270: The real variable

If Long Yuan truly understood the problem, then the Tong Family, as one of the earliest families to know, might be able to find some Opportunity, and such an Opportunity would undoubtedly be invaluable for the development of a lower-to-middle-class Family!

He cautiously said, "Dragon Elder, what is this variable you speak of? How will this variable affect us ordinary people, or rather, our families?"

Long Yuan smiled, "Actually, you should all be aware of this variable; it's just that too much time has passed, and you've temporarily forgotten it..."

"Oh? You mean..."

"Beasts!"

"Beasts?!" Tong Fenglai, Qi Huaiyi, and Xue Qing were all stunned. What kind of variable was this?

Long Yuan saw the expressions on their faces and knew what they were thinking, so he said, "I just said that due to the passage of time, many people have forgotten this point. Actually, this variable can also be described as 'the darkest hour is just before dawn,' because everyone knows Beasts are a threat, but when you mention it every day, every month, every year, for too long, you become numb to it and don't feel it's significant. Moreover, since the Beasts began to recede hundreds of years ago, their threat greatly diminished, and the Human Race has not been as sensitive to the threat of Beasts as before..."

Tong Fenglai nodded, "The threat from Beasts has indeed greatly diminished over the past hundred years or so. Now, even if there are any Beast disasters, they are basically within the Human Race's controllable range. Therefore, Daming's main enemies in recent years have shifted from Beasts to other Human Race countries, especially those powerful nations. This point is almost universally known, but I don't understand why you say Beasts will become a variable in the new situation of Blue Star's struggle for hegemony?"

Long Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "Do the two Seniors know the reason for the sudden receding of Beasts back then?"

Qi Huaiyi mused, "According to records, it seems that strong individuals descended from the heavens and helped the Human Race drive out the Beast powerhouses, causing a collective disappearance of the Beast powerhouses, which then allowed the Human Race to gradually gain the upper hand in this conflict between humans and beasts..."

Tong Fenglai nodded in agreement, "That's right, it's said that the main ones who receded back then were the powerful Beasts from the ocean. After their great recession, the remaining land Beasts still fought fiercely with the Human Race, and it's only in recent years that the Human Race has slowly regained the upper hand..."

"Are Seniors sure that the Human Race has gained the upper hand on land?" Long Yuan asked.

"Well, it's actually hard to say. After all, our Human Race doesn't dare to actively attack now and is still on the defensive, so it might be more appropriate to say that both sides are in a stalemate..." Tong Fenglai's face looked a bit awkward, and he quietly wiped away some sweat.

Long Yuan shook his head, "Actually, on land, the Human Race is still mostly on the defensive and at a disadvantage! Perhaps Daming's strength is still acceptable, which gives many people such a misconception, but if we look at the entire Blue Star, more than half of the land area remains unexplored by the Human Race. The Human Race is not really clear about what terrifying existences are in those vast regions. Who knows if some terrifying fierce beasts might suddenly emerge from somewhere one day!"

"What?! It's actually like that?!" Xue Qing, who was listening nearby, turned pale with fright, covering her mouth with her slender hand, her delicate body trembling slightly. After hearing Long Yuan's words, she realized that her understanding of Blue Star seemed extremely shallow; it turned out that more than half of Blue Star's land had never been touched by the Human Race.

Even Tong Fenglai and Qi Huaiyi were shocked by what they heard, their hearts pounding, feeling a bad premonition!

Qi Huaiyi eagerly asked, "Long Yuan, is your information accurate? There's still more than half of the land that's unknown?"

Long Yuan nodded, "There's no doubt about that. Since the great changes in heaven and earth over a thousand years ago, Blue Star's mass has been continuously expanding. The mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas we see are actually no longer what they were over a thousand years ago, but have expanded significantly without us realizing it. This trend entered an accelerated state in the past few hundred years. Blue Star's entire mass has more than doubled on its original foundation in these recent centuries. So, when I say there's more than half of unknown land, it's actually a bit conservative; it's very possible it has already reached two-thirds!"

"Oh my god!!!" The three of them exclaimed, their faces changing dramatically...

Tong Fenglai suddenly reacted and asked suspiciously, "Long Yuan, you said this trend of Blue Star's change accelerated a few hundred years ago?"

"That's right!"

"Then the sudden receding of the ocean Beasts a few hundred years ago... is it related to this great change in heaven and earth?!"

"Of course it's related!"

"Is that so?!" The three were surprised again.

Long Yuan reminded, "The three of you might want to think, why did Blue Star's mass change begin over a thousand years ago?"

Tong Fenglai pondered, "Over a thousand years ago... that's when heaven and earth began to change drastically, and Profound Qi, this high-energy gas, appeared in the air, which led to our Blue Star gradually entering the Xuan Practitioner Martial Era..."

"Well said! Then why did Blue Star's mass enter an accelerated state a few hundred years ago?" Long Yuan asked again.

"Accelerated state? If what Dragon Elder says is true, then does it mean that Blue Star experienced another new great change in heaven and earth a few hundred years ago? Could it be that an even more potent high-energy gas than Profound Qi appeared on Blue Star?" Tong Fenglai speculated, following the same pattern, but what he didn't expect was that he had actually guessed correctly!

Long Yuan smiled. After all that talk, he had finally touched upon the true variable!

Qi Huaiyi looked at Long Yuan's expression and couldn't help but exclaim in shock, "Long Yuan, could Senior Tong have been right?"

Long Yuan nodded, "Some people in Daming's upper echelons might already know this point, but the vast majority of people are probably still ignorant about it. For example, in your two families, have there been any seemingly special individuals? For instance, their Cultivation and combat strength are somewhat different from the traditional Xuan Practitioner system?"

"This..." Tong Fenglai and Qi Huaiyi exchanged glances, their faces falling into deep thought...

Xue Qing, who was beside them, suddenly said, "Now that Long Yuan mentions it, I actually recall something that has always been difficult for me to understand!"

"Oh? Feel free to tell me..." Long Yuan said.

"Hmm, it's about one of my cousins, named Tong Xuejian. He also had his Awakening this year, but he only has a D-Rank Sword Dao talent, which isn't considered outstanding among the Family disciples. However, his progress has been incredibly fast in the past few months. A few days ago, when I returned to the clan, I heard that he had actually defeated several Family disciples with top-ranked talents and won this year's Newcomer King! Since my Family is quite close to his, and our relationship has always been good, I quietly asked him if he had encountered some great Opportunity, but he said he was also very confused and hadn't had any astonishing Opportunity at all; he just Cultivated normally, yet he didn't know why his combat strength was so powerful. After all, the resources he consumed were extremely limited, and even his sword technique was just a Yellow Rank sword technique, completely incomparable to others' resources..." Xue Qing described.

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