Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 1519
Li Jialing hesitated for a moment, but he still couldn't help but say, "Sister Long said that you were sick again and that it was hopeless and could not be saved this time.
"She also said that you tried to trick her for a long time outside, only to no avail, and you would probably try to trick me by asking me to help you! She asked me to widen my eyes and raise my wariness and not to be deceived by you and commit the follies together with you no matter how convincing and blood-boiling you sound!"
Li Yao blushed and coughed. Not stopping what he was doing, he simply said, "Don't listen to her nonsense. She is not a good guy at all!"
"If Sister Long is not a good guy, why are you hanging around with her, Brother Yao?"
Staring at Li Yao for a long time, Li Jialing said with a worried tone, "Brother Yao, is what Sister Long said true? Are you really going to resist the entire Black Iron Group with such a body? Do you have any idea how badly wounded you are? You just survived Blackstar the Great's hands ten days ago, alright? Few people can achieve that in the entire universe, and they have to pay a horrible price even if they do!"
"Wrong."
Li Yao said casually, "It was Blackstar the Great who survived my hands. Do not be mistaken about that."
Li Jialing grew rather anxious. "Is that going to help the situation at all? The key is that your body is really broken and riddled with holes, and your soul is a hundred times more wounded than your body! You cannot take another high-intensity battle. Besides, you will be faced with Blackstar the Great's infinite hunting after the battle?
"I'm really confused. What are you doing this for?"
On one of his knees, Li Yao focused his attention on polishing and building the chips and components that he was going to use next. After a long silence, he said, "Have you ever heard a theory that says 'with great power comes great responsibility'?"
"Huh?"
Li Jialing was dumbfounded, finding it impossible to believe his ears. "Brother Yao, seriously? Even if you can't stop yourself from tricking me, you should know better than tricking me with such old-fashioned and boring words. What do you mean by 'with great power comes great responsibility'? It is absolutely bulls*it. Is it a crime to be strong? Does it mean that you owe it to somebody else and have to sacrifice yourself for them? Why? I'm strong because I've trained hard and because of the prices I've paid. I deserve it! I like a free and enjoyable lifestyle. Is it not enough that I am not bullying other people or hurting any innocent? Is anyone justified to force me to shoulder the responsibility that does not belong to me?"
Li Yao smiled. "'With great power comes great responsibility' shouldn't be understood in such a way. It is just a malicious distortion.
"Let me give you the simplest example. You are an ordinary person, with extremely limited strength and senses, and you are playing with the crystal processor in your home after a dinner. You have no idea that an evil crime is taking place three blocks away. For example… a girl less than ten years old is tormented by a few mean gangsters.
"You have no idea that it is happening at all, so you are not responsible for it at all, right?"
Slightly stunned, Li Jialing nodded his head.
"But what if you are a trainer in the Refinement Stage?"
Li Yao said, "Your eyes are keen enough for you to hear the feeble cries and chuckles. Will you open the window and take a look, or even go to search for the source of the screams and the laughter? If you don't do anything, will you feel that you are sort of guilty when you see the girl's broken body on the news the next day?"
Li Jialing was silent.
"If you are as strong as someone in the Building Foundation Stage—"
Li Yao said, "Then, you may be able to hear the screams and the obscenities clearly when you are sitting in your home, which makes you immediately understand what is going on three blocks away. Every scream and every laughter would be stabbing your head like iron needles. Are you sure that you can still play with your crystal processor in your home as if nothing were going on?
"Furthermore, if you are an expert in the Core Formation Stage, you can hear, see, and sense even more things besides the scream and the laughter, including the girl's desperation, her running tears, and the stink that is leaking from the gangsters. Besides, you know clearly that you can stop the tragedy from happening by just moving your little finger and making the gangsters get the punishment they deserve. Do you think that you are responsible for that?
"One step further, you are an expert in the Nascent Soul Stage or the Divinity Transformation Stage. Then, your senses can easily spread to ten blocks away. You can perceive the pains and desperation of so many people, you can stop countless crimes that shouldn't have happened, and you can help so many people escape from the swirl of fate. But of course, you can also idle by and watch those people to be insulted, damaged, and exploited, eventually stepping into their doom. Their every scream when they are hurt and destroyed will be etched into the deepest part of your brain. It can't be helped. Your senses are too sharp for you to avoid those sounds!"
Li Jialing said in a shivering voice, "I can suppress my senses and stop the information from getting in!"
"Yes, you can, but you will only be deceiving yourself because you know clearly that countless evils are happening around you right now, and an innocent little girl is being bullied, and you could've stopped everything."
Li Yao said, "Do you understand it now? For ordinary people, there is a middle ground between 'kind' and 'evil'. Ordinary people can always live on freely without shouldering any responsibility as long as they manage themselves well.
"However, for the experts, especially for the ultimate experts standing on the summit, there is no middle ground at all. You will either save the little girl, punish the mean gangsters, and shoulder the damn responsibility henceforth, fighting for everyone being bullied in your perception to seek the peace of your conscience; or stand on the gangsters' side, blowing whistles with your hands in your pocket while watching themtorture the little girl into bloody pieces. Such things happen countless times around you all the time, and you know it clearly.
