Yefutidaolu

Chapter 379 Views on Cultivation

As he spoke, Lord Jingjiang had already transformed into the body of a true dragon.

You can see his undisguised body.

The body of a true dragon, covered with scales as black as ink yet with a dark metallic luster, is unlike the light, agile, slender, and graceful cinnabar. Its rough body is full of savage power.

However, the most shocking sight was the numerous wounds covering the dragon's body! Claw marks that were deep enough to expose bone, gaps torn by terrifying force and forcibly healed, and even some places where the scales were missing, revealing the dark red muscles underneath that seemed never to heal.

These scars are like medals, branded on the body of this black dragon known for its bravery. With the unparalleled physical recovery ability of a true dragon, ordinary wounds would disappear in an instant. The ones that leave such ferocious marks must have suffered intractable and continuous damage, resulting in fatal injuries that cannot be healed!
These indelible scars tell the story of his brutal struggles in the bloody storms of the East China Sea.

These scars need no further explanation; they are irrefutable evidence of Lord Jingjiang's struggle to protect the Shun family in the cruel and brutal land of the East Sea.

It makes sense, considering that Dansha's parents have both passed away, and the pillar of the Shun family is Lord Jingjiang. It is precisely because of his fierce battles that a junior like Dansha now has a space to survive.

Otherwise, given the bloodshed in the East China Sea, it's hard to say what cinnabar would be like now.

Gao Jian looked at the Lord of Jingjiang before him but offered no explanation.

But saying nothing isn't good either.

Therefore, Gao Jian said, "Lord Jingjiang, as you know, my cultivation has advanced so rapidly because I must have had some extraordinary encounter. This is something that cannot be told to outsiders. Can you promise me that you will not tell anyone?"

Upon hearing this, Lord Jingjiang shook his head: "Since you've already said that, it's best not to say it out loud. I won't ask anymore, and you shouldn't tell me either. Let's just keep this matter to ourselves."

"That's good, then I won't say anything more." Gao Jian nodded.

The two tacitly agreed not to do anything extra, so Gao Jian asked, "Then, Lord Jingjiang, did you ask me to stay just to ask this?"

"Not only that, there's one more thing," Lord Jingjiang said.

"What is that?" Gao Jian tilted his head.

"Come up." Lord Jingjiang didn't say anything, but spoke in a deep voice like rolling thunder. The huge dragon head lowered slightly, gesturing for Gao Jian to step onto his back.

Without any pretense, Gao Jian lightly touched the ground with his toes, leaping up with the agility of a swallow and landing steadily on the broad, rock-solid back of Lord Jingjiang. This wasn't his first time on the other's back, but this time the sensation was exceptionally clear. He could feel the cold, hard texture of the dragon scales beneath his feet, with their fine barbs, and the immense power contained within them, like a volcano about to erupt.

Before, I was too weak and only felt that the opponent was tough. Now that I've come up here, I'm truly realizing the strength of the opponent.

Lord Jingjiang is at the ninth realm, but his combat strength... Gao Jian felt he couldn't defeat him.

If we wait until the opponent breaks through the second level of the tenth realm, below the Earth Immortal level, I'm afraid it will be hard to find a worthy opponent. He truly deserves to be called the dragon who can protect the entire Shun family.

"I have already experienced the power of a true dragon's body." Gao Jian's voice remained clear against the backdrop of the roaring water. "But... what is it that could injure someone as strong as you to such an extent?"

His gaze swept over the gruesome wounds.

The enormous dragon body of Lord Jingjiang began to exert its power, slowly rising away, with the water automatically parting around it.

"Hmph, even a seasoned veteran will encounter tough opponents a few times. In this godforsaken place of the East China Sea, there are always stronger hands among the strong, and it's not impossible to capsize in a ditch." His voice carried a calmness born of experience. "These wounds are just 'souvenirs' accumulated over time. They may look scary, but they don't stop me from taking action."

Upon hearing this, Gao Jian merely raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a knowing smile, without offering any rebuttal.

Not affecting his skills? How could that be? Just maintaining this dragon body, which is being continuously eroded by various energies, from collapsing would probably require a huge expenditure of Jingjiang Jun's mental and physical strength.

Those wounds that never heal endure unimaginable pain and torment every moment.

However, the fact that this black dragon could still be so bold and cheerful in this state, and his resilience and open-mindedness truly inspired Gao Jian's sincere admiration.

"Go!" Lord Jingjiang shouted, and his massive dragon body suddenly swung, instantly unleashing terrifying speed!

