Chapter 952: Promotion Night with the Highest Survival Rate
From the second half of the night, Aiwass kept tossing and turning until dawn.
This time, due to the encouraging atmosphere of transcendence, quite a number of people decided to be promoted on the spur of the moment.
Many people were unprepared and rushed to choose the promotion, which left many injured, and it was at this time that Aiwass's healing ability came into play.
But because of this, these people managed to "pad" a considerable number of people!
Starting at two o'clock in the morning, the Inspectorate began to investigate how many new fourth-level and fifth-level people had completed their promotions in Avalon. Avalon provided high salaries to the fourth-level people in order to ensure that the future fifth-level people would only be born from them.
——Now, this forward-looking planning has finally come into play.
First up, Lily and Yulia—unsurprisingly, they both successfully ascended. The power they gained from pastoral care was already overwhelmingly formidable at their power levels... not to mention the many unprepared and weaker individuals who infiltrated the ascension ceremony. Even half-powered Night Demons and Flame-Butterflies were a dimensionality-reducing blow to these fourth- and third-level transcendents.
As Aiwass had anticipated, Yulia had already caught the attention of the Sand Clock for her inventions. They were watching her during her promotion ceremony. After her promotion, she transitioned to a Pioneer.
——It was then that she learned from Sand Time that she had already met the requirements to become a pioneer as early as when she completed the Difference Engine.
And she also learned some sad news...
Babbage did not become an apostle of the sand clock.
In other words, Babbage's soul had been shattered.
While Sand Clock recognized his talent, he was more concerned with fairness. While Babbage possessed exceptional talent, he lacked balanced scholarship, had achieved no real results, and was not high enough as a Transcendent. In other words, he had not yet received—or perhaps had not yet received—Source River's recognition.
Babbage died young before his talent could be fully realized.
According to the rules of the Sand Clock for selecting apostles, a soul that only has talent but no achievements cannot become his apostle.
There are countless geniuses in this world, and even more gifted individuals. Choosing only the gifted is the same as choosing the wise. However, the path of balance is not the path of wisdom. Therefore, the Sand Clock's judgment is more inclined towards "results."
After all, he was a pillar god who was half scholar and half businessman. With his business side, Sand Clock cared more about practical matters.
According to what Sand Clock said to Yulia, a genius with a score of 100 gave a guess, a genius with a score of 90 drew a blueprint and made a sample, a talented person with a score of 80 made it completely according to the blueprint, and an ordinary person with a score of 70 completed the promotion and commercialization... In His eyes, the third person's achievement is equal to that of the fourth person and greater than that of the second person, and the second person is far greater than the first person.
Sand Timepieces does not accept "genius-sponsored" spot occupation.
Even if the fourth person doesn't actually understand academics... perhaps the invention was born from his sponsorship and his management and coordination of the team; it was promoted and recognized because the social connections and political status of this fourth person cut through the thorns - then Sand Clock believes that this person is equally important to this invention.
The Sand Clock is a god who only looks at results. Here, there is only reality, no dreams.
It is impossible to fool the Sand Clock - this invention cannot give birth to four apostles. Therefore, although the Sand Clock pays more attention to the third and fourth, according to the chronological order, perhaps the first and second people will die first.
Whoever dies first starts the process here. If they die in order, the Sand Clock will eliminate the first person first, then see if the second person qualifies as an Apostle. If the second one isn't qualified, the third one will be chosen. Once an Apostle is born from this invention, subsequent optimizations and promotions will prevent the birth of new Apostles.
As a pioneer, Yulia has become the earthly apostle of the Sand Clock.
She received encouragement from Sha Shiji - or one could say, strict supervision.
Now that Julia had Babbage's manuscripts, she was responsible for implementing Babbage's conjectures, ideas, and drawings. Otherwise, she would be watching this knowledge go to waste. And if someone else completed the invention first, the Sand Clock would mercilessly credit that person with the achievement.
After all, everyone faces similar situations.
Sometimes, someone's guess is only a few years or even a few months ahead of time.
Many inventions were actually ideas that many people had at the same time... like the bicycle, the camera, or the subway.
It’s just that some people stay at the conceptual stage, while others start to conduct slow research; some people come up with “useless inventions” on their own, while others immediately sell the original patents and start production - the sand timepiece does not look at “who invented it first” or “who got the patent”, but at who finally successfully promotes it.
But Selene failed to be promoted... She encountered Wei Zhe's ceremony as expected and unexpectedly.
Actually, Selene's brain wasn't that bad. After all, she was a part of Lily, and although her personality was a little chaotic, it wasn't that different.
Precisely because she brought Leviathan into the waiting room, and because she looked too powerful and aggressive, Selene was targeted by everyone... and was eliminated directly.
As the price of the ritual's failure, Selene's soul was damaged. Fortunately, with Aiwass and Saint John present, they managed the damage without permanent harm. Even so, she would be weakened for a month—a full month away from participating in the Ascension Ceremony.
Lily and Selene's progress became completely separate.
In addition, another person who failed to be promoted was Zhu Tang.
According to Zhu Tang, the promotion ceremony he participated in was the ceremony of the Lord of Scales and Feathers.
