Chapter 306: Chapter 23: Building Trust through Skipping Stones
“The secret technique of Transformation and Demon Core Transformation have fundamental differences.”
“By transcending the Heavenly Tribulation and forming a Demon Core to enter the Transformation Realm (corresponding to the Human Race’s Golden Core Realm), one can obtain a permanent humanoid form, which the Demons call ‘True Monarch’.”
“The humanoid form of a True Monarch is called the Dharma Body; the original form of a Demon is called the True Body.”
“The primary purpose of the Dharma Body is to conceal the racial characteristics of the original form, and secondly, the Dharma Body has flexible hands and fingers, which makes using Daoist Formulas and controlling swords much more convenient.”
“A True Monarch can switch between the Dharma Body and the True Body at will, requiring just a thought to transition seamlessly and with great agility.”
“Wait a minute,” Long Hu, in the form of a blonde young girl, interrupted Long Long’s classroom teaching, “why hide one’s original race?”
“Simple,” Long Long said, “each race has its own bloodline talents.”
“For example, the Dragon Clan’s bloodline talent is ‘higher rank’, which gives rise to ‘Dragon’s Might’, as well as the abilities to release Dragon’s Might by gazing intensely, chanting loud, roaring, and so on, making it an excellent trump card at critical moments.”
“But if opponents know from the start that you’re from the Dragon Clan, then that trump card is as good as revealed and they’ll naturally be prepared.”
An expression of deep thought appeared on Long Hu’s delicate and pretty face.
She suddenly realized that the Fox Clan needed to hide their trump cards even more than the Dragon Clan did.
After all, the Dragon Clan’s Dragon’s Might is a display of raw power, unendurable if one is not strong enough; whereas, the Fox Clan’s mastery of Illusion Techniques is all about striking unexpectedly.
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If someone knows of her Celestial Fox identity, they just need to prepare a Magical Treasure that can resist Illusion Techniques, and her talent essentially becomes ineffective.
Seeing her contemplative look, Long Long started to muse as well.
The Human and Demon Races each have their pros and cons.
Humans lack bloodline talents and are physically weaker, but they compensate with fast development of spiritual wisdom, allowing for quick immersion into the path through learning.
Demons possess bloodline talents and strong bodies, but without the Transformation Period, most of the species remain as oblivious beasts, impossible to guide even by fellow Demons and Cultivators due to their undeveloped spiritual wisdom.
However, Long Hu was a mix of Human, Dragon, and Fox lineages, so the question was – are her bloodline talents calculated according to the Dragon Clan, or the Fox Clan?
He had read some of his mother-in-law’s research notes, which claimed that if two different races interbreed, the more dominant bloodline would swallow the other, thereby eliminating conflict between the bloodlines.
But Long Hu’s case was unusual; her human and Fox Clan bloodlines banded together, resisting the domination of the dragon blood… to this day, his mother-in-law had not understood why.
However, this resistance was disadvantageous for Long Hu, as the strife amongst her three bloodlines could eventually harm her essence.
“Cough, let’s continue,” Long Long regained his focus and continued, “The secret technique for Transformation, after all, is cutting corners, so in many ways it’s not as good as true Transformation.”
“First, maintaining the Transformation requires sustaining the secret technique, so you’ll need to constantly circulate your True Yuan.”
“Second, since it is a secret technique, there’s the possibility of it being seen through, restrained by a Magical Treasure, or failing in other circumstances.”
“Therefore, don’t be complacent just because you have a secret technique. Be careful when you’re out, got it?”
“Got it,” Long Hu bit her lip and said angrily, “And don’t touch my head!”
Long Long calmly withdrew his hand and said,
“Your hair was a mess, I was just smoothing it out… Anyway, once we leave the Hundred Flower Valley, you need to listen to me in everything, understand?”
“I know,” Long Hu reluctantly agreed.
“I can’t hear you!” Long Long said sternly, raising his voice, “Louder!”
“I know! You’re so annoying!” Long Hu cursed angrily and stormed off.
