Seeing Qian Wu treat Officer Li and Qiao Jiajin with such enthusiasm, Qi Xia naturally realized something.

“Qian Wu, do you really not know us from before?” Qi Xia asked.

“There’s no need to discuss this question first thing.” Qian Wu said to Qi Xia. “You certainly have the leisure for it—your life is in my hands, yet all you want to know is whether we’re old acquaintances?”

After hearing this, Qi Xia nodded and looked at Qian Wu. “You’re right. Whether we’re old acquaintances isn’t important. You said you wanted to see my ‘attitude’—exactly how do you plan to assess it?”

“In ancient times, Cao Cao and Liu Bei had ‘Boiling Wine and Discussing Heroes.’ Today, you and I, Qian Wu and Qi Xia, have ‘Silence Determining the End.'”

Qi Xia tapped the table with his finger and said calmly, “So then… are you Cao Cao or Liu Bei?”

“I’m the most powerful one here, so naturally I’m Cao Cao.”

“Interesting.” The corner of Qi Xia’s mouth lifted. “When Cao Cao and Liu Bei boiled wine and discussed heroes, the purpose was to see whether Liu Bei had ambitions to dominate the world, but he never expected to be deceived by Liu Bei’s flowery words.”

Qian Wu didn’t speak, only smiled as she looked at Qi Xia.

Qi Xia slowly leaned forward, his gaze piercing as he stared at Qian Wu. “So do you think… I would be Liu Bei?”

“Qi Xia, you’re naturally not Liu Bei.” Qian Wu smiled. “I also know you don’t want to dominate this world.”

“Oh?” Qi Xia leaned back and sat up straight. “It seems you understand me. So how will you determine my attitude?”

“Qi Xia.” Qian Wu suddenly changed her expression and said seriously, “I want to know what your ‘ultimate plan’ is.”

“My… ultimate plan…” Qi Xia also looked at her with a grave expression. “What are the chances I would reveal my plan to you?”

“Do you still have anyone you can trust?” Qian Wu asked. “Here… how far can you go on your own?”

Qi Xia calmly glanced at Qiao Jiajin and Li Shangwu beside him, then smiled. “I’ve never relied on myself alone.”

“Even if you bring all the people you can trust, you’ll ultimately just fall at the feet of ‘Heavenly Dragon.'” Qian Wu said with a despairing expression. “Haven’t there been enough tragedies here…?”

Qi Xia was slightly stunned and asked, “You’ve seen Heavenly Dragon?”

“Not just me…” Qian Wu’s expression gradually became desolate. “Qi Xia, every single person in the ‘Land of End’ has seen Heavenly Dragon.”

“What…?”

“That year, you led all the surviving ‘Participants’ at the time to battle against Heavenly Dragon…” Qian Wu said with melancholy. “That was the first time I saw you, and also the first time I saw ‘Heavenly Dragon.’ It’s just a pity that we lost so miserably—we had absolutely no ability to fight back.”

After hearing this, Qi Xia slowly stood up. He had never imagined that Qian Wu had preserved her memories for so long.

“Battle against Heavenly Dragon…?” Qi Xia’s lips moved slightly. “What was the situation then? What was the content of the battle?”

“It was an ordinary game.” Qian Wu said. “No one expected that Heavenly Dragon would use the simplest ‘Scale Game’ to make you, make us, make all the Participants lose utterly and completely.”

“What…?”

“We cannot provoke that man.” Qian Wu frowned. “He’s neither human nor an ‘Echo User.’ He has magical arts—he’s like a true god.”

“Magical arts…?” Qi Xia also frowned tightly. Although he had already seen quite a few “Echo Users” here, hearing that “Heavenly Dragon” possessed magical arts was still somewhat hard to accept.

Qiao Jiajin and Li Shangwu also looked at each other, seemingly judging how much of what Qian Wu said was true.

Qian Wu extended both hands, palms facing up. “Qi Xia, what do you think… if standing on the two ends of a scale, whoever is heavier wins—would ten thousand ‘Participants’ be heavier, or would ‘Heavenly Dragon’ and ‘Qinglong’ together be heavier?”

