Chapter 423: Peculiar Ability

The four teams were assigned, and Qian Wu approached Qi Xia again.

“What’s up?” Qi Xia asked.

“Well…” Qian Wu pulled out another slip of paper from his pocket—the “prescription” from the Heavenly Serpent. “Don’t you want to take a look?”

Qi Xia glanced at the size of the slip and said, “Probably just a single sentence written inside. I doubt its authenticity.”

“At least give it a read.” Qian Wu handed the slip to Qi Xia. “After all, you earned it fair and square.”

“Let’s look together,” Qi Xia said.

“Together…?”

“Qian Wu, you’ve shown me sincerity, so I’ll do the same,” Qi Xia replied. “No matter what’s written on this slip—true or false—I’ll share it with you.”

Qian Wu paused for a second before nodding. “Alright.”

With that, Qi Xia unfolded the slip in front of Qian Wu. As expected, it contained only one short sentence:

**”Make him eat the eyes of the Echoer.”**

After reading it several times, both Qian Wu and Qi Xia frowned.

A few seconds later, Qian Wu whispered, “Do you think… it’s real?”

“This…” Qi Xia scratched his head. “The wording is clear, but it’s beyond my comprehension. I can’t be sure.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for you when I can,” Qian Wu said. “After today… we might either gain an ‘Echoer’ or the ‘corpse of an Echoer’… So verifying this shouldn’t be difficult.”

“Got it.” Qi Xia nodded, then added after a pause, “But I’d prefer no corpses.”

Soon after, the four teams set off in different directions, carrying minimal supplies.

Qi Xia led his four “problem youths” down a wide, dilapidated road, absentmindedly pulling out the slips detailing each person’s “Echo Trigger” to review.

– **Zhou Liu’s Echo Trigger: “Isolation.”**

– **Wang Ba’s Echo Trigger: “Humiliation.”**

– **Luo Shiyi’s Echo Trigger: “Defeat.”**

– **Qiu Shiliu’s Echo Trigger: “Rage.”**

“Wang Ba… Qiu Shiliu…” Qi Xia shook his head helplessly. “Qian Wu, you’ve really outdone yourself.”

He tucked the slips back into his pocket and pondered. This was likely the first serious attempt to explore the “triggers” for Echoes. While each person’s trigger was just two words, if it were truly that simple, they wouldn’t need to risk entering the “Earth-level” trials.

“What are your abilities?” Qi Xia turned and asked.

“Tch, you already know mine,” Zhou Liu replied. “As for them—Wang Ba has ‘Gigantification,’ Luo Shiyi has ‘Forget Sorrow,’ and Qiu Shiliu has ‘Scarlet Flame.’”

Qi Xia stroked his chin. He had a rough idea of “Forget Sorrow,” and the other two Echoes seemed self-explanatory.

Still, to be safe, he asked, “What exactly do ‘Gigantification’ and ‘Scarlet Flame’ do?”

The short, stout man named Wang Ba looked up with a pitiful expression. “I can make things grow bigger…”

“I can catch fire,” Qiu Shiliu said.

“Got it…” Qi Xia nodded, then turned to Wang Ba. “How strong is your Gigantification? Can you turn into a giant? Does your strength increase proportionally?”

“Me…” The stout man suddenly dropped his pitiful look and grinned. “Heh, full-body gigantification is a no-go, but if it’s just a certain part, maybe…”

Zhou Liu let out a loud “Tch!” and spat in front of him. “Fucking creep… I swear I’ll kill you one day.”

“Heh! Sis Liu! Sis Liu!” The man chuckled foolishly before reverting to his pitiful expression. “Don’t be mad… I meant I could enlarge my fists to help in fights!”

“Tch, you better mean it.” Zhou Liu rolled her eyes dramatically.

“And you…” Qi Xia turned to Qiu Shiliu. “How effective is your ‘fire control’? Can you ignite objects or shoot flames?”

Qiu Shiliu sighed. “Are you even fit to be our leader?! When did I ever say I had ‘fire control’?”

“You don’t?”

“Let me repeat—I can ‘catch fire,’” Qiu Shiliu clarified. “When I activate my Echo, my entire body bursts into flames.”

“Wait…?” Qi Xia frowned, struggling to grasp the concept. “You mean… the fire comes from your body?”

“Yeah,” Qiu Shiliu nodded.

“Then… you’re fireproof?”

“No.”

The blunt reply left Qi Xia speechless.

“Are you stupid?!” Qiu Shiliu snapped. “I’m a human! How the hell would I be fireproof? Could you survive being set on fire?”

Qi Xia frowned. “So you’re saying…”

“Every time I activate my Echo, I burn to death,” Qiu Shiliu said nonchalantly. “But that’s not a problem. Over the years, I’ve died like this so many times I’m used to it.”

Qi Xia nodded slowly, bewildered.

An Echo that engulfs the user in flames…

Why would “The Cat” recruit someone like this?

Activating her Echo guaranteed death—and in one of the most agonizing ways possible.

The mortality rate of this Echo surpassed even “Disaster Beckoning,” making it the most dangerous known Echo.

“With all due respect…” Qi Xia said, “Is obtaining your Echo even necessary?”

“What do you mean?” Qiu Shiliu asked.

“The point of this exercise is to train the team,” Qi Xia explained. “But if activating your Echo means certain death, there’s no reason for you to participate.”

“Are you dense?” Qiu Shiliu gave him a skeptical look. “Why would I die just from obtaining my Echo?”

Qi Xia was still confused. “Didn’t you just say…?”

“Pay attention!” Qiu Shiliu raised a finger. “I said I die when I *activate* my Echo—but I can choose not to activate it.”

Finally, Qi Xia understood the critical distinction.

Qiu Shiliu could hear the Echo’s “bell” without igniting herself.

“Fifth Brother must’ve told you—my Echo Trigger is ‘Rage,’” Qiu Shiliu sighed. “But I have a short temper… So your real challenge isn’t triggering my Echo. It’s calming me down *immediately* after I hear the bell.”