Giants are far superior to humans in terms of innate talents and divine abilities.
However, for every door heaven opens, it also closes a window.
While giants are individually powerful, they possess a congenital weakness: extremely low reproductive rates.
For a race to survive and thrive in this world, besides the crucial element of intelligence, innate bloodlines and powerful divine abilities are important. But even more vital is the speed of racial reproduction.
Otherwise, no matter how powerful their innate divine abilities and bloodlines, they are ultimately destined for extinction.
Since the dawn of creation, the human race, the current overlords of this world, has achieved the best balance in these three aspects.
Although humans lack innate powerful talents, they can still crush races like the rat folk and insectoids, who are inferior in intelligence and strength, and whose reproductive speed surpasses that of humans.
Races stronger than humans reproduce slowly, while races that reproduce faster than humans are not as strong as humans.
Even among those races that surpass humans in these two aspects, they lack innate intelligence.
Coupled with the favor of heaven and earth, it's no wonder that the human race rose to prominence at the end of the ancient era, securing their position as the overlords of this world.
Thinking of the giants' various innate divine abilities and their not insignificant intelligence, and then looking at the current state of the giants, forced into Yunzhou, Wu Tao couldn't help but sigh.
"Such powerful bloodlines, this person truly possesses the kingly bloodline of our giant race..."
Sensing the bloodline pressure emanating from Wu Tao, these dozen or so giants, who stood a thousand feet tall, felt not only fear but also reverence in their eyes.
Having partially integrated the bloodline of the Giant Ancestor, Wu Tao's bloodline purity was undoubtedly kingly.
Although he deliberately suppressed it most of the time, causing the majority of his bloodline aura to be contained, the mere remnants of aura he now displayed were enough to make these giants, equivalent to Core Formation stage cultivators, recognize it as a sign of profound bloodline power.
"Is this person before us truly the kingly bloodline of our giant race?"
Looking at the small figure before them, these dozen giants still found it hard to believe.
On the human-like figure, barely over a meter tall, they instinctively felt a pressure from the depths of their bloodline, causing their blood to boil.
This was the unique sensation of a lower bloodline facing a higher one. In the past, they had only experienced this when attending banquets in the Giant King's City, in the presence of a few royal family members.
Moreover, that feeling was nowhere near as intense as this. Even without close contact, their bloodlines were already starting to churn.
Beyond this sensation, a strange tremor was also echoing deep within their bloodlines.
This tremor was something only kin felt.
"So this little fellow is indeed from the giant race, and even of the royal lineage..."
Seeing the fear, reverence, and respect in the eyes of the dozen giants, Wu Tao slowly began to ask questions.
Once they confirmed Wu Tao's true identity, these dozen warriors answered everything he asked, holding nothing back.
Through their accounts, Wu Tao finally understood the true situation in Yunzhou.
It turned out that Yunzhou was currently ruled by the giant race and the celestial race.
The giants and the celestial race had always been at odds, engaging in countless fierce battles throughout history, yet neither could decisively defeat the other.
The giants were powerful, but their population was too small. Including young, old, weak, and infirm, they numbered just over a million. They occupied far less territory than the celestial race.
In contrast, the celestial race numbered in the hundreds of millions, and they controlled two-thirds of Yunzhou's territory.
After answering Wu Tao's questions, the leader among these dozen giants tentatively asked, "May we know which king's bloodline you hail from, noble descendant?"
"I do not know which king's descendant I am?"
Wu Tao smiled faintly at the question, then calmly replied, "I was sealed underground, encased in cloud stone, and only recently broke free from its confinement, allowing me to move freely!"
*Whoosh!*
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
As soon as Wu Tao finished speaking, the dozen thousand-foot-tall giants exchanged glances and then, to his surprise, prostrated themselves before him.
Seeing this, Wu Tao furrowed his brow slightly but did not stop them. He merely asked indifferently,
"What are you doing? Why are you kowtowing to me?"
The leading giant stiffened, then knelt and said, "Ordinary giants kowtow to royal descendants. This is the rule of the giant race."
A wry smile appeared on Wu Tao's face.
Although he had integrated part of the Giant Ancestor's bloodline, he was, in the end, human.
Of course, in Yunzhou, the name of a giant carried more weight.
The atmosphere around them became rather peculiar.
