Chapter 516

Arc 5: I Am Deeply Disappointed Feb 10 Written By Pure Preview

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Chapter 516 Significant Figure

When Qi Xia and the others returned to the prison, Wang Eight was already organizing tomorrow’s rations.

Tattered backpacks were stacked neatly, each containing bottled water and oddly shaped flatbreads.

“Qi Xia,” Qian Five began, “since you’re back, everyone should head off and rest. You’ve all worked hard today.”

He was about to turn and leave when Qi Xia caught him by the forearm. “Qian Five, take us somewhere we can have a word.”

“Oh…?” Qian Five furrowed his brow, realizing he had misread Qi Xia’s intentions. His earlier thought that Qi Xia wanted to return immediately to the prison had been only half correct; the real goal was to find a suitable place for discussion.

“Nineteen,” Zhou Six, standing beside Qian Five, spotted Yun Nineteen in the distance. “Tsk, can your {belief} hold up? We need you here.”

“No problem,” Yun Nineteen replied with a nod. “I hadn’t activated my {Reverberation} today, it’s much better now.”

Qi Xia gave a subtle signal to Chen Junnan, Qiao Jiajin, and Officer Li, and the four followed Qian Five into a meeting room. Only when Yun Nineteen entered and began activating his ability did Qi Xia finally speak.

“Qian Five…” With his usual stern demeanor and a ghastly pallor, Qi Xia began, “{Black Tortoise}’s ability has been augmented with an additional {Unbreakable Spirit}. There’s no way we can take her down. No matter what we do, we cannot kill {Unbreakable Spirit}…”

“What!?”

Seeing the shock on everyone’s faces, Qi Xia explained in detail what had happened when he had confronted {Black Tortoise}. Alone, wielding a single blade, he had carved countless wounds into the body of {Black Tortoise}. Yet none of the wounds had bled. They were identical to Jiang Ten’s {Unbreakable Spirit}.

The injuries on both bore the same dark hue, as if the vast expanse of a starlit sky had been etched into their flesh.

And when the blade pierced {Black Tortoise}’s body, it did not feel as if it had entered flesh and blood. Rather, it was as though it had been driven into the trunk of a dead, withered tree.

“Even if you are {Conjoined Identity Bloom}, it doesn’t mean you’d have a hundred percent chance of perishing alongside {Black Tortoise},” Qi Xia said, pausing momentarily. “Perhaps only you would die, and not her.”

Qian Five sensed that Qi Xia had touched upon a deeply troubling issue. In past encounters, though {Black Tortoise} would voluntarily seek death, everyone understood her position in {End Point}. She could easily slay Terrestrial-grade {Earthly Branches} at will. No one had ever dared to attack her actively, so no one truly knew what she was like when injured. And yet here was Qi Xia, actually testing her with a small blade.

“What is the full potential of your {Conjoined Identity Bloom}?” Qi Xia asked him intently. “Can you truly share life and death with the one you touch?”

Qian Five nodded. Now that Yun Nineteen, equipped with {Sound Insulation}, was present, he could speak of things he had never revealed before.

“In my probation room, I once tried exchanging my life for that of a probationary {Earthly Branch}, Mortal Horse’s life” Qian Five began. “As you all know, the {Earthly Branches} in the probation room, to subdue the participants, usually possess {Terrestrial-grade} physical abilities. So killing them was no different than killing a {Terrestrial}. But something strange happened: according to what the others in my room reported, we both died simultaneously. Instantly, the game automatically ended, and the exit door opened. In other words, after I, as a {participant}, killed an {Earthly Branch}, no {Sacred Guardian} intervened.”

His words left everyone deep in thought. Could it be that because the killer and the slain died simultaneously, the {Sacred Guardian}’s intervention was rendered ineffective?

“So you believe it would be the same if we slew a {Sacred Guardian}?” Qi Xia asked.

“I can’t say for certain…” Qian Five shook his head. “We’re attempting something no one has ever done before. Everything is unknown.”

Qi Xia was about to nod in response when Officer Li suddenly spoke up: “Qian Five, the {Earthly Branch} you killed, did it have anything on it?”

Hearing this, Qi Xia also turned to Qian Five.

“Anything…? Such as?”

“Such as… {printed materials},” Officer Li answered.

“No,” Qian Five replied without hesitation. “I searched his body countless times. There was absolutely nothing on him; not even a scrap of paper.”

Qi Xia and Officer Li exchanged a glance. At this moment, only the two of them knew about the {Earthly Branches Ascension Wagering Contract}. No one spoke of it aloud.

Rubbing his chin, Qi Xia contemplated carefully. Something about it didn’t sit right.

Is it possible that the {Earthly Branches Ascension Wagering Contract} could function without being in physical possession?

If that were the case, why had Mortal Goat placed it on himself?

Qi Xia couldn’t shake the feeling of dissonance. Normally, an easily obtained clue of such importance would have its authenticity greatly diminished. Yet Mortal Goat had indeed been fulfilling the contract’s terms. When Yu Nian’an appeared, he chose to end his own life outright.

If Mortal Goat had not deceived him, could Mortal Goat have been deceived?

‘At the very least, this means the contract isn’t entirely fake,’ Qi Xia mused. ‘Mortal Goat can crush a human skull barehanded on a table. That proves his body has indeed been physically enhanced…’

Seeing Qi Xia and Officer Li both fall silent, Qian Five gave up dwelling on the matter and continued. “So, ultimately, killing {Black Tortoise} isn’t entirely impossible. {Unbreakable Spirit}, no matter what, is just a {Reverberation}. She isn’t truly immortal; she merely possesses that ability.”

Qi Xia felt an indescribable strangeness about the situation. Though Qian Five insisted that all of {Black Tortoise}’s abilities were {Reverberations}, each time she activated them, there was no bell toll, and it remained unclear whether Qiao Jiajin’s {Purge All Power} could even affect her.

“In that case, I have a second question,” Qi Xia said.

“Go ahead.”

“Can the abilities of all {Sacred Guardians} be traced back to their original forms within a {participant}?”

“Theoretically, yes,” Qian Five nodded.

“And the {Celestials}?” Qi Xia inquired. “Are their extraordinary abilities also {Reverberations}?”

Qian Five considered carefully before nodding. “Aside from the {Celestial Horse's Hour}, some of the extraordinary powers they wield also appear to be various forms of {Reverberation}.”

“I see…” Qi Xia nodded. “That suggests there’s still one extremely significant figure on this land who hasn’t appeared.”

“Significant figure?” Qian Five regarded him in confusion. “Who are you referring to?”

“The {Heart Insight} of {Celestial Snake}.” Qi Xia’s expression grew serious as he met Qian Five’s gaze. “I don’t believe someone with such ability would remain in obscurity. Before we can execute our ultimate plan, we must locate them. {Heart Insight} is absolutely critical to us.”

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TL Note: Before anyone says something like, ‘But Pure, the name for the mind reading ability was never even formally introduced, how does our mc even know??’ it’s because 读心 is just the standard term for “mind-reading.” Most of the Reverberations names are the actual Chinese terms for the abilities themselves. I just tweaked a few here and there to make them sound cooler and to fit the word (/character) count. But this can all be in my head and it's just a small error the author missed cause I sure as heck checked the previous chapters.