Chapter 156: Humans and the Demon Race

Compared to the demon race, the human race was a latecomer that eventually overtook them.
In the early stages, demons had undeniable advantages over humans. Their bodies were naturally strong, their temperaments fierce, and they were born with innate divine abilities in their bloodlines, which they could wield effortlessly without needing to comprehend them.
Humans, on the other hand, were physically weak in the beginning. Before learning any Daoist techniques or divine arts, they had to first study beginner texts like Introduction to Cultivation, memorize the spiritual energy circulation routes that their teachers drilled into them repeatedly, and only after drawing in spiritual energy could they begin learning even the most basic spells.
And even then, Daoist techniques weren’t mastered overnight—they required comprehension and talent. Even upon reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage, one might still not have a firm grasp of Daoist arts.
Most innate demon abilities focused on offense and destruction, whereas human Daoist techniques covered a wide range of disciplines—things like crop-accelerating spells or rain-inducing techniques, which lacked any real combat potential.
Therefore, before the Nascent Soul Stage, demons on average were stronger than humans. Otherwise, why would human prodigies venture into demon territory for trials?
This advantage for demons persisted all the way to the Nascent Soul Stage.
If they were born with a powerful enough bloodline, they could reach the Soul Formation or even Fusion Stages. That’s how you ended up with someone like the Qilin King—possessing powerful blood but lacking the brains to match his Fusion Stage.
But for a human to reach the Soul Formation or Fusion Stage, they had to be one in ten thousand—a true genius. These people rose above countless Nascent Soul cultivators, gifted and resolute, and the divine abilities they cultivated were no weaker than the innate ones that top-tier demon bloodlines granted.
Once you hit the Tribulation Stage, though, it became a human-dominated domain. Humans crushed demons at that level. Of the five known Tribulation Stage cultivators in the current era, not a single one was a demon.
However, since this tournament was limited to the Nascent Soul Stage, demons would have a significant edge.
Tigerbone wore a cruel smile. He didn’t even regard the scrawny human in front of him. The Tiger Tribe was a branch of the Qiongqi Clan, a lineage of high status in the might-makes-right world of demons. As the most outstanding young tiger at the Foundation Establishment Stage, Tigerbone had come with his eyes set on first place.
His name alone testified to his excellence. Names like Bone, Skin, Blood, or Flesh were only given to those so powerful that the clan acknowledged them by a body part. That was a Qiongqi Clan tradition—faithfully upheld by the Tiger Tribe.
Yunfan seemed to realize how strong his opponent was and clearly looked a little nervous.
“Contestant Tigerbone makes the first move—he’s not using any Spirit Treasure! Looks like he plans to win this round with brute force alone!”
Tigerbone disdained Spirit Treasures, believing his body was strong enough not to need them.
“Contestant Yunfan has taken out nine large coins! He’s trying to arrange them into a defensive formation!”
“But he seems rattled by Tigerbone’s intimidating presence. He’s nervous—still hasn’t set up the formation properly. Could this cost him the match?!”
“Tigerbone is getting closer! Yunfan still isn’t ready—is he about to lose?!” Tianming Daoist suddenly raised his pitch.
“Oh my heavens! Fellow cultivators, look! The nine large coins arranged themselves into a defensive formation on their own! Tigerbone slammed right into it—and got bounced back!”
Tigerbone stumbled, dazed from the impact. He hadn’t expected the nine coins to move on their own.
Still, he chalked it up to luck. If he’d been prepared, this level of defense wouldn’t have posed any threat.
He charged again, claws out, fierce and ferocious.
Inspired by the nine coins, Yunfan gradually regained his composure. He arranged the coins into a bronze shield, bent his waist to leverage his footing, and narrowly dodged Tigerbone’s swipe.
Tigerbone’s tail whipped toward Yunfan from behind like a lash.
Yunfan, now back in the groove, had the coins line up into a long sword at his will.
He twisted his wrist and blocked the tiger tail.
The tail coiled around the sword, trying to snatch it away—so the sword turned back into loose coins, slipping free.
