Immortal Ascension Tower 33 REVEALING INFORMATION, KEEPING SECRETS

"Because I... I... I..." Cheng Hao took his hand out of the pouch and placed it on Xiao Wu's: it was... empty! It was actually empty! Cheng Hao could barely speak as his eyes teared-up from the laughter, "Oh! What bad luck! I actually don't have it here!"

"Gah, you cheater!" Xiao Wu felt her face flush red as she had just been fooled into grasping for empty air!

"Ahah…" Cheng Hao laughed at his sister's display of the most aghast of expressions, as all her expectations came crashing down.

Witnessing the girl's furious pout, finally, Cheng Hao waved his hand in apology, "Sorry, sorry, let me add something to that statement: I don't have it here... yet! Just wait a while longer! I believe I found a way to get my hands on a manual in a ruin I explored a while back. I'll leave in a few days, as soon as I have also passed you down a few things and prepared some stuff!"

Xiao Wu "..."

"Hey! It's not like I'm a walking dispenser of Heavenly Techniques! At least, not ones pertaining to Aura, which is based on one's innate potential for it, which Xu Ling did not have! I never bothered researching that, nor were there any manuals on it written down back in the Tower of Babel, so cut me some slack sis! I can't possibly remember what I never learned in the first place, after all! Come on! Don't give me the cold shoulder because of a joke... Speak up!"

The emerald-eyed girl had turned silent.

"... incredible..." Xiao Wu finally managed to mutter dejectedly.

"Uh? 'Incredible'?" Cheng Hao furrowed his brows, "What is?"

"I said that you are incredible!" the girl repeated, smiling grimly, "You know so much and are also so dependable! You are talented, knowledgeable... strong! And yet, here I am, acting as a burden to you and your heaven-defying talent, putting a stopper to your rise! I-I..." Xiao Wu began shedding silent tears under the shocked eyes of a young boy and a golden snake.

The youth was stunned. He did not know how to react to that. He was a scholar. He knew countless things, but the answer to a question pertaining feelings, which could not be found in books, was not among them. Plus, when ever in his life had he ever cared discussing things with an eight-year-old? It was a first for him!

Fortunately, at such a dangerous time, Goldy came to the rescue! He slithered up to the girl's shoulder and began rubbing his tail against her cheeks comfortingly, as if he were gently caressing her. "Burden? Why do you think your 'big brother' here would be helping you so much, if not for profit? Your talent is roughly on par with him, plus, having a Martial Way wielder by his side, one that could even craft a basically infinite amount of them through Aura Manipulation, why wouldn't he want to keep you by his side?"

After a while, Goldy even added with a 'whisper', "Technically speaking, you are much more of a firm grappling hook than a burden! So shut up and swim in the treasures this idiot will have to keep drowning you in in order to keep you as a sister! I'd even suggest demanding a raise every now and then... just be sure to share it with me too!" The 'whisper' of course, had been clearly heard by both Xiao Wu... and Cheng Hao.

"Shut up, you bastard snake! I'm already pretty broke as it is!" the golden-eyed boy laughed. "Alright... Ahem, let's finish up by changing subjects: why did we bother forming a Pseudo-Core? After all, after, while normally the fact that you get an understanding on how a true core formation works might already satisfy most people, it would not be enough for geniuses like us!"

"Ok, firstly, the Pseudo-Core will remain there even after the real Core is formed, and at that time, it will keep accumulating the impure Qi and excess Spiritual Energy expelled by your real Core. Now, since it will keep accumulating energy that is not pure, it won't hold as much power as the real deal at first... but the difference is that while the true Core must be kept safe at all costs, the Pseudo-Core can be detonated! This will give you a huge boost in power temporarily, as all the stored energy will suddenly burst out and replenish your strength!"

Cheng Hao cleared his voice and took a sip from a cup full of tea.

"Think of it: months and years of accumulated power that burst out in a single moment! This now of course won't be as drastic as blowing up the real Core; at least it won't injure you permanently. It will still leave some internal injuries, but your life and most of your cultivation will be kept intact, and you can just form another Pseudo-Core later... Unfortunately, although the Pseudo-Core can be rebuilt, the body can't hold more than one Pseudo-Core at the time and it gets harder to rebuild and longer to regenerate each time."

A mouthful and the lecture resumed.

