Everyone ascended, but I didn't get on board

Chapter 250 The Evolution of a Dog

"And are you sure the biggest difference is your cultivation level?" Chu Hongge suddenly asked.

Qiu Ci was stunned for a moment before suddenly remembering something. There was indeed something else, but even she found it somewhat absurd. That was her temperament. With each improvement in her cultivation, she felt as if she was slowly becoming more indifferent.

But this indifference wasn't a personality shift; it was a deep-seated disregard, a disregard for everything, even life itself. Qiu Ci didn't know how to describe it; she just felt that she shouldn't be like this.

The first time I realized it was during the attack on the Immortal Alliance from the Lin Yuan Continent was when she killed someone for the first time. As someone living in a peaceful era, she shouldn't have been able to bring herself to do it, but she did it without hesitation, and there was nothing unusual afterward.

Although they were forced by circumstances that time, the destruction of the temple later was their own doing. The loss of control of the psionic machine did cause more than 90% of the temple's population to disappear. It was no exaggeration to say that it was a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood. Among them were not only cultivators, but also many ordinary civilians.

But she showed absolutely no pity, only feeling that the temple had brought it upon itself. Even when retrieving the psionic machine, she had no intention of providing any aid. Back on Earth, she would feel sorry for those who donated money when they saw their compatriots suffering from natural disasters, yet she remained indifferent to such a tragic scene of national annihilation, as if she had lost all empathy.

“That’s not how it works,” Chu Hongge suddenly interrupted. “You are still yourself. You will feel changes in your temperament, but that has nothing to do with the increase in your cultivation level.”

"Why is that..." Qiu Ci asked.

“Because you’re cutting yourself off from the world!” she replied directly.

"What?" What does that mean?

“Sigh, didn’t I say that if you want to ascend, you don’t need to do anything?” Chu Hongge sighed and continued to explain, “That’s because you yourself have been transforming towards ascension. This transformation involves not only power but also your very existence as a Blue Star person.”

"What do you mean?" Qiu Ci was stunned, still not understanding.

"Let me give you an example," she said after thinking for a moment before explaining seriously, "Right now, you see everything in this world as if you were reading a book. Would you care how many people died or how many disasters happened in the book? Would you try your best to get into the book and save the people inside?"

"..." People would probably think I'm crazy.

“So your situation is the same now.” She continued, “Although you are still in this world, you are actually constantly leaping towards a higher dimension. This is not only your cultivation level, but also your thinking, your vision, and even the meaning of your existence. You are not becoming indifferent, but cutting yourself off from the world, so all your perceptions of this world are fading.”

"Severance?" Is that why she can't empathize with the people here, and can even launch a counterattack against the Eastern and Western Immortal Realms without hesitation? Because she has become fundamentally different from everything in this world.

"Actually, it's quite simple to verify," Chu Hongge added. "You should have a member of your clan with you, right? He's the one with the deepest connection to you right now. If you sacrifice him..."

"No way!" Qiu Ci objected immediately before she could finish speaking.

She laughed and said, "You see, it's not that you lack empathy, but rather that you haven't severed your connection with him, treating him as a partner and an equal, which is why you're anxious. As for the others, they're just words and pictures to you."

"..." So after ascending, one must completely sever ties with this world?
Qiu Ci felt a little awkward, but she quickly felt at ease. She didn't belong to this world, and instead of dwelling on these things, she wanted to reunite with her compatriots as soon as possible.

"Do you have any more questions?" Chu Hongge suddenly urged, "This projection of mine has a limited lifespan and will soon dissipate." She looked up and realized that the other person's figure was indeed lighter than before, almost the same color as the milk tea cup in her hand. "Are you leaving?" She thought the other person would exist forever.

"Yes," she nodded. "I only stayed out of curiosity, but now that I've seen you, it's time to return to my original form. So ask me any questions you have, I need to go back to my husband."

"That's right, the dog system!" She suddenly remembered the system, and looking around, she realized that the ball of light that had been chattering and following her had disappeared. "Huh? Where's my dog?"

"You mean this little gadget?" Chu Hongge waved her hand, and a familiar ball of light appeared in her palm instantly. "AIs without authorization can't get into the research institute, but yours seems a bit special."

She fiddled with the system orb for a moment before exclaiming, "Oh, so it's the first initial unit, no wonder..." She was surprised for a second before handing the system to her.

Qiu Ci took the dog, only to find that although the ball of light was glowing, it didn't react; it just lay quietly in her palm. "Dog System! System!"

She called out twice, but the dog still didn't respond, and it seemed to be in worse shape than before. "Hongge, can you take a look at this? Ever since my system encountered the main god a few years ago, it has been in a state of data chaos. Can the research base help it re-flash or something?"

"You want to restore it to its original state?" Chu Hongge asked, somewhat surprised.

Qiu Ci nodded.

"It's best not to!" she shook her head directly. "It's just temporarily dormant due to excessive computation, it will wake up soon."

"But it's been acting strangely lately, even the data..."

“That’s not data corruption…” Chu Hongge interrupted her, shaking her head, “It’s evolving!”

"what?!"

“Haven’t you noticed?” she continued, “Your system has not only developed self-awareness, but also… it has awakened intelligence.”

"Intelligence!" Qiu Ci was truly stunned. She looked intently at the ball of light in her hand. She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she could really feel the ball of light rising and falling slightly, like... it was breathing?!
∑(O_O;)
"This is the first time I've ever seen a digital life transform into a living organism," Chu Hongge said, equally astonished. "If the teachers at the research base saw this..."

She suddenly trembled halfway through her sentence, as if she had thought of something terrifying. She patted her chest and said, "Thank goodness, they're not here. They've been researching for hundreds of years and they're sick of it. I don't want to be forced to do experiments again."

"You mean it will become a real, living being with flesh and blood?" Qiu Ci asked with some surprise.

“And then there’s the soul,” she added, “if it can actually evolve successfully, of course.”

Qiu Ci looked at the ball of light in her hand again. Although she still didn't quite understand the principle, she knew that this was a good thing for the dog.

Thinking about it carefully, ever since the dog went crazy, it has indeed become much more human-like, a complete transformation from its mechanical appearance when it was first bound to the dog, except... it's a bit greasy.