Chapter 135: Identity Vote, Rule Containment

Meng Yuan Chu Altar.

Qi Sheng was browsing the latest information on the forum.

One recently updated post caught his attention.

The post was published by the well-known forum player "Night Is Coming."

As usual, any post he published would attract a large number of players to watch and discuss within a short time.

He was also the player with the most followers on the forum; basically, both veteran and new players had followed him, and every post update would trigger a system notification.

But this time, Night Is Coming did not publish a strategy guide, but rather a discussion on the power structure based on the known Monster World background, and even initiated a round of voting in the post.

【Regarding the factions of the Monster World, I recently had a sudden whim; brothers, come in and discuss to make some noise.】

Poster: Night Is Coming

Content:

These past few days, the Jile Palace incident has been very lively; I didn't go, but I watched many on-site videos.

From this, a doubt arose in my mind, and I want to ask everyone's opinion.

In the background of the game "Dark Land," the "Monster World," we have already encountered many powerful racial factions; assuming we are not players but enter the Monster World as transmigrators, now given you a chance to choose an identity background, how would you choose?

To clarify in advance, the identities I set are based on existing intelligence data, and there may be situations inconsistent with the facts.

If you have different ideas, you can leave a comment, and I will modify them according to the situation.

Below are the racial factions participating in this evaluation.

Option One: Terror Black Tide.

You, transmigrating into the Monster World, will become a newborn intelligent evil spirit, possessing an Evil Eye to assist your growth (referencing the Earth-Perception Evil Spirit), starting development with a legion of low-level evil spirits from levels 1 to 3, and gradually building a multi-system Terror Black Tide legion during development, including Disaster-type, Plague-type, Death-Disaster-type, Destruction-type, and so on.

The vast arsenal contains countless evil spirit templates available for selection and generation; as long as you possess enough Black Tide energy, you can have whatever troops you want.

You can also gradually expand your territory by covering node domains, gaining more Black Tide nutrients until you become a terrifying disaster sweeping the Monster World.

But during this process, you may also encounter powerful factions and die instantly (after all, the Monster World is full of dangers; theoretically, you could be annihilated at any time by a suddenly descending powerful faction, such as the sudden divine descent of the Mechanical Legion last time, which wiped out us and the Black Tide instantly).

Risk Coefficient: 3 stars (1-10 star rating)

Development Speed: 10 stars

Development Potential: Infinite

Option Two: Battle Insect Race.

After choosing this identity, you will transmigrate to the Monster World and become a low-level Insect Race main brain.

Upon first entering the Monster World, you can obtain energy to breed Insect Race warriors by gnawing on the ground (stones, plants, spiritual materials, and all other resources).

During the process of development and growth, you will continuously collect pheromones released by hostile factions, learn the racial characteristics of the opponent, and breed new Insect Race warriors that counter this ability.

As you obtain more and more pheromones, the Insect Race warriors you breed will become stronger and stronger, gradually adapting to various combat environments.

Theoretically, your ability has no upper limit; although it is a single troop type breeding, the bred troops evolve infinitely, branching out like a skill tree to develop different troop systems; any racial faction engaging you in a long war of attrition will eventually become a harmless sheep, completely losing the threat to you, and ultimately becoming food for you to gain growth nutrients.

As your strength grows, your troop-spawning speed will become faster and faster; where your consciousness points, extreme noise erupts, and all things wail in sorrow.

Of course, it is still possible to die instantly during the development process.

Risk Coefficient: 3 stars

Development Speed: 10 stars

Development Potential: Infinite

Option Three: Reverse Tide Legion.

Making this choice, you will become a humanoid alien creature (it can be observed that most main intelligent creatures in the Monster World are humanoid in form; although there are obvious differences in characteristics, the overall life structure tends towards a humanoid shape); next, you need to participate in the Reverse Tide Legion's selection competition and become a representative of the race to go to Qian Wang Yi Qi training camp to participate in training.

But to become a true warrior, you still need to pass the strict assessments of training camps 1 through 5.

This process has a higher safety coefficient compared to the Black Tide and Insect Tide transmigration options.

As a new recruit, you will receive protection from the Reverse Tide Legion, but after completing the final trial assessment, you will be sent to the brutal front-line battlefield, gaining opportunities for rapid growth, but the probability of dying in battle will also increase significantly.