"Secondly, while the Core does not have the ability to, the Pseudo-Core can actually hold inside it objects that are made of Qi, Spiritual Energy or Aura! Think of the Martial Way in your Pseudo-Core; not only can it house them, it even needs a Martial Way to be inside it at all times when it is rotated, or else the energy would burst outwards, having nothing to pull it inwards. Still, although we might sacrifice our ability to use the true body of the Martial Way in battle until we reach the Advanced stage, where we can finally rotate the true Cores instead of the fake ones, until that time, that fictitious Core can still demonstrate a cultivation base approaching the might of the real Advanced stage! Also, Martial Ways are precious treasures that many cultivators would thirst after... Keeping them hidden in a Heaven&Earth Pouch would not be enough to hide them from those truly powerful. Our Pseudo-Cores, on the other hand, are basically impregnable to Will! That is why, until the day we grow powerful enough, our Pseudo-Cores will remain extremely important and great gifts to us..."

Cheng Hao stopped talking and took another sip from the cup.

"Finally, to know the third reason I effectively sealed you Martial Way into your Core, extend your palm. Good. Now, picture your Martial Way on your hand. Picture it coming out of the Pseudo-Core, and then appearing on your hand! Try it!"

Xiao Wu extended her left hand and did as she was told. The purple moon came out but, although she kept imagining the other two beings, the white tree and the black dragon, appearing above her palm, she couldn't do it at all. She lifted her head and threw a questioning glance at Cheng Hao. He simply smiled and gave a thumbs up, pointing at her other palm.

She looked at her right palm, which was also facing upwards, and, no doubt at all, the White Tree and Black Dragon were there!

But why though, had they had not appeared alongside the Purple Moon? It was as if... They weren't of the same kind? Suddenly, she had a hunch: could the Purple Moon, Black Dragon and White Tree actually not be the same Martial Way? Could they actually be several?

"Are these... two Martial Ways?"

Cheng Hao nodded, "Three, to be exact. However, the process to separate the last two is a bit tricky. We'll try that out later on, after you improve your cultivation base a bit first... Also, I was hoping to teach you a skill connected to the Purple Moon first; 'I See A Moonlit Purple World'." His eyes then gleamed with expectation, "The technique aside, what else can you tell me? Surely you can deduce a few things that stem from having more than one Martial Way, can't you?"

Xiao Wu stammered, "W-Well, if my Martial Ways are multiple, then... then I can just alternate them to both keep one in the Pseudo-Core, and at the same time use the others in combat, can't I?"

She turned to find a smiling Cheng Hao. He, looked happy, as if he had designed a difficult treasure hunt and somebody had actually held out until the end and found the treasure...

"Yes. Your three Martial Ways allow you to create a Pseudo-Core with three Martial ways, and at the same time keep it at bay with a single one! This, of course, is only possible because of the three Qi you have complementing each other... Sigh! The ability to possess multiple Qi is truly marvelous..."

Xiao Wu was stunned for a moment then a malicious smile appeared on her face "Brother, oh brother... Could you possibly jealous of your sister's talent?"

"Maybe... Maybe not. Possible... but overall improbable." Cheng Hao chuckled. "Alright, it's late. Let's go to sleep. We'll have to wake up early tomorrow at dawn, as I want you to learn the technique I told you about earlier. Unfortunately, this skill can only be cultivated the moment the sun rises, so waking up that early will kind of become part of our... or rather, your routine!"

With this, the day came to and end, and the two children both prepared to go to bed: it was night, and it wouldn't do them well to fall asleep too late with their bodies of eight-something-year-old kids, even with the support of a cultivation base.

"Good night!"

"Night-night!"

After a while, regular breathing noises rang out from their bed as the two fell asleep... Not.

Secretly, Cheng Hao was still awake. He turned around, his front facing the wall. He opened his hand and a strand of faint, blurry Qi emerged and twisted around his fingers. This strand bent and changed shape and consistency until it had acquired the shape of an oak, around which coiled a black dragon. A purple moon also took shape in a small starry 'sky'.

His Sovereign Qi had two characteristics up to record.

Firstly, it was incredibly pure, much more so than any Qi he had ever encountered, surpassing them by far too. Being pure, it also meant it was extremely overbearing and impossibly heavy, capable of crushing and overtake any other Qi that stood in its way.

Secondly... it could change itself to take up any attribute he wished it to, a monstrous ability that would remain his greatest trump card beside the Immortal Ascension Tower, the knowledge from the Tower of Babel, and the drop of Supreme stage blood.

Goldy looked on from the side. There was a trace of admiration and even envy in his eyes as he watched the youth summon different kinds of Qi, bending them all to his will. The dragon then shook his head: Cheng Hao being Jealous of Xiao Wu's three kinds of Qi?

Xiao Wu may have three of many kinds of Qi, but Cheng Hao secretly also had them.

As a matter of fact, amongst the countless Qi that made up the known universe... Cheng Hao had ALL of them!

"Jealousy? Envy? I find it hard to believe anyone would feel any such thing when put in my shoes..." With a bitter smile, Cheng Hao wiped away the apparition and slowly fell asleep…
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