Qi Xia nodded and said, “Explain the rules.”
Upon hearing this, Qing Long flicked his sleeve and strode behind the massive wall. Seeing this, the others quickly followed.
When everyone took a closer look, they realized there was more to the scene behind the enormous wall—a smaller screen and a “Phoenix Letter Platform.”
“Qi Xia, this is where you and I will have our ‘Character Creation Platform,'” Qing Long announced. “We’ll take turns writing three rounds of ‘characters’ here, with each round determining a winner.”
“Oh?” Qi Xia glanced at the rules, which were nearly identical to those of “Cangjie Chess,” then nodded.
“I’ll have ‘Xuan Wu’ randomly select one of the previously used ‘characters,’ and then you and I will use it as a ‘blueprint’ to create new ones.”
“‘Blueprint’?”
“Correct,” Qing Long confirmed. “The new ‘characters’ we create must incorporate part or all of the ‘blueprint.'”
“Understood,” Qi Xia replied. “But how will we determine the winner for the new ‘characters’ we create?”
“Naturally, each newly created ‘character’ must meet specific requirements.”