At this stage of growth, your safety coefficient is far lower than that of the evil spirits in the rear commander mode, let alone the Insect Race main brains.

But there is also a possibility: you survive countless times in brutal wars, obtaining power comparable to gods through the War Divine Seal.

Risk Coefficient: 1-7 stars

Development Speed: 7 stars.

Development Potential: 9 stars.

Option Four: Ancient God Race.

You, descending into the Monster World, become a member of the Ancient God Race; by supervising the operation of the arena, you obtain Dou Soul power; although your race is not numerous (this is my speculation, because the creatures encountered in several nearby seas seem to have never seen the appearance of Ancient God Race members, so I believe this race has a small population and follows an elite development path), but every member has a high growth starting point and can be allocated Dou Soul power to quickly improve strength.

With servants doing the work, you are very relaxed every day, needing only to glance at the arena's revenue.

(There is no accurate intelligence, but I feel that the safety coefficient of transmigrating as an Ancient God Race member is relatively high; small-scale wars do not require your personal participation, and you have a large number of servants to command to help you fight.)

Risk Coefficient: 2 stars

Development Speed: 8 stars

Development Potential: Theoretically infinite (lower than the explicit infinite of the Terror Black Tide and Battle Insect Race, based only on theory)

Option Five: Soul Return Race.

You, becoming a member of the Soul Return Race, possess the rule ability to spread Soul-Shaping Seeds; all creatures hostile to you will be devoured and possessed by Soul Beasts after being killed by you (reshaping their flesh bodies); the Soul Beast legion you build needs to start development from weak factions, devouring and copying one hostile faction after another, controlling a vast diversified legion, while your main hostile faction is the Reverse Tide Legion, and the crisis of race extinction can arrive at any time.

Therefore, you need to lie low and develop, accumulating strength as much as possible until you completely crush the Reverse Tide Legion.

Risk Coefficient: 6 stars.

Development Speed: 9 stars

Development Potential: Depends on the quality of opponents, theoretically infinite (invincible in favorable situations, beaten up in unfavorable situations).

Option Six: Jile Race.

You will become a new-generation warrior following the Lord of Jile, responsible for supervising multiple Jile branch node scenes, obtaining a portion of Jile Power energy by hunting other creatures in the Monster World (the bulk must be paid as tax to the Lord of Jile, so you can only obtain a portion of the Jile Power).

Compared to the other options, your survival risk coefficient is the lowest; you can hide in an independent spatial scenario without competing with external beings for growth resources.

More importantly, you can occasionally indulge yourself with Bliss Power, lurking in the Bliss Spatial Scenario and watching various factions slaughter each other in the Monster World.

When you grow strong enough, you will follow the Lord of Bliss and march toward the Monster World.

Risk coefficient: 1 star

Development speed: 7 stars

Development potential: 8 stars.

Finally, for the whole package, offer a starting identity with a higher baseline.

Option seven: Mechanical Legion.

This option is hard to pull off—starting directly as a Mechanical Sovereign is too high a baseline.

So I specifically asked the Guide.

The Guide said that within the Mechanical Legion, there are node-command warriors, known as Low-Level Sovereigns.

In the starting phase, as a Low-Level Sovereign you gain the ability to devour metallic substances to grow stronger, and you can receive from the Sovereigns "Divine Metal" (a sentient metal capable of self-repair; a low-tier version can be referenced by the old movie T-1000) refined by rules.

With Sovereign assistance, your technological development can be described as day-by-day renewal; new technologies flood your mind daily, allowing you to rapidly upgrade your body's strength and establish a vast Mechanical Legion to sweep across all directions.

Risk coefficient: 3 stars

Development speed: 9 stars

Development potential: Theoretically infinite.

Option eight: Tian Huo Clan.

This time, you directly reincarnate as the leader of the Tian Huo Clan—the Tian Huo Fa Wang (no choice; other races' starting points and potential are too high, so this time you become the boss).

At the start, you have a Hunting Rank of 76—the highest starting point in the entire field.

At the moment before reincarnation, the Tian Huo Fa Wang had already initiated the plan to enter the Monster World; upon arrival, you possess the Tian Huo Fa Wang and are forcibly cast into the Monster World.

Next, you will lead your clan into conflict with countless races and factions in the Monster World, seeking ways to grow and break the deadlock.

