Chapter 827: Toy
Earth Snake stood stunned for a long moment after listening, then leaned back, picked up the suit jacket from the floor, and draped it over himself.
"Heh... heh heh..." He chuckled bitterly. "You think I'm stupid?"
"What?"
"The positions of the 'Eyes' are like their vital points," Earth Snake said. "Even if I don't know the rules well, I know I can't reveal that information. Otherwise, even if you try to stop it, the 'Thunderclap' will still sound."
"Is that so...?" Qi Xia turned his head to glance at the sky. "What if it doesn't?"
"Stop joking around," Earth Snake shook his head. "Even the owner of 'Thunderclap' himself has extra 'Eyes' on his body. The teacher's research has made them stronger, closer to omnipotent 'Gods.' How could they possibly let anyone know where their vital points are?"
"You have a point," Qi Xia nodded. "But then again, do you really understand how dangerous your situation is? Even if you didn't give away the positions of the 'Eyes,' you still revealed their existence. I don't think they'll let you off easily."
"What..." Earth Snake paused briefly, then forced a guilty smile. "But I just tested it—'Thunderclap' didn't sound."
"If those two people's promises could be trusted, the world would have been in perfect harmony long ago," Qi Xia said. "They won't let you go."
Hearing this, Earth Snake's eyes gradually widened as he realized he might have been tricked. "You told me to say that! 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 'Azure Dragon,' and I'm going to use that secret to save you."
"Use 'Azure Dragon's' secret to save me...?" Earth Snake blinked.
"Exactly." Qi Xia let out a cold laugh. "Earth Snake, do you know? As long as you sincerely want to kill 'Celestial Dragon,' 'Azure Dragon' will spare you."
"You damned..." Earth Snake's eyes shot wide open as if he had heard something utterly terrifying. "Do you even know what you're saying..."
"Since I've said it, I'm not afraid of him hearing," Qi Xia said seriously. "If you don't believe me, I can say it again. Wait thirty seconds and see if 'Thunderclap' comes."
Earth Snake knew that 'Azure Dragon' could hear every sound in the entire 'Land of Endings.' If he wanted to unleash a devastating 'Thunderclap,' it wouldn't take thirty seconds.
"What you said is actually true...?" Earth Snake waited for a moment, then asked blankly. "'Azure Dragon' and 'Celestial Dog' aren't doing anything about this...?"
"The winds have shifted here," Qi Xia said. "You and your teacher possess the most cutting-edge 'technology' in the 'Land of Endings,' but not the most up-to-date 'intelligence.' He initiated the 'Heavenly Snake Moment,' yet with his intelligence, he can't figure out why."
After listening, Earth Snake lowered his head silently, rapidly pondering the cause and effect of this matter.
"You're covered in these holes, and you still plan to thank your teacher?" Qi Xia leaned closer to Earth Snake's face and said softly, "The 'knowledge' you have—he told you most of it, didn't he?"
"Of course..." Earth Snake nodded. "I'm an 'experiment,' an 'assistant.' I have no way to access the final 'research results'..."
"But he lied," Qi Xia whispered.
"What...?"
"After listening to you, I've had two doubts I couldn't figure out. How about you help me clarify them?" Qi Xia said.
"You... go ahead."
"First, according to what you said, all the 'Heavenly Ranks,' including your teacher, entered here in a state of 'blank slate,' so they could accommodate multiple 'Echoes' simultaneously, right?"
Earth Snake nodded seriously. "That's right."
"If that's the case, then an important condition hasn't been met," Qi Xia said. "That is, these people were already 'Heavenly' when they entered here. The remaining 'Zodiacs' can hardly be promoted, or they can only be promoted when these 'Heavenlies' die—is that correct?"
"Though I'm reluctant to admit it, that's the truth." Earth Snake nodded. "These people have been 'Heavenly' for a long time, and there's only one 'Heavenly' spot. Those below can only wait for an opportunity to advance."
"In that case," Qi Xia said, "tell me, why were they 'Heavenly' from the start?"
"...Huh?"
"These 'Heavenlies' had nothing at the beginning—they were 'blank slates'—yet they became 'Heavenly'? What makes them stronger than you?" Qi Xia patted Earth Snake's shoulder. "But you, because you carry 'Mourning,' had eyes implanted all over your body. Isn't that a huge inconsistency?"
"Maybe... they once..."
"You're about to make up a reason to fool yourself," Qi Xia said. "I advise you not to."
Qi Xia's words hit Earth Snake straight in the heart like a needle.
Yes. No matter what reason he came up with next, it would just be self-deception.
Why were the 'Heavenlies' 'Heavenly' from the start?! What gave them the right to be 'Heavenly'?!
Were they already 'Heavenly' when they had no 'Immortal Arts'?
Can a mortal become 'Heavenly'?!
"In all these years... have you ever seen a 'Heavenly' die and then an 'Earthly' get promoted?" Qi Xia asked again.
"No..."
"Then let me ask you something else," Qi Xia continued. "Even if the eyes on your back didn't 'survive,' why were most of them pierced blind?"
Earth Snake blinked and said hoarsely, "Because... the teacher said those eyes looked problematic... they couldn't survive. So he helped me pierce them blind..."
"Did you see for yourself?" Qi Xia pressed forward relentlessly, his imposing presence forcing Earth Snake to lean tightly against the back of his chair. "Those eyes couldn't survive—did you see that yourself?!"
"I... I couldn't see... Those eyes were on my back—how could I see them?"
"So you've been fooled," Qi Xia said. "In this place, whether you have an 'Echo' on yourself or not doesn't affect the implantation of 'Eyes.'"
At that moment, Earth Snake felt as if his sky had collapsed.
"Qi Xia... what do you mean...?" Earth Snake said. "If all my eyes could survive, why would the teacher leave so many wounds on my body...?"
"Earlier, I didn't tell you for fear you'd despair, but now I hope you can turn that despair into motivation," Qi Xia said. "Earth Snake, listen carefully. You might not just be an 'experiment'; you might be a 'living toy.' 'Heavenly Snake' has projected all his twisted thoughts onto you. That one surviving eye on your back is probably just an ordinary eye. The reason your ability became stronger is that 'Heavenly Snake' drove you mad—nothing more."
When Heavenly Snake heard this, his body trembled slightly, lost its balance, and then he turned completely around, tipping over along with his chair.