Is there a good reason or can someone come up with an evolutionary reason that necessitate creatures like egoistic Phoenix and dragons to take humanoid form specifically? I read a lot of books where these legendary creatures take human form or avatar.

In Coiling Dragon, WDQK, The Great Ruler, etc, beasts which finally reached a high enough level will transform into humanoids. I'm still trying to find the justification why these haughty and egoistic creatures that look at weakly humans in disdain would ever want to look human, ever. Humans wanting to become other creatures are easy because they become stronger and can do more things. But why would mighty dragons want to be small, pitiful humans instead?

If the reason is that they can shapeshift into anything they want, then I won't consider them dragons or phoenixes. I'll consider them shapeshifters cuz they can shapeshift into other creatures, invalidating their species label.

    Maybe deep down they find humans interesting and it's difficult to interact without that human form?
    Maybe having a human form means they don't have to fight humans and so they have that form to avoid nuisances?
    Simply convenience?
    Or perhaps the grandfather of all dragons fell in love with a human and badly wanted a human form so he got one and all dragons henceforth had a human form?
    I imagine anything goes (within reason).

      HoneydewSovereign human form is the easiest to manoveur around and gets you less attention. Of course this is all fantasy and there is no scientific evidence that you so desire because I’m sorry to inform you but dragons and Phoenixes don’t exist.

      So the best thing I can come up with is that they wish to not garner attention when in human dominated settlements. The other because the world isn’t structured around their gigantic figures. I mean how are they supposed to go inside buildings and stuff.

          Probably because they can have more fun in human form :P They usually retain their strength even in human form, so it can't be considered the same as the pathetic weak humans, I think.

          The human brain to body ratio is the most perfect in the world. The bigger the body, the larger the brain has to be for sapience.

            elliptic A lot of things don't exist but we form tangible theories about them anyway. Still, I'm interested to read on more possible reasons. So far, quite a lot of reasons came out through various media platforms and could prove useful for my research.

                It should be beneath them to care, really. They are never a lowly, weak human. When they transform, they are almost always the most regal, beautiful/handsome human forms in the room. I think a beast's egotism and haughtiness should not be confused for a human's. They disdain weak humans not because they are human (well, there may be individual exceptions) but because they are weak--the beast world respects strength.

                That said, the human is convenient as an all-purpose alternate form for all of the beast races (as many of them probably don't take kindly to others mimicking their race) to use when interacting in the ways that intelligent, powerful creatures are going to interact (diplomacy, trade, multiracial gatherings of any sort). Added bonus: if every beast race takes a human form that best embodies their own asthetic preferences, you end up with a lot of very different looking human forms.

                HoneydewSovereign i cant remember the exact reason, but some book i read explained it ("seeking the flying sword path" i think). Something to do with the human body being the perfect build to control and move qi. Those super strong beings mainly rely on brute power, without having total control over it. So they cultivate to gain a humanoid form, as it will basically cover all their weaknesses. Keep the badass dragon power and gain the ability to use it to the fullest.

                    HoneydewSovereign

                    Its cause while being a beast gives them great power most of it is from their physique but this comes at a cost of them having a very slow cultivation speed, usually around a 1000 times slower than a human.
                    This flaw of cultivation speed can be made up by taking on human form.

                    Whereas while humans have faster cultivation speeds they have weak physical bodies but they can also make up for that flaw by cultivating physique tempering skills.

                        HoneydewSovereign There is a good theory in a novel that i was reading. Not a fact, but a theory...

                        It's said that beasts take 1000 to 3000 years to gather enough 'pure' heavenly energy naturally to finally form their human form when they reach perfect balance. This happens not as a 'conscious decision' but one taken by instincts. And thus, they form their human bodies from the pure heavenly energy and become Divinities(basically immortals). At the moment of their human body forming is the first and the last time they can manipulate the 'pure' heavenly energy in their lifetime. Like a cosmic joke played on them, the pure heavenly energy is forever barred from them at that moment. It seems like a joke as they can no longer gather pure heavenly energy as complex thoughts and emotions of a human body prevents them from ever reaching 'perfect balance' again, but it is also said that only with complex thoughts and emotions that a human body has can they ever hope to reach the next level of ascension. Without it, they can't take the next step. It is sure that Qi is inferior to the 'pure' heavenly energy in every way possible. It is like a part taken from the pure heavenly energy in the air, but not the whole. It is not known whether a Divinity ever took the next step, so who knows if it's actually a disadvantage or not for them to form human bodies with complex thoughts and emotions?