Fortunately, this time you have arrived in a true starter village—a nearby area where no factions are strong—but you deeply realize the outside world is brimming with danger, and you must rapidly develop your clan to prepare for crises that may arrive at any moment.

The only advantage is that the Monster World's resources are abundant; your and your clan's growth rate far exceeds what it was when you were still in the small world.

Risk coefficient: 10 stars.

Development speed: 1 star

Development potential: 1 star

Achieved special achievement: Clan Leader, Proof of the Brave (Starting with the old, weak, sick, and disabled, nightmare mode, the highest difficulty in the entire game).

……

These are the eight different faction identities I've set.

Among these eight options, which identity will you choose to reincarnate into the Monster World?

Any choice carries a risk of sudden death, as the Monster World's environment is far too complex, with myriad races and warlords vying for dominance; thus, in the setting, the starting regions are all weak factions, forming a starter village environment.

Hurry up and vote—let me see what you all think. Free comments welcome.

Comments section:

Close-Range Fa Wang: Isn't this a single-choice question? I'd definitely pick the Bliss Clan—occasionally indulging in Bliss Power, hiding in the Bliss Spatial Scenario, joyfully carefree, constantly capturing beings from other worlds to feed my growth. The name of the Bliss Clan says it all: happiness is enough. As for lower development potential compared to other factions… enjoy first, worry later.

WordMAYA: If it were me, I'd pick the Terror Black Tide—flanked by a loyal Evil Eye, controlling endless Black Tide to wipe you all out. You upstairs want to hide and have fun? When I grow strong, I'll storm the Bliss Palace, throw you into the Black Tide, then spawn a hundred Catastrophe-tier giants to make you feel the ultimate pressure of natural disaster. Who do you think you are, coming to the Monster World to have fun? Only my Black Tide can be fun—you all die. I want to see rivers of blood. (Bricklayer's sinister grin. jpg)

A Minor Actor: The Battle Insect Clan's setup is insanely cool—you collect pheromones and continuously evolve new soldier types. Once I've fought countless races and gained full abilities and full attribute resistances, even my lowest soldier is nearly impossible to kill. This trait pack is unbeatable; just look at the Tian Huo War—by the end, Tian Huo Clan's abilities were nearly useless against insects. When I've conquered all races, I'll reign supreme as the Invincible Insect King. (Explorer's win. jpg)

Strong Fatty: Definitely pick the Bliss Clan. Lower development potential compared to other factions isn't an issue. The Monster World's setting is too intense—the chance of dying explosively is terrifyingly high. Survival is the top priority. As for development speed and potential—you need to be alive to develop.

Beneath the Star Core: I want to ask why no one picked the Tian Huo Clan? Becoming a faction leader, starting a lord's conquest mode, isn't it great to begin with farming? (Funny face. jpg)

Xiang Feng Bu Wen Gui Qi replies to Beneath the Star Core: Good, I'll pick the Insect Clan and eat you first. Good luck.

Aged and Frail: I like the Soul Return Clan—give me everything. I instantly inherit your hard-earned troops. Soul Beasts feel like a pet system—I can generate different pet types and theoretically possess the troops of every faction in the Monster World. Development potential is huge. The only downside is I can't rapidly grow like the Insect Tide or Black Tide, but I don't need rapid growth—I focus on possession and evolution.

……

The question raised by Black Night Is Coming sparked heated debate on the forum.

Aside from the added Tian Huo Clan, the other seven are all races with theoretically infinite development potential.

Each race holds one—or even multiple—external rule bonuses.

Theoretically, after reincarnation, all are protagonist templates, capable of rapid growth and eventual transformation into a Catastrophe.

Regarding which faction is most suitable for reincarnation, players discussed across three dimensions: development speed, development risk, and development potential.

But more often, personal subjective preferences added weight.

After multiple rounds of discussion, the final voting results are as follows:

First place: Bliss Clan (Absorbing Infinite Bliss Power)

Second place: Terror Black Tide (Consumption Evolution, Infinite Troop Library, Companion Evil Eye)

Third place: Battle Insect Clan (Consumption, Pheromone-Driven Evolution)

Fourth place: Reverse Tide Legion (Early-Stage Resource Support, Late-Stage War Growth)

Fifth place: Mechanical Legion (Infinite Self-Repair, Godlike Technology)

Sixth place: Ancient God Clan (Enhanced by Battle Soul Power)

Seventh place: Soul Return Clan (Soul Beast Possession and Inheritance)

Eighth place: Tian Huo Clan (No External Bonuses)

……

This vote also reveals players' judgments on faction strengths.