"Do you get it now? Every ordinary person in the Great Iron Plants is a little girl being tortured by the mean gangsters. I can hear their cries and screams every second, I can smell their tears and blood. Such sounds and smells forever haunt me, and I know I can do something for them! I really can't be untouched. I really can't stop my eyes from seeing, my ears from hearing, and my blood from boiling, so that I can just walk away. I can't do it!
"This is why with great power comes great responsibility. Nobody will force you to shoulder such a responsibility. I certainly won't. It's only your own 'empathy' that will force you. Touch your chest and listen to your heart carefully. Is there the slightest 'empathy' in the deepest part of your heart?"
Chapter 2385: Moth or Butterfly? |
Li Jialing's breath became fast, and his pupils and nostrils expanded at the same time. Eyeing Li Yao in a completely strange manner, he mumbled, "Brother Yao, I feel that this is the first day I know you. So, this is the reason why you are fighting, and this is the real you?"
"Exactly."
Li Yao smiled casually and said, "I've told you many times that the plain and stupid-looking appearance that I usually have is just a disguise for me to hide in the crowd. The real me is exactly so caring, benevolent, and righteous. When I told you before, none of you believed it and even looked at me as if I were a retard. But you are finally convinced now, aren't you? How about it? Are you not deeply moved and astounded by what I said, and your beliefs had critical changes that made you a better man of integrity and devotion? Give me the No. 16 pliers."
"I am indeed very touched."
Li Jialing handed over the tool and thought for a long time, but he still shook his head and said, "But I'm sorry. It's still difficult for me to make up my mind to be killed together with you. Sister Long said that you were a moth darting at a fire, and I feel the same. However fancy you describe it to be, it is still a stupid action."
"That's not a big deal. I wasn't hoping to ask you to die with me, either. One person is enough to finish the follies. Your mission is to live on. If you are really touched by me and want to do something for me and the underground locals, you can go to Long Yangjun and ask for a few jade chips and Cosmos Rings. My secrets and my destinies are all kept inside."
Flames of spiritual energy began to burn on Li Yao's hands. The orange and the purple flames illuminated each other, connecting the components in the most simple and straightforward way. Determination beamed out of his eyes while he said, "However, Long Yangjun is wrong about one thing. I am not a moth, but a butterfly."
"A butterfly?" Li Jialing was confused.
"Yes, a butterfly, one that might raise a storm!"
Li Yao grinned and said, "Do you know that the weather changes on any habitable planet that has an atmosphere involve billions of factors, which make it a system of chaos that can barely be predicted or controlled? That's why some people say that the gentle breeze caused by the flap of wings of a butterfly on this end of the continent may turn into an overwhelming storm on the other side of the continent after being enlarged by the chaotic system!
"I think that the course of mankind in history is a similarly chaotic system that cannot be predicted or controlled, isn't it? Because a nail was broken, a horseshoe was destroyed; because a horseshoe was destroyed, a horse was crippled; because a horse was crippled, a king fell off; because a king fell off, a country was lost. Who knows whether or not the most insignificant ripple today will intensify into the most intense, surging tides in the near future?
"That's why I've been acting based on my beliefs on my whole journey without caring about the prices and the consequences. I know very clearly that I am incapable of resisting the dark and cold universe by myself, but I believe that every human being is a sealed star, and there is always some light and heat deep down in their hearts. Everything I do will more or less influence the people around me, causing cracks on the most solid shells and the hardest seals, so that the light and heat in the deepest part of their hearts will be released, even if by the slightest.
"You were a 100% Immortal Cultivator before you met me, but what about now? Even if you are a 99% Immortal Cultivator, it still means that we have made a progress of 1%, right?
"I believe that when thousands of 1% progress are combined, they will turn into an unstoppable brightness in time. One billionth of hope is different from complete desperation. A dark universe without any star and a universe where only one star is shining stubbornly are also different. As long as the first star begins to shine, the second, the third, the fourth, and the millionth star will soon follow, until all the stars in the entire universe will begin to glitter, illuminating the darkness and driving away the coldness, changing the universe into a different appearance!
"So, hehe, I will glitter on in the brightest way no matter what!"
Li Yao finished all the modifications and kicked the last component into the magical equipment heavily. Right now, the messy coils around the "super brainwave magnifier" were already gone. It was light and delicate, like a disc that slightly hollowed, connected to four anti-gravity units and four twisting field generators. There were also another four mysterious units that had metal membrane covers on the surface, making them look like honeycombs.
Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum!
Li Yao made up his mind and guided his spiritual energy into the "super brainwave magnifier" like a tide. The silver disc immediately hovered above his head, sprinkling out colorful, dazzling brilliance.
There was no telling if it was because of the influences of the "super brainwave magnifier", but Li Jialing found himself deeply caught in Li Yao's logic, unable to free himself. He couldn't help but touch his chest.
Why… is my heart beating so fast, and why is it so hot?
Is what Brother Yao said true? Is it true that a star that contains infinite light and heat is sealed inside everyone's heart?
Stupid! Childish! Idiotic!