“We can see that the match has entered a deadlock. Tigerbone’s attacks are fierce and relentless, but Yunfan’s ever-changing coin techniques neutralize them all. He avoids direct confrontation, playing to his strengths—his clever tactics are truly admirable.”
“Speaking of those coins, there’s actually an interesting backstory,” Tianming Daoist said, seeing that the two were evenly matched for now.
“Huayun Sect was the first sect Jiang the Human Sovereign ever joined. But he didn’t join as a disciple—he entered as an accountant. Back then, the first Spirit Treasure he acquired was a few large coins. They were low-grade Spiritual Artifacts, plain and unremarkable—until Jiang Li worked his magic. Using just those coins, even late-stage Qi Refining cultivators struggled to deal with him when he was only at mid-stage Qi Refining.”
“From then on, Huayun Sect developed a trend of using large copper coins as weapons. But their thinking never quite matched Jiang the Human Sovereign’s. In their hands, the coins were just ordinary Spirit Treasures.”
“Now, though, it seems the coins have developed sentience and found resonance with Yunfan, giving him a faint shadow of Jiang the Human Sovereign’s style.”
Jiang Li gave a small nod. Yunfan’s natural talent was average, and his battle instincts were only slightly above that of a typical Foundation Establishment cultivator—he wasn’t on Tigerbone’s level.
But his synchronization with the nine large coins was flawless. His attacks and defenses flowed like water, seamless and smooth. Even if his own thoughts lagged or his reactions were a beat too slow, the coins would adjust for him and counter the enemy on their own.
Tigerbone, brimming with raw power, had nowhere to unleash it. He howled madly, but quickly exhausted himself and couldn’t keep up with Yunfan.
In the end, Yunfan triumphed over brute force with finesse—he defeated Tigerbone.
“What a nice little tiger. Shame he’s so thickheaded,” joked Mo Ruoyu of Penglai Immortal Island.
Baixue Ling shook her head helplessly. “Demons pride themselves on their physical strength and think Spirit Treasures are cheap tricks. I’ve tried to promote Spirit Treasure usage many times—it always fails.”
After Baixue Ling became the true Baize Emperor, all the Vassal Kings submitted, and the Vassal Rebellion became history. She then shifted focus to raising the demon race’s overall strength.
Demonic power came from bloodlines, and that wasn’t something easily changed. Baixue Ling couldn’t exactly ask pureblood celestial beasts to play stud and sow their seeds far and wide.
And yet, some particularly dense minister really did suggest she act as a mother to the nation—expand her harem, live in nightly indulgence, and give birth to little Baize everywhere.
She almost had that minister executed on the spot. Is that what “Mother of the Nation” means to you?!
The Dragon Palace had a surplus of Spirit Treasures. Baixue Ling had entered a cooperation agreement with them to purchase their Spirit Treasures for use among beast demons.
But those outdated demons couldn’t understand her efforts and resisted every step of the way. Though Baixue Ling had the power, she had no means to wield it effectively—it was frustrating.
If this tournament could wake up even a few demons, that would be worth it.
“If Baize Emperor doesn’t mind, how about allowing our Confucian Sect into your dynasty? We could persuade the demons to adopt Spirit Treasures,” offered Dong Zhongren, the Confucian Sect Master, trying to sell his sect.
Demon beasts were savage, brainless creatures. Even the most eloquent Confucian disciples couldn’t stop a demon from chomping them in half. That was why the Confucian Sect had made no progress in the Baize Dynasty.
But with Baixue Ling’s cooperation, perhaps the Confucian Sect could finally get a foothold.
“…Let’s discuss it later.” To be honest, Baixue Ling was tempted. But she didn’t agree right away—she needed to weigh the pros and cons.
The Confucian Sect could teach demons to reason, but it might also drain their bloodlust.
A demon beast without bloodlust was like a toothless tiger—not even good at scaring people. That would be counterproductive.
“Contestant Tigerbone was just one step short—he lost due to a miscalculation,” Tianming Daoist said regretfully. “If he had a Spirit Treasure to assist him, the outcome might’ve been very different.”
Tigerbone walked off the stage with his head hanging low. His fuzzy little tiger ears twitched slightly, and his eyes faintly gleamed.