“My potential…?”
Qi Xia frowned upon hearing this, leaned forward slightly, his entire upper body now inside the “door,” and whispered, “If you use ‘Tian Xing Jian’ to kill me here, the only one who benefits is Qinglong. To be honest, in this game, it doesn’t matter whether you or I win—but Qinglong must not win.”
Only then did Chu Tianqiu realize why Qi Xia had “transported” him out. But could this conversation truly evade the ears of “Qinglong” and “Tiāngǒu”?
He glanced discreetly into the “door.” High above, Qinglong remained motionless.
Taking a step forward, Chu Tianqiu said, “Qi Xia, are you sure? My ultimate goal differs from yours. If you let me board this ship… it might deal you a devastating blow.”
“‘Devastating blow’?” Qi Xia found the phrasing amusing. “Right now, even I can’t guarantee stopping this ship’s advance. If you want to strike, the difficulty is even greater. Instead of targeting me, why not redirect that strike toward Tianlong?”
Chu Tianqiu had no idea what Qi Xia was scheming. Did this plan even include him?
“Qi Xia… I just had a very untimely thought,” Chu Tianqiu said.
“What?”
“The path I’m walking now… has it also been influenced by you?”
Qi Xia said nothing, only giving Chu Tianqiu a cold look—a gaze that seemed to answer his question.
“To be frank,” Qi Xia said, “Chu Tianqiu, I need you to board the ‘train’ with me.”
“You…” Chu Tianqiu quickly sensed something amiss. “But we’re already on the ‘train.’ You know that, don’t you?”
“Physically, yes, but not at its core,” Qi Xia replied. “Let me rephrase—Chu Tianqiu, I want you to come with me to the ‘locomotive.'”
“What…?” Chu Tianqiu barely suppressed his voice. “Qi Xia, you…”
“Don’t you want to become a ‘god’?” Qi Xia added. “I’ll give you that chance.”
“A… chance?” Chu Tianqiu echoed.
Instead of answering directly, Qi Xia asked, “Has that ‘Dreamwalker’ gone to ‘Paradise Gate’?”
Chu Tianqiu still struggled to understand. “A ‘Dreamwalker’ did come to ‘Paradise Gate,’ but what does that have to do with me becoming a ‘god’?”
“Did you retrieve his eyeballs?” Qi Xia pressed. “If you have them, we can meet at the ‘locomotive.’ I’ll show you the world as seen through a ‘god’s’ eyes.”
“You—wait.” Chu Tianqiu suddenly grasped Qi Xia’s meaning. “Right now, the ‘locomotive’ only holds the slumbering Tianlong… Are you insane?”
“Why?” Qi Xia countered. “Don’t you want to know what kind of dreams Tianlong has every day?”
“This isn’t just about ‘what dreams’…” Chu Tianqiu frowned. “You know that a person’s dreams depend on the strength of their mental defenses. An ordinary person’s dreams can’t be breached.”
“So what?”
“If I enter Tianlong’s dream in my current state, even a gust of wind in that realm could scatter me like sand,” Chu Tianqiu argued. “If you’re serious about this, I suggest bringing the ‘Dreamwalker’ himself. I didn’t kill him—just retrieved his eyeballs from his corpse. As they say, ‘ignorance is bliss.’ He doesn’t know how terrifying Tianlong’s dreams are, making him the perfect candidate.”
“No.” Qi Xia shook his head. “Precisely because he’s too inexperienced, this task isn’t for him.”
“You…”
Chu Tianqiu studied Qi Xia’s eyes intently, sensing that this mission was tantamount to suicide.
“You carry multiple ‘Echoes’ and possess extraordinary intellect—no one is more suited for this than you,” Qi Xia said. “Don’t you want to witness a ‘god’s’ dreams?”
“A ‘god’s’ dreams…”
“Perhaps this is the final step you need,” Qi Xia continued. “You aspire to become like him, yet you refuse to see what he dreams of daily. His dreams might shatter the last chains binding you to humanity.”
Chu Tianqiu knew that until now, only Tianlong had freely invaded others’ dreams. But to infiltrate Tianlong’s own dreams? What kind of madness had conceived such a plan?
“What am I supposed to do in his dream?” Chu Tianqiu pressed. “Is it really just to observe a ‘god’s’ thoughts, as you say?”
“Of course not. I need you to carve out a crack in his dream,” Qi Xia replied. “This is a transaction between us. If you agree, I’ll clear the path to the ‘locomotive’ for you.”
“What kind of ‘transaction’ is this…?” Chu Tianqiu took another step forward. “I’d be killed by Tianlong in that dream. Why should I risk my life to see his dreams? And why would you risk yours to pave my way? None of this makes sense…”
“This is your only chance, Chu Tianqiu,” Qi Xia said firmly. “You’ll never get another opportunity to witness a ‘god’s’ dreams. If you agree, I’ll enter Tianlong’s dream with you.”
“What…?” Chu Tianqiu seemed baffled by Qi Xia’s logic. “You’ll enter his dream with me…? How?”
“I’ll find a way,” Qi Xia replied. “Chu Tianqiu, I won’t hide it from you any longer. The path you’re on has indeed been subtly shaped by me.”
“You…”
“At first, you saw my ‘Echo’—’Spiritual Hearing.’ You believed my existence was key to everyone’s escape, so you wrote, ‘I must ensure Qi Xia gains an Echo.’ But after years of independent research, you uncovered the secret of ‘Endless Cycle’ and wrote a second note. You concluded that if I stopped ‘Echoing,’ everyone could be freed.”
Chu Tianqiu’s eyes widened slowly. “What… You…”
“That was the moment I saw you in a new light,” Qi Xia admitted. “You uncovered the truth—spent years understanding why people here turn to dust on the tenth day, what the ‘reality’ we return to truly is… You mapped every person’s birthplace and abilities, assigning them numbers. Yet you couldn’t explain why we’re inevitably drawn back here.”
Chu Tianqiu’s gaze flickered as if something insane flooded his mind. “…I think… I remember…”
“You realized every anomaly had a logical explanation—except this one,” Qi Xia said. “You concluded that some immense force interferes with the ‘Land of Finality.'”
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