means that Dai Yuanyang both created space behind him to distance himself from Brother He, and also created space between himself and Brother He, which is why his fist landed on Brother He?"

Du Ming muttered to himself, somewhat taken aback.

Upon hearing Du Ming's statement, the people present exchanged bewildered glances.

Although everyone has superpowers and their own strange abilities, it is still unimaginable that Dai Yuanyang's level is like that.

As an old man once said, "A gun is fast when you're ten paces away, and it's both fast and accurate when you're within ten paces." Times have changed. Fists and four hands are no match for guns and cannons. These superhumans can kill one or ten people, but when faced with modern firearms, they are destined to be shot to death.

Dai Yuanyang's brother is the best proof of this.

"Could it really be as he says, that foreigners have a better understanding of our abilities?"

Seventh Master fell into thought.

To be honest, most of their superpowers are inherited from their families, while others are taught by their masters. The specific training methods vary, but basically they learn whatever their teachers teach them.

With the decline of knowledge transmission, most of the nine types of supernatural abilities have gradually weakened.

For example, storytellers in the past could make their words come true and change reality with just their language. But now, they can only rely on words to evoke emotions and persuade others.

Take Zhaixing for example. In the past, Zhaixing could even steal precious jade from an absolutely sealed box, but in this generation, he can only do some petty theft.

The predecessors of the Ninth Rank also tried to find a way to regain their former glory, but almost all of them failed. It is unknown whether it was due to thin bloodline or depleted spiritual energy.

Now, if, as Dai Yuanyang said, foreigners also study superpowers and can restore their superpowers to their peak state, then it would be unrealistic to say that no one would be tempted.

Seeing that everyone was thinking, Lu Ban suddenly spoke up.

"It's not something that mysterious. The person just now used some tricks to make everyone mistakenly believe that it was some profound power."

His words stirred up the crowd again.

"A little trick? What little trick?"

Du Ming inquired.

"But I clearly saw Dai Yuanyang suddenly take half a step back, as if he teleported."

Seventh Master touched his smooth chin.

"He simply changed everyone's perception, making everyone think he was in that position, but in reality, Dai Yuanyang was not there at all."

Lu Ban said simply.

"Cognitive change?"

Miss Tang Que repeated the word, seemingly having grasped something.

"It's like a magic trick. What you see is only what the magician shows you. In reality, the real changes are in the places you overlook. It's about distracting your attention and secretly doing something. Dai Yuanyang is doing the same thing."

Lu Ban gave another example.

Of course, cognitive alteration is already a relatively serious form of pollution. According to Lu Ban's understanding, in the alien realm, knowledge represents power and pollution. Therefore, Dai Yuanyang's upgrade in superpower probably refers to the fact that he has been subjected to even more serious pollution.

From this, Lu Ban could deduce how those foreigners "developed" Dai Yuanyang's superpowers.

It's likely that they possess some high levels of pollutants and are attempting to use them to mass-produce superhumans.

Such a thing naturally did not happen in Lu Ban's era.

He didn't know what exactly happened in between.

However, Dai Yuanyang's matter has added a few more variables to this battle for the Xuanjun title.

Chapter 554 If you can't speak properly, then speak less.

After leaving the theater, Du Ming and He Chong remained silent.

Lu Ban, however, began to ponder the situation of this world.

According to the successor of the Nine Schools, the Nine Schools of the past were far superior to those of today, possessing much stronger supernatural abilities. However, they were continuously weakened with the passing down of their skills, eventually becoming what they are today.

Lu Ban came from the future. The He Jiaoyang he met was not good at boxing, let alone Tai Chi at the university level. His physical fitness was far inferior to his great-grandfather's. His ability to see yin and yang was limited to seeing a little bit of black mist. His superpower level had regressed even further.

Not to mention the other nine streams, there isn't even a trace of them. He Jiaoyang also said that after his grandfather's generation, the talent pool declined and his fellow disciples disappeared. It is estimated that there is no longer any Xuanjun competition in the modern Jiangcheng Mountain.

Rather than saying that spiritual energy was depleted, Lu Ban felt that it was more accurate to say that the pollution had been diluted.

This is a very reasonable inference.

Since power equals pollution, the weakening of power means the reduction of pollution.

Although it might be unfair to the seniors of the Ninth Rank, from Lu Ban's perspective, the so-called "superpowers" of these Ninth Rank people are all pollution.

Pollution left its mark on these people's ancestors and was passed down through bloodlines or knowledge. With each transmission, the pollution weakened, eventually leading to the depletion of their power.

The best outcome for those who inherit the Nine Streams is probably that the pollution gradually thins out, and they eventually become ordinary people.

Pollution attracts pollution; if foreign pollution were to invade in the future, these people who practice the Nine Scripts would be the first to suffer.

Just like He Jiaoyang, who has the ability to see ghosts, he would definitely be the first to see those strange things from other realms and lose his mind.

In this world, ignorance is bliss.

Therefore, Dai Yuanyang's behavior is definitely harmful to both the lower classes and the world at large.

However, Lu Ban was also clear about one thing: he was now in the past, and everything was already in a closed loop.

Even without my involvement, this incident is unlikely to have a widespread impact.

Dai Yuanyang and the foreigners behind him may disappear into the long river of history due to some accident or mishap, and the lowly people will gradually become ordinary people with a little power, just like He Jiaoyang, and eventually fade into obscurity.

The people of the lowest social class are destined to disappear with the times.

Perhaps in the end, Seventh Master really did become an archaeologist, a professor at some university, guiding students in excavating graves.

Du Ming became a singer and his family became a musical family. Many years later, Du Danping came from his family.

As for He Chong, he's probably back home with his wife and kids, enjoying a warm bed. I wonder if he even got to see He Jiaoyang born.

As for the others, they all became ordinary people to varying degrees.

If Lu Ban were to become a Xuanjun, he would likely destroy or take away all Xuanjun-related items, thus ending this tradition.

Du Ming took He Chong and Lu Ban to a nearby hotel. After checking in, the two went to their respective rooms.

Tomorrow, a few people will go to Jiangcheng Mountain, where there is a competition venue left by their ancestors.

……

Inside a building in Jiangcheng.

Dai Yuanyang walked into the house, where several blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners were sitting.

"They didn't accept my proposal, which is a pity."

Dai Yuanyang said in fluent foreign language.

He originally had a thin bloodline and was much weaker than his brother, and even his superpowers were poor.

The Star-Picking lineage, by their generation, had been reduced to merely being able to make others less notice them and more easily deceive them.

Dai Yuanyang's older brother is the current head of this lineage, while Dai Yuanyang, who was studying abroad, originally did not intend to get involved in family affairs.

However, a university professor approached him, followed by some researchers he was not very familiar with. They gave Dai Yuanyang a large amount of money to research and successfully enhance his superpowers. In addition, his brother died in China, so Dai Yuanyang took advantage of the Xuanjun Competition to return and try to win over more people.

Unexpectedly, those people did not accept his opinion.

Dai Yuanyang felt he had made himself perfectly clear; in this world, his choice was the right one.

When one is struggling to survive, tradition and the past are merely burdens.

He was able to achieve what he has today precisely because he broke free from the constraints of the past.

"It's alright. We plan to conduct exploration work on Jiangcheng Mountain in the next few days to find Xuanjun's secret. Dai, if there's anything you need help with, you can tell us. The professor and I will definitely give you our full support."