Chapter 116: Legend

  Dora's voice was somewhat puzzled: "I've always been curious, what kind of martial skill is this Scarlet Killing Intent? Its lethality is similar to that of internal energy, but when it's being used, it can also simultaneously gather your spiritual power... This isn't something ordinary internal energy can do. Based on my understanding of you humans, if I were to make an analogy, the Scarlet Killing Intent would be like a kind of unstoppable internal energy, but on top of that, it also has a magical property that instantly enhances and boosts one's spiritual power... In other words, it's a magically-enhanced internal energy?"

  Magic attribute? Add fighting spirit?!...

  Xia Ya's eyes widened, and then this turtle laughed loudly, proudly saying: "So, could it be that Old Man is still practicing dual cultivation of magic and martial arts?!"

  "Idiot!!!" Dora cut off Tuo's complacent tone, clearly this mother dragon was not pleased with Tuo's smug face: "Martial and magic dual cultivation? You think martial and magic dual cultivation is that easy? People who always have martial and magic dual cultivation on their lips, are ignorant of true genius, they're just fools who don't understand the truth about power——you're clearly the latter"

  Dora paused for a moment before explaining, "Magic and martial arts dual cultivation is just a joke to most ordinary people. The world of magic is vast as the ocean, while the pinnacle of martial arts requires lifelong dedication and effort. Originally, they are two completely different types of power, how can it be easily achieved by dual cultivation?! I know that some humans claim to be magic and martial arts dual cultivators, but they're just a bunch of clowns! Humph! They might know one or two low-level magic tricks and then learn some superficial internal energy techniques, and then dare to say they are magic and martial arts dual cultivators!"

  "That... what is true magic and martial arts dual cultivation?" Xia Ya humbly sought guidance, although he was not pleased with the mother dragon who always belittled and stimulated him. However, he understood that Dora's vast knowledge far surpassed his own. After all, Dora claimed to be a rare genius among the dragon tribe, or else she wouldn't have competed with Ada to receive the blessing of the Dragon God back then.

  As dragons had extremely long lifespans, Dora had accumulated profound knowledge over her long life. "True magic and martial arts dual cultivation requires understanding how to merge different powers from these two books! Not like you imagine, casting a spell first and then using a sword to slash out a wave of energy..."

  Dora looked down on Xia Ya's meager knowledge. Fortunately, Xia Ya had already grasped the proud mother dragon's temperament - as long as he pretended to be ignorant, letting her mock him, she would become complacent and reveal some true information.

  (Hmph... I'll temporarily pretend to be a fool in front of you, but once I've extracted all the goods from your brain, there will be plenty of time to slowly deal with this ghost!) Indeed, after mocking Xia Ya a few times, Dora began to show off her vast knowledge.

  "In general, the strong in this world have established a hierarchical rule for the fusion of magic and martial arts, which can be divided into two categories. The first is the fusion of ***, simply put, the dragon clan is born with the ability to fuse two different powers, almost every dragon is born with both magical and martial abilities. We possess the innate Dragon's Breath, a magical attack method, as well as Dragon Seal Magic. Our biological attributes possess natural magic power, and our strong physical body gives us physical attack methods, making us a fusion of magic and martial arts.

  Similar to us are the Elf Clan, and... the Dark Clan from the Underworld, the Demon Clan! The Elf Clan has innate magical talent, but not as good as ours, however, they surpass us in terms of innate martial skills and combat techniques. As for the Demon Clan, they have a unique place in the world of magic, but this clan has been extinct for thousands of years, so I'm not clear on the specifics.

  Legend has it that the Demon Clan possessed magical talent comparable to that of the Dragon Clan, and their combat skills were enough to rival those of the Elf Clan... This is almost a perfect balance of magic and martial arts."

  Xia Ya listened intently and couldn't help but ask: "But how did such a powerful demon clan get exterminated in the end?"

  "This world! It's said to be a world in another dimension...". Dora didn't know much about these ancient histories either, so she briefly explained two sentences before stopping and continuing: "Some special creatures, due to their racial attributes, are born with the conditions for both magic and martial arts. However, they still need to put in effort to become masters... But you humans are different. Your physical bodies are fragile, your souls are filthy, and your desires are greedy. Whether it's magical talent or combat skills, you're at the bottom of all the races..."

  Xia Ya was furious, he was also a human being, and was degraded by this dragon, so he couldn't help but feel angry.

  "Hey! Don't say such a dead sentence! Why are humans the weakest?"

  "Hmph, when it comes to skills, the Elf tribe is far superior to you. As for physical strength, our Dragon tribe naturally doesn't need to be mentioned, and even the Dwarf tribe is more powerful than humans. As for magic... The number of human mages compared to your human population, the proportion is so small that I don't even need to say it!"

