After listening, Earth-Serpent froze for a long while, then leaned his body backward and picked up the suit from the ground to drape over himself.

“Heh… hehe…” He laughed in disbelief. “Do you take me for a fool?”

“What do you mean?”

“The location of the ‘eyes’ is like their vital point.” Earth-Serpent said. “Even if I don’t understand the rules, I know I can’t reveal this information. Otherwise, even if you block it, the ‘Startling Thunder’ will still sound.”

“Is that so…?” Qi Xia glanced sideways at the sky. “What if it doesn’t?”

“Stop joking around.” Earth-Serpent shook his head. “Even the owner of ‘Startling Thunder’ has extra ‘eyes’ on their body. The teacher’s research has made them more powerful and closer to omnipotent ‘gods.’ How could they possibly let others know where their vital points are?”

“You have a point.” Qi Xia nodded. “But speaking of which, do you really not know how dangerous your situation is? Even if you didn’t provide the location of the ‘eyes,’ you revealed the existence of the ‘eyes.’ I don’t think they’ll let you off.”

“What…” Earth-Serpent paused slightly, then showed a guilty smile. “But I just tested it—the ‘Startling Thunder’ didn’t sound.”

“If the promises of those two people could be trusted, the world would already be at peace.” Qi Xia said. “They won’t let you go.”

After hearing this, Earth-Serpent’s eyes slowly widened, feeling like he’d been tricked: “Weren’t you the one who told me to say it… You said you’d block that ‘thunder’ for me. Are you trying to harm me?!”

“No, no, no.” Qi Xia shook his head. “Of course not. I discovered a very interesting secret about ‘Qinglong’ that I’m planning to use to save you.”

“Use ‘Qinglong’s’ secret to save me…?” Earth-Serpent blinked.

“That’s right.” Qi Xia let out a cold laugh. “Earth-Serpent, do you know? As long as you truly want to kill ‘Heavenly-Dragon,’ ‘Qinglong’ will spare you.”

“You god-forsaken…” Earth-Serpent’s eyes instantly widened, as if hearing something extremely terrifying. “Do you know what you’re saying…”

“Since I’ve said it, I’m not afraid of him listening.” Qi Xia said with a serious expression. “If you don’t believe me, I can say it again. Wait thirty seconds and listen for the ‘Startling Thunder.'”

“What you said is actually true…?” After waiting for a while, Earth-Serpent asked in a daze. “‘Qinglong’ and ‘Heavenly-Dog’ aren’t doing anything about this…?”

“Things have changed here.” Qi Xia said. “You and your teacher possess the most cutting-edge ‘technology’ in the ‘Land of the End,’ but you don’t have the most cutting-edge ‘intelligence.’ He clearly initiated the ‘Heavenly-Serpent Moment,’ but with his intelligence, he can’t figure out the reason.”

After listening, Earth-Serpent silently lowered his head, rapidly contemplating the cause and effect of this matter.

“With all those holes covering your body, are you still planning to be grateful to your teacher?” Qi Xia slowly moved closer to Earth-Serpent’s face and said softly, “Almost all the ‘knowledge’ you possess was told to you by him, right?”

“Of course…” Earth-Serpent nodded. “I’m an ‘experimental subject’ and also an ‘assistant.’ I have no way to access the final ‘scientific research results’…”

“But he lied.” Qi Xia said quietly.

“What…?”

“After listening to your account, there are two doubts I still can’t understand. Why don’t you help me resolve them?” Qi Xia said.

“You… go ahead.”

“First, according to what you said, all the ‘Heavenly-level’ including your teacher entered here in a state of ‘blank paper.’ Only this way could they simultaneously accommodate multiple ‘Echoes,’ right?”

Earth-Serpent nodded seriously: “That’s right.”

“In that case, there’s an important condition that hasn’t been established.” Qi Xia said. “That is to say, these people were ‘Heaven’ from the moment they entered here. It’s very difficult for the remaining ‘Zodiacs’ to advance, or they need to wait for these ‘Heaven’ to die before they can advance, isn’t that so?”

“Although I’m reluctant to admit it, that’s the reality.” Earth-Serpent nodded. “These people became ‘Heaven’ a long time ago, and there’s only one ‘Heaven.’ The people below can only wait for opportunities to advance.”

“If that’s the case…” Qi Xia said, “Tell me, why were they ‘Heaven’ from the start?”

“…Huh?”

“These ‘Heaven’ had nothing at the beginning—they were ‘blank paper,’ yet they became ‘Heaven’? What makes them superior to you?” Qi Xia patted Earth-Serpent’s shoulder. “Yet you, because you carry ‘Inflict Sorrow,’ had to have eyes planted all over your body. Doesn’t this count as a huge point of doubt?”

“Maybe… maybe they… once…”

“You’re now constructing a reason to deceive yourself.” Qi Xia said. “I advise you not to do that.”

Qi Xia’s incisive words directly pierced Earth-Serpent’s heart.

Yes, no matter what reason came next, it would be self-deception.

Why were ‘Heaven’ ‘Heaven’ from the start?! What qualifications did they have to become ‘Heaven’?!

Were they already ‘Heaven’ when they had no ‘Immortal Arts’ at all?

Can mortals become ‘Heaven’?!

“Over all these years… have you ever seen a case where an ‘Earth-level’ advanced after a ‘Heaven’ died?” Qi Xia asked again.

“No…”

“Then let me ask you again.” Qi Xia continued. “Although your eyes didn’t ‘survive,’ why are more than half of the eyes on your back blinded by punctures?”

Earth-Serpent blinked and said hoarsely: “Because, because the teacher said… those eyes clearly had problems… they couldn’t survive. So he blinded them for me…”

“Did you see it yourself?” Qi Xia pressed forward step by step, his imposing manner forcing Earth-Serpent to press tightly against the chair back. “Those eyes couldn’t survive—did you see it yourself?!”

“I… I couldn’t see… those eyes are on my back… how could I see them?”

“So you were deceived.” Qi Xia said. “In this place, whether or not you have an ‘Echo’ on your body doesn’t affect implanting ‘eyes’ at all.”

Earth-Serpent felt his world collapsing at this moment.

“Qi Xia… what do you mean…” Earth-Serpent said. “If all my eyes could survive… why would the teacher leave so many wounds on my body…?”

“Before, I was afraid you’d despair, so I didn’t tell you. But now I hope you’ll transform this despair into your own motivation.” Qi Xia said. “Earth-Serpent, listen carefully. You’re probably not just an ‘experimental subject,’ but also a ‘living toy.’ ‘Heavenly-Serpent’ manifested all his perverted ideas on your body. That one surviving eye on your back is very likely just an ordinary eye, and the reason your ability became powerful is because ‘Heavenly-Serpent’ drove you insane, nothing more.”

After hearing this, Earth-Serpent’s entire body trembled slightly, his center of gravity already unstable. Then his whole body turned backward, and both person and chair tumbled over together.