Absolute Choice

Translator: CKtalon Editor: CKtalon

How did Speechless and company do it?

It was probably not only Earthbound Yaksha and Shadow Wraith who remained puzzled. Probably even the big shots in the three-dimensional world in another plane of existence must be dumbfounded. They might even involuntarily question—"What sort of strange development is this?", "Can there be such a screwed up operation?", "Come over here, Author, it\'s about time we had a good chat."

Then, in order to explain the story clearly in a professional and ethical way—in no way is it to pad the word count, in no way is it to pad the word count, and in no way is it to pad the word count, with important things having the need to be repeated three times! (Finally padding out a wave of text happily.)

Cough…well in order to explain the story clearly, let us rewind back to about ten minutes ago, the instant when Shadow Wraith just appeared, while releasing a toxin known as \'despair\', but read as being a \'shitty teammate\'.

Back then, when Shadow Wraith suddenly appeared, it had operated beautifully. It had successfully restrained Speechless and company as well as announced three pieces of information that could not be verified but were all equally despair-inducing.

First, that Field Marshal Awesomo was not the formation core. Therefore, killing Field Marshal Awesomo did not mean the disruption of the God Slaughtering Formation. They were destined to be working hard towards a pointless goal.

Second, the identity of the pitch black mass was the ninth level\'s Level Lord. They had to face three Level Lords at the moment.

Third, the exit command had been disabled. The \'Excellency\' with its powerful might was the mastermind behind all this, and the \'Excellency\' was determined to have all of them killed.

The three pieces of information had successfully weaved the web of despair.

Speechless was unable to determine if the information was true or not, but by inferring from the situation they were in, the three pieces of information were very likely to be the truth.

However, the three pieces of despairing information mixed in a single piece of information that benefited them—destroying the formation core would result in the collapse of the God Slaughtering Formation—the only piece of beneficial information was useless in the situation they were in. With the seven of them simultaneously restrained, unless a powerful force came to rescue them, there was nothing they could do.

They were unable to save themselves, much less rescue Shi Xiaobai.

At that moment, even Speechless felt helpless. He was immersed in a pessimistic mood.

But at that moment, he suddenly heard a familiar voice in his mind.

"Hey, hey, hey…Benefactor Speechless, can you hear this?"

Initially, Speechless believed that he was having an illusion or some auditory hallucination because the voice did not reach him through his ears, but resounded directly in his brain.

But quickly, the voice repeated another time. Speechless finally realized a particular possibility.

He attempted to respond with a thought.

"Liu Yu?"

After he responded, a relieved sigh immediately resounded in his mind. Then, the voice said the following in his mind.

"Phew, it\'s This Penniless Priest…Listen, the reason why you can hear This Penniless Priest\'s voice is that of This Penniless Priest\'s superpower—\'Telepathic Relay\'. This superpower\'s general usage is to converse telepathically with someone within a certain distance as long as they do not refuse it."

Speechless was immediately astounded, but he immediately had a sudden thought when he received this brand new piece of information. As a result, he could not help but shout out in his mind, "Wahaha! Liu Yu, your superpower is…is amazing! You are indeed worthy to be a man that shares the same syllable, \'Yu\' (speech) as This Emperor!"

Liu Yu immediately blushed with shame as he said with a wry smile, "This superpower is actually useless in battle. However, this Penniless Priest always found it hard to abandon it even though it\'s useless. Who knew that it would be somewhat useful at such a juncture…"

"Somewhat useful? You are way too humble man. This superpower might be able to save all of us!" said Speechless in excitement.

"Really? This Penniless Priest can\'t think of any way out no matter how much he racks his brain. So This Penniless Priest attempted to engage in telepathy with you…Erh, doesn\'t that mean that Benefactor Speechless has already thought of a way out!?" Liu Yu said with great anticipation in his mind.

"Yea, a way out that might be possible has been thought out and it would definitely be better than not thinking of something…Oh, by the way, can your superpower engage in \'Telepathic Relay\' only between two people?" said Speechless.