Without question, the strongest faction is Terror Black Tide—the strongest known, and likely the strongest actual, force in the Monster World.

Back then, the Guide, Yan Ming, Hyperdimension, and Jiu Yin all slew the Black Tide Demon God—but that was only a portion of the Black Tide Legion's power.

The exact proportion is unclear.

But what can be confirmed is that during the Cataclysm War, the supreme deity behind the Terror Black Tide did not act.

So even though the Demon Gods all perished, the Black Tide still possessed very strong combat power, and was even conducting a super war spanning worlds; Monster World was only one of its battlefields.

The difference is that in the Black Tide's eyes, Monster World is the core battlefield, while other worlds are merely local skirmishes.

Next comes the Battle Bug Tide.

The evolutionary ability gained from collecting and modifying pheromones allows them to fight back against the Terror Black Tide, even gaining the upper hand in local wars.

If a single troop type, or a single-ability racial faction, faced the Bug Tide, they would inevitably feel endless despair.

Take Tian Huo Fa Wang, for example — he could not comprehend that techniques painstakingly developed over generations could be analyzed and countered within a few days, rendered utterly harmless.

This fear is not very clear from the players' perspective, but switching the viewpoint to the Tian Huo Clan lets one feel the bone-deep chill.

It would not be wrong to call it a dimensionality-reduction strike.

Its growth potential has already exceeded the scope the Tian Huo Clan can comprehend.

It can be foreseen that in the future, as the player legion continues to grow, some of the factions they encounter will gradually exit the stage.

Like a card game, those who lose all their chips can only be forced to leave.

As for the Terror Black Tide and the Battle Bug Tide, these two factions with deep foundations and infinite chips will always exist.

Even if the players crushed the Bug Tide and Black Tide at the Di Tomb Mountain Range, that was only a negligible part of the Black Tide and Bug Tide's massive legion system.

The higher one goes on Shijiewutai, the stronger the presence of these two factions becomes.

Apart from these two factions, all other factions also have great potential, with infinite possibilities for development.

Based on the Guide's inference, the fall of Beneath Di Zhao severed the connections between the rule nodes of Monster World, causing a layer of concealment barrier shrouding Monster World to gradually dissipate over time.

Precisely because of this, Monster World was completely exposed to the eyes of countless factions.

It is a super world they had never seen before, containing countless rule territories that can infinitely nurture resources, its richness far beyond what other worlds can compare to.

Countless greedy gazes converged here.

After this, massive numbers of factions poured into Monster World, establishing new clan lands here.

Some factions even began remodeling Monster World.

For example, the Terror Black Tide would merge the worlds it devoured into Monster World, thereby expanding Monster World's area and aiding its growth.

There were also factions that, upon descending, brought core continental plates of their worlds to merge into Monster World, creating home-field advantage.

The arrival of countless factions turned Monster World into a battlefield where myriad powerful clans clashed and plundered.

Who can truly claim supremacy over Monster World and become the next supreme god like Beneath Di Zhao remains unknown.

In this process, some factions will exit the stage, and new factions will appear with ambitions of world conquest.

Knowledge, strength, civilization, barbarism, technology, talent, rules… all converge and collide.

This is a transformation Monster World has never seen before; countless factions are stirring, eager to climb to the peak.

Scrolling through the players' comments on the various factions, Qi Sheng's mind unfolded a magnificent tapestry, playing out an epic scene of warring hegemons and myriad clans vying for hegemony, and a surge of bold heroism rose within him.

A magnificent new era was Xu Xu beginning to unfold, and the player legion he led would surely claim a place in this new world.

He was confident that, stepping on the wreckage of countless powerful clans, with the help of the player legion, he could ascend to the supreme god throne that once belonged to Beneath Di Zhao and rule over Monster World.

【Boss, I have confidence in you too. With the assistance of us four servants, you will surely reshape Beneath Di Zhao's true self and grasp supreme power.】

Hearing this, Qi Sheng turned to look at the Guide and asked with a smile:

"What about you? Do you have any dreams?"

