Chapter 564: The God Paradox

Qi Xia looked out the window and replied indifferently, "Then what can I rely on...? Rely on 'force'? Rely on 'information'? Rely on 'connections'? Rely on 'Hui Xiang'?"

Xu Liunian gripped the steering wheel tightly, pursed his lips in silence, and stared straight ahead.

Yes, Qi Xia had almost nothing to rely on. The only thing he could depend on was his own brain.

Qi Xia slowly narrowed his eyes, his gaze filled with endless despair. "What do I have left? I don't have any of the things I can see, and now even the things I can't see are slipping away."

"The things I can't see..."

"That's just how humans are," Qi Xia explained softly. "When everything feels hopeless, we desperately search for a 'spiritual anchor.' But often, this so-called anchor is something invisible and intangible. It's just a faint clue about 'life' buried deep in everyone's heart. Yet for me, that clue is becoming more and more elusive—I'm on the verge of losing it."

Qi Xia's figure, gazing out the car window, appeared especially forlorn, like a tiny candle burning alone in the vast, pitch-black universe.

"So, what are you trying to say...?" Xu Liunian knew he had to choose his words with extreme caution, as Qi Xia was in the midst of "Hui Xiang."

A single thought from him could set the entire "Zhong Yan Zhi Di" in motion.

After all, every idea he had or word he spoke could completely alter the dynamics of "Zhong Yan Zhi Di."

"I miss her so much," Qi Xia said quietly. "All my motivations, everything I've fought for—it's all because she's still here. So you can toy with me however you want, but you absolutely cannot use 'Yu Nian An' to toy with me."

"Qi Xia... I didn't mean to toy with you..." Xu Liunian said, his expression turning somber upon hearing Qi Xia's words.

This man might not be as strong as he appeared. No matter what anyone's ultimate goal was, they all had to step on Qi Xia to achieve it.

So Qi Xia didn't need to make any mistakes; as long as he was Qi Xia, he had to endure everyone's schemes.

He might even end up dying completely here, simply because he was Qi Xia.

He was both a piece in the game and the game itself.

"But do you really not believe that Wen Qiaoyun is stronger than you?" Xu Liunian asked tentatively for the last time. "Back then, she was someone who could stand before Qing Long and Tian Long. Maybe it was just a small mistake that kept her from staying active..."

"That's the 'Shang Di Bo Lun,' Xu Liunian," Qi Xia interrupted, sighing as he continued to look out the window.

"'Shang Di Bo Lun'...?"

"That's right," Qi Xia nodded. "If there's an all-powerful god in this world, could he create a stone so heavy that even he couldn't lift it?"

Xu Liunian pondered this carefully and realized it was indeed a profound question.

If the all-powerful god could create such a stone, then his inability to lift it would prove he wasn't truly all-powerful. If he couldn't create it, that would also mean he wasn't all-powerful.

"So what are you getting at?" Xu Liunian asked. "What does the 'Shang Di Bo Lun' represent?"

"It represents that I can't create Wen Qiaoyun," Qi Xia turned his head, looking at Xu Liunian with sorrowful eyes. "If I believed someone in 'Zhong Yan Zhi Di' was stronger than me, I wouldn't be this desperate, and I wouldn't have gained such powerful 'Hui Xiang.' So I am the 'god,' and Wen Qiaoyun is the 'stone I can't lift.' Do you understand now?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Liunian slowed the car dramatically. It took several seconds for him to steady the wheel again, crossing a few black lines in the middle of the road before accelerating once more.

"Are you saying... it's precisely because you're more desperate than anyone else that you gained 'Sheng Sheng Bu Xi'...?"

"Do I have anything to rely on?" Qi Xia countered. "We've been here for over thirty years, haven't we? If there really was something I could rely on fully or find some peace in, how could I have ended up where I am today?"

Only then did Xu Liunian fully realize how powerless he was in this so-called game.

His memories had lasted for decades, with each cycle rethinking the path forward.

But Qi Xia's memories barely held on, yet he had paved a path for his future self decades ago.

That was the gap between them.

"I've lost," Xu Liunian said.

Qi Xia slowly turned his head and asked gravely, "I never made a bet with you, so how can we talk about 'losing'?"

"I'm not losing to you; I'm losing to this world," Xu Liunian said with a bitter smile. "Qi Xia, you're truly remarkable. Now, I only have one strategy left."

"'Strategy'...?" Qi Xia raised an eyebrow. "Against me?"

"That's right," Xu Liunian nodded. "I'm about to use a strategy on you. It's the key to whether we can escape this place."

"Go ahead, I'm listening."

"I have a plan. It might sound completely absurd, but it's a path that could get us out."

Qi Xia said nothing, just tapped his finger lightly against the car window.

"Think about it... Qi Xia... If you can convince your subconscious that all of us have already escaped to the outside, then according to the nature of 'Sheng Sheng Bu Xi,' duplicates of us will appear out there. Then we... we..."

Xu Liunian's expression grew increasingly pained, his eyes gradually turning red.

"Then we would become the 'duplicates,'" Qi Xia said. "Is that it?"

"What's wrong with that?" Xu Liunian asked with a choked, bitter laugh. "Do we have any other options...? Everyone wants to use your abilities... and I'm no different, even if I'm not as clever as they are..."

"I... I... even though..."

Xu Liunian slowly brought the car to a stop, then buried his head deeply, his nose stinging as he broke into sobs.

"Qi Xia, I don't know if you believe me... Even if I'm not as smart as anyone else here... Even if my actions often seem foolish... My 'ultimate purpose' is absolutely the most selfless one. Every scheme I've set up has never included myself—I've only wanted 'Zhong Yan Zhi Di' to end all this, even if it's through a method no one accepts... Even if it means I shatter into pieces or vanish into ashes..."

Xu Liunian lay on the steering wheel, crying uncontrollably. "But I'm so incapable... Not only can the schemes I devise be seen through, but even every word I'm saying right now is being heard by those above..."

"But we can't give up," Qi Xia said softly. "Living here as duplicates and ending our absurd lives—do you accept that?"