"This Penniless Priest could only do two people in the beginning, but after repeated experiments and improvements, This Penniless Priest can now add another person to the telepathic relay, and have a three-way telepathic conversation. However, three people is the maximum This Penniless Priest can do for now," said Liu Yu.

"Three people is enough. At least it saves the time needed to pass on information. Make haste while we can. Now, connect Sunless. Who knows how long the three Level Lords will give us," said Speechless.

"Alright!" responded Liu Yu.

A second later, Liu Yu spoke again, "Alright, it\'s connected."

"Hey, Sunless, can you hear this?" Speechless immediately attempted to call out to her.

"Huh?" Sunless\'s puzzled voice resounded simultaneously in Speechless and Liu Yu\'s minds.

"I\'m Speechless Li. We are now conversing using Liu Yu\'s superpower and engaging in a three-way telepathic relay. Do you understand?" Speechless did not want to waste time, so he explained the situation to Sunless in the most direct manner.

"Yea," Sunless responded. She did not seem astonished nor did she appear as excited as Speechless. Clearly, her thoughts were somewhere else.

"Sunless, I know you are currently feeling very anxious. The person most anxious in the present situation is definitely you. Because, compared to extricating the danger you are in, you are more anxious about rescuing Shi Xiaobai. However, you have to calm down now. Listen, I have a method that might save everyone and even save Shi Xiaobai. And the most important step to this matter has to be fulfilled by you. Only you can make it happen! For that, you have to calm down. No matter how difficult it is, you must force yourself to calm down…Then, Sunless, in order to save everyone, no. Even if it\'s just to save Shi Xiaobai, can you calm down?"

Speechless said it in such a manner. Since time was of the essence, he was still excessive in his plea. Clearly, whether Sunless could calm down was an important matter.

For that, Sunless fell silent for a second before giving a firm response.

"Say the method."

Sunless did not answer if she could calm down or not, but Speechless knew that even if she \'could not\', she would definitely change it into something possible. If that was the way to save Shi Xiaobai, she would force herself to do it regardless of anything.

"Due to the automatic triggering of \'Mirror Replication\', I know the shadow that is restraining us is called \'Shadow Shackles\'. At the same time, I know the theory behind the liberation process of \'Shadow Shackles\'. In fact, \'Shadow Shackles\' is not restraining our bodies but it is a two-layer illusion!" said Speechless.

"Two-layer illusion? What is that?" asked Liu Yu eagerly before Sunless responded.

"You can understand it as a dream within a dream. In fact, our consciousness is currently stuck in a dream state formed by the first illusionary layer. However, the second illusionary layer is fooling us to think that we exist in reality. The goal is to prevent us from knowing that we have fallen for an illusion. And the premise to the two-layer illusion is grabbing the victim\'s shadow with a shadow. In principle, severing the contact between the shadows is sufficient to destroy the illusion, but the seven of us are unable to manage that. There\'s also no point to place hope on nonexistent reinforcements. So the thing we need to do is use our own willpower to escape the two-layer illusion!" Speechless tried his best to explain the slightly complicated idea in the most comprehensible manner.

"Escape? How?" Sunless immediately asked an important question.

"We first need to escape the second illusion layer, which is used to hide the first illusionary layer. The easiest way is to constantly tell yourself that \'this isn\'t reality\', so as to hypnotize yourself. This step requires a firm belief in yourself. Only people who believe in themselves greatly are able to do it. Sunless, among the seven of us, the only people that can escape the second illusionary layer are the two of us." Speechless did not plan on explaining why they were the only two that could escape the second illusionary layer, but he had his reasons.

The reason was that when facing Earthbound Yaksha\'s Soul Suppression, only Sunless and himself could act normally. The other five were more or less affected. And the reason why he could do so was that he had undertaken \'resistance training\'. As for Sunless, she had completely managed to conquer the repression of Soul Suppression with her own willpower and firm resolution.