【Yes. The day Boss inherits all of Beneath Di Zhao's power, help me restore my true form. Then I'll grab two big cleavers and chop Black Tide Demon Gods for you — this time I'll cut down a few more, cut to my heart's content.】

【Of course, there's also a possibility that the Terror Black Tide might exit the stage early, and an even more powerful faction might appear to replace the Black Tide and wage the final decisive battle for supremacy against us.】

"You think there could be a faction stronger than the Terror Black Tide?" Qi Sheng was somewhat surprised.

【Not sure, I'm just saying there's such a possibility. But without a doubt, the Terror Black Tide is indeed the most powerful faction we know of… As for the future, who can know? Perhaps an even stronger faction than the Black Tide will descend, or perhaps a rising star will seize the momentum and trample those deeply founded powerful clans beneath its feet, becoming a new disaster-level faction. The future holds too many variables to predict.】

"Perhaps. What we need to do is walk the path before us well first, then look to the future."

As his words fell, Qi Sheng's gaze began rapidly switching between the Di Tomb Mountain Range, the Colorful Mist Coast, and the forum, gathering information for optimization and improvement.

……

Colorful Mist Coast, Cangxing Sea Area.

Shuijingdian domain node.

The mysterious Undersea World hides breathtakingly gorgeous scenery, as if a palette had been poured here, painting an unparalleled dreamlike tapestry.

Sunlight pierced the sea surface, leaving visible light and shadow in the deep sea, dancing with the plankton in the water.

Coral reefs are the architects of the Undersea World, varied in form and resplendent in color, composing a well-arranged Underwater World. Countless sea creatures hide among the coral branches, swimming leisurely or foraging everywhere.

There were also colorful shells, exotic undersea plants… and even the wreckage of ancient sunken ships that had sunk who knows how many years ago, adding a touch of historical weight to the gorgeous Undersea World.

At this moment, in front of the great hall constructed of resplendent crystal, players of the Gillfish Clan and the Abyss Fish Clan were erupting into a great battle with sea creatures.

After this period of hunting and growth, the Gillfish Clan and Abyss Fish Clan players had grown rapidly.

Their average hunting level was already close to level 20.

The Shadow-Scale Shrimp Guards and Shadow-Scale Crab Guards opposing them were being slaughtered in large numbers.

As one side waned and the other waxed, this domain node had also reached an important battle node for containment.

For this battle, all Abyss Fish Clan and Gillfish Clan players were present.

Each clan opened a war group, with two combat commanders issuing orders.

Although it was the Undersea World, the combat commanders likewise used the Eagle-Headed Yao Painful Painful Minghun, observing changes in the battle through sensory vision.

A thrilling battle was on the verge of erupting; the violent sea creatures surged forth like a black storm.

Two undersea wave lines converged in front of Shuijingdian, beginning to slaughter each other.

During this, the Abyss Fish Clan and Gillfish Clan players could skillfully move freely through the water, like ocean spirits, with no restrictions on their movement whatsoever.

Their combat strategy was completely different from that of the human players.

The Gillfish Clan was better suited to small-scale skirmishes, employing a battlefield-division tactic.

The first wave of charges carved the battlefield into countless isolated pockets, letting them hunt down the separated undersea creatures together with their clansmen.

This time, the Gillfish Clan and Abyss Fish Clan players enjoyed an overwhelming numerical advantage.

Meanwhile, the squad voice channel was buzzing with excitement:

"Rankings are up to 394 now, brothers, keep pushing! Let's go for the top-200 Purge Mission reward."

"Yao-ge is insane, he's climbed to 3rd place—he'll grab the Body Tempering reward straight up. I'm dying of envy."

"Hahaha, the Bloodthirst Painful Painful Minghun is so strong! I did a lap around the battlefield and I'm full HP, the lifesteal feels amazing. From now on I'm dumping all my Evolution stat points into Bloodthirst Painful Painful Minghun."

"No human players stealing rankings, this is bliss. My rank of 132 should be locked in—brothers, help me push a bit higher."

……

While chatting in the squad channel, the players could also hear prompts from the commander in the warband voice channel.

Unlike the human warband commanders who coordinated the whole battlefield, the Gillfish and Abyss Fish commanders were more like alert machines.