                        It is a good theory from the novel that i'm reading. It doesn't really tell you every information about the world with a godly narrator, so i can only know what the mc of the novel knows so far.

                            Dontlookdown Huh, sounds like an acceptable reason. Could use some tweaking but still seems like a reason why they would have to take a human form. I wish it is more to a need than a want though.

                                N0xiety So basically without human form, they have a level cap. They have to pay a cost to unlock their human mode in order to play cough reach higher levels? I kinda want to know if this theory will change later. What novel is that?

                                    You guys are all ignoring the true reason. While it's true that 'human' is a convenient form, it is hardly the most ideal. What is the most ideal form? I am not 100% certain, but it is not human. Why do monsters not transform into slimes or tentacle monsters instead? The limbs can be used to pick up and control objects just like a human? Their bodies have even more limbs. Potentially stronger/invulnerable to attacks. Is this not the ideal form?
                                    Or why not a human with four arms and four legs? Twice as many swords and twice the balance!
                                    Therefore, the real reason we see 'human' beasts is simply because they're easier to relate too. It's much harder to emphasize or imagine yourself as a dragon than to imagine yourself as a human that can turn into a dragon (even if it's really just a dragon that can turn human). It's all a device to tug at the readers feelings for the characters. It's probably easier to write too. Much harder to explain the adventures of immortal-kun and his friend dragon-kun if dragon-kun doesn't fit inside literally any building ever. Lol.

                                    But, for the sake of argument, let's manufacture a reason. In almost every webnovel I've finished, the 'final immortal' is human. When MC-kun breaks through that final barrier, ascending to the highest possible dimension with almost nobody else even existing on that level yet (if any at all), the other characters tend to be human or human-shaped. This implies that the 'creator' of MC-kun's universe is biased towards humans. It's only natural that the creator views human as the ideal form. In his magnificent generosity, he bestows that form on the lowly beasts that rise to a high enough level.
                                    Now here's an idea. This would make for a good novel. In an alternative universe created by a beast 'creator', the dragon is the ideal form. In this universe, humans are viewed as lowly uncivilized beasts. However, humans and other monsters that reach a certain level will be bestowed with the grace of the 'creator' and be gifted a dragon form. Now, when human-kun enters a palace, he is no longer as tiny as an ant. He is a big dragon and everything is suited to his current size, limbs, body, etc. Thus, the answer to the question is the bias of the 'creator'.

                                    Like my BS reason listed above? Want to read a novel that has everything I described above?! Well, my novel has none of that, but I'm gonna advertise it here anyways. Lol. https://www.webnovel.com/book/11594443706436005/Steampunk-Apocalypse!

                                      HoneydewSovereign rather than take on a "human form".... its more like take on a more humanoid form.... some of the ancient gods and creators depicted in novels usually have some kind of humanoid form...

                                      while we as humans and also in fiction think that we are unique because we are the only ones shaped like well... us

                                      but most deities depicted in wuxia/xianxia novels are humanoid in form... while some have animal parts or more limbs than the basic humanoid form... it is still a form we are familiar with... and a very famous book once said... we are created in the image of the creator...also read that nuwa created humans in chinese legend.. well some depicted her as a snake but before she created humans there were already gods that take on human form...

                                      so why not? maybe they look down on humans but they dont look down on the humanoid form...

                                      if their creation myth was like how lovecraft described ancient gods and such... id hate to see phoenixes and dragons turn into a tentacle monstrosity

                                          Theory: in a universe where the dominant non-beast humanoid race was Orcs, beasts would eventually work their way up to an Orcish transformation.

                                          I just find it hard to see a mechanical reason that humanity possesses a superior form. Granted, I haven't read every novel, but it seems to me that while dragons and such remain extremely powerful in human form, when they get serious about ripping someone a new orifice they tend to revert to their beast form. This to me explains why they don't turn into 4-armed humans or slimes or whatever else: the transformation is not a battle form. And if it isn't a battle form, then it's probably a social or utility form.

                                            HoneydewSovereign lol this is talking about a completely new species of creation. There are many types of dragons and phonexis. My dragon and your dragons may be completely different. So unless a concise image appears when you are talking about a certain something then a tangible theory won’t work. For example your dragon could be a large serpent type. Much dragon could be a small winged dragon. Now both are technically dragons. But what makes something a dragon? 🤔🤔 you know what I mean.

                                                Very simple to me all walk of life want to be human 🤣🤣🤣🤣 why not it best because we king & .... queen 👑 who can come challenge all walk of life & keep talk **** to they 😈😈😈

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