This girl who very rarely spoke with others was not shy with strangers or aloof but it was because she was too mature. Just as Pulp Farmer said, Sunless and Shi Xiaobai were young freaks that had minds that resembled cunning old spirits. They could see through the essence of many things at a glance, even the light that was obscured by the darkness. For that, Shi Xiaobai would positively face it, while Sunless would choose to ignore it, putting a distance between herself and the world that had nothing to do with swords.

"Then?" Sunless made a terse remark and interrupted Speechless\'s deep thoughts.

"Then…after escaping the second illusionary layer, you will enter the dream state created by the first illusionary layer. And our real consciousness is situated there. The first illusionary layer is an orthodox mental demon illusion. By enlarging the mental demons of the target, the target will be embroiled in an endless cycle of horrific nightmares. Therefore…the way to escape the first illusionary layer is to overcome your own mental demons."

When Speechless said that, he came to a slight pause before sighing suddenly. He said apologetically, "Sorry, deep in my heart, there resides a mental demon I cannot defeat. I will not be able to defeat the mental demon in a short period of time. Therefore, the only person that can quickly escape the first and second illusionary layers through their own strength to liberate themselves from \'Shadow Shackles\' is you, Sunless Ye."

"Got it," Sunless said.

"Erh, Sunless, I\'m not sure what your mental demon is, nor do I know if that mental demon of yours is as difficult to conquer as mine, but all our hope will rest on you. So…Sunless, are you confident that you can defeat your greatest mental demon?"

Speechless carefully probed her. He knew that the heavy burden of saving everyone rested on Sunless\'s shoulders. It was a shameless and weak thing to do, but other than that, he had no other method. Without escaping from \'Shadow Shackles\', there was no way the subsequent parts of his plan could work.

"I can…No, I\'ll definitely be able to do it!" Sunless gave such an answer.

Upon hearing Sunless\'s response, Speechless immediately felt like he had asked a stupid question.

To Sunless, be it defeating her own mental demons, she would only answer that she could, and give an answer of definiteness. Since it was a necessary step in the bid to save Shi Xiaobai, she would do her best to overcome and defeat the thing she previously could have chosen to run away from, even if the mental demon was an unsurmountable entity that previously made her cower in fear.

Sunless was such a cool girl!

"If only I could be as brave as her."

Speechless thought to himself. His heart felt like it had been mangled by a blade. He returned to that unforgettable rainy night that he probably would not forget for the rest of his life. That was a mental demon he lacked the courage to face at that moment in time. It was a nightmare that he chose to cower away from like a coward.

Speechless quickly regulated his emotions because the most important mission had been given to Sunless. Therefore, he needed to do his best to deploy the remaining matters.

"Sunless, once you escape from \'Shadow Shackles\', you have to wait for the opportunity to complete two things."

Speechless quickly said, "First, if Field Marshal Awesomo is about to recover or has already recovered, think of a way to quickly make him lose his ability to fight. Second, at the moment when Earthbound Yaksha and Shadow Wraith are unable to react, use \'Heaven Shrouding Eclipse\' on the contact point of the shadow tentacles. I once saw your elder brother use \'Heaven Shrouding Eclipse\'. That strike\'s black sword beam is able to block out the light. It will be able to shroud the sunlight at the point of where the tentacles make contact, resulting in the removal of \'Shadow Shackles\' from our bodies. If I recall correctly, \'Heaven Shrouding Eclipse\' is one of the moves of the Ye family\'s sword arts. You should be able to use it, right?"

"Yes." Even though she had only practiced it a few times, Sunless was able to give an affirmative answer without any hesitation.

"That\'s good. If everything works out smoothly and the seven of us escape the restraint of \'Shadow Shackles\', then please immediately restrain Earthbound Yaksha. I will use my Mirror Replication to restrain the Shadow Wraith. Then…the plan to save Shi Xiaobai will officially begin! This time, I will definitely deploy the plan perfectly. Although we have failed a few times previously, I implore you to believe in me…I, no, This Emperor will definitely bring Shi Xiaobai back to your side!" said Speechless.