It was no longer the agile movement of cinnabar, but rather like a heavy cannon fired, brutally tearing through the thick curtain of water and speeding off in a certain direction!

The dark, deep sea was parted by the rapidly advancing dragon's body, forming a massive vacuum channel, which then closed behind it with a deafening roar. Gao Jian stood atop the dragon's back, his feet firmly planted. He gazed into the distance, the scenery rushing past.

The true face of the East China Sea slowly unfolded before his eyes.

It was no longer the magnificent tranquility of the Vast Ocean Dragon Court, nor the dreamlike vitality of the sea forest. What we saw along the way was a more real, and also more brutal, deep-sea landscape.

Huge, broken coral reefs, like the pale skeleton of a colossal beast, lie scattered on the barren seabed.

The demons, their eyes gleaming with greed, patrolled the murky waters, followed by an omnipresent battle!

Two massive deep-sea crabs, each the size of a small mountain, brandished their claws powerful enough to cut through steel, locked in a fierce battle for a geothermal vent rich in spiritual energy. Their shells cracked, and fluids spilled everywhere. A school of poison dart fish, covered in sharp bony spikes, like a well-trained legion of assassins, besieged a benthic behemoth far larger than themselves, covered in thick bony plates, slowly grinding its prey to death with venom and speed.

You can even see different groups of sea monsters fighting a bloody melee over a small piece of sea rock that is suspected to contain mineral veins. The light of sorcery, the cold glint of claws, and the splattering blood turn that sea area into a chaotic battlefield!
The law of the jungle prevails, and no means are spared. Every surviving siren bears wounds, and their eyes gleam with ferocity and greed. They fight, devour, and plunder madly, seeking a chance to break through in the desolate environment, to gain greater power, and to seize more resources.

However, when Lord Jingjiang passed by, they all chose to avoid him, which allowed Gao Jian to see it clearly.

“Sea monsters honed in this way are fearless, ruthless, and cunning…” Gao Jian’s voice sounded somewhat ethereal in the wind pressure generated by the high speed. “Given time, once they reach a certain scale, the coastal states of the Divine Dynasty will likely be in big trouble.”

Unexpectedly, Lord Jingjiang let out a disdainful snort, the sound like a thunderclap, causing the surrounding water to freeze in its tracks.
"Hmph! What's the use?! No matter how fierce or ruthless they are, they're just a bunch of rabble! They've been kept out of the Yuezhou defense line for hundreds of years, unable to advance an inch!"

His tone was full of disdain: "These sirens, they seem to be fighting desperately, but in reality they've gone astray! They're working in isolation, clinging to their own limited knowledge, utterly foolish!"

Gao Jian was slightly taken aback, not expecting that the Jingjiang Lord, who was a true dragon and at the center of "Tianyan", would utter such critical words.

Lord Jingjiang continued to sneer, "Look at them fighting to the death, what do they believe in? Nothing more than 'desperate effort,' 'hard work,' and 'day after day of grueling training.' It's utterly laughable!"

With a mighty flick of his massive dragon tail, he shattered a huge rock blocking his path, sending the fragments flying like cannonballs into the distance and scattering a group of fish demons who were engaged in a fierce battle.

"Personal, closed-door experimentation and brute force can never compare to theoretical and systematic scientific enhancement! How can the body exert force most effectively in combat? How can energy be circulated with minimal loss? How can moves be connected with the fewest openings? These can all be precisely calculated using mathematical methods! Your feelings may deceive you, your experience may mislead you, but the calculation results will not!"

Jingjiang Jun brandished his claws: "Look at my physique, my strength! Where do you think it came from? Was it from haphazard training? Was it from 'fighting to the death' like those idiots? That would only ruin your body. This is the result of 'calculation'! I precisely calculated the load on every muscle, the conversion efficiency of every bit of energy, and repeatedly optimized and adjusted the training system based on the high-pressure environment of the deep sea!"

He paused, his tone growing even more disdainful: "And look at those so-called 'Gu Kings' below. What good are they? Individually, they might be slightly stronger than human rogue cultivators of the same level. But once they encounter the core disciples systematically trained by human immortal sects or aristocratic families, forming battle formations, coordinating with magic weapons, and circulating their cultivation techniques... they'll be utterly routed! The Yuezhou defense line is the best proof! The sea monster tides have surged for hundreds of years, but have they ever truly shaken those major cities? It's all thanks to the human race's systematic training and combat methods!"

Gao Jian raised an eyebrow.

