Chapter 554: Let Me Hear
"Xu Liunian… I'm really troubled right now." Qinglong slowly lifted his glowing eyes beneath the night sky.
"Troubled about what…?"
"About whether I should smash these four giant bells here." Qinglong said.
"You want to destroy the bells here…?" I asked tentatively, "And the reason?"
"Xu Liunian… you died back then, so you don't know the origin of the 'Bell,' do you?"
"That's right, I don't know." I shook my head. "But you said it was built by Qi Xia."
"To be precise… it was built by Qi Xia leading a group of 'Participants.'" Qinglong said. "He was an extremely meticulous person—he actually came up with the idea of erecting four giant bells in the city to greatly increase the visibility of everyone's 'Resonance.'"
"So…?" I felt what Qinglong was saying was somewhat contradictory. "In that case, shouldn't you be preserving these four giant bells? That way, one day the 'Participants' can stand before you again. They will eventually find a way to kill you and 'Tianlong,' thereby fully liberating this place."
"From a certain perspective, you're right." Qinglong nodded in agreement. "Thanks to these four giant bells, only this city hasn't completely gone mad yet. But precisely because of this, all the 'Zodiacs' have also focused their attention on this 'Dao City.' However…"
Qinglong gave me a meaningful look, then shook his head. "Forget it, I don't want to shatter everyone's hope."
Although Qinglong didn't spell it out, I roughly guessed—
If Tianlong and Qinglong were truly killed, could this place really be liberated?
If it truly was 'Eternal Cycle,' how could we ever break free?
"I just want to destroy those four bells." Qinglong spoke again. "This approach, though it would put all 'Participants' in danger, can preserve the 'Eternal Cycle.' He is the key to everyone's liberation."
"But I still think doing this… is too risky." I said. "Even if Qi Xia really is the 'Eternal Cycle,' how well can he actually wield that ability? He only retained one cycle's worth of memories. What level of 'Resonance' do you expect from him? He's not insane enough yet."
"I…"
Qinglong fell silent at my question. After all, he could hear everything Qi Xia did, so he naturally knew Qi Xia was still relatively sane.
"Qinglong, if you destroy all the 'Bells,' then this 'Dao City' will soon become like the neighboring 'Jade City'—everyone wandering the streets like headless flies. Only you will be able to hear everyone's 'Divine Powers.' Regardless of whether Qi Xia can stand out, the rest will surely be lost."
After a moment of thought, Qinglong said slowly, "To be honest, 'Jade City' is about to fall."
"What do you mean by 'fall'…?"
"Less than ten percent are still 'Good Men.' 'Tianlong' is preparing to launch a massacre. Then ninety percent of the 'Participants' will vanish directly. The remaining ones will never leave the interview rooms. Four of the five cities will fall. This place will be the last hope for all 'Participants.'"
"Wha—" I slowly widened my eyes. "'Vortex City' fell within these two years as well?"
"Correct. Once 'Tianlong' shifts his attention from 'Jade City' to 'Dao City,' he will naturally discover that Qi Xia is the biggest threat. At that point, no one can protect him."
Qinglong's words made me slowly cover my forehead. Time wasn't cycling endlessly—it was always moving forward.
We thought we still had plenty of time. We thought time was always looping… but now 'Tianlong' was about to win.
As long as he could completely kill all the 'Participants,' he would truly win.
Whether or not he became a 'God,' this 'Peach Blossom Land' would belong only to him.
"So there really is no other way…?" I asked quietly. "Once you smash the four 'Bells,' it's like all the 'Participants,' without knowing it, are gambling their lives against 'Tianlong.' What are our chances?"
After hearing this, Qinglong turned around, clasped his hands behind his back, and stood on the roof of 'Heaven's Entrance,' looking off into the distance.
"Xu Liunian… maybe there is another way." He said in a low voice.
"Tell me."
"Your words just now enlightened me…" He murmured to himself. "Since this is a war initiated by Qi Xia against 'Tianlong,' it shouldn't be fought with everyone kept in the dark."
"So?"
"So you can just 'play with your cards on the table.'" Qinglong gave a faint smile. "Let the four bells stand there openly. Once a great bell rings, that will be the clarion call for war to begin."
I took a deep breath. Although I refused to dismantle the four 'Bells,' Qinglong's idea was far too bold.
"Let Qi Xia awaken…" Qinglong slowly revealed a sinister grin. "Let the giant bells resound! Let the four giant bells swing across the 'End of All Things'! Let the sound of metal collision sing to me, sing to 'Tianlong'!"
Before I could say anything, he suddenly turned back, his eyes wide with wild excitement, and said to me, "You're right, Xu Liunian! The reason I've been so lonely for seventy years… is because only I heard the great roar back then… That's not right… You all should hear it! Let all the 'Participants' hear it! Let 'Heaven, Earth, and Man' hear it! Let the 'Four Divine Beasts' hear it! That's how it should be!"
"Wait a minute…" I swallowed and said, "Qinglong, even if you really want us to show our cards to 'Tianlong'… how are we supposed to make Qi Xia obtain his 'Divine Power'? Will the bell of war start swinging that easily?"
"Let's try!" Qinglong shouted, the look in his eyes gradually turning manic. "First, we need to test whether that giant bell can actually receive such a high-frequency sound! After all, humans can't capture this sound at all… I'm not sure if Qi Xia was meticulous enough back then to predict the appearance of ultra-frequency sounds."
"Then… how do we make him 'Resonate'?"
"We have you!" Qinglong said. "Xu Liunian, aren't you still part of my plan? Let's make a new deal… If this time you can't make Qi Xia obtain 'Resonance,' when the next cycle begins, I will no longer promise you the status of a 'Participant'… Your life or death will be in the hands of fate. How about that?"
"What…? You…"
I had finally boarded the madman's ship.
What kind of deal was this? It was clearly a threat.
"You're saying… I have to figure out how to make Qi Xia 'Resonate' myself?"
"That's right… You succeeded once before." Qinglong extended a finger and gently tapped his temple. "Use this person. Use his most painful 'obsession' to make him 'Resonate.' How interesting would that be?"