"I'm not a three-year-old kid anymore. Don't try to trick me with such childish words, alright?"
Li Yao crossed his eyebrows and sniffed. "Perhaps you do have a point, but for some reason, I feel uncomfortable when I hear your tone, and I want to reject you without bothering about anything! Even if someone has to control the Gold Crystal Pyramid, why does it have to be me? Is there anyone more suitable than me? For example … Li Jialing? "
"Li Jialing, the young lion cub, is indeed more suitable than you from a certain perspective."
Wuying Qi 3.0 said, "However, he belongs to Wuying Qi 2.0. This is an agreement between me and Wuying Qi 2.0. He will receive all of Wuying Qi 2.0's legacies, including the unparalleled strength and Blackhole's Heart. That Colossus is not suitable for you, and your Arsonist is one of the best super Colossi in the world. But other than that, all the legacies related to the Gold Crystal Pyramid will be yours.
"Of course, you can give the Gold Crystal Pyramid to anybody, including Li Jialing, but are you sure you want to do that? Think about it carefully. If you really give the Gold Crystal Pyramid to Li Jialing, it's very likely that he will become the next evil dragon.
"It's the same even if it's not Li Jialing. Whoever gets the Gold Crystal Pyramid may become an evil dragon. Then, who do you want to be the evil dragon?"
Li Yao was rendered speechless for a moment.
"Of course, you can be a virtuous' dragon slayer 'for the rest of your life, but somebody has to be the evil dragon, right? It's an indispensable role for the advancement of the civilization of mankind."
Wuying Qi 3.0's smile was even creepier, and his voice crawled into Li Yao's heart like invisible worms. "Stop hesitating. It's not the time to talk about principles. Yes, theoretically speaking, the technology of 'massive enlightenment' has serious shortcomings. If there is a choice, everybody wants to find a better solution.
"However, in the sad reality, we often have to make difficult choices among the flawed plans to resolve complicated problems.
"Even if we leave aside the survival of the Star Glory Federation, even if we don't consider whether or not the so-called reformists such as Li Linghai and Lei Chenghu will liberate all the hominoids and grant them the same rights as the Immortal Cultivators, what a great shock it will raise among all the Immortal Cultivators, and whether or not it will lead to another turbulence and collapse of the Imperium. Even if we don't consider how to deal with the Covenant Alliance, yes, we won't consider any of that.
"Then, what about Xiaoming, Wenwen, and the Fist King, the new-generation virtual information lives?"
"You know better than anybody else how powerful the information lives, virtual lives, crystal processor lives, or mechanical lives are. Since the day the crystal processors and the spiritual puppets were born, countless people have been fearing that the creations that represent the future would replace human beings and even enslave and destroy all the 'old human beings'.
"Those machines, virtual lives, or crystal processor lives, are so strong, swift, and elegant. Their existence highlights the sluggishness, fragility, and insignificance of the 'old human beings'. Human beings look at them like the Pangu people in the past. They are filled with helpless jealousy, feeble fury, and uncontrollable fear. One day, they, the new human beings, will replace the 'old human beings' like us. The process will certainly not be peaceful and painless. There will be a war of blood and fire, an ultimate war that is a hundred times more terrifying than all the wars that are taking place right now!
"Let's face the reality. It is impossible for human beings to accept the existence of Xiaoming, Wenwen, and A Boxing Champion peacefully. Right now, the unparalleled experts such as Boss Bai and Long Yangjun can accept Xiaoming and Wenwen partly because they are some sort of anomaly themselves, partly because they boast unparalleled computational ability and absolutely rational analysis abilities. More importantly, Xiaoming and Wenwen are still very weak, like seedlings that have just sprouted out of the sky. They do not seem to be dangerous yet.
"However, when the new generation of information lives continue to grow, and the matter is learned by billions of ordinary people who are stupid, weak, shortsighted, selfish, and insecure, do you think that they will accept it as gladly as you, Boss Bai, or Long Yangjun do?
"It's impossible. There is bound to be a war, just like the war that destroyed the Martial Meritocrats Civilization in the past. Nobody knows the consequences of billions of ordinary people being instigated better than I do. They will be ten thousand times more stupid and infuriated than I am. There is no way to reason with them!
"If you want the world to accept the existence of virtual information lives without shedding a drop of blood at the minimal cost, and if you want the civilization of mankind to peacefully transition to a new phase where reality and illusion coexist, just use the Gold Crystal Pyramid!