Long Long watched Long Hu leave the house without stopping her.
He felt that Long Hu was becoming more and more like a rebellious teenage daughter recently—a sign that was hardly auspicious.
Unfortunately, for him, who had refined plenty of experience dealing with female Cultivators, there were countless little tricks to handle the little fox.
He quietly left the cabin and found Long Hu by the river.
This little girl was by the riverbank, picking up pebbles to play at skimming stones across the water.
Probably because her fox true body couldn’t pick up stones, she only started to enjoy this wholeheartedly after she could transform into a human form using a secret technique.
Suddenly, a stone flew out, slapping the surface of the river plop plop plop plop—bouncing four times before silently falling into the water.
Long Hu: ………
She turned around angrily and glared at Long Long with her eyes.
With the help of the transformation secret technique, her once golden vertical pupils were completely hidden, making her irresistibly cute.
Therefore, Long Long didn’t feel intimidated but was a bit tempted instead.
However, he was after all a gentleman of integrity and quickly suppressed any improper thoughts, saying proudly,
“How about that, can you do it?”
“Why wouldn’t I be able to?” Long Hu, being childish at heart, was provoked by his taunt and immediately took the bait, “Watch me!”
So, the two of them stood by the lakeside and played the stone-skipping game for nearly an hour.
Long Hu was defeated until her eyes brimmed with tears, not having won even a single time!
Long Long watched with a cold eye, thinking that even Junior Sister Xu wouldn’t fall for this trick; the little fox was really susceptible to provocation.
Then he pretended to be profound and said,
“Well, are you convinced now?”
“No!” Long Hu was still stubborn, “I suspect there’s something wrong with your stones!”
“They’re just pebbles I picked up by the river, what could be wrong with them?” said Long Long with an indifferent expression, “The reason you can’t beat me is actually because I have a special stone-skipping technique. Have you figured it out?”
“What technique?” The little fox’s ears perked up right away, thinking to herself that it must be so, and not because she was less skilled; it was just a matter of information asymmetry!
“Hmph hmph.” Long Long turned his back to her, pretending to be mysterious and playing coy.
“What technique, what technique!” Long Hu saw him about to spill the secrets then suddenly stopping, and immediately became anxious, running around Long Long in circles, “Tell me, tell me!”
Long Long kept turning away and wouldn’t talk to Long Hu.
The little fox, driven by frustration, grabbed his arm and started tugging and shaking it while complaining,
“You’re lying! There’s no special technique at all; you must have tampered with the stones!”
Long Long: ?
Ah, learning so quickly, using reverse psychology on me now?
“I could teach you, but there’s a condition.” He then showed a doting smile like Senior Sister An and spoke gently, “Just maintain your transformed human shape for three hours using the transformation secret technique. Not only will I teach you the stone-skipping technique, but I’ll also make you three specially prepared roasted chickens, each with a different flavor. How about that?”
“I want four!” The little fox immediately seized the opportunity, put her hands on her hips, and said loudly and energetically, “Four different flavors, and each must be as tasty as the salt-and-pepper one!”
Long Long quickly considered in his mind; aside from the salty salt-and-pepper flavor, he could do a sweet one with honey, a spicy one with chili oil, and a garlic flavor with fermented black bean sauce and ‘gold and silver’ garlic; thus, he agreed,
“Four it is, but you must learn it within four days. Every day you exceed the time limit, one roasted chicken will be deducted!”
“I’ll start learning right away!” Long Hu quickly turned and ran back into the wooden hut.
Long Long saw her off as she returned with full determination, thinking to himself that this little fox was indeed easy to deal with, all settled with a combo move.
No wonder the mother-in-law preferred to wait alone for tens of thousands of years rather than let her travel north on her own—she’d definitely be abducted along the way.
Still… being so easily deceived; she’d be tough to look after outside.
He needed to train her obedience as well. Being fooled by her good brother was one thing, but if she were tricked by others outside, that would be truly troublesome.