Ten Day Ultimatum Chapter 339

Chapter 339 Contingency Path

“Qi Xia…” Qian Five felt this man before her was far more unfathomable than she had imagined. “Even if it’s just mutual use, why choose soone as terrifying as Chu Tianqiu? I’ve laid my heart bare for you—aren’t I the more suitable partner?”

“He wants to beco a God. I can help him,” Qi Xia smiled. “He’s content to take over for {Celestial Dragon}; I, on the other hand, want nothing but freedom. Since our goals don’t overlap, we’re not a threat to one another. But the mont he succeeds, he’ll never allow soone like to remain at {End Point}. He can’t wipe out entirely, and it’s only a matter of ti before I beco a danger to his rule. That’s the nature of the deal we struck, precarious and sharp.”

Qian Five fell silent for a mont, then looked up and asked, “You’d rather make a deal with an individual like that than give any face...?”

Qi Xia gazed at the figure before him, neither fully man nor woman, and quietly shook his head. “Qian Five, I consider you one of the better souls I’ve encountered. It is precisely that virtue which compels to keep my distance. After all, people who team up with rarely et a good end.”

“Hah...” Qian Five gave a bitter laugh. “But Qi Xia, I’ve been searching for you for ten years.”

“Is that so...?”

“I could still catch glimpses of you during the first three years… but starting seven years ago, it was like you vanished completely.” A hint of sorrow flickered across Qian Five’s face. “And then, one by one, you all disappeared. For a ti, I thought you’d beco nothing more than mindless husks in so forgotten corner of {End Point}.”

Sothing about Qian Five’s deanor struck Qi Xia as oddly familiar; he reminded him of Chen Junnan.

“Why ?” Qi Xia narrowed his eyes. “There are countless people in {End Point}, even if many have vanished now, why must it be ?”

“Because you’re the only one who ever directly confronted {Celestial Dragon},” Qian Five said anxiously. “Even if you’ve lost all your mories, I believe in your strength. Ten years ago, you could stand ten thousand people before {Celestial Dragon}, and ten years later, you’re still capable of doing the sa.”

Qi Xia lowered his gaze, a quiet sadness stirring in his chest.

“But I lost, Qian Five,” Qi Xia said. “My loss wasn’t only ten years past, it continued ten years beyond that. Though my mory is gone, I’ve been searching for different thods to overco {Celestial Dragon} and escape this place, but I have no confidence in success.”

Since stepping into {End Point}, Qi Xia believed this was the first mont he genuinely revealed his true feelings. He couldn’t say if it was due to an inexplicable familiarity toward Qian Five or the comforting presence of the {Sound Insulation}.

“Different thods...?” Qian Five’s interest seed piqued. “Do you know what thods you’ve previously used?”

Qi Xia gave a slight nod and remarked, “I was going to bring this up sooner or later; it just so happens to serve as a bargaining chip with you.”

“What?”

“I’ll tell you about the second thod I used. You can then consider the possibility of cooperating with .”

Qian Five nodded solemnly. “Go ahead.”

“I was an {Earthly Branch} for seven years.”

Those words caused a stir; everyone present, except Qi Xia, stood up.

“You were a part of the {Earthly Branches} for seven years?!” This thod completely exceeded Qian Five’s expectations.

“I started from {Mortal Goat} and climbed step by step up to {Terrestrial Goat}. But just as I was about to ascend to {Celestial Goat}, {Celestial Dragon} played a trick on —reverting to my original state. All my mories were wiped, and I beca a re participant once again.”

Qian Five listened calmly, exchanged a glance with Song Seven and Zhou Six, then tentatively asked, “You… were able to retain your mories of this?”

“No,” Qi Xia shook his head. “I inferred it from so clues, but so far… there’s no evidence to disprove my speculation.”

At that mont, Qiao Jiajin moved his lips slightly and whispered, “Swindler lad, you’re the {Goat} that Tiger lad has been searching for…?”

“Yes,” Qi Xia nodded.

“Then why didn’t you tell him?”

“Because I’m uncertain of his allegiance,” Qi Xia sighed. “So what if he knows I’m that {Goat}? As an {Earthly Branch}, would he choose to help us {participants}? Or would he force to beco a {Goat} again? I look forward to neither outco, so I kept it to myself.”

Qian Five sank into a chair, seemingly in a daze. “I had thought becoming part of the {Earthly Branches} was our way out, but now it seems it was just another deception.”

After a long silence, Song Seven finally spoke, “So… all paths here are dead ends... Five ge… how are we to escape?"

‘Paths...?’ Qi Xia slightly furrowed his brow.

Xia, there are many paths in this world, and everyone walks their own.

‘Wait a mont…’ Suddenly, Qi Xia caught a faint, elusive clue, but it remained just out of reach.

A strange question lingered in his mind.

How was he able to use completely different thods every ti he faced {Celestial Dragon}?

The sa person, erging from the sa room, leading the sa teammates along the sa path…but employing entirely different tactics.

‘Hold on…’ Qi Xia rubbed his forehead, as if suddenly realizing sothing crucial.

If he clearly knew he wouldn’t retain his mories, how would he recognize the need to change his thod when confronting the Celestial Dragon again?

How could he ensure he wouldn’t repeat the sa mistakes!?

“It all adds up...” Qi Xia’s eyes suddenly widened as he turned to look at Qian Five.

Only this man knew the answer, but Qi Xia did not dare to ask it aloud.

If the answer truly was what he feared… then what would beco of Yu Nian’An?