“You mean…”

Qi Xia pondered for half a second and instantly imagined the scene at that time.

Ten thousand people stood on the left side of the scale, “Heavenly Dragon” and “Qinglong” stood on the right side, yet the “Participants” lost.

It was this simple game that made everyone lose utterly and completely.

“They have ‘Dao’ in their hearts, while we’re just a group of mortals…” Qian Wu said. “With ‘Qinglong’ protecting him at his side, even if all ten thousand people were ‘Echo Users,’ they absolutely couldn’t defeat ‘Heavenly Dragon,’ much less when it’s impossible for us to have ‘complete Echo User unity.'”

Qi Xia paused for a long time before asking, “Which year was that…?”

“About ten years ago.” Qian Wu answered quietly. “Very few people remember this incident. Anyone who retains memories of it will be personally executed by Qinglong.”

“What…?” Qi Xia thought for a moment. “Ten years ago?”

“Currently, perhaps only a very small number of people remember this incident, but they’ve all disguised themselves and are waiting for an opportunity.” Qian Wu looked up at Qi Xia. “I think that opportunity is you.”

“Is that so?” Qi Xia still maintained a doubtful gaze toward Qian Wu. If what she said was true—that everyone with memories needed to hide themselves—why would she reveal everything?

“It seems you still don’t believe me.” Qian Wu shook her head. “Qi Xia, when you lost the gamble with Heavenly Dragon, the ‘Echo Users’ on scene displayed their abilities to escape for their lives. The vast majority didn’t escape that massacre, but a few with special abilities did escape and survived.”

Each of Qian Wu’s sentences made Qi Xia’s heart tighten. He felt that Qian Wu wasn’t lying, but what was this sense of absurdity?

Heavenly Dragon and Qinglong—one serving as the leader of all the “Zodiacs,” one as the chief of the “Divine Beasts”—would they openly massacre “Participants”?

“If you want me to believe your words… you need to answer one question.” Qi Xia said.

“Go ahead.”

“When I gambled with Heavenly Dragon, what were the ‘stakes’?”

After hearing this, Qian Wu silently shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“Then aren’t you lying?” Qi Xia said. “You clearly participated in this gamble, yet you don’t know what was being wagered?”

“No, I’m not lying.” Qian Wu still maintained a serious expression. “Qi Xia, as I said, that was the first time I saw you, so I wasn’t familiar with you. I was just one of many ‘Participants.’ We stood behind you to support you while you confronted Heavenly Dragon at the very front. I don’t know what you two said.”

Qi Xia felt that what Qian Wu said had no flaws—at least for now, the logic was complete.

“I want to understand Heavenly Dragon better.” Qi Xia changed the subject. “I need to understand my opponent.”

“Qi Xia, I know you won’t listen to advice, but I still have to tell you… that man is someone we cannot oppose.” Qian Wu frowned. “Ordinary people can’t even see him, so how could they ask him to hand someone over?”

“Seeing him is easy.” The corner of Qi Xia’s mouth lifted slightly. “I’ve gathered three thousand six hundred ‘Dao.’ I’ll be able to see Heavenly Dragon very soon.”

“What…”

The expressions of Qian Wu, Zhou Liu, and Song Qi all became somewhat panicked. Even Nineteen on the side wavered in his conviction and nearly lifted “Silence.”

“Qi Xia! Absolutely not!” Qian Wu shouted anxiously. “You must never collect three thousand six hundred ‘Dao’! ‘Dao’ itself is an enormous deception!!”

Qian Wu reached out and grabbed Qi Xia’s arm. In the next second, his body rapidly transformed, actually changing from a woman into a man. Apart from the unchanged facial features, the entire person’s build was identical to Qi Xia’s down to the smallest detail.

Zheng Yingxiong still hid behind Qi Xia, muttering to himself, “I smell the rich fragrance of ‘Twin Flowers.'”