Chapter 2078 - 2071: Setting Up a False Reputation
"Go ahead, what do you suggest?" Zhang Menglong asked the Azure Dragon, "As long as it can help you become stronger, I’ll try my best to do it."
"Menglong, do you think we have truly reached the state of the Ultimate Life Form?" The Azure Dragon did not answer Zhang Menglong directly, but instead asked an almost unrelated question.
"Isn’t that the case?" Zhang Menglong was taken aback.
"Of course not," the Azure Dragon laughed, "Think about it, if we truly were the Ultimate Life Forms now, those powerful Guardian Beasts, once they win the Myriad Tribes Competition and leave this world, they would be extremely formidable existences even in the Supreme World."
"What’s unreasonable about that?"
"Of course, it’s unreasonable," the Azure Dragon said, "No one knows what the true purpose of this world’s existence is. Some say it’s a selection process, others say it’s a manipulation. Do you think true Supreme Beings would be easily manipulated by this world, to be played with as it pleases?"
Zhang Menglong’s eyes flashed with a trace of doubt.
That’s right, his father had said that the Ultimate Life Form was already the pinnacle of life evolution. Thus, a Level Three or Four Ultimate Life Form would certainly be approaching an unparalleled existence.
Take the worlds Zhang Menglong had experienced before, for example. The limit of Life Levels was the Dao Realm; Dao Realm of Third or Fourth Grade would already be the combat ceiling in those worlds, holding a very high status.
He found it hard to imagine a group of Dao Realm experts trapped in a struggle for survival between their world and a lower-tier world.
This indicated that the strength of the Guardian Beasts they understood hadn’t even reached the Ultimate Life Form level!
"It seems you’ve understood," the Azure Dragon said, "Whether Level Three or Four, they aren’t truly the Ultimate Life Forms, not even remotely close!"
"In the rules of this world, we’re actually in a transitional phase between Dao Realm and Ultimate Life Form. We’ve reached the Life Realm of the Ultimate Life Form, but we don’t have enough energy. As long as we stay in this world, we’ll never be true Supreme Beings."
"This world can easily create energy and just as easily strip it away. Our changes in realm are nothing but shifts in energy. Supreme Beings are merely a one-sided perception of our power by those who don’t understand. I still prefer to call myself a Second Grade Guardian Beast."
"I see," Zhang Menglong truly understood some aspects of this world’s power system at that moment.
The Warcraft and Guardian Beasts that hadn’t reached the Ultimate Life Form level were already so powerful. What would a true Ultimate Life Form be like?
"So, in essence, if you want to advance, it still comes down to energy accumulation," Zhang Menglong said, "The things that drop from Warcraft can help accumulate energy. Can those work?"
The Azure Dragon shook his head, "Those energy levels are too low; they’re meaningless to us."
"Then..."
"To get stronger, we must devour the energy cores of Warcraft or Guardian Beasts at the same level as us! Warcraft below Guardian Beast level are collectively called Zero Grade Warcraft. Reaching Guardian Beast level is First Grade Warcraft. In this world, over 80% of the Guardian Beasts are at this level."
"When a Warcraft advances to First Grade, an energy core appears in its body. This energy core is controlled by the power of the world’s rules, and we can also devour other energy cores to advance."
"But there’s a problem; we Guardian Beasts can’t easily leave the city we guard. So, to advance, we must rely on you Guardians. But imagining a Guardian killing a ranked Warcraft is practically a fantasy, which is why it’s extremely difficult and dangerous."
"No wonder that Ice Wing Dragon Bat fled so quickly; it seems it feared being killed by us and having its energy core seized," Zhang Menglong mused to himself.
"Exactly, and each Myriad Tribes Competition is one of the rare opportunities for us Guardian Beasts to hunt other Guardian Beasts. So it’s not only a battle between you humans and other races; it’s also a war between me and other Guardian Beasts!"
"That’s quite brutal," Zhang Menglong murmured to himself. Each race’s fate and their Guardian Beast are irrevocably intertwined from the moment they enter this world.
"If you can find a way to hunt Guardian Beasts or other ranked Warcraft and obtain their energy cores, I’ll have the opportunity to raise my realm to another level before the Myriad Tribes Competition."
"There’s also another method—directly attack other races and obliterate their Main City," the Azure Dragon said, "This is something the world’s rules power is actually eager to promote. However, such battles are too brutal, so most races avoid them, as the Myriad Tribes Competition is this world’s way of forcefully creating rules to offset such subjective intentions."
"Based on my current Life Level, I need 100 First Grade Guardian Beasts’ Life Cores or 10 Second Grade Guardian Beasts’ Life Cores to advance to Third Grade Guardian Beast. By that time, during the Myriad Tribes Competition, we would not fear ninety-nine percent of the races!"
"As for destroying another race’s Main City, the difficulty is no less than killing a Guardian Beast. Because once a city is destroyed, a Guardian Beast’s power decreases by at least half, making them face greater threats in the Myriad Tribes Competition. They only abandon their city as a last resort."
"Like that Ice Wing Dragon Bat?"
"Exactly. If it hadn’t fled, it would’ve died right there. But by fleeing—even if the Ice King City was destroyed and its power severely reduced—at least it still lives."
"If you had directly destroyed the Ice King City back then, this world’s rules would reward me with abundant energy, possibly even more than directly killing a First Grade Guardian Beast."
"Damn! I missed such a good opportunity to boost the Azure Dragon’s power," Zhang Menglong muttered to himself.
"How much time do I have left?" Zhang Menglong asked.
"One month," the Azure Dragon answered, "After the Beast Tide ends, the rules of this world give each race one month to digest all the gains from the Beast Tide and recover. Though this Beast Tide was massive, this time might be extended to two months, but your time is limited."
"Killing a Guardian Beast is such a daunting task," Zhang Menglong pondered deeply, "Even if they’re half-dead, they have some escape mechanisms."
That time, even though the Ice Wing Dragon Bat was half-dead, it still managed to escape.
"In that case, the best solution might be to pull off a ’demolition job,’" Zhang Menglong mused to himself, "Leaving aside whether this is feasible, demolishing someone else’s city without reason seems quite excessive, making me look very unreasonable."
"Zhang Family boy, what’s on your mind?" The Azure Dragon glanced at the changeable expression on Zhang Menglong’s face, feeling a bit curious, "Both methods are extremely difficult. If it’s not achievable, it’s understandable. At least now, as a Second Grade Guardian Beast, I won’t fear most races."
"It’s not about difficulty," Zhang Menglong said, "It’s mainly that I want to act dishonorably but still maintain a facade. How do I set up that facade?"