Chapter 162: Qi Energy Ladder

“And there goes humanity’s last hope. Now that the baby with the pink lotus died, what did they do to that other baby?” I asked. The more the story progressed, the more I got curious about what would happen next.

For a moment, I thought that the baby with the purple lotus will be killed by the higher class people. And after that, they will then display the baby with the pink lotus in public. Well, the story wasn’t as simple as I expected.

I mean, the baby with the pink lotus died! Like why? Shouldn’t the baby have some sort of plot armor after fulfilling an ancient prophecy like that?

It just doesn’t make sense at all. Even I’m at a loss on how that could happen.

“You probably know what happened next.” Hui-ying interrupted my line of thought.

“No, no I don’t.” I denied.

After clearing her throat, Hui-ying continued. “Well, the higher class didn’t have any choice. They already announced the birth of the baby but they haven’t revealed it to the public. So what they did was plead with the lower class to hand them the baby with the purple lotus.”

“Of course, the lower class had to agree since they don’t stand a chance against the higher class. Had they opposed the higher class, the higher class would’ve eliminated all of them and had taken the baby for themselves.”

“At least, with the agreement, the lower class attained some sort of equality with the higher class. They wouldn’t have to die.”

“Then, that means the hope for humanity is replaced by the baby with the purple lotus. So… you’re the baby with the purple lotus?”

“Y-yes… And the baby with the pink lotus is the System.” She continued.

“SHE’S THE OTHER ONE?! SO THERE ARE TWO WOMEN INSIDE MY HEAD RIGHT NOW?!” I screamed at the sudden revelation.

No wonder the System’s voice is also that of a woman. Who would’ve thought that the System is actually another woman! Like why? Why are they inside my head?

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions right now but I’ll explain everything to you as much as I can. It’s only recently I’ve remembered all these. I guess it’s thanks to the System having a level up.” Hui-ying said in a somewhat apologetic manner. She must’ve felt bad that the two of them were inside my head.

“Okay, now I have no idea how it came to this but I want to clarify something in your story.” I requested as I continued to ascend upwards.

“Just ask anything, Yongrui. I’ll try to tell you everything I know.”

“How did the baby with the pink lotus exactly end up in your head?”

“I don’t know either, but I already had her even from my earliest memories. She had always been there and she had always talked like that. I guess she never actually experienced becoming a human so she spoke with such simplicity.”

“I don’t blame here. Honestly, the two of you were given too much of a burden. It’s as if they just casually handed the world to you.” I sighed after hearing that. “I’m guessing you were deprived of the outside world and reared to become humanity’s last hope. And then again, you weren’t technically humanity’s last hope so you weren’t able to see it through to the end.”

“That’s true. That’s probably the reason why I wasn’t able to save the world even with the help of the System.”

“Also, one question, was the death ever explained? Or did the baby with the pink lotus just died out of the blue?”

“No one knows, she just dropped dead a few minutes after she came out. I can’t imagine the reactions of the parents who had to see their only child die in their arms. That would be traumatic.”

I sighed in response. Although I’m saying this again, I really can’t imagine that Hui-ying and the System in my head had that kind of distressing history together. They were quite literally deprived of life and were just born for the sole purpose of saving the world. Those damned cultivators didn’t even work hard to defend their planet from an unknown virus or entity that caused the outbreak. Sure I’d understand it if humanity were actually fighting with all they can and after being driven into a corner, they had no choice but to send their only hope… and even when that time comes, they’ll still try to not use expend their only hope.

But after hearing Hui-ying’s story, I didn’t want to generalize but the people in her world were absolutely terrible, especially the higher classes. Why do you even need to rank each other from lowest to highest when you have a common goal? I bet those higher class people don’t even know how to farm, they’re just sitting on their stools having a meeting on what to do next on their next golf game or whatever. Even when the world was ending and they already have nowhere else to go, they still think as if they’re better than some of their own kin. Indeed, I wouldn’t even complain if such a world dies.

And furthermore, depriving two children of their own life just because of some cursed prophecy which was probably inaccurately told by an old woman? I’ve known a lot of insane people throughout the course of my life and I’ve never heard of something as insane as that one. It’s just plain twisted. Why didn’t they die defending the walls for all I care? They just had to dump all their responsibilities on newly born babies.

<Time-remaining 00:48:34.48>

Suddenly, I felt like a thousand claws were gripping my feet and gnawing my organs as I continued my ascend. It was like experiencing a different type of atmospheric pressure that’s so intense that it’s clawing your body inside out.

In a split second, my mind shut down as the pain overcame me. I had no choice but to stop on a step on the spiral ladder and take a rest there. From a distance, I could hear Hui-ying telling me more about her past but I can’t quite distinguish her words. Right now, there was only one word in my mind pain.

I didn’t think that I would meet the Qi Energy Ladder in such a dungeon. Out of all the challenges that one could put in a dungeon, why this? This is the most cliche and most used challenge out of all the cultivation novels known throughout history.

Hui-ying must be saying right now that she thought this would be the most appropriate challenge up the Void Tower but I disagree. Nevertheless, it’s not like I can do anything about it.

The Qi Energy Ladder is just a simple ladder but every step has a Qi Energy Pressure that challenges the Core and Control of the cultivator. If a cultivator is lacking in one aspect, he won’t be able to climb the tower. Furthermore, there’s a huge chance that you’ll get crippled if you’re already on a higher step. That’s why it’s always best to stay on one step and then move up once you’re comfortable.

I mean, out of all the ‘Qi energy Ladder’ shown in novels, that’s how it works.

But right now, I don’t have the luxury to wait here and increase my control on my Qi Energy. If I were to stay here any longer, then I will just be wasting precious time. I can kiss the Memory Fragment goodbye if I continued on this pace.

A few cultivators use the Qi Energy Ladder to increase their control in Qi Energy. However, a majority of them use the ladder to further increase their cultivation level. This may be a huge opportunity for me to get a higher realm but right now, the memory fragment is the most important since it holds the secret to the past and quite probably, on how to defeat the outbreak. If what Hui-ying said is true… then the memory fragment might very well be the last hope for humanity.

We may have survived the first wave, but what if an even stronger wave comes soon. Come what may, I know for sure that all the shelters in this area are too weak and they can only kill a weak horde. But with my guidance and the memory fragment in my possession, I know that I can learn a lot more from the System.

I can’t stay here!

Biting my lips until it bled, I finally managed to exert enough effort to stabilize my Qi Cores. It was a painstaking process but I endured it all for the sake of the memory fragment. The stairs seemed longer than usual but I know that it’s just panic playing around inside my head. I closed my eyes and tried to calm down. And then, I immediately activated some of my skills just so I could step another step forward.

<Berserk Mode activated!>

<Strong Will activated>

<Strong Will activation is successful!>

<Virus Madness activated>

<Virus Madness activation is successful!>

<You are now currently in the Beyond Transcendence Realm. For more specifics about your rank, please refer to the Middle Plane ranking system.>

That went better than I expected. I was able to activate all the necessary skills to climb up this tower. I can do this! I, the esteemed Sect Master of the Tang Sect, wouldn’t be beaten by mere ladders alone!

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