After a loud crash, Earth-Serpent lay on the ground staring blankly at the ceiling.

The various healing eyes on his body gradually burst open from the impact, and dark red blood began painting across his pure white skin.

“It’s impossible…” Earth-Serpent said, gazing at the ceiling. “What you said isn’t right… This is unreasonable…”

“If you think it’s unreasonable, you can refute me right now.” Qi Xia sat back in his seat, his expression calm as he spoke. “Earth-Serpent, whether you admit it or not, your life has been miserable.”

“Ha…” Earth-Serpent stared at the ceiling, slowly calming himself, and said softly, “You’re only making deductions. You have no concrete evidence to prove whether or not those people carried abilities when they became ‘Heaven.'”

“Oh?” Qi Xia nodded. “Still not giving up.”

“How could I possibly give up… Those experiments were conducted by me and my teacher together, and those research results were told to me by him…” Earth-Serpent said. “If what you’re saying is true, then what were we doing in this sunless hell? Were we really just looking to be abused?”

“Then let me tell you my second doubt.” Qi Xia said.

“What?”

“Qinglong once showed me a ‘memory’ from several decades ago. At that time, I stood before him and Heavenly-Dragon and obtained an ‘Echo.’ Qinglong clearly heard something.” Qi Xia said. “Even if you insist that all the upper echelon were ‘blank paper,’ I dare assert that ‘Qinglong’ absolutely was not. Since one person can obtain an ‘Echo’ again when they already have one, then so can you.”

After hearing this, Earth-Serpent’s eyes flickered again, his expression still filled with doubt.

“If I’m lying to deceive you, may I be struck by five thunderbolts from heaven right now.” Qi Xia looked toward the sky outside the glass window with slight mockery, as if challenging that heavenly thunder.

Hearing this phrase, Earth-Serpent frowned slightly. “May heaven strike me with five thunderbolts” could be considered an oath anywhere else, but not in the “Land of the End.” After all, there was no concept of “weather” here, and even the one controlling the heavenly thunder was a person.

He had his own emotions and could even deceive people. The heavenly thunder he controlled could likewise deceive people.

If this memory came from Qinglong, it meant that even if Qi Xia wasn’t deceiving him, he might still have been deceived.

Qi Xia didn’t answer Earth-Serpent, his eyes filled with compassion.

“All the ‘Earth-level’ are waiting for the ‘Heaven’ above them to die, yet I’m helping him achieve even greater accomplishments…” Earth-Serpent’s voice gradually choked up. “Qi Xia… do you know why I did this?”

“I…”

Hearing Earth-Serpent’s question, Qi Xia was rarely at a loss for words.

“I hoped that when I see that brat again someday, I won’t disappoint his former expectations of me.” Earth-Serpent smiled miserably. “I know I have no way to kill ‘Heaven’ and no way to become a ‘Dragon,’ so I’ll bring my ‘achievements’ to see him—it should be of some help, right…? When the time comes, I’ll cover myself completely with clothes and tell him I thought up all these things with my brain. That way, even that arrogant brat will look at me with new respect.”

Hearing Earth-Serpent’s words, the people beside him all looked toward Qi Xia, whose eyes also became profound at this moment.

“So like I said… I participated in this matter because I wanted to participate…” Earth-Serpent’s turbid tears slid from the corners of his eyes to his ears. “After all, we are ‘Serpents.’ Every ‘Zodiac’ has their own trait, and we ‘Serpents’ are the same…”

When Chen Junnan heard this sentence and was about to say something, some memory fragments suddenly flashed through his mind.

In the memory, he entered a basement where he saw an extremely shocking scene, but the memory inexplicably broke off at that point.

“What the hell is going on…” Chen Junnan shook his head. “Has this master been sleep deprived lately? Daydreaming in broad daylight?”

He thought carefully and felt this wasn’t his own memory.

“What’s wrong?” Qi Xia glanced at Chen Junnan.

“Don’t know…” Chen Junnan shook his head. “Just now after this kid mentioned the ‘Serpent’s’ trait, this master suddenly got images, like I triggered some kind of password or something.”

“Did you know about it before?” Qi Xia asked again.

“Although I wanted to deal with ‘Earth-Serpent’ and ‘Heavenly-Serpent,’ this master hasn’t started acting yet. How could I possibly know what their trait is?”

At this moment, Qi Xia suddenly thought of something and turned to ask Earth-Serpent: “‘Sheep’ lie, ‘Monkeys’ cheat—what do ‘Serpents’ do?”

“Serpents ‘establish themselves.'” Earth-Serpent answered. “To put it plainly, we can establish an organization for ‘personal gain.’ And we can tempt or incite those who participate in our games to enter this organization. We can arrange this organization ourselves without being governed by ‘Heavenly-Dragon’ and ‘Qinglong.'”

As soon as the words fell, more scattered memories flashed through Chen Junnan’s mind.

“An… organization for ‘personal gain’…” He murmured to himself, feeling like he had opened Pandora’s box.

Chen Junnan’s eyes flickered slightly, and what flashed through his mind were corpses, blood, dry bones, a throne, and… a queen consort.

Where did these images come from?

“Damn it… this master’s brain seems to be malfunctioning…” Chen Junnan cleanly slapped himself across the face. “It’s fine, it’s fine… You all continue your conversation, don’t mind me.”

“Bastard, are you okay?” Qin Dingdong looked at Chen Junnan. “Why do you suddenly look like you’re about to die?”

“It’s nothing… This master doesn’t know what evil technique I’ve been practicing lately, my head is full of deranged thoughts.”

He walked to the side and sat down, and Qiao Jiajin also followed with some concern.

“I see.” Qi Xia nodded, not paying attention to Chen Junnan but instead saying to Earth-Serpent: “Serpents can establish an organization for ‘personal gain’ and can tempt participants who enter their games to join. Some people established this organization and had participants provide various items, while others used this organization to harm people and provide experimental subjects to ‘Heavenly-Serpent,’ so they were all spared in this ‘catastrophe.'”

“Yes.” Earth-Serpent nodded, shifted his body, and sat up. “Qi Xia, I could have established a ‘den of debauchery,’ but instead I established the ‘Mutual Aid Society.’ I originally had the opportunity to prevent this experiment from happening on my body… but I worried that if the experiment never produced results, what would I have to show that brat?”