They watched the battle and called out reminders to the clansmen fighting in their sectors—things like dodging, the enemy being low on HP, and so on.

Unlike the human players' voice channels, which occasionally erupted in cursing.

Their clan-like social structure meant the Gillfish and Abyss Fish had almost no internal conflicts. Blood ties and tight-knit small-scale social bonds wove them into a closely connected social network, with members always supporting one another.

This trait carried over into other areas as well.

In reality, the Gillfish and Abyss Fish were among the weakest factions in the Earth Alliance, and they had to band together to have any voice in it.

Moreover, in previous games these two races had also been disadvantaged groups.

Compared with other races, neither their player count nor their financial resources could match those of the Earth Alliance's top ten great clans.

Wanting to profit through the game, they had to stay extremely united to avoid being bullied by other races in-game.

The players from both races who had entered Monster World carried on this fine tradition—fighting in harmony, with no monster-stealing, no trash talk, no attacks on their own side.

They had already grown familiar with the combat patterns of the Shadow Scale Shrimp Guard and Shadow Scale Crab Guard, and now fought with room to spare.

After their Painful Painful Minghun levels rose, these two undersea monsters no longer posed the threat they once did.

The tide of the undersea battle was shifting in the direction the Gillfish and Abyss Fish players had hoped for.

Two hours later.

The Shadow Scale Shrimp Guard and Shadow Scale Crab Guard were swept clean. Thousands of alien-race players let out excited cheers in the voice channel, thrilled by this hard-won victory.

But just as the two races' players prepared to approach the Shuijingdian domain node and enter it, something suddenly went wrong.

From the still seabed mud layer, a thick tail burst upward, churning the water and slamming violently into the two races' players approaching the Shuijingdian.

Caught off guard, dozens of players were smashed straight into the seabed mud on the spot, their souls returning to Beneath Di Zhao.

"Watch out, something's coming up from below."

Along with the warning in the voice channel, a massive undersea beast broke free of the mud and revealed itself.

Its enormous body shook, sending mud and water fanning out to nearly blot out their vision.

A muffled growl rose up, and the surrounding seawater trembled with it, forming rings of fine ripples that spread into the distance.

Once the currents swept away the mud and water, the mysterious creature's silhouette came into clear view.

It was an undersea monster nearly 20 meters long. Its skin, under the faint light, was a deep blue-black, marked with mottled silver stripes. A pair of huge eyes glowed like lanterns in the dark. Its towering dorsal fin stood like a sail on a fishing boat, swaying gently with the current, and each sweep of its massive flipper seemed capable of raising great waves.

The instant the monster appeared, nearby small marine creatures seemed startled and began fleeing in all directions.

Its huge mouth, bristling with sharp teeth, opened at that moment. Seawater rushed in, and it lunged at the nearby players with the weight of a mountain bearing down.

After the players activated Analyze, the monster's information flooded into their minds:

【Shelltooth (Second-Gen Meng Yuan Chu)】

Hunt Level: 52

Target Analysis: A Second-Gen Meng Yuan Chu monster with the "Control" trait. It can use psychic shock to dominate any creature whose spiritual force is weaker than its own.

……

The sudden appearance of the Shelltooth beast gave the two races' players a real fright.

But once Analyze revealed it was a Hunt Level 52 Second-Gen Meng Yuan Chu, they grew wildly excited.

The battle horn sounded silently through the quiet Undersea World.

They immediately organized themselves over the voice channel and launched a fierce assault on Shelltooth.

Shelltooth, in turn, charged the two races' players with the force of a thunderbolt, the currents it kicked up spawning undersea whirlpools.

The great battle was about to erupt.

A Hunt Level of 52 didn't sound high, but in truth it put enormous pressure on the two races' players.

On the surface, the two races' players averaged close to Level 20, and the remaining thousands of clansmen combined should have been able to take down Shelltooth with ease.

But combat power was never as simple as quantity times level.

When facing monsters of a lower Hunt Level, players could break through their defenses and finish them off easily.

But against monsters of a higher Hunt Level, breaking their defense became extremely difficult. They also had to factor in the target's defense, ability strength, kill efficiency, self-healing rate, and so on.

Often, a high Hunt Level monster could cut down swathes of players with ease, while the players' attacks only dealt minor damage.

