Chapter 1340: The World

When the crack was finally sealed again, a panicked, faceless person dashed toward it in desperation.

Before Qi Xia could even grab her, she plunged into the still-healing fissure as if fleeing from some monstrous terror.

Frowning, Qi Xia initially reached out to pull her back—but after a moment’s hesitation, he withdrew his hand.

How could such a coincidence exist?

She didn’t run toward the exit, nor toward a deserted area—she deliberately threw herself into this crack?

No sooner had the “anomaly” appeared than a new accident came to fill it.

Watching the woman struggle within the fissure, Qi Xia furrowed his brows in contemplation.

It seemed that even now, “karma” and “cause-and-effect” were still at play.

Perhaps this person appeared here to mend the “anomaly” precisely because of past sins Qi Xia had committed.

And by emerging from this crack, she would plant new karmic seeds for another time.

When “good” and “evil” tangle, “cause” and “effect” spiral in endless cycles.

Let “anomalies” resolve “anomalies.” Let “karma” nurture “cause-and-effect.”

Qi Xia ignored the faceless woman and turned his gaze back toward Tianlong.

He still lay motionless, as if lost in thought.

Even now, sprawled on the ground, Tianlong didn’t understand what exactly he had been fighting.

Was it the White Sheep?

No—it felt as if he had been battling the entire world.

Qi Xia stepped over fleeing bystanders, walking unhurriedly toward Tianlong. He found him unscathed, staring blankly at the sky.

Tianlong’s eyes were fixed in a daze.

The massive ribcage pirate ship, after slamming into him, now floated weightlessly in the air like a balloon. Though it had no eyes, Tianlong could *feel* it watching him.

What kind of sight was this?

This world felt alive.

Aside from the White Sheep, everything in this amusement park seemed intent on killing him.

Qi Xia said nothing, as if granting Tianlong a moment of rest, then turned and walked toward a nearby stall.

It sold amusement park souvenir pins, though the vendor had long since fled. The pins were made of bone fragments, their patterns traced in blood.

After browsing for a while, Qi Xia picked out one with a flower design, slipped it into his pocket, and then casually returned to Tianlong’s side.

“Tired?” Qi Xia asked.

Tianlong didn’t answer, still staring skyward.

“If you still have the will to fight, we can continue,” Qi Xia added. “Less than a tenth of this place has been dismantled. There’s still work to do.”

Tianlong let out a bitter laugh. “You never even used *conviction*.”

“Hm?”

“Those things came at me like they were alive—completely beyond your control.” Tianlong’s expression remained blank. “What *is* this amusement park…?”

“Tianlong, the problem isn’t the amusement park,” Qi Xia said. “I told you—I chose to settle things here because it’s no longer useful. I want to tear it down and build something else.”

Tianlong’s expression darkened. He felt played.

“It has nothing to do with this place… and yet you deliberately brought me here?”

“No matter where you go in this world, you can’t win,” Qi Xia replied. “The moment you set foot here, everything was already decided.”

“White Sheep… where *is* this place?”

“You’re sharper than Qinglong. You should’ve noticed this world’s stability long ago.” Qi Xia tilted his head. “No matter how insane I may seem, this world follows its own logic. It doesn’t collapse under any circumstance. So tell me—is this really a *dream*?”

Tianlong couldn’t deny Qi Xia’s words. At first, everything here had felt uncanny—but the longer he stayed, the more unnervingly *stable* it became.

Even more stable than his own dreams.

Everything here was made of flesh and blood. Every person lacked a face.

Noticing Tianlong’s silence, Qi Xia suddenly asked, “Tianlong… do you think *you* have a face?”

Tianlong froze, as if struck by realization. Trembling, he reached up and touched his own cheeks—

His features were all there.

“So this place… really… isn’t a dream?”

“No,” Qi Xia confirmed. “I told you long ago, but you—”

Before he could finish, Tianlong suddenly swung his hand at Qi Xia. His body scattered like sand in a gale, dissolving into a mist of blood and flesh that dispersed into the air.

As the remnants faded, a small bone pin clattered to the ground.

Even Tianlong seemed surprised that *disintegrating* Qi Xia had been so effortless.

This proved that this world truly wasn’t a dream… but something else entirely.

Was this… reality?

Yet how could such a place exist? More absurd than “Taoyuan”—how could it be real?

Seconds later, a figure slowly approached Tianlong, bent down, picked up the bone pin, and tucked it back into his pocket.

Tianlong recognized the face—it was Qi Xia. A bitter smile twisted his lips.

A man who had just been *disintegrated* now stood before him, unharmed.

This grotesque place… wasn’t a dream?

But if it *were* a dream… why hadn’t the dream collapsed when its creator was killed?

“White Sheep, you entered *my* dream, and now you expect me to believe this isn’t one?”

Qi Xia shook his head. “Tianlong, that’s exactly part of my plan. When you think you’ve awakened, you’re trapped in an endless dream. And when you arrived here, believing you were still dreaming, you were already awake.”

Tianlong struggled to prop himself up. He didn’t just look defeated—he looked *broken*.

“Then… when *did* I wake up?” he asked.

“The instant before you entered,” Qi Xia murmured. “Didn’t you feel your breath grow heavier, as if drowning in infinite darkness?”

Tianlong let out another hollow laugh.

In that moment of collapse… his breathing *had* grown labored.

But who could’ve discerned whether that meant awakening?

“I came here in a waking state… yet you showed me nightmares.” Tianlong pressed a hand to his forehead with a sigh. “Tell me honestly—can I kill you here?”

“No,” Qi Xia answered. “If you want to truly kill me, you’ll have to destroy this entire world.”

Tianlong stared at him, words failing multiple times before he finally whispered, “How… is this possible?”

“You weren’t killing *me*—you were destroying a part of this world.” Qi Xia’s voice was calm. “The more you desire my death, the more danger you invite upon yourself.”

Tianlong murmured, “You said you had no reason to keep fighting me… yet the moment I stepped in here, I felt overwhelming hostility.”

“That’s because it wasn’t *me* who wanted you dead—it was this entire world.”

“What…?” Tianlong felt the situation slipping beyond comprehension again—yet when he thought back, it made sense. “The world wants me dead… but you don’t?”

“How should I explain this…” Qi Xia crouched, lightly brushing his fingers against the ground. “Tianlong… this world *is* me.”

For the first time, Tianlong found a single sentence utterly impossible to grasp.