  Xia Ya opened her mouth, and suddenly couldn't help but say: "Huh? That's not right! There's also the Earth Spirit! You didn't mention the Earth Spirit! The Earth Spirit is fragile and doesn't have magical talent, so...

  Dora seemed to be really stumped and suddenly fell silent.

  Xia Ya's heart was pleased, just about to retort a couple of sentences, but then heard Dora take a deep breath and say: "Ignorant human beings. I really don't know whether I should call you ignorant or insult the shamelessness of your ancestors!"

  "What?"

  "You humans have altered and distorted history... This is also one of the main reasons why we look down on you humans! Hmph, you naturally don't know the truth about history... The truth is that 10,000 years ago, before this continent was invaded by the demon tribe, the dwarves were the true masters of this continent! Dwarves once had a glorious civilization, and its level even surpassed your current human standards!"

  Xia Ya doesn't believe it!!

  "You don't believe me?" Dora hummed: "I'm telling you. The dwarves were once the smartest race on this continent! Their bodies were fragile, and they didn't have any magical talent, but they were recognized as a wise race! The dwarven masters of wisdom, the dwarves were the best theorists, they couldn't cast magic themselves, but they helped the elves create the most exquisite combat techniques. It can be said that many of the current combat techniques of the dwarves, elves, and even humans have been passed down from ancient times, and many of them contain the crystallization of dwarven wisdom! And in the field of magic, many magical theory masters emerged among the dwarves!"

  "I can even tell you that the current system of magical powers is a continuation of the system first proposed by the ancient dwarves! The dwarves are theorists, their wise scholars have researched and developed these theories, which were then made a reality by other races..."

  Xia Ya was stunned!

  He wouldn't believe it even if you beat him to death!!

  Those earth spirits who can only shout "Oke Oke" were actually a recognized intelligent species 10,000 years ago?!

  The ancient books have already lost more than half of their content, and the remaining volumes are as rare as phoenix feathers and dragon scales.

  However, it is said that in ancient times, the dwarves could establish cities with a population of over one million. The magical weapons they manufactured included a super-magical cannon that used an already lost magical array to drive natural magical elements, and its attack range could reach tens of kilometers! Hmph, can your human mages do this now?! Especially in terms of research on magic theory, the dwarves of ancient times were far more advanced than humans are today. The understanding of magical arrays that the dwarves had at that time, even just a little bit of what they left behind, would be enough to make the best magicians among humans today spend their entire lives studying. According to what I know, in human history...

  Generation

  Among the top 100 greatest mages recognized, half of them have personal achievements that are inseparable from the brilliant legacy of the dwarves. Some of them were even famous tomb raiders back in the day, who luckily stumbled upon some ancient dwarf ruins and found valuable things, which greatly increased their power... Hmph!

  Xia Ya shook her head vigorously, swallowing a mouthful of saliva: "But... but... how could the Low-Grade be so powerful and yet end up like this?!" "Firstly, it was because of the war that almost destroyed all races 10,000 years ago. As the masters of the continent, the Earth Elementals naturally suffered the greatest damage. And secondly..." Dora's voice

  It suddenly became low and its tone was somewhat strange, seemingly with some reverence, some fear...

  "Secondly... because... unlike other races, our dragonkin, dwarves, elves and humans all have their own deities to believe in. But the subterraneans do not! The Subterrans' enlightenment is that they only ever believed in one thing called 'Truth'."

  "There must be a story behind this!" The tortoise immediately caught its subtlety.

  However, Dora was still unwilling to say more on this topic, and she quickly pulled the topic back: "Alright! You're always leading me to talk about taboo topics! Now let's continue talking about Mo Wu's dual cultivation."

  Without mentioning those taboo topics, Dora's tone became much lighter: "The first kind of magic and martial arts I mentioned earlier is due to the special racial attributes, which can be considered a natural-born dual cultivation of magic and martial arts. And the second kind is the truly powerful magic and martial arts dual cultivation of various ethnic workers! It's even more powerful than the first kind!"

  Dora seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if hesitant about whether or not to reveal these secrets of the power laws to this human - on the continent, perhaps only a handful of strong humans could understand such truths.

  But the mother dragon soon dispelled her doubts - this turtle seemed stupid, and telling him wouldn't be a big deal anyway. Besides, even if she told him, he couldn't truly grasp these lofty theories.