Lord Jingjiang's remarks are truly... unlike those of a true dragon.

A true dragon that reveres primitive competition and the supremacy of strength actually highly praises "science," "systems," and "mathematical calculations," even considering them comparable to modern competition. This is really... not quite right.

"What Lord Jingjiang said..." Gao Jian couldn't help but speak, his voice filled with surprise, "...doesn't seem quite like the true dragon's belief in free competition and the survival of the fittest, the way of natural selection?"

"Heaven's will, Heaven's will!" Jingjiang Jun's voice carried a hint of mockery, yet also a clear-headed rationality. "Whoever wins is Heaven! Whoever's path leads to greater power is right! Currently, the Divine Dynasty and the East Sea seem evenly matched, but in reality, the Divine Dynasty, with fewer resources and fewer individual talents, has managed to withstand the onslaught of countless ferocious sea monsters from the East Sea through this system, and even counterattacked in certain areas. Isn't that enough to prove the point? True Dragons may be arrogant, but they are not blind! If you can't win, then your path is flawed!"

"Hahahaha!" Gao Jian burst into laughter upon hearing this.

His laughter subsided, his gaze sharpening, and he continued, "I think so too. I believe that learning should be like eating simple meals when you're hungry. Who cares about sectarianism or factionalism? Break down academic secrets and make them public! Everyone should have a copy! Knowledge, techniques, and principles should not be monopolized! The world won't become worse because others learn more; you won't lose anything by letting others see a book. Why hide it away and treat it like your lifeblood?"

At this point, Gao Jian's tone carried a deep regret and a hint of coldness:
"What a pity... In today's Divine Dynasty, those high-ranking aristocratic families and clans are becoming more and more like the original form of your East Sea True Dragon! They monopolize knowledge, control the path to advancement, treat the poor as worthless, and regard inheritance as their exclusive domain... If this continues, the system advantages that the Divine Dynasty is so proud of will probably be destroyed by their own hands."

The Jingjiang Lord's massive dragon head turned slightly, its golden dragon eyes glancing at Gao Jian on its back, seemingly surprised by his words yet also showing a hint of admiration. He snorted coldly:
"Hmph, they're just pretending to be something they're not! They've only learned a little bit, and they think they can emulate the true dragon's monopoly? They don't even consider whether they have the ability and resources! The true dragon's monopoly is because bloodline talent is innate and cannot be obtained by human effort. What do their aristocratic families monopolize? They monopolize the knowledge and power that could have benefited their descendants and strengthened their clan. This is cutting off their own foundation and courting death! Just wait and see. If the Divine Dynasty doesn't make internal reforms, it will be crushed sooner or later."

As they spoke, Lord Jingjiang gradually slowed down. They had moved far away from the noisy and chaotic battleground and deep into a darker, more desolate region. Here, even the bioluminescent algae and schools of fish were much scarcer, and the massive underwater mountains cast long shadows like slumbering ancient beasts.

The water was icy cold, with a chill that seemed to penetrate to the bone, not from temperature but from some kind of 'qi' effect.

“We’ve arrived.” Jingjiang Jun’s deep voice rang out as the enormous dragon slowly descended to the edge of a massive underwater canyon, which looked as if it had been cleaved open by a sharp blade.

The canyon was bottomless, filled only with endless darkness. But on the cliff opposite the canyon, a huge, clearly man-made opening could be vaguely seen.

The entrance to the cave was sealed by a thick, viscous, black, sludge-like substance that writhed slowly like a living thing, emitting a nauseating stench of decay and intense energy fluctuations. Bubbles occasionally rose from the surface of the sludge, bursting with soft "poof" sounds and releasing wisps of dark green poisonous mist.

“This is…” Gao Jian narrowed his eyes, sensing a strong threat emanating from the black sludge.

This thing seems very dangerous.

Even though he had water-repelling beads on him, he still felt uneasy about the entire deep sea.

“It’s a safe place to recuperate at the bottom of the sea. It’s safer to talk here,” said Jingjiang Jun, transforming into human form and descending below.

Brilliant insights also followed.

"Why did you bring me here?" Gao Jian asked, somewhat puzzled. "Is something so secretive that it requires an array to conceal it?"

Although he and Lord Jingjiang had a relationship, they had only met a few times, so there shouldn't be anything so secretive they would want to talk about.

“Not at all,” Lord Jingjiang shook his head. “It’s just that I’m used to talking in this place. Come in and let’s talk.”

(End of this chapter)