Hades, the Urban Legend

Chapter 732: Chapter 735: Neptune

Yang Chen patted his forehead and sighed, "I get it now. History has no absolute truth—it's just written in a way that's favorable to one side. Perhaps the person who told me those things wasn't lying but merely shared what's considered 'victory history' within Hongmeng."

"You're absolutely right," Christine said dismissively. "What you know is nothing but nonsense. Perhaps some of Yanxia's ancestors did possess strength far beyond our imagination. However, when we arrived on Earth tens of thousands of years ago, the Earth's spiritual energy—oh, that's the energy required for cultivation beyond the innate perfection—was already in decline. The Hongmeng cultivators at that time were far inferior to their ancestors, with the most powerful only reaching the Tribulation stage. Even though they numbered in the thousands, we gods also had tens of thousands of divine soldiers. Why would we fear them? Besides, the twelve main gods could reincarnate almost infinitely, while Yanxia's cultivators, once dead, were gone for good and had short lifespans. How could they possibly be our match?"

Yang Chen frowned, sensing something wasn't right. "But that doesn't add up. Last time, when I fought Ares, my true energy broke through his frozen space. It seems that Yanxia's martial arts can counter space laws. So how could you have had the upper hand back then? Besides, now that I've surpassed innate perfection, my true essence is much stronger than my past true energy. The space laws should be even less threatening. You also mentioned that there were a dozen Tribulation-stage masters back then. Their power should have surpassed mine, so even if Zeus and Athena were strong, they couldn't have been that overwhelmingly powerful, right?"

Christine looked at Yang Chen strangely. "Hades, who on earth has been feeding you all this nonsense?"

"What do you mean?" Yang Chen felt a bit uneasy under her gaze.

"Hmph," Christine rolled her eyes. "You're underestimating yourself. Let me ask you, how many people know the martial art you're cultivating?"

Yang Chen thought for a moment, recalling what Yunmiao Shitai had told him. "It's said that I practice the 'Wangnian Yansheng Jing' of Shushan. Since the creation of this technique, only a handful of people have ever been able to cultivate it, due to its extreme requirements on the practitioner's aptitude and physical condition. After the elder who taught me passed away many years ago, I'm likely the only one who knows it now."

"Exactly," Christine replied. "You think every Yanxia martial art has the same combat power? Even at the 'Nascent Soul' stage, there's a huge difference in the quality of different techniques. Your martial art is clearly superior to most others, meaning your inner energy is already stronger than that of most Nascent Soul cultivators. Do you think others can break Ares' spatial divine power with true energy like you did?"

"So you're saying that even among those at the same Nascent Soul or Tribulation stage, there's a significant difference in strength?" Yang Chen's mind lit up as he realized what he had been overlooking.

Indeed, although different paths can lead to the same ultimate truth, a higher level of understanding doesn't necessarily equate to greater combat power!

It's like comparing a monk who has meditated for decades and has a profound understanding of nature to a young monk who has learned martial arts but has less spiritual insight. In a fight, the younger monk would still have the upper hand because combat relies on strength, speed, and technique, not just enlightenment!

With Christine's words, Yang Chen suddenly realized that he had been conflating cultivation level with combat ability all along!

To be fair, Yang Chen's misunderstanding was understandable. The people he had encountered, like Lingxuzi and Yan Sanniang, had all reached the Nascent Soul stage and were also formidable fighters. Otherwise, Hongmeng wouldn't have sent Lingxuzi as their emissary, and Yan Sanniang wouldn't have been tasked with protecting Yang Gongming.

Because of this, Yang Chen had always assumed that anyone who reached the Nascent Soul stage was a top-tier combatant, unaware that even Yan Sanniang might have only had a partial understanding of the broader picture!

Christine continued her explanation, "Hades, let me tell you something. Tens of thousands of years ago, most ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators, despite reaching that stage, had very average combat abilities. Their true essence was barely enough to compete with the spatial divine power of ordinary gods. Many of them learned to use natural elements in battle, but only a few hundred of them could pose any real threat to the twelve main gods.

