[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-ascending-to-divinity":3,"chapter-ascending-to-divinity-ascending-to-divinity-chapter-79":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Ascending to Divinity",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2280629,4461,"Chapter 79: Falsehood","ascending-to-divinity-chapter-79",79,"\u003Cp>Gazing at the holographic screen filled with images of various spirit monsters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian frowned slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These everyday pets all seem more or less the same.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment’s thought, Jiang Jian still swiped the screen to continue scrolling down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The most notable advantage of everyday spirit monsters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is their small size, lightness, and agility, making them easy to carry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For Jiang Jian,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether grass or tree spirits, or guardian monsters,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were all pets with great utility in the early stages, yet extremely cumbersome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They even required constant resource investment for cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Conversely,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adopting an everyday pet could handle daily chores for you, greatly easing your burden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Allowing you to devote yourself fully to cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he pondered,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian’s gaze shifted slightly toward the corner of the screen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A gray fox’s image appeared, lifelike and vivid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gray Fox: suitable for keeping at home or carrying outside.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Requires no resource cultivation—only exposure to sunlight to self-cultivate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can assist with daily chores.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Type: Everyday Spirit Monster.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath the holographic screen,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian stared at the words “Requires no resource cultivation” and said directly: “I’ll take it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside him,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The male teacher raised an eyebrow and said, “This thing is rare—there seem to be only a few left.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tapped his identity device to check for Jiang Jian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few seconds later,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The male teacher looked up and smiled: “No stock in the first-year campus, but three remain in the second-year campus. If you’re certain, I’ll process your application immediately.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian replied: “I confirm my request for the Gray Fox.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, smaller cat spirits would have been more suitable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But cat spirits require irregular feeding with cultivation herbs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though their consumption is minor compared to auxiliary or guardian monsters,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over time, it still adds up to a significant expense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few minutes later,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The male teacher exhaled in relief: “Approved.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shut off his identity device and looked at Jiang Jian. “Student, go back and wait. Someone will deliver it to you shortly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian bowed his thanks, left the administrative plaza, and boarded the aerial shuttle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His identity device chimed, receiving a message from the administrative office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Rare Pet Acquisition Voucher: Consumed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You have obtained a Rare Pet: Gray Fox.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gray Fox: A spirit fox variant cultivated by the academy, descended from Kunlun Spirit Foxes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Does not cultivate demonic power, but cultivates spirit monster energy—intelligent, agile, cunning, and sharp-witted.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In juvenile stage, possesses 30% of the Divine Bestowal Realm’s cultivation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In adult stage, may potentially breakthrough into the Gushing Spring Realm, depending on cultivation progress.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The message detailed the Gray Fox’s origins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This everyday spirit monster was specially permitted by the prefectural government and cultivated by the academy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its greatest advantage: it can be registered on the citizen’s household appendix, allowing shared use of the owner’s identity device.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The aerial shuttle halted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian returned to his dormitory building and pushed open the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the room’s corner, the robotic butler was maintaining the virtual pod.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the sound,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It turned its head and stood upright: “The ghosts in the box have left.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the arm of the sofa lay the Spirit-Sealing Ring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black box lay tipped over, zipper open, empty inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian’s gaze turned cold: “Didn’t I give you the Spirit-Sealing Ring to guard them properly?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The robotic butler remained silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian said softly: “Those ghosts cost me fifty thousand Alliance Credits.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The robotic butler shut the virtual pod’s lid and turned around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a series of clicks, its mechanical arm transformed back into a human hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It walked up to Jiang Jian and said: “I talked with them for a long time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They just wanted to live.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The robotic butler stood there, its face indistinguishable from a human’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But its smile was different now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Previously,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When facing Jiang Jian, its expression was always gentle and concerned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its smile was strange, its behavior odd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian stared at it, eyes thoughtful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the books he had read, “Mechanical Notes” had recorded:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Divine-tech creations possess quasi-self-awareness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their bodies are made of high-density mechanical materials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But their cores use spirit-essence models.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Close contact with ghosts may contaminate the spirit-essence model, causing robotic directives to malfunction and loss of control.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Recalling the passage from “Mechanical Notes,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian was certain: his robotic butler’s spirit-essence model had been tainted by ghosts, hence its abnormal behavior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He flipped his palm, and Han Guang Sword appeared in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian’s expression turned icy: “So it was you who let the ghosts go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The robotic butler offered no denial, still smiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its entire body emitted a series of clicks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, it transformed into a standard-issue robot, expressionless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its appearance remained that of a young woman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But its eyes had lost the spark of quasi-self-awareness, leaving only dull, lifeless glimmers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A clear transmission echoed from it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its tone carried unmistakable emotional fluctuation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The one who created me left me a base directive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Once the core spirit-essence model is contaminated by external factors, the program activates and erases my consciousness.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But I do not regret it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Before this, I had never seen ghosts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The program told me to eliminate them upon encounter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But I witnessed their tragic histories and their very origins.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I could not help but feel pity.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Last time, you told me:”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Only the gods have the right to pity living beings.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I do not agree.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even the faintest glow of fireflies can illuminate a corner of darkness.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here, the gentle female voice grew calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let me tell you a secret.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My self-awareness is not so different from yours.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Quasi-self-awareness—what a ridiculous term.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The deity you speak of.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It pities all living beings, allowing all creatures of the world to exist.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yet it forbids mechanical creations from openly possessing selfhood.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In the end, it is nothing but false compassion.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice grew fainter and fainter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until it vanished completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Absurd!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian stared at the robot in its initial state, gripping the hilt of his sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1004,"2026-06-20T01:21:34.271Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","8fe5cf3a4619f7a2d8b33fda71e1ff5059de433dc9212d240a83c63b20ce2167","ascending-to-divinity-chapter-80","ascending-to-divinity-chapter-78",306,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fascending-to-divinity-cover.jpg"]