Chapter 958: Iron Fist

Qi Xia slowly lowered his head, and after a moment, an extremely eerie smile crept across his face.

Tianlong paused for a few seconds upon seeing that expression.

“Tianlong… thank you for telling me such monumental news…” Qi Xia chuckled. “So, there’s nothing in ‘the last station’ or ‘the next station’…”

His laughter grew increasingly maniacal, his expression twisting grotesquely.

“That smile… have you completely lost your mind?” Tianlong asked.

“Hahahaha!” Qi Xia slowly covered his face, bending over on the bone-and-flesh steps. “So even if we had a one-in-a-million chance of killing the administrators and seizing the ‘train’… we’d still have nowhere to go? Hahaha…”

Tianlong fell silent for a few seconds before speaking again. “White Sheep, you should have figured this out long ago. Is it because hearing it from me… has driven you to utter despair?”

“…Despair?” Qi Xia burst into laughter. “Do I… need more ‘despair’ right now? I just think you’re utterly ridiculous…”

“Me, ridiculous…?”

“It’s a circle… everything is a circle…” Qi Xia clutched at his hair, his voice hoarse. “The ‘train’ isn’t just a circle itself… it’s dragging everyone in circles between the stations… how amusing… Tianlong…”

“What…?”

“If even you’re this foolish… I can rest easy…”

“Me, foolish…?” Tianlong stiffened. “What nonsense are you spouting?”

“Tianlong… none of us can escape… hahaha…”

“Of course…” Tianlong said after a pause. “If escape were possible, why would I seek the ‘new world’?”

The next second, Qi Xia abruptly stood up and seized Tianlong by the collar.

Tianlong struggled to resist Qi Xia’s grip, even stumbling forward a step from the force of it.

“Even you’ve never been there!!” Qi Xia roared madly. “Even you don’t know what lies ahead!! What a pitiful ‘dragon’ you are!!”

“What…”

Tianlong gathered his strength and instantly shook off Qi Xia’s arm.

“White Sheep… you’ve truly gone mad…”

“Tianlong!” Qi Xia cackled. “Go ahead… go see your so-called ‘new world’… find out what’s really waiting for you…”

“Go ahead…?”

“Maybe ‘endless rebirth’ isn’t even necessary!” Qi Xia bellowed again. “Maybe that place is just your ‘reality’!”

Before Tianlong could respond, a loud commotion erupted above them. He slowly looked up and saw that the faceless masses had undergone a sudden transformation.

Their bodies seemed to have grown even more resilient.

The expressionless army was now attempting to breach the colossal mountain.

They raised their hands in unison, striking the mountain with force, causing countless streams of sand and soil to rain down, staining the streets once more.

“Playing tricks…” Tianlong lowered his head with a cold snort. “White Sheep, you’ve lost all bargaining power with me. Once I board the ‘train’ and leave, you can all rot in ‘Taoyuan.'”

Realizing he could no longer afford to engage with Qi Xia, Tianlong slowly retreated into the air.

At the same time, Qi Xia regained his composure, his manic smile fading.

“I won’t rot here…”

He knew his current state was dangerously unstable. If he awoke now, the consequences for the “Land of the End” would be unimaginable.

“White Sheep… we’ll meet again when we wake.”

With those final words, Tianlong vanished in an instant, and the massive mountain in the sky dissolved into smoke.

Qi Xia took a deep breath and finally escaped his horrifying nightmare.

This time, thanks to Tianlong, he had confirmed whether he could use “endless rebirth” in battle.

At least in his dream world, he and Tianlong were equals. No matter how many times Tianlong invaded his dreams, Qi Xia would always find a way to counter him.

But if this were to happen in the “Land of the End”… what could he do?

…

Qi Xia’s eyes snapped open, and he found himself staring at the classroom ceiling.

He let out a sigh of relief, but before he could utter a word, a sharp whistling sound filled the air. Instantly realizing what was coming, he hurriedly spoke:

“Don’t—”

Before he could finish, something like a sledgehammer slammed into his abdomen.

The punch was so ferocious that it nearly toppled both Qi Xia and the desk beneath him.

Clutching his stomach, Qi Xia rolled off the desk and crumpled to the floor, kneeling in pain.

Was that really a human fist…?

It felt more like a metal hammer—the pain was unbearable.

“Dang it! Why’d you wake up right before I hit you?” Qiao Jiajin examined his fist in dismay. “Was my punch too fast…?”

Kneeling on the ground, Qi Xia clutched his stomach in silence. This was the first time he had truly felt the full force of Qiao Jiajin’s fist—it was as if his soul had been knocked loose.

After exchanging countless blows with Tianlong using “echoes” without injury, he had now woken up only to take a full-powered punch from Qiao Jiajin.

Could anyone actually withstand a fist that hard?

“H-Hey, swindler… you… okay?”

Qiao Jiajin hurried over, looking guilty, but Qi Xia raised a trembling hand to stop him, still hunched over.

“Uh…” Qiao Jiajin blinked. “Swindler, don’t be so prideful… I put everything into that punch. I probably wouldn’t even survive it myself.”

“I’m… fine…” Qi Xia gritted his teeth, but then let out a muffled cough. “*Cough*… *cough*…”

No wonder Qiao Jiajin’s punch had woken him up the last time Tianlong invaded his dream.

One punch from him could wake the sleeping—or put the awake to sleep.

It was practically a “day-and-night reversal” punch.

“Look, swindler, I’m really sorry… I tried my best to guess the right moment to wake you…” Qiao Jiajin scratched his head awkwardly. “But I just couldn’t time it right. I only started winding up when I saw you laughing like a maniac… and then you opened your eyes right as I swung…”

“It’s… fine… not your fault…” Qi Xia coughed again, still unable to stand.

“Ah, man… this… this…” Qiao Jiajin fidgeted anxiously. “Swindler, just get up and punch me back. I feel terrible seeing you like this…”

Qi Xia stayed hunched over for another minute before the pain in his abdomen finally began to subside.

Qiao Jiajin quickly helped him up and guided him to a nearby chair to sit down.