Honestly, you were pretty foolish to believe we were the defeated side back then. Think about it: if we had lost, why would your Yanxia ancestors only control the Yanxia territory while we occupied the rest of the world? It's because they knew that continuing to fight would lead to mutual destruction, so they tacitly accepted our presence."

Yang Chen nodded. It was indeed illogical. When Yan Sanniang told him all this, he hadn't thought it through. Now, Christine's explanation revealed all the holes in that story.

As for the rule that the gods couldn't reincarnate into Yanxia's people, it was probably just because they didn't want to possess the bodies of their "enemies." Moreover, after reincarnation, their offspring would be born outside Yanxia. Naturally, the gods were interested in seeing their descendants, even if they weren't their direct bloodline. For example, Judy from Blue Storm, whom Yang Chen had killed, was a descendant from one of Christine's previous incarnations.

Suddenly, Yang Chen thought of something strange and asked, "If that's the case, why was Ares so surprised by my technique when we fought? Didn't he experience the war tens of thousands of years ago?"

Christine frowned, "Did he ask you about it? What did you tell him?"

"I told him it was Yanxia's internal energy technique," Yang Chen said, realizing something and then laughing. "So that's it. You were fighting against cultivators who had at least reached the Nascent Soul stage and were using true essence, while I was still using true energy in its earlier internal energy stage. No wonder Ares thought it was something new."

Christine looked at Yang Chen like he was a monster. "Hades, are you saying that the Yanxia martial art you're practicing hadn't even reached the true essence state, yet you broke through Ares' frozen space?"

Yang Chen, feeling somewhat proud, said, "How about that? Not bad, right?"

Christine bit her lip, feeling a bit jealous. "It's more than just 'not bad.' Even the top Tribulation-stage experts from tens of thousands of years ago would rarely have such an overpowering technique. Your martial art is so high-level that it makes people envious."

A hint of anxiety flashed across Christine's face. She stamped her foot in the air and said, "This won't do! Hades, you might break through to the Tribulation stage in the future, and then you'd be capable of harming Zeus and Athena. You can't betray us! At the very least, you must remain neutral!"

Yang Chen was confused. "Why do you keep mentioning how strong Zeus and Athena are? Could they really be that terrifying?"

Christine sighed, a trace of awe in her eyes. "I can only tell you this: among the twelve main gods, Ares is the weakest, despite his love for battle. That's why he always seeks out fights, hoping to cover up this fact. Next in line would be me; my combat strength is similar to Ares'.

When I said your understanding of space laws was impressive, I wasn't being entirely truthful because I didn't want to discourage you or hurt your pride. But the truth is, there's a huge gap in strength among the twelve main gods.

As for the others, like Apollo and Diana, whom you've already met, they are far stronger than Ares and me. They might not have shown their true power in front of you. And let's not even talk about your predecessor, Hades, or Poseidon. As for Zeus and Athena, I've already told you that if it weren't for the underhanded tactics of those Yanxia cultivators tens of thousands of years ago, Zeus and Athena would have crushed them in a direct confrontation. Yanxia would have long been conquered by us."

Yang Chen's heart sank. This night had been quite enlightening, leaving his confidence deeply shaken. He forced a bitter smile and said, "I can't wrap my head around it. How can space laws, which should be consistent, vary so much in strength? Even with the help of divine artifacts, isn't it still just the power of space? Cultivators beyond the Nascent Soul stage are said to 'transcend the Three Realms,' so how can space still be a threat?"

Christine was about to explain when her expression suddenly changed. "It's Neptune?!"

Yang Chen also sensed a powerful energy fluctuation coming from the east. It was undoubtedly the presence of a main god, and an incredibly strong one at that—Neptune, or rather, Poseidon!

"The new Hades, since you look down on the gods' 'space laws,' why not exchange a few blows with me? Let me show you what true 'space laws' are."

To read the manga version, please click the YouTube link https://youtu.be/GnU613H6xm8