“Haha!” Earth-Tiger, who was being restrained, couldn’t help but laugh at this moment. “Bringing students to demand an explanation? How ridiculous!”

“You fucking dare to laugh?” Earth-Pig increased the force in his hands. “Your life is in my hands right now—are you still so arrogant?”

“I really can’t hold it in. If I don’t laugh, it’ll be suffocating…” Earth-Tiger laughed heartily. “You either beat or berate your students, using their lives to threaten them into handing over ‘Dao.’ At a life-or-death moment, you actually want to bring them to fight desperately for you… You dwarf, where do you get the nerve?”

“I personally manage my own students strictly—is there a problem with that?” Earth-Pig sneered. “I don’t think that group of idiots dares to resist me here.”

“True.” Black Sheep, standing opposite Earth-Pig, spoke up. “Your students haven’t resisted you, but they’re still pathetic.”

“Oh?” Earth-Pig frowned at him. “What brilliant insight do you have?”

“You might not know yet.” Black Sheep sneered. “Your eldest disciple, Man-Pig—at his most desperate moment, the person he turned to for help wasn’t you, but Brother Sheep.”

“What…?”

“What? Your eldest disciple gambled his life with a ‘Participant’ and died—are you going to pretend you don’t know?” Earth-Sheep said coldly. “I heard he often defied your orders? When I saw him communicating with Brother Sheep, he was very humble—courageous, bold, thoughtful. Such a good person… why would he have nowhere to turn and kneel before Brother Sheep?”

Earth-Pig’s expression changed color. He looked very angry.

“Oh, could it be that he had nowhere to turn precisely because he became your student?” Earth-Sheep threw the iron rod in his hand aside and said, “Earth-Pig, whether you acknowledge it or not, right now you’re a paper tiger. You’re used to throwing your weight around among ‘Human-level,’ but we ‘Earth-level’ aren’t afraid of you.”

Seeing that Earth-Pig still remained silent, Earth-Sheep spoke up. “I said before that I have a few words I want to say to you. You might as well listen first before deciding whether to crush that stupid cat in your hands.”

“Who the fuck are you calling a stupid cat?!” Earth-Tiger got fired up upon hearing this. He turned his head toward Earth-Pig with difficulty and said, “Dwarf, it’s fine if you kill me, but after you kill me, you must go slaughter that black whatever-it-is too. Otherwise, I won’t die content!”

“Why should I take orders from you?”

“Take orders from your mom?!” Earth-Tiger cursed. “What, it’s easy to kill me, but you’re scared to kill Black Sheep? What the fuck are you scared of?!”

Earth-Pig’s eyeballs rolled around. He raised his head to Earth-Sheep and said, “What exactly do you have to say?”

“You’ve been tricked.”

“Hm?” Earth-Pig looked at Earth-Horse, then at Earth-Sheep. “What do you mean?”

“You’re not a stupid person, are you?” Earth-Sheep smiled. “Have you become hot-headed with anger? Actually coming here to fight before so many Earth-levels because of someone else’s words… The information you heard should be different from the information we heard, right?”

At this moment, Earth-Mouse also sneered and walked forward. “This Leader Sheep is right. Leader Pig, you look like a very smart person. How could you be used as a gun like a fool? Is this fight one you wanted, or one someone else wanted?”

After hearing this, Earth-Pig seemed to think of something. He looked down at Earth-Horse. “Hey… you wouldn’t be… lying to me, would you?”

“I…” Although Earth-Horse didn’t speak, her hesitant expression said it all.

“Damn it…” Earth-Pig directly released Earth-Tiger, walked forward, bent down, and grabbed Earth-Horse by the collar. “It wasn’t ‘Heavenly-Horse’s’ arrangement at all, was it?!”

“Don’t waver… Brother Pig…” Earth-Horse smiled with a pained expression. “Even if it wasn’t ‘Heavenly-Horse’s’ arrangement, if you capture them, you can still claim credit…”

“Claim credit…? You think what I want is to ‘claim credit’?” Earth-Pig’s expression gradually turned cold. “Have I claimed too little credit over these years? What I want isn’t this superficial achievement at all. I just want a ‘promise’… a promise from ‘Heaven’!”

“It’s the same… Brother Pig… As long as you can capture them, it’s all the same…”

“It’s not the same!! I was just one step away from the goal… As long as they were willing to give the word, I definitely could have been promoted…” Earth-Pig said through gritted teeth. “I’ve long since killed three thousand five hundred and ninety-nine people… I’m just one ‘Participant’ short of completing the mission. Do you think I haven’t been able to complete it?! I’ve been waiting for ‘Heaven-level’ to give the word all along! Today that group of people in leather jackets came before me acting all high and mighty, yet I had to deliberately go easy and let them all survive. Do you understand how stifling that feeling is?!”

After hearing this, Black Sheep narrowed his eyes and exchanged a glance with Earth-Mouse.

“Wait a minute…” Black Sheep said. “Earth-Pig, why haven’t you killed enough for three thousand six hundred people? What are you waiting for?”

“I…” After hearing this, Earth-Pig was slightly stunned, then sighed and said, “I’m waiting for an opportunity to be promoted to ‘Heaven-level’ with one hundred percent certainty. I don’t want to become like Baiyang…”

“You…”

Everyone in the room widened their eyes upon hearing this statement.

“If I’m not mistaken… Baiyang wasn’t promoted at all…” As Earth-Pig spoke, his entire body began to tremble involuntarily. “He was truly too foolish. In the ‘Land of Terminus,’ it’s fine to oppose anyone, but he just had to oppose ‘Heavenly-Dragon.’ That person is a ‘god’ who stands above everyone else… Do you know why ‘Zodiacs’ never have ‘Echo’…?”

“…Why?”

“Because ‘Echo’ can shake ‘Heavenly-Dragon’s’ position…” Earth-Pig lowered his head and said. “It’s either ‘Immortal Arts’ or ‘Divine Power.’ For more convenient management of this place, ‘Heavenly-Dragon’ separated these two powers and gave them to ‘Participants’ and ‘Zodiacs’… We ‘Zodiacs,’ no matter how strong our physical qualities, are ultimately just a group of fragile stone giants. We’re not worth mentioning before Heavenly-Dragon. And ‘Participants’ are even more laughable—a group of mortals who can use ‘Immortal Arts.’ At best they go mad from cultivation deviation, at worst they damage their own bodies… ‘Heavenly-Dragon’ can even accomplish such things, yet someone presumes to try to overthrow him…”

After hearing this, everyone’s expressions changed. Earth-Pig was indeed a veteran of this place. He had always been surviving carefully and seemed to possess more intelligence than any other “Zodiac.”

“Sounds like another meaning of divide and conquer…” Earth-Mouse nodded, regained his smile, walked forward and asked, “Leader Pig, I still want to ask—why would you think Baiyang’s promotion failed?”