The Lord of Scales and Feathers presented them with a battle royale map with a poisonous circle—everyone's power was compressed back to the first energy level, requiring them to hunt other ascended beings or complete missions to gradually restore their power. A deadly cursed black fog gradually compressed from the outside inward, requiring them to dodge the fog while gathering strength until only one person remained.
Yes, his promotion ceremony was not won by three people, but by one person.
Zhu Tang could have made it through. He had even killed off only two of his men, and all he had to do was take out the last one to win.
But the enemy he finally met was a little girl who was only eight or nine years old.
——It’s not that he looks only eight or nine years old, but he really is only eight or nine years old.
...This description sounded familiar to Aiwass.
In the end, Zhu Tang softened his heart and couldn't bring himself to kill the other person. This was because if he killed the other person, it would directly cause fatal injuries; but if he was eliminated by the environment, the most he would suffer would be serious injuries.
He was unwilling to fight, and the other party was unwilling to kill him. So the two of them simply sat quietly and waited for the poison circle to spread, then gambled their lives - whoever was luckier would advance.
So Zhu Tang failed to get promoted, and the girl was sent to the fifth level by him.
Furthermore, the Great Guardian's son, David, also failed in his promotion. He suffered a serious injury, breaking an arm. Because of his soul's incompleteness, this arm will likely remain missing. Even if he were to become an Apostle, he would still carry this injury.
The good news was that the damaged part of his body was his left arm - the other good news was that the Ziggurat was quite proficient in the technology of making prosthetic limbs.
After being treated by Aiwass, the injuries of these losers were basically under control. At three o'clock in the morning, Saint John learned that there was a large number of ascended people on the west coast of Avalon and hurried west. With her there, the safety of those ascended people should be guaranteed.
However, in this war, the raid must be completed before May 5th to prevent the demon legions from suddenly escalating.
There are only five days left, which is not enough for these survivors to recover.
So this means that they are indeed leaving the front lines - which also means that the legion's numbers will be reduced, and by at least one-third.
Although not all soldiers participated in the promotion ceremony, nearly half did. Calculating by probability, this meant a loss of about one-third of the troops—the upside being that they had a few more higher-level Transcendents, which might actually make the front line more stable.
It's just that some people came all the way here, only to return without doing anything. This is probably a pity.
This promotion ceremony was a kind of world trend - because a large number of combatants entered Avalon and flocked to the promotion ceremony; coupled with the refugees from Star Antimony, they could basically put together a stable table for the promotion ceremony.
The conversation in the waiting room was particularly important. Everyone knew each other's purpose: to join the war, to protect themselves, or to seek revenge. Their common enemy was the Fallen Angels who had descended upon the material world.
Without any unified organization, people began to spontaneously make a gentleman's agreement: if defeated, they would not stab the opponent in the back and try to kill him, but would voluntarily surrender or give up points; if there was a chance to defeat the opponent without killing him, they would not forcibly kill him and would spare his life.
Although there are about one-fifth of them who are imbued with the power of transcendence and are desperately trying to advance by any means necessary...but most people, when they defeat their opponent, will choose to give the opponent a chance to surrender or be killed by the environment.
Because of this, this promotion ceremony with the largest number of participants since the founding of Avalon... unexpectedly became the high-level promotion ceremony with the largest number of survivors.
——The vast majority of those eliminated did not die!
This touched Aiwass quite a bit.
As long as you want to, you can still do it!
Facts have proven that even the extremely dangerous Four to Five Promotion Ceremony does not mean that the loser is doomed to die - people often die because of each other's evil thoughts or murderous intent, rather than because of the requirements of the ceremony itself.
It’s normal to think about it... The highest difficulty of the promotion ceremony is "real".
The so-called "real" is the same as reality. In fact, it is no different from participating in a ritual in the flesh.
The ritual wasn't meant to kill each other. On one hand, it was to test "qualification" and select "talent"—finding those suitable to become apostles or expand the Dao in the material world. On the other hand... it was for experimentation.
Today, Aiwas understands that sentence more and more - the existence of the promotion ceremony is for the Nine Pillars of God to find possibilities in history and the future, and the promoted people are the "variables".
——This world does need variables.
It is inherently difficult and dangerous for mortals to access the power of the Dao. The Nine Pillar Gods filtered the savage and frenzied power of the Source River into a Dao power that mortals can easily absorb and digest... In return for receiving this power, they must use their souls as "variables" and participate in the "calculations."
In the past, Aiwass did not understand why "the past can be changed" and did not know why "we should seek possibilities for the future."
And now, Aiwass understands it all.
The past can be changed - because of the existence of the power of reincarnation, this world will return to the "past of the past" before the end of the world. At that time, the Nine Pillars of God can move the world in another direction according to the "possibilities" they have collected.
And seeking possibilities for the future is to fight against the unknown doomsday!
The Nine Pillars of God didn't want to kill anyone at all - they assigned difficult and unachievable tasks and gave unacceptably harsh penalties for failure, probably just to prevent people from colluding with each other, reaching off-site deals, and recommending someone for promotion, thereby destroying the ceremony itself!