  "The second is the conversion of power." Dora's tone was filled with a sense of awe: "I also can't understand such a mystery, probably because my realm is far from reaching that level, I only know these theories based on legend: although usually speaking, magic and **'s power are two different attribute manifestations, but in some legendary strongmen who have grasped the ultimate secret of power, they think that power is just power, no matter what the external manifestation is? Whether it's internal energy or magic, it's just a different manifestation form, they pursue the 'essence' of power, once you grasp the essence, then the manifestation form of power doesn't matter anymore. Simply put, such strongmen can freely convert their power into any form!"

  The power that has been grasped can become the human's fighting spirit, can become the dragon tribe's magic, can become the elf's illusion, can become the dwarf's brute force... It is no longer bound by the form of expression, breaking through the constraints of rules. The magician is a warrior, the warrior is a magician, or rather, when it really reaches that realm, there is no distinction between the so-called professions. And in terms of physical strength, what wind system, fire system, water system, earth system and so on, all do not exist! The only remaining form of expression is just one word: "Power!"

  Xia Ya listened with a mesmerized expression, her heart and soul drifting away. Such a realm, it's likely that one could truly be considered invincible under the heavens.

  "Hmm... what you said, this is truly the essence of dual cultivation of magic and martial arts... so, such a strong person would be the strongest then?"

  Dora sneered: "The strongest? Joke! Power is ultimately just power, even if it has shed its external manifestations and grasped its essence, it's still just power. It still belongs to this world and must be bound by the rules of this world... As for what lies beyond, there are naturally even more powerful existences that transcend this level..."

  "Up to this point, the mother dragon rebuked in a loud voice: "You are now only a small ant, let alone those legendary powers. Even an ordinary high-ranking warrior can wipe you out. You're getting too big for your britches, what's the point of thinking about things that have nothing to do with you? Just focus on practicing your sword skills! Before you send me to the Dragon Clan's sacred land, you can't die."

  "Don't worry! I value my own life more than you do."

  The mother dragon wasn't just using sharp words to provoke Xia Ya, Dora, although not human, but relying on the profound knowledge of the dragon clan, quickly found several weaknesses in Afreca's second-rate phantom swordsmanship, and after a brief thought, came up with one or two improvements. For the powerful Dora, this was just a trivial matter, but the next day, when Xia Ya told Afreca about the improved places, the black armored warrior looked at Xia Ya with an expression that was almost reverent!

  Have to say, the mother dragon actually didn't have good intentions...

  Its mind was originally to trick Xia Ya into sending it back to the Dragon Clan's Holy Tomb, and then let the undead giant dragon guarding the Holy Tomb kill this bastard Xia, how could it help Xia Ya become stronger?

  Learning the most basic skills and principles, accumulating more in the future, integrating and understanding them thoroughly, and creating a set of one's own martial arts techniques - this statement is absolutely correct in theory, and even seems to be tailored for the sake of the turtle.

  However, to be able to create a set of martial skills on his own, Xia Ya would have to become a true master in the field... Judging from Tu Jue's standards, the distance he is from that realm is simply immeasurable. To put it this way, if you were to throw a snail into the Wildfire Plains and wait for it to crawl all the way to the Imperial City of Oskilia, the possibility of that happening would be greater than Xia Ya being able to create his own unique martial skills...

  Anyway, Dora's improved "Shadow Sword Technique" made full use of Afreeca's strengths in speed and agility to overcome opponents, while also enhancing the deception of her fake moves and making her hidden killing moves even more stealthy.

  Xia Ya admired Dora's skills, but the mother dragon was disdainful: "This is nothing. This set of shadow swordsmanship belongs to a type of assassin class, and it's only barely considered second-rate at best. It's just that this human named Afureikato has a body that's extremely well-suited for this martial art, which is why he can exert double the power. Hmph, I've seen plenty of your humans' assassin-class martial arts, and I know at least seven or eight sets that are more brilliant than this one. Although I couldn't remember the moves, I understand some of the principles, so making some improvements wouldn't be a big deal."

  Afureka's strengthened martial arts skills made Shaya feel grateful, almost to the point of kneeling down and becoming his apprentice on the spot. However, Shaya didn't dare take Afureka as a disciple. With his meager knowledge in martial arts, if he really took Afureka as an apprentice, he would likely be exposed within three days.

  After a firm refusal, Avreca didn't press the issue, thinking that his meager skills wouldn't even enter Lord Shaya's eyes. He then said with a smile: "Lord Shaya, I know you won't take us ordinary warriors seriously. However, since we've received your kindness, I, Avreca, can't not repay it! In the future, if you have any errands, I'll do my best to serve you at all times!!"

  "This is probably one of those legendary scenes where the hero takes in a younger brother, right?"

  Turtleback's heart was filled with pride as he thought, could it be that Old Zhen was truly born to be a hero?