Chapter 940: The Moment of Awakening
"I want to protect people," Qinglong said bluntly. "The 'Celestial-Level Moment' will cause massive casualties. I need to prevent that from happening."
"Then I'll lower the intensity," the young Tianji said. "As long as I can reduce the death toll, I can complete my mission, right?"
"Oh?" Qinglong raised an eyebrow, then lowered his head to pick at his fingers.
"We're just caught in the middle," the young man said again. "We don't care about whatever grudge you have with Tianlong. We just want to protect ourselves."
Several Celestials cast sincere looks at Qinglong, since what Tianji had said was already very humble. They only sought a way to complete Tianlong's task without offending Qinglong.
"Impossible." Qinglong smiled, then swept his gaze across everyone present, finally locking onto the two still-sleeping Celestials. "Wake up Tiantu and Tianzhu."
"What..." Tianshe was stunned.
"I'm here today," Qinglong said with a grin. "No one is allowed to dream anymore."
The air grew tense once again. Everyone could vaguely sense that something truly was about to happen.
But why would Qinglong suddenly oppose Tianlong's methods...
Even if all the "participants" here died, what did it matter?
Hadn't their goal from the very beginning been to eliminate all the "participants"?
All they knew was that they had to tread carefully right now, since neither of these two could be provoked. Though they were "Celestials," already above all "Zodiacs" and "participants," there were still people they feared.
If they didn't handle this properly, all that awaited them was annihilation.
"Tianzhu and Tiantu... they're 'Dreamwalkers'..." Tianshe said. "Qinglong, do you want to wake them up...?"
"'Dreamwalkers' are useless too," Qinglong said. "Make them open their eyes and look at me. From now on, no one is allowed to contact Tianlong."
"You..." Tianshe frowned. "No, that's not right... I..."
"What's the matter?" Qinglong said. "Aren't you satisfied? There were so many 'Dreamwalkers' originally, but in the end, they all woke up one after another. Only those two are still immersed in sweet dreams. Why do you have to do all the hard and dirty work while they get to keep dreaming?"
"But the condition for them to become 'Celestials' was to remain immersed in a beautiful dream," Tianshe said again. "Tianlong promised them that..."
"I didn't promise anything," Qinglong said. "Make them open their eyes and look at me."
A tall, sturdy woman beside them slowly stood up. It was Tianniu.
Her eyes flickered slightly as she walked over to Tiantu and Tianzhu. She reached out her thick arms, grabbed the collars of the two, and casually hurled them into the air.
Just as they were about to hit the ceiling, they fell rapidly and slammed hard against the floor.
"Good job." Qinglong rested his chin on his hand. "Keep going."
Tianniu knew she couldn't defy Qinglong, so she grabbed their collars again and threw them into the air once more.
Two consecutive impacts jolted the pair from their dreams. They cried out as they hit the floor, and after stumbling for a while, they managed to get up.
Tiantu was a middle-aged woman, while Tianzhu was a tall young man.
"What..." The towering Tianzhu was dazed for a long time, then immediately looked at the round table before him and the people around. "Who are you..."
Tiantu stood trembling behind Tianzhu, looking extremely nervous, unable to say a word.
"Ha..." Qinglong grinned, his gaze chilling.
Tianzhu looked at the people around the table, noticing that they included men, women, old, and young, and became even more convinced that he had been captured.
"Don't do anything rash..." Tianzhu looked at Qinglong. "You... you want money?"
"You've got some nerve..." Qinglong kept smiling, then reached up to touch his cheek. "Been asleep for decades, and you've already forgotten me?"
"What..." Tianzhu blinked slightly.
"No wonder..." Qinglong said. "Kept sleeping in a beautiful dream, making you mistakenly think you had already left this filthy, stinking place and returned to the 'real world'... I just made you open your eyes and see the truth. Take a good look—where are you right now? Where are your loved ones?"
Tianzhu stood frozen as if struck by lightning. Countless memories began to resurface.
Yes... those memories were simply too far away, not nonexistent.
"Ah!" Tiantu suddenly screamed.
It seemed her memories had returned.
"Qing... Qinglong..." Tiantu's voice trembled, then she looked down at her own hands. "I'm... I'm awake...?"
"Welcome to the real world." Qinglong smiled. "Have a seat, you two. After all, you've been sitting here for decades. Don't be shy."
The two looked on the verge of mental collapse. Countless times they had forgotten this terrifying place, even lived their lives in dreams until old age, never expecting that when they opened their eyes, they would still face the most horrific nightmare.
"It's 'Peach Blossom Spring'..." Tianzhu finally remembered everything. "I never got out... my family has already..."
"It's all a beautiful dream granted by Tianlong," Qinglong laughed. "I'm much more merciful than him. I'd rather you see reality."
The atmosphere in the room became stifling once more.
"Sit down, quick!" Qinglong waved his hand. "Don't be so polite!"
Tianzhu and Tiantu hesitated, but slowly sat down.
Everyone present had once fallen into Tianlong's dream. It was just that they had awakened earlier and despaired earlier.
"Qinglong." Tianniu twisted her wrist beside him. "I've woken them up for you. Let me out now."
"Oh...?" Qinglong looked at his fingers again. "Did I promise to let you out?"
"I need to go release the 'ants,'" Tianniu said. "Even if the 'Celestial-Level Moment' isn't involved, I still have my regular duties. If I delay, I really can't take the responsibility."
"No need." Qinglong said. "Just sit. I've also given the 'ants' the night off."
It was only then that everyone realized what this oppressive atmosphere felt like.
It felt like "defection."
They were all being held captive by Qinglong.
Yet strangely, just on the other side of the room was Tianlong's sleeping throne. Was Qinglong really going to stage a defection at such close range?
"Qinglong... what's the point of doing this?" Tianniu asked. "Even if you control everything tonight, what about when dawn comes? Can you keep us from falling asleep forever?"
"When dawn comes... the real show will begin." Qinglong waved at Tianniu. "Sit down too. Let's all spend an unforgettable and pleasant night together."