How awake was the Pillar?
Zhou Zhengde was dumbfounded, unable to process the news for a moment.
Wang Jixuan merely nodded calmly and asked in puzzlement, "How do you determine a Pillar's level of awakening?"
"Three indicators.
"One is the degree to which psionic energy gathers within its body. In a sleeping Pillar-Class Blade Beast, psionic energy is scattered throughout every part of its body, with three to five massive cores. Once it begins waking up, the psionic energy gathers toward those cores."
Fu Jian gave a brief explanation:
"Another is something similar to brainwave detection, though Blade Beast brainwaves are different. You'd have to ask the technicians about the specifics.
"Then there is the information exchange between that Pillar-Class Blade Beast and nearby Blade Beasts. That is the most important indicator.
"We divide Blade Beast awakening into three stages. At 24%, it shows a tendency to awaken, and psionic energy begins gathering. At 52%, it enters the awakening cycle and begins exchanging information with nearby Blade Beasts. At 80%, it is about to awaken.
"Over the past twenty years, the highest level we detected was 52%, the second stage."
Daoist Wang lowered his head in thought and took a bite of squid. It tasted... only marginally better than Blade Beast meat.
[After Blade Beasts crushed Human Civilization and occupied most of the surface, twelve Pillar-Class Blade Beasts fell asleep in different regions.]
Daoist Wang asked again, "Have humans ever confronted a Pillar-Class Blade Beast head-on?"
"Yes. The twelve Pillar-Class Blade Beasts all have different forms, and each has only appeared once in recorded history. Every time, we suffered a crushing defeat."
Fu Jian said seriously:
"The massive urban clusters created during the Human Golden Age were all directly destroyed by Pillar-Class Blade Beasts from different regions.
"After destroying the