The horrific death rate was simply due to people's selfish desires, their own interests, and their own hatreds. The ritual itself had the potential to "not kill"... For example, Mu had never killed a single person during the ascension ceremony. Even Aiwass admired him.
The astonishing survival rate of this ceremony made Aiwass think of a "possibility" - the possibility that people would no longer kill each other.
If the future really reaches the "peaceful era" that Aiwas saw in the promotion ceremony, it is possible for people to reduce the death rate of the promotion ceremony through various "rules", "rituals" and "contracts"!
At that time, extraordinary abilities can truly be integrated with this world!
It is not a "mysterious skill" or "secret knowledge" that only a few people can master, but a popular ability - a future that is truly mysterious, vibrant, and full of possibilities!
...But we still have to deal with the apocalypse first.
As long as the promotion ceremony is no longer for "calculations", then we can naturally relax a little...
Isabel, who worried Aiwas the most, did not wake up until five in the morning.
Because the "fetus" can also be considered a "creature" of the Path of Love - the principle is the same as Selene and Leviathan - Isabel brought the child in with her.
But she didn't let Aiwass worry about her.
Not only did she successfully clear the level, but thanks to her charm and leadership, she also achieved a miraculous perfect ending:
——Three people were promoted, nine survived, and no one died.
“…How did they do that?”
Aiwass was incredulous.
It was clearly a cruel Crescent Moon Ritual of "Except me, all eight will die", but Isabel forged another path!
"That was a very, very long dream..."
Isabel sighed, leaned back on the bed, stroking her belly, and her tone became more calm: "That was a dream for five whole years... It wasn't about the future, but the past.
"That was the history of the Hellasir Empire... the early days of its founding. Back then, humanity struggled to survive surrounded by alien races. I gave birth to Aleister alone... and raised her until she was four. It was truly difficult... It was also the first time I realized how much my status as a 'royal family' had helped me."
"Although I've always said that the Du Lac surname has only brought me curses and pressure like the rain, a burden I've never been able to shake off...but once I've shed this identity, without a stable social environment, it turns out that even a fourth-level transcendent, without stealing, robbing, or committing any wrongdoing, would find it so difficult to live an upright life."
Isabel's voice was even stronger, like a mother protecting her daughter alone - a mother is strong.
The script of the promotion ceremony brought her a "life" beyond her own.
It is almost impossible for people to understand the pain of others because it is impossible for people to become someone else; the promotion ceremony breaks this "impossibility" and allows people to truly understand the lives of others.
“Do you need to record this?”
Aiwass said, handing over the paper and pen: "It can be considered a valuable lesson."
"……really."
Isabel wanted to refuse, but she accepted it anyway: "Just think of it as accumulating material for the novel...
“Nothing is more suitable as fuel for art than suffering. People cannot learn any lessons from suffering, but artists can chew it up and turn it into a burning fire. They can let those who have never been hurt briefly experience the heat and pain, and thus respect the fire.”
"You're starting to look like a real artist, Issa."
Aiwass laughed and said, "Even this muttering is the same."
Isabel just shook her head, a gentle smile on her face, and stretched out her hands: "I'm so tired. I want a hug, okay?"
"Of course, dear."
Aiwass, who saved many people that night, finally breathed a sigh of relief. He got on the bed sideways and gently hugged Isabel.
Feeling the warmth in the quilt, Aiwass closed his eyes tiredly.
Isabel whispered her gains in Aiwass's ear.
This time, Isabel even obtained the Tao characteristics personally promoted by the Twin Mirrors and the Silver Crown Dragon.
Although Twin Mirror is the type of god who likes fun and often interferes, the path characteristics he gave to Isabel this time were very substantial!
[Twin Mirror Image (Gold): Your disguise, mirror image, shadow, and transformation abilities gain +1 priority; illusion authenticity +50%]
——Combined with Isabel's original characteristic of [Strong Illusion], the authenticity of Isabel's illusion has now reached 70%!
This means that even if the other party sees through the illusion, they will still have to bear 70% of the effect!
According to Isabel's development path, I'm afraid she's starting to turn the fake into the real...
In this case... the power of the fairies... and perhaps the Butterfly Goddess...
Aiwass was thinking about Isabel's future and fell asleep without knowing when.
Isabel patted Aiwass's back gently, and there was more sadness and pity in her eyes when she looked at Aiwass.
She finally understood what a sacred and difficult cause Aiwass was doing.
She was exhausted just trying to save so few people, just trying to save the people around her.
Isabel didn't even dare to imagine how much pressure Aiwass was under.
She had long realized that Aiwass was so eager and worked so hard to cope with some kind of doomsday in the future. And from this promotion ceremony, Isabel vaguely touched a glimmer of truth.
"The Twilight Wall... The Doomsday Clock..."
Isabel murmured softly, "But... I shouldn't let you bear this kind of pressure..."
She patted Aiwass's back gently, as if she was soothing a baby to sleep.
"—If you can rest a little longer, then rest a little longer."
Two-in-one chapter, updated!
The transition is over, and tomorrow we'll start beating Aduja—
(End of this chapter)
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