Chapter 954: Each Their Own Guardian
"When exactly did you learn to use these things to fight?" Tianlong asked.
"Is it that hard to understand?" Qi Xia retorted. "This is the only skill I have to rely on to survive, so I can only try to use it to learn how to fight."
"What do you mean by 'learn how to fight'?" Tianlong glanced at the mess in the room. "Is it releasing a large number of bone needles while retreating, or creating a living sword in an instant to block my fatal strike?"
Qi Xia fell silent, then casually tossed the living sword in his hand away.
The sword—like a rat caught in the hand—writhed on the ground the moment it landed and quickly scurried out of the room.
"White Sheep… it's only been a single day since your inner world was fully constructed," Tianlong said. "But the way you look, it's as if you've been fighting with this method for years. That naturally makes me curious."
"Maybe I just had a sudden epiphany?" Qi Xia replied. "Or perhaps I've been longing to fight this way for a long time. After all, you know my murderous intent toward you has lasted decades. There's nothing strange about it."
"I don't deny your conviction to kill me," Tianlong said. "I'm only curious about your combat experience—these two things can't be compared. For example…"
As he spoke, Tianlong flexed his mind, and countless stone spikes coalesced around Qi Xia, then shot toward him like a violent storm.
Qi Xia closed his eyes. The flesh beneath his feet instantly churned and surged upward, forming a wall of flesh that enveloped him. A cacophony rang out, like blades hacking into meat, as all the stone spikes embedded themselves into the flesh.
"White Sheep, you seem to know all my techniques and have already devised countermeasures," Tianlong said. "And this is only after one day. How could I not be curious?"
Qi Xia's surrounding flesh crushed all the stone spikes. He stretched his limbs and said, "Tianlong… I think I'm beginning to understand your way of thinking."
"My way of thinking?"
"That's right. I feel like… what does your curiosity have to do with me?" Qi Xia smiled. "What are you to me? Do I have any obligation to care about what you think?"
"Ha, how absurd…" Tianlong said. "Now that you have a single skill to rely on, you dare to belittle me like this."
"And what else?" Qi Xia shot back. "Tianlong, you don't dare to go all out in my dream either, or it will take you even longer to wake up. If you get hurt, it will reflect on your physical body as well."
As his words fell, Tianlong's figure slowly rose into the air. He swung his arms forcefully to the side, tearing a gash in the wall of the flesh room. Though the gash healed at a visible rate, Tianlong still slipped through the opening and stepped outside.
Qi Xia walked to the window and looked up at Tianlong. The man ascended higher and higher, as if preparing some lethal move.
"White Sheep, there is ultimately a difference between a 'God' and a 'mortal,'" Tianlong said from midair. "Even if you've now touched the threshold, you're still a paper tiger. What can you do once you leave this room?"
Qi Xia paid no heed to Tianlong's verbal provocation. Instead, he lowered his gaze to the display screen on the plaza below.
At that moment, besides "Endless Life," several of Tianlong's other "Echoes" appeared on the screen, causing Qi Xia to narrow his eyes.
「Original Object」, 「Craft Object」, 「Separation」, 「Levitation」.
"Only these after all…" Qi Xia murmured. "Plus 'Enter Dreams'… five in total?"
Tianlong ascended steadily, then gently raised his hands, as if welcoming something.
Qi Xia looked up. Above the building, sand and soil began to gather—manifesting out of thin air—coalescing into an inverted mountain directly over the house.
He knew that with a mere thought from Tianlong, the entire mountain would come crashing down. Not just this building—perhaps the whole street would be leveled.
"White Sheep…" Tianlong said from outside the window. "Whether inside your dream or outside it, when a 'God' becomes enraged, the calamity he brings is something a mortal can never withstand. That is the essential difference between you and me."
Qi Xia took a few deep breaths, then slowly closed his eyes.
…
Qinglong was standing before the great tree, admiring the fruit, but he felt that something was off.
He could always faintly hear the sound of "Echoes," yet those Echoes seemed to come from nowhere, never quite graspable.
But now it was different… a frequency of 「Original Object」 was growing clearer and clearer, entering his ears from all directions.
Where was this frequency coming from?
The sheer power of this frequency was indescribable. In the entire history of "Peach Blossom Spring," only one person had ever achieved such a level of 「Original Object」.
And that person…
Qinglong turned his head. Tianlong was still sleeping peacefully on his throne, his expression calm, a hint of dark red between his brows.
"Who made you so angry?" Qinglong smiled. "Is the frequency of 'Enter Dreams' not enough? You have to add a full-power 『Original Object』 as well?"
With that, he stepped up to the throne, then flashed to stand on the armrest of the enormous seat.
Slowly, he crouched down, trying to look at Tianlong the way one might stare at an ant.
But this person's aura was too formidable. He could not be regarded as an ant no matter what.
"Tianlong… Tianlong…" Qinglong laughed bitterly as he stared at him. "Stop struggling. If it's time to die, then die… When you die, be sure to tell me, so I can live on with peace of mind. All right?"
Tianlong's breathing was steady, but he furrowed his brow slightly.
Seeing his expression gradually grow uneasy, Qinglong's smile became even brighter:
"You absolutely must die… Tianlong."
…
"You absolutely must not die… Liar Boy."
Qiao Jiajin stared intently at the sleeping Qi Xia, his fists already raised and ready, as if prepared to "cut loose" at any moment.
But throughout, he only saw Qi Xia frown a few times. It didn't look like he was having a terrifying nightmare—just that his sleeping posture was a bit uncomfortable.
He didn't know if now was the time to jump in and pummel Qi Xia, so he just kept watching him without blinking.
He had seen Qi Xia caught in a nightmare before—the man would thrash wildly, his forehead covered in cold sweat, looking tormented as he struggled to wake but couldn't.
But today's Qi Xia seemed… too peaceful.
Even though he was going to see a terrifying figure like Tianlong, why did his expression remain so calm?
"Liar Boy… just wrap it up already… What's there to talk about with someone like that…" Qiao Jiajin muttered inwardly, his face full of worry.
Tianlong, that insane god who ruled the "Land of the End," was someone Qiao Jiajin wanted as far away from as possible. Prolonged contact would only lead to trouble.
Sure enough, the next second, Qi Xia's expression suddenly tensed, and his limbs twitched.