"Alright, I\'m begging you." Upon sensing the sincerity in Speechless\'s words, Sunless chose to believe in him once again. Furthermore, she had made a rare request like \'begging you\'.

"Thank you…Then I\'m begging you to complete the mission of saving all of us!"

Speechless returned with a sincere entreatment. Then, he said to another person that did not have the opportunity to interrupt all this while.

"Liu Yu, cut Sunless\'s connection. Next…connect Pulp Farmer!"

After about ten seconds of explanation, Pulp Farmer, who had been connected into the Telepathic Relay, quickly understood the situation.

"Then, what\'s my mission?" asked Pulp Farmer.

"If Field Marshal Awesomo loses his combat strength and we successfully restraint Earthbound Yaksha and Shadow Wraith, then we will have the spare capacity to save Shi Xiaobai. But the premise to saving Shi Xiaobai is…to find the formation core that Shadow Wraith declared that we would not be able to find. And the only person capable of doing that is you, Pulp Farmer!" said Speechless.

"Only I can do it? That can\'t be? …Eh? Eh! You, you, don\'t tell me…" Pulp Farmer was puzzled for half a second before he realized something. Immediately he panicked.

"That\'s right. This Emperor knows about the superpower you have always hidden. This Emperor also knows the reason why you are known as Mt Chang\'s \'Pulp Farmer\'! Man, summoning thousands of paper cranes from your palm really doesn\'t match your typical image, but there\'s no need to resist it. You got to know that having identity dissonance is an important part of creating your character…" Speechless could not help but laugh as he prated on.

"Damn it! I only used it a few times when I was young. How did you learn of such private information?" Pulp Farmer could not calm down.

"Man, don\'t mind the unimportant details…Anyway, This Emperor will not tell others. It will be a secret between the two of us," said Speechless.

When Liu Yu heard that, he could not help but curse silently—Although he was indeed just like a \'mouthpiece\', there were three people, alright!?

Also, wasn\'t the \'secret between the two of us\' too fake? When Pulp Farmer uses his superpower, wouldn\'t the thirty thousand-strong audience in the background see it clearly?

"Back to all seriousness."

Speechless quickly refrained from joking. He said, "If This Emperor didn’t guess wrong, your superpower is similar to a summoner’s magic. You should be able to command the summoned paper cranes, maintain a telepathic connection with them and receive feedback from them…right?"

"Yea, your guess is correct." Pulp Farmer immediately calmed himself.

"Alright then! Then, let\'s talk about your mission. Pulp Farmer, when we battle the Level Lord, find an opportunity to secretly move to a location far away from the battlefield. It\'s best if you can hide in a blind spot outside the battlefield. Then, use your superpower and summon the thousand paper cranes to search for the formation core. No one knows how well hidden the formation core is. Therefore, there is no way to estimate how long it will take to find the formation core. However, no matter how long it takes, we will try our best to restrain the Level Lords and give you a sufficient amount of time. No matter what, we will last till you find it!" Speechless\'s voice was filled with a resolute firmness.

"Got it, I\'ll try my best to find the formation core," said Pulp Farmer. There was no need to give any bombastic guarantees. A guarantee from the domineering youth\'s mouth was enough for others to believe.

"Thank you. Then, the mission of finding the formation core will be left to you!"

After Speechless said that, he gave someone a pathetic but crucial amount of screen time.

"Liu Yu! Next, connect Mu Lengxi!"

…

"Wow~! Telepathic Relay! Ahhhhh! Boohoo, Brother Liu Yu, why didn\'t you say so earlier. This superpower is perfectly made for your Little Xi!"

