Chapter 670 At All?
"The Faeries, of course, still didn't understand what their mistake was. To you all, the Fey were wrong for going out to fight such battles. If they weren't so greedy for power and just stayed in the Ethereal Plane where no one could harm them, they wouldn't have any of these issues to deal with. Even if they became weaker, so what? In your era of passivism, no one would harm them in the Ethereal Plane anyway. They would be safe.
"It was then that the pinnacle of the Ancient Beast Era was reached. The Beasts took hold of the Real Plane and became the darling of the Heavens. They set the precedent for what was and all that would be. To this day, the most talented of beasts can simply sleep their way to the pinnacle of cultivation and live out lives of leisure and power.
"However, the Ancient Beast Era obviously came to an end and that was thanks to yet another catastrophe: Humans."
Ryu's lip curled.
"This catastrophe was the first that could be coined as a sentient genocide. With the rise of the first true systematic and ordered cultivation systems, coupled with the abundance of qi, trillions upon trillions of years of trial and error had led to the birth of the first Sky Gods. The result of this was a war between the Humans and Beasts, a war that the Ancestral Beasts ultimately lost, causing the fall of the Ancient Beast Era and and the rise of the Sky God Era.
"But, this is only the tip of the iceberg. The massacre of the beasts was somewhat inevitable as they had run into another roadblock: Their waning Bloodlines. What once was their beast trump card against the Fey became their greatest detriment. Without that ability to sustain their Bloodlines, their numbers grew fewer and fewer while humans continuously grew explosively.
"The trouble was that we humans are a bit insatiable. After forming the Qi Realm cultivation system, we felt that there was more to find. So, we performed all sorts of cruel experiments on the beasts to find out just why it was their bodies were so powerful. The resulting cultivation system was Body Realm cultivation.
"Of course, there were some who chose to simply intermarry and gain beast blood and souls in this way. But, this was a path that only the most powerful could take to begin with considering only beasts who had reached the pinnacle of their Dao could even begin to take human form. However, many more were cruel."
The smile on Ryu's face only became deeper, but there was something decidedly sinister about it all.
"While we were getting what we wanted out of the beasts, there were of course others very much curious about the Faeries. After all, you all had been their rivals for so long. There had to be something powerful about you all, right?
"Unfortunately, entering the Ethereal Plane for a human was near impossible. The difficulty was more than what it would be to simply target the Ancestral Beasts we already shared the Real Plane with. As a result, the beasts became our main focus.
"In that time of war, blood dyed the universe and world after world was destroyed, all for the insatiable greed of us humans. But, there was one advantage the Ancestral Beasts had that we would never, and that was the protection of the Heavens.
"As the Heavens chosen, becoming the first sentient beings to lay claim as the most powerful race, the beasts had advantages the rest of us most definitely did not. Due to this, they were able to find a path toward survival and vanished from the universe, leaving nothing but their legends behind.
"Suddenly without an enemy to target, many humans began to infight, stealing each other's secrets and massacring one another. This bloodshed led to the solidification of a singular cultivation system as the amalgamation of destroyed and ruling Clans fused into one.
"However, this was also the time where the persistence of the Human Race shone through. Generations after the Ancient Beasts vanished, we finally figured out how to enter the Ethereal Plane.
"Initially, we only sent people there to die. After all, Mental Realm cultivation had only been used passively and accumulated over the years as one aged. It was impossible for us to match you all.
"But, the power of one's soul wasn't all that mattered on the Ethereal Plane and while we knew how to fight and war, you all only knew how to speak and reason. Once we snatched enough secrets to grow powerful enough souls, the Faeries no longer stood a chance and began to pay a price for their years of passivism."
Ryu chuckled. "It's quite funny actually. Do you know how you all got out of this situation?
"Much the same way there were humans who originally chose to bond and pair with beasts instead of killing them, there were humans who chose to do the same with Faeries this time too. It was these individuals who helped you all fight and eventually reclaim much of your freedoms.
"Without the Fey to protect you all, throngs of Faeries were massacred one after another and without recourse. In addition, because you all didn't back the Fey, causing them to lose their war to the Beasts, you didn't have a chance at the same protection the Ancestral Beasts received from the Heavens and could only watch as your people died. It was only a few human powerhouses capable of entering, but they alone were capable of plundering you for all you were worth.
"Once again, the Faeries had to rely on the kindness of others to survive. And, the result of that was a union blessed by the Heavens: Life Partners.
"Of course, you all don't really understand what it means to be grateful. You used this tragedy as a point of learning and took from the human cultivation system. From then on, you cultivated both Soul and Qi, making you capable of protecting yourselves now.
"However, you slighted the humans that helped you survive in the same way you slighted your own Ancestors.
"Rather than honoring the Union, there are many of you who never even attempt to seek out your Life Partners, especially those 'nobles' of you who think yourselves to be too good, forgetting that it was this Union that allowed you to even exist to this day.
"When the Sky God Era collapsed because we humans flew too close to the sun while trying to learn from the Nether Plane, resulting in seas of corpse puppets drowning the Real Plane, you all sat on your high horses and didn't bother to lift a finger.
"When the Shrine Era collapsed because of the resurgence of Primordial Qi, you all watched on from the sidelines as though you were enjoying a nice play.
"When the Blossoming Era collapsed because of the Nether Planes invasion on the Real Plane and the Demons treated the descendants of your saviors the same way they had saved you from being treated, you all sat on your asses and did fuck all.
"When the Pedestal Era collapsed because Mental Realm Masters stealing secrets of YOUR Ethereal Plane began to wreak havoc on the Real Plane, making people exist through life as living puppets, your Faerie race tucked your sons and daughters in their soft beds, happy that it wasn't your problem.
"When the Golden Era collapsed, and my family was massacred to its last person, and an invasion from a completely different world happened right under all your noses, you not only did fuck all, you happily strolled into their banquet to congratulate them on your hands and knees."
By the time Ryu said these words, his voice was booming, his momentum causing the half Ethereal Plane to tremble even more than it had under King Cultus' might. In that moment, his gaze might as well have been more crimson that anyone of the Cultus Clan.
"And now you sit here, probably thinking you've entered the so-called 'Martial Era' already, when you have no idea that we're still sitting at the end of the Golden Era. The different this time is that it won't end with a genocide or the end of a few worlds. This time, the entire universe will collapse at the altar of your inaction.
"Yet, even now you're blind to it all, still ignoring the warnings of your own Ancestors. What a pathetic excuse for a race of people."
The Faeries were furious by this point, but Ryu couldn't muster up the stamina to care.
"Oh? You're unconvinced? Why don't you ask yourself why your three Kings are World Sea Realm experts? In fact, why don't you ask yourself the last time your race produced a Sky God at all?"