“Interesting.” Qi Xia nodded.
“If you can’t completely break free from these shackles, you’ll never touch the threshold of ‘godhood’,” said Tianlong. “I need an exceptionally powerful ‘Perpetual Cycle’—even if I know it’s your scheme, I’ll still inevitably fall into it.”
“Isn’t that contradictory?” Qi Xia countered. “I haven’t agreed to anything, yet you claim you’re unilaterally aiding my plan.”
“Because I *need* you to reach that threshold,” Tianlong replied. “After all, what I’m plotting is beyond mortal comprehension. Only someone who, like me, has cast aside all emotion would accept it without hesitation.”
Qi Xia pondered, then nodded. “Go on.”
“White Ram, I possess ‘Primordial Matter’ and ‘Ingenuity’, while you wield ‘Perpetual Cycle’,” Tianlong said. “We’ll venture into the next void. I’ll reshape the land, raise cities and towers, then set the stars aloft and cycle the sun and moon. You, in turn, will create our subjects. With but a thought, their minds will be bound by your divine power—incapable of rebellion, incapable of disrupting our rule. Doesn’t that sound ideal? If you wish, ‘Perpetual Cycle’ could even spawn any living creature, granting us a lush natural world.”
Qi Xia said nothing, merely tapping the table lightly with his fingers.
“Is there any point salvaging this ruined place?” Tianlong asked. “When we could become ‘new gods’ in another realm, why linger here like ‘old ghosts’? You already wield divine power and a mind near-godhood. Surely you understand.”
“I…” Qi Xia let out a bitter laugh. “What do you think?”
“You *must* understand,” Tianlong pressed. “You’ve ascended to such heights—why fight me for the sake of ‘mortals’? You could toy with their lives at will, yet you risk yourself for them. Forgive me, but I find that incomprehensible.”
Tianlong slowly rose to his feet, his facial muscles twitching unnaturally.
“You’ll soon learn… ‘mortals’ are the most troublesome beings in existence,” he said. “Foolish, greedy, weak, and selfish. Do you know why I’ve tolerated all your schemes?”
Qi Xia shook his head. “No.”
“Because scheming against ‘gods’ is the nature of ‘mortals’,” Tianlong laughed. “If gods *truly* existed, mortals would pray day and night, begging for their desires. If gods *didn’t* exist, mortals would invent them just to pray.”
“True enough,” Qi Xia conceded.
“They seek fame, wealth, glory, power,” Tianlong sneered. “Do gods *owe* mortals anything? Why should we indulge such greed?”
“But they offer incense—a transaction, of sorts,” Qi Xia remarked.
“Three-coins’-worth of incense… for *millions* in fortune?” Tianlong chuckled. “White Ram, if this were truly a ‘transaction,’ the price mortals pay is laughably inadequate. An unequal exchange is no exchange at all.”
“So…” Qi Xia sorted his thoughts. “You’re aiding my plan despite knowing it, simply because ‘gods’ tolerate ‘mortals’?”
“‘Tolerance’ is too generous,” Tianlong corrected. “These matters are *trivial* to me. Nothing you do threatens my position. Even Azure Dragon lacks this perspective—but I believe *you* now grasp it.”
“Indeed,” Qi Xia said. “With divine power, mortal struggles seem absurd.”
“Understand this: I rarely waste time on mortals. To bring you this far, I’ve labored in shadows,” Tianlong said, moving to the window. Outside, flesh-paved streets teemed with upturned faces.
“Those eight teammates you arranged as ‘Zodiacs’? *I* ensured their steady rise,” he revealed. “Heard the rumor?”
“What rumor?”
“They claim those eight are *my* loyalists, not yours,” Tianlong laughed. “Proof of my favoritism, no? Yet in truth, they’re ants to me. Why *would* I favor them?”
Qi Xia lowered his gaze to the water glass on the table. “Tianlong, you’ve only helped me as a pawn. That’s hardly persuasive.”
“Think deeper, White Ram,” Tianlong countered. “Have I *ever* shown you malice?”
Qi Xia replayed their encounters. Each grew stranger, yet… where was the malice?
“I’ve said you could return as ‘Heavenly Ram’ anytime,” Tianlong reminded. “That only *we* can ascend. That we could depart by ‘train.’ I’ve *admitted* aiding you. Join me, and before we leave, you may claim *any* divine power. I’ll grant you a transcendent form.”
“Ha.” Qi Xia laughed outright.
“If you fear betrayal, choose ‘Brute Force’ or take ‘Celestial Might’—then we’d be equals,” Tianlong added. “In a world where no mortal dares defy us, we’d reign for millennia, expanding our domain, multiplying subjects, becoming *true* gods.”
Qi Xia rose and joined him at the window.
“Something’s off,” he murmured.
“How so?” Tianlong asked. “Isn’t this path enticing?”
“Just one unanswered question,” Qi Xia said, eyeing the sun. “Does a world of ‘mortals’ *need* a ‘god’ like you?”
“Wha—?” Tianlong stiffened.
“You call yourself divine, treat lives as weeds, impose your will on the innocent,” Qi Xia’s voice turned glacial. “Why *should* mortals be ruled by you?”
“No reason,” Tianlong shrugged. “I was born a ‘god.’ Mortals will *always* be mortals.”
Qi Xia raised a finger, pointing at the sun.
“Does being a ‘god’ justify *this*?”
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