Mu Lengxi was exhilarated. To a chatterbox who could not speak, using text to converse was a very painful matter, but Telepathic Relay could allow her to express her voice. Such a matter was too beautiful and joyful. As such, \'Daoist Liu Yu\' was upgraded to \'Brother Liu Yu\' in her heart.

"…" Liu Yu was unable to respond to her. He suffered the pain of missing the chance to say a precious stage line.

"Alright, calm down for a moment. There will be opportunities in the future. It\'s not like Liu Yu will run away!" said Speechless.

"Erh, alright then. Let\'s get down to business. So…what\'s my mission?" At such a critical juncture, Mu Lengxi naturally would not act too willfully.

The siblings immediately came to a common understanding. Liu Yu wanted to loudly tell them \'can you ask This Penniless Priest for his opinions!?\' Repeated use of Telepathic Relay was very tiring, alright?

"Let\'s put it this way…"

Speechless considered his words before saying, "Earthbound Yaksha\'s Soul Suppression will result in immense suppression on everyone\'s actions. As for your…voice, it can not only alleviate the effects of Soul Suppression, it can even restrict Earthbound Yaksha\'s actions, so…"

"Isn\'t it just singing? No problem, leave it to me!" Mu Lengxi interrupted Speechless\'s minced words.

"However, if it\'s singing, your voice…" Speechless sighed. It was the thing he was most hesitant about.

Mu Lengxi possessed the talent of being a \'Muse\', but singing would result in her failing to control the \'Sacred Sound\', making it more belligerent. Therefore, every time she sang a song, the hope of being able to speak normally would also reduce.

"Bro, what are you still worrying about at this point in time? Anyway, it\'s already an incurable problem, so who cares if it continues deteriorating!? If it can save everyone and save Brother Xiaobai, then this trivial matter is not something to be fussed about." Mu Lengxi said gleefully.

"Sigh, you!" Speechless knew that his younger sister would respond in this way, but when he heard her answer in such a nonchalant way, he felt his heart winch in pain. His sister was a chatterbox who would not stop once she began chatting. She clearly yearned to speak normally more than anyone else.

"Wow, so the important matters are done? Hey, Brother Liu Yu, Brother Liu Yu, are you there? Are you there? Are you there?" However, a particular girl that was being worried about didn\'t have her thoughts on the matter.

"Here…" The girl\'s call was too intense that Liu Yu had no choice but to respond.

"About that…Telepathic Relay can be done between three people. Brother Liu Yu, can you…erh…in the future…Little Xi has many things to say to…" Mu Lengxi suddenly turned bashful. Clearly, the words she wanted to say had made her too embarrassed to voice it out.

"You wish to have a telepathic relay with Shi Xiaobai, right?" Liu Yu was no doubt a Daoist with a high attainment. He immediately saw through her.

"Ah…Can, can it be done?" The girl asked apprehensively.

"Of…Of course, it\'s not a problem." Liu Yu obviously could not reject her. Although doing so meant he had to be a presence-less \'mouthpiece\', and be a bachelor dog that munched on cold dog food while watching a couple exchange sweet nothings, he found it impossible to reject such a cute and pitiful girl. However, for some baffling reason, Liu Yu suddenly recalled of his young junior sister who asked him apprehensively if "Daoists could marry\'.

"Yay! Thank you, Brother Liu Yu!" The girl cheered.

"Enough!"

Speechless finally spoke. Although he did not have an evil sister complex, he had mixed feelings about seeing his grown-up sister finally having someone she liked.

"Next! Connect Feng Yuanlin!"

…

"Anyway, you, Sunless, and Speechless will form a triangular encirclement around Earthbound Yaksha and try to restrain it. Oh, to be precise, you will be a feint. In fact, your true mission is to protect my sister. Got it?"

"Got…got it." Feng Yuanlin had a feeling that Speechless was not in a good mood, so he did not dare to ask further and expressed his understanding.

"Well, that\'s good then. Next."

Speechless said before suddenly coming to a halt.

"Well, this is the last one. Liu Yu, connect…"