And in the later levels, every single level brought a significant gap in combat power.

The Level 52 Shelltooth was like the Black Wind Clan leader who had attacked the Mist Coast back then—able to move through the two races' players' encirclement with complete ease.

But the two races' players' attacks were not entirely without effect.

Blood Burn, Toxicity, Shatter, Forbidden Edge—a whole suite of effect-based Meng Yuan Chu abilities—could still crack its defenses and deal damage.

During the battle, the Gillfish and Abyss Fish followed their commander's arrangements and spread out to avoid being wiped out in clusters.

This tactic sharply cut Shelltooth's killing efficiency. Each kill required it to adjust direction and find a new target, suppressing its attack efficiency.

But the blood-draining process also plagued players from both tribes.

In combat, it was evident that Beiya's body possessed powerful self-healing abilities—wounds on its body would heal in no time.

This was literally a nightmare for blood-draining tactics.

Some players attempted to bypass Beiya and reach the node crystal, aiming to secure the domain node first before considering killing Beiya.

But Beiya gave the players of both tribes no opportunity.

Some players proposed the coral tactic: luring Beiya into the underwater coral thickets to restrict its attack and mobility efficiency through terrain.

But Beiya still fell for none of it, steadfastly guarding the vicinity of the domain node and preventing players from approaching.

This behavior left players from both tribes deeply confused.

But they did not dwell on the question—now their core objective was to kill Beiya and seize the domain node.

Through observing Beiya's combat style, a player in the voice channel proposed a tactic.

The Parasite Tactic.

This tactic was proposed by the Han tribe strategy forum player "Hot Spring Boiled Egg."

In the post, "Hot Spring Boiled Egg" hypothesized a combat method usable under specific conditions, calling it the Parasite Stream.

The prerequisites for this tactic were threefold, all tied to the enemy's design: Giant Beast, Powerful Self-Healing, No Aura, Domain-Type Continuous Damage Ability.

The tactic involved players bearing the Ke Bing Xue Yin mark clinging to Beiya's wounded areas like parasites, using the Ke Bing Xue Yin's continuous blood-draining to prevent wound healing and inflict sustained damage.

Players with the conditions could also combine it with other special-effect Painful Painful Minghun to enhance damage.

This tactic was merely one of many proposed by "Hot Spring Boiled Egg" on the forum, received low discussion popularity, and was largely ignored, sinking into obscurity quickly.

But one member of the Suiyu Tribe had read this post.

He shared the post link in the voice channel, urging everyone to try the tactic, suggesting it might suppress Beiya's powerful self-healing through parasitism.

The Suiyu and Yuanfish Tribe commanders, upon understanding the tactic, acted immediately.

They grouped all players bearing the "Ke Bing Xue Yin" Painful Painful Minghun and launched a parasitic assault on Beiya.

But the difficulty of attaching was extraordinarily high—players kept dying en route, yet some eventually succeeded in latching on.

They resembled barnacles clinging to a whale's hide, their bodies fixed in place by bands released from the Ke Bing Xue Yin Painful Painful Minghun itself, entwining to anchor them.

Meanwhile, commanders in the voice channel began instructing both tribes to narrow their attack range, avoiding killing their own parasitized players.

The tactic worked.

Though barely, Beiya's self-healing was severely restricted under the Ke Bing Xue Yin's suppression.

Wounds on its body could no longer heal, and the battle pace accelerated accordingly.

Finally, when fewer than five hundred players remained, the massive Beiya beast collapsed with a thunderous crash.

The remaining players cheered excitedly, celebrating this hard-won victory.

The Challenger Prompt sounded at this moment:

【Challenger Prompt (All Channels): Congratulations to the player squads: Suiyu Power, Yuanfish Into the Sea—successfully contained the second-generation Meng Yuan Chu beast. Shared reward: 20,000 Shou Shou Jili (shared among all participants in the kill).】

Contained Meng Yuan Chu trait: Control.

Trait Analysis: Manipulates beings with weaker spiritual force than oneself via spiritual shock; number of controlled targets influenced by one's own spiritual strength, target's spiritual strength, and Painful Painful Minghun rank.

……

This containment broke the record for participation since server launch.

Han tribe players who heard the news immediately opened their Star Vein function and called up the Painful Painful Minghun Library to check details on the new Painful Painful Minghun.