But… why is every bone on my body seething in impatience? Why do I want to do such a stupid, childish, and idiotic thing together with him without bothering about anything else? Why exactly?
Li Jialing's head was in utter chaos. He was deeply confused and overwhelmed when Li Yao pushed him away softly.
"Run to somewhere safe together with Long Yangjun. She was right. Even if we can defeat the Black Iron Group, Blackstar the Great's hunting team will immediately come. Ten days are enough for Wuying Qi to get the whole capital under control. So, a couple of experts in the Divinity Transformation Stage will be coming for us, if he doesn't come in person. At such a critical moment, you cannot afford being wounded."
Li Yao gave Li Jialing a most brilliant smile. "As for here and now, just watch Brother Yao's splendid performance!"
Li Jialing's nose suddenly grew sour. Staring at the magical equipment hovering above Li Yao's head, he suddenly asked, "Brother Yao, what are those? Are the things next to the anti-gravity units and the twisting field generators your last trump cards? You certainly have a lot of backup plans, and you will not… die just like that, right?"
"Of course, they are naturally my last trump cards. They're four of the most shocking and stirring loudspeakers of the highest power, level, and penetration."
Li Yao said, "You know that I'm a person who loves music. I also love a world where everybody can sing freely. So, let's blow the crust ten thousand meters thick with our songs!"
While Li Yao finished his last syllable, the first thunderous note arose from deep inside his abdomen and the four super stereo loudspeakers above his head. Congregating into a highly-oriented blast, the sound marched to the battlefield unstoppably!
On the battlefield, the regular Nepenthe believers were still fighting the battle puppets in dizziness, but the leaders of Nepenthe, including Grand Guardian Xu Zhicheng, were caught in desperation!
Leading a commando team made of the elite soldiers with the highest combat ability, Xu Zhicheng tried to pierce through the few fiercest firing points around the Great Iron Plants, only to be blown back again and again.
The few firing points were nailed to the strategic locations that were of paramount importance like burning wedges, separating the workers within the Great Iron Plants and those on the outside, and stopping them from forming a united whole. Xu Zhicheng was unable to command all the troops effectively. Most of the Nepenthe believers were simply minding their own business and charging to get killed in a mess.
Without an effective command, the advantage in number was barely of any use when faced with the modern, fully-automatic magical equipment. The Nepenthe believers pushed forward like surging tides, but when the tides hit the reefs next to the shore, they could not shake the reefs at all, and they were simply blown apart themselves.
Although the Nepenthe believers had all practiced the Serenity Arts, they were not the people of the Covenant Alliance who had completely erased their feelings and desires. Their expertise varied, and they still held vague fear for death. The futility of such a long-time attack and the dead corpses everywhere on the ground resulted in the plummet of morale. Ripples of fear were already spreading on the seemingly indifferent and numb faces of a lot of people.
If things went on like this, it wouldn't take long before they fully collapsed!
Gritting his teeth, Xu Zhicheng led another charge, but his hands that were only used to pickaxes were not familiar with sabers and swords after all. After leaving dozens of dead bodies, they had to fall back in frustration again.
On their two sides, many battle puppets had also noticed the relatively tough commando team. Cold redness flashed on the shells of the battle puppets, and their blades opened like sickles as they reaped the lives of humans and pressed at them.
Fearless, senseless, heartless, and tireless. In terms of those "advantages", no matter how the Nepenthe believers practiced the Serenity Arts, and even if they became exactly like the people of the Covenant Alliance, they wouldn't be nearly as good as the spiritual puppets, which were the real iron machines that were specifically designed for slaughters.
Deep inside the fixed firing points, the Immortal Cultivators, who were resting and waiting for their enemies to wear themselves out, simply smiled and enjoyed the slaughter dance of the battle puppets.
The messy riot was nothing but an interesting entertainment in their boring lives and a game that could help them exercise their bodies.
The Immortal Cultivators' desire to kill was stirred by the bloody and stimulating picture they saw. Some of them were even discussing in a low voice if they should play a game where they would compete with each other on who secured a hundred or a thousand kills first.
It was exactly at such a moment when the explosive music rose and astounded the whole battlefield!
Chapter 2386: Battle of Fury! |
"No fears, no horrors, no worries, and eternal peace!"
Faced with the butchering sabers of the battle puppets, the blades and weapons of the Nepenthe believers were all minced apart into sticks. They could also retreat futilely until they fell to the ground, reciting the Serenity Arts of Nepenthe pretending to be calm with their eyes closed, waiting for the arrival of eternal peace.
Zi! Zi! Zi! Zi! Zi! Zi!
On the tubes of spiritual energy inside the battle puppets, daunting waves were spreading to the sharp blades at the front ends of their limbs. Under the scanning and analysis of their crystal processors, the "creatures" which were made of cells and boasted "temperature" were no different from the cold data. They did not really know the feeling of killing but were merely carrying out their orders dutifully.
"This is truly bad luck!"
The Immortal Cultivators in the fixed firing points all spat. After the fuss of Nepenthe, the operation of the Great Iron Plants would certainly be greatly affected, which meant that their bonuses and training resources in the next few months would shrink, too. There was no telling when the operation would be restored.
