“By the way, Brother Sheep…” Earth Dog spoke up again after Qi Xia had been silent for a while. “What exactly is the fate of the ‘Earth-level’?”
“Hmm?”
“This has been weighing on my mind for a long time.”
“Why ask me?” Qi Xia countered. “Now you’re the ‘Zodiac.’ You should know the rules better than I do.”
“But you’re the living legend of the ‘Land of the End.'” Earth Dog said with a hint of urgency. “Back then, we all saw you disappear from the ‘train’ and learned you’d become ‘Heavenly Sheep.’ But now you’re just a ‘participant’… What’s going on?”
Qi Xia slowly narrowed his eyes. Now he understood Earth Dog’s purpose.
“So you’ve always wanted to meet me…” Qi Xia said. “Just to figure out what happened to me?”
“Yes.” Earth Dog nodded. “Brother Sheep, I admit you’re my idol. You’re far stronger than I am, but I’m also striving for my own goals. I just need an answer. If all the ‘rules’ here are lies…”
After a few seconds of thought, Qi Xia replied, “There are two answers to that question. Do you want to know whether this place can truly ascend to ‘Heaven,’ or whether it’s possible to escape from here?”
Earth Dog hesitated before saying, “I… want to escape.”
The hesitation in his answer carried a faint trace of deception.
“Impossible,” Qi Xia responded. “No one can escape this place. Not even if you become ‘Heaven’ yourself.”
His blunt words struck like a thunderous spear, piercing through Earth Dog and leaving him trembling slightly.
“So… we’ve been deceived all along?” Earth Dog murmured. “All these years… the goal we’ve been striving for doesn’t even exist?”
“You could say that.” Qi Xia nodded.
“Heh…” Earth Dog let out a bitter laugh, his eyes lifeless.
Qi Xia studied Earth Dog’s expression, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
How strange. This situation was utterly bizarre.
No matter how he looked at it, Earth Dog was just an ordinary ‘Zodiac.’ Rather than siding with ‘Heavenly Dragon,’ he seemed aligned with all the ‘Earth-level Zodiacs.’
He had no idea about the truth of this world and was still striving to ascend to ‘Heaven-level.’
There was nothing different about him compared to the other ‘Zodiacs.’ Qi Xia’s words would have the same effect on any of them.
The only difference was whether they’d believe him or not.
But what kind of twisted situation was this? Multiple leads had pointed toward this ‘Earth Dog,’ yet his reaction left Qi Xia deeply disappointed—
What was even the point of meeting him?
“Then… Brother Sheep…” Earth Dog broke the silence after a while. “Can this place truly become ‘Heaven’?”
Qi Xia stared coldly at him for a long moment before finally answering:
“Yes.”
“What…?”
“If you’re lucky enough, you can still become ‘Heaven.'”
The answer seemed to contradict Earth Dog’s expectations, leaving him frozen in place.
“Brother Sheep… you’re saying that even though there’s no way out, we can still become ‘Heaven’?”
“That’s right.”
“Then… what does ‘lucky enough’ mean?” Earth Dog pressed.
“You should understand,” Qi Xia replied. “Not everyone who meets the requirements can become ‘Heaven’… Or rather, the requirement for becoming ‘Heaven’ was never just killing 3,600 people.”
“Yes…” Earth Dog nodded, his eyes hollow. “Many of the current ‘Heavens’ don’t seem like they got there just by ‘killing’…”
“To put it bluntly, it’s all up to the whims of ‘Heavenly Dragon’ and ‘Azure Dragon,'” Qi Xia said. “If they say you can become ‘Heaven,’ then you are. ‘Killing’ is just a way for the ‘Zodiacs’ to show their ‘loyalty’ to them now.”
Earth Dog slowly raised his eyes. “So… not only do I have to look like a ‘dog’ on the outside, but I also have to truly be their ‘dog’ in my heart.”
“Of course,” Qi Xia said. “If you’re an obedient, tail-wagging, loyal ‘dog,’ your chances of becoming ‘Heaven’ will skyrocket.”
“That’s… an expected answer, yet one that crushes all hope.” Earth Dog sighed.
“You might gain supreme power here, but the cost is never leaving. Are you willing?”
“I… am not.”
“Interesting,” Qi Xia mused, sensing Earth Dog’s wavering resolve. Now was the perfect time to break through his defenses. “But from what I see, you care more about whether this place can become ‘Heaven’ than about escaping.”
“What…?”
“You asked about escaping before asking about becoming ‘Heaven.’ That just means you still don’t fully trust me. You weren’t sure if I’d tell you the truth, so you tested the waters with a less critical question.”
Earth Dog fell silent for a few seconds before nodding. “Yes, Brother Sheep… It’s a long story…”
“Are both your goals?” Qi Xia asked.
“Yes,” Earth Dog admitted. “It’s shameful… I once promised someone I’d become ‘Heaven,’ but secretly, I’ve been plotting to escape. In that sense, maybe I’m also a ‘Sheep’…”
His words instantly clarified some of Qi Xia’s confusion. So this ‘Zodiac’ was tied to someone else.
“Wait…” Qi Xia raised a hand to stop him. “You promised someone you’d become ‘Heaven’?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“My teacher,” Earth Dog answered. “The one who guided me ever since I became ‘Human Dog.'”
Qi Xia nodded. “Where are they now?”
“Brother Sheep… She broke the rules.”
At the words “She broke the rules,” Qi Xia felt a sharp, needle-like pain in his forehead—a sensation he hadn’t experienced in a long time.
“Did she become an ‘Ant’…?” Qi Xia asked.
“I don’t know…” Earth Dog shook his head. “She might’ve been erased outright, or she might’ve become an ‘Ant’… Maybe, like you said, the fate of the ‘Zodiacs’ here depends entirely on the whims of ‘Heavenly Dragon’ and ‘Azure Dragon.'”
Qi Xia pressed a hand to his forehead and asked,
“What ‘Zodiac’ was she…?”
“Same as me. When I knew her, she was ‘Earth Dog.'”
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