Upon seeing the Painful Painful Minghun's form, countless Beast Stream players erupted in cheers within the voice channel.

"Hahaha, finally a practical Beast Stream Painful Painful Minghun for sea battles—I love Beiya's design, it has the cruelty and dominance a Beast Stream should have."

"Land Blackscale Snake, Sea Beiya—I'm just missing a sky-type Beast Stream Painful Painful Minghun now, then I'll have all three: land, sea, and air. Guys, push hard—contain a sky combat Painful Painful Minghun soon."

"Perfect, I'll get my buddy to swap for the Beiya Painful Painful Minghun—then ride my buddy across the waves. Just thinking about it feels amazing."

"Wait, aren't Beast Stream players supposed to focus on a single Painful Painful Minghun? Why are you all playing multiple now?"

"Beast Stream focuses on Painful Painful Minghun form combat—what does it matter how many you use? Besides, we train at most three. If a future Beast Stream Painful Painful Minghun capable of land-sea-air combat appears, we'll definitely switch back to single-Painful Painful Minghun and dismantle the others. Unlike your Mainline Inheritance Stream, hoarding dozens of future Painful Painful Minghun—imagine the cultivation difficulty. Just thinking about it exhausts me."

"Beiya is so cool—my second Beast Stream Painful Painful Minghun is decided: you!"

……

The newly contained Beiya (Control) Painful Painful Minghun sent Beast Stream players into ecstatic delight.

Before this, the only Painful Painful Minghun form usable in sea battles was Jisu, whose beast form was a giant black fish—but Jisu lacked the most critical trait of the Beast Stream.

That was size.

As Jisu's rank increased, its physical growth was minimal.

Just this one point caused players choosing the Beast Stream to reject Jisu.

But Beiya was different—it could grow to nearly twenty meters in length at level 52, its massive bulk truly evoking the presence of a deep-sea monster.

Coupled with Beiya's ferocious performance in combat videos, Beast Stream players fell in love with it at first glance.

While players discussed the new Painful Painful Minghun, the remaining players before the Shuijingdian were excitedly gathering the leftover lobster and crab meat from the great battle.

These were spiritual ingredients—sellable on the trading market for coins, or consumable for Body Strengthening experience.

These materials were extra rewards from the underwater battle.

After collecting all the spiritual food, they entered the Shuijingdian.

Inside, a massive monster skeleton stood upright—the analysis indicated it was the remains of a deep-sea monster, and mentioned that the skeleton's owner had once raised Beiya.

This made both squads realize that Beiya's behavior of controlling sea creatures and guarding the Shuijingdian's domain node might be tied to the skeleton's owner.

This behavior resembled tomb-guarding—preserving the bones through spiritual nourishment as an act of remembrance.

But this was merely a conjecture pieced together from fragmented clues; the true reason remained unknown to players.

The only certainty was that the owner of this massive skeleton was certainly not Beiya's mother.

Because Meng Yuan Chu monsters, as explained in the guidance, possess no bloodline kinship; every Meng Yuan Chu monster is an independent individual and shares no bloodline connection with any living being.

Pressing deeper into the palace, players of both races finally saw the floating Node Crystal.

When the leading player reached out and touched the Node Crystal, the node was instantly covered from bottom to top by a layer of crimson ability, transforming into a crimson crystal.

A black dot formed above the crystal, spinning rapidly and expanding until it engulfed the entire Shuijingdian.

At the same time, the Di Zhong Village space and the Colorful Mist Coast space trembled, their areas expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The expansion ratio between the two spaces was 9:1.

That is to say, for every new Domain Node absorbed, Di Zhong Village claimed ninety percent of the area, while one percent was allocated to the Colorful Mist Coast space.

This was a setting Qi Sheng had considered for future development.

The Di Zhong Village space was the core, while the Colorful Mist Coast space was merely an affiliated branch; similar affiliated spaces would continue to be opened in the future.

Thus, a branch space claiming one percent was already sufficient; once more branch spaces existed in the future, even that one percent might be abolished.

As the new Domain Node integrated, a full-channel notification rang out:

【Challenger Notification (Full Channel): Congratulations to the player legion on successfully absorbing the Domain Node "Shuijingdian," gaining the group-buff Domain Rule: Crowd Gathering.】

(End of Chapter)