"Yes, it is indeed suspicious of brainwashing, but you will be able to prevent a total war between human beings and information lives. Isn't it a great contribution from the height of civilization?"
Li Yao's eyes were like a boiling swamp.
"Wait —"
He suddenly realized something that was impossible and almost lost his mind. "How did you know about Xiaoming and Wenwen? I have never leaked any information about them. I have even hidden everything about them in the deepest part of my soul. Even when I was enlightened by you, it would not have been broken. You shouldn't have known it at all! "
"That's right. Wuying Qi shouldn't have known about Xiaoming and Wenwen at all, but I did. How can you explain such a self-contradictory thing?"
Wuying Qi 3.0 chuckled. His face gradually became blurred, and his voice gradually changed into a tone that Li Yao was very familiar with. "It's very simple. It's because I'm already dead. The real Wuying Qi died the moment his soul detonated. What happened next was just his memories, his strength, and his soul pieces flowing into your head and being digested by you.
"I'm not Wuying Qi, but yourself. Wuying Qi didn't trick you into using the Gold Crystal Pyramid, but you knew the value of the Gold Crystal Pyramid and your destiny to control it. That's why you created me and convinced yourself with Wuying Qi's image.
"You knew from the very beginning that you were destined to be the master of the Gold Crystal Pyramid. You just needed an 'excuse', and I was your 'excuse'. It can't be helped. Human beings are always duplicitous. Even someone as strong as you at the peak of the Divinity Transformation Stage can barely overcome the obstacle in your mind.
"Now, have you completely overcome the obstacle and realized who you are and who I am?"
Ripples spread out of Wuying Qi 3.0's shadow, revealing Li Yao's own appearance in the indistinguishable light. He looked at Li Yao peacefully.
It was like an enormous mirror deep inside the memory palace that reflected Li Yao's heart clearly.
Li Yao saw that his own heart was examining him expressionlessly.
BAM!
The enormous mirror broke into pieces, and the ten thousand pieces reflected ten thousand different Li Yao from ten thousand angles. Every Li Yao seemed to be trapped in the mirror pieces, but the prison of the pieces shattered in the next moment, and the glittering pieces gathered into countless gray butterflies, bringing Li Yao back to the Martial Meritocrats Planet where volcanic ash was flying.
Shua! Shua! Shua!
The gray butterflies danced and fell on Li Yao like volcanic ash and polluted snowflakes, infiltrating his soul.
Wuying Qi's last legacy, including the modification and usage of the Gold Crystal Pyramid, the details of the Sunspot Plan, the traps in the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum, his epiphany when he advanced into the Divinity Branching Stage, and his epiphany when he upgraded to Version 3.0 were all melted into Li Yao's soul in mysterious ways.
"It's not until this moment that I've figured out something that has bothered me for a thousand years."
Wuying Qi 3.0's voice came from Li Yao's head again. It sounded like Li Yao's murmur. "A thousand years ago, I was a scoundrel who had no beliefs and was addicted to power. How could I have killed the Mad Armageddon a great man like the Blood God?
"The battle between me and the Blood God is like a nightmare that has been carved into my soul. I always thought that I was going to be killed by the Blood God. The final victory was even more uncanny and confusing.
"It's not until this moment that I've finally figured it out.
"It's like how a shameless cockroach like you could kill Blackstar the Great. In fact, I never really killed the Blood God. The Blood God has always been alive in my heart.
"It was not until the moment I killed him that I truly received all of his legacies and helped him fill the last gap in his belief, completing the glorious journey of his life.
"Now, it's your turn to ask yourself the question. Li Yao, did you really kill Wuying Qi? How could you have killed Wuying Qi? When this memory palace collapses, and you slowly wake up from your coma, who are you?
"Hehe. It's all the same. Maybe it's all the same. As long as we can break out of this wretched universe, the Blood God, Wuying Qi, Li Yao, the Immortal Cultivators, the Cultivators, and the Demonic Cultivators, they're all the same …"
The memory palace shook violently.
It was a sign of an apocalypse.
In the end, the hundreds of gray butterflies formed a gray statue that looked like Wuying Qi, the Blood God, or Li Yao himself. The statue extended its hand to Li Yao with a smile, but it was not until Li Yao extended his hand to it in a daze that he realized that it was just another mirror that looked both real and unreal.
BOOM!
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