Facing the awestruck and apprehensive dozen giants, Wu Tao decided not to say much.
Sometimes, saying too much can reveal more flaws, so it was better to let them fill in the blanks themselves.
And due to the strict customs of the giant race, these dozen giants dared not speak freely.
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, the leader of the giants suddenly slapped his forehead. For some unknown reason, he devised an origin story for Wu Tao on the spot.
"According to ancient legends passed down through our clans, in the late ancient era, the great kings of the giant race, to ensure the continuation of our bloodline, sealed pure-blooded royal descendants within amber bloodstones."
"Amber bloodstones are precious treasures that minimize the passage of time."
"A thousand years outside might only be a year inside. In recent years, many noble royal descendants have been freed from their seals."
"I suspect, esteemed sir, that you are one such individual. Otherwise, why would you be unaware of the current state of our giant race?"
Wu Tao smiled but remained silent, feeling a sense of fortunate relief.
Although with his current strength, there were likely fewer than ten individuals in all of Yunzhou who could threaten him, it was always better to avoid making enemies if possible.
Now, with the giant before him fabricating an origin story, coupled with the undeniable aura of the Giant Ancestor's bloodline, at least his identity and background would not be easily exposed, nor would he encounter significant trouble.
Indeed, as the giant captain finished speaking, the reverence and adoration in the eyes of the remaining dozen giants deepened.
"To think you are an existence sealed since the primordial era!"
"It is truly our fault, for you to have used a Dharma Manifestation ability and shrunk yourself so small, that we failed to recognize you!"
"Alas, this is a case of a river flooding the Temple of the Dragon King – a family not recognizing its own kin!"
"..."
Wu Tao ignored their rambling, bowed his fists, and said, "May I accompany you back to your tribe for a visit?"
"It has been a long time since I stayed in a giant tribe?"
The giant with a simple and honest face, hearing this, his eyes flashed with a subtle gleam, indicating he was not as naive as he appeared.
After a moment of contemplation, the dozen giants conferred among themselves and agreed to Wu Tao's request.
"Thank you, my friends!"
Having achieved his objective, Wu Tao's smile widened.
As they walked, noticing Wu Tao's silence and apparent disinclination for conversation, the giant who had been speaking with him, his eyes darting slightly, suddenly grinned and asked with a憨厚 (honest and sincere) expression, "Esteemed sir, are you a Great Shaman? And not just any ordinary Great Shaman, am I correct?"
Upon hearing this, the giants who had been whispering among themselves displayed envious expressions, yet none dared to question it.
It was understandable. An entity capable of defeating a dozen adult giants in a single move would undoubtedly be of Great Shaman caliber, and not a minor one at that.
"What is a Great Shaman?"
"Does it refer to a cultivation realm within the giant race?"
Wu Tao's heart stirred, but his expression remained calm. He nodded slightly, affirming the statement.
A Great Shaman, as the name suggested, was a moniker for formidable martial prowess.
According to the giants, they represented the strongest fighters in each tribe.
Given the inherent power of the giant race's bloodline, upon reaching adulthood, they were already comparable to human cultivators at the Core Formation stage.
Therefore, the cultivation realms within the giant race were not particularly numerous.
The giant race's cultivation realms were divided into four tiers: Shamanic Apprentice, Great Shaman, Ancestral Shaman, and Shamanic Patriarch.
Listening to the giant's envious and longing tone, Wu Tao guessed that a Great Shaman was likely equivalent to a human Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
Subsequently, Wu Tao subtly probed the giants, asking how many Ancestral Shamans their race currently had, and if there were any Shamanic Patriarchs.
However, the giant claimed ignorance on all counts.
Through careful observation, Wu Tao determined that this giant was not lying. He couldn't help but sigh in resignation.
It seemed these giants' status was not high enough to have contact with Ancestral Shamans or Shamanic Patriarchs.
According to these giants, in ordinary tribes, a Great Shaman was the highest level of combat power.
Wu Tao did not doubt this point.
If the giants were too powerful, they wouldn't have remained confined to Yunzhou and stayed out of the wider world for so long.
According to the giants' accounts, their tribe only had five Great Shamans.
These five Great Shamans represented the apex of power within their giant tribe.
And there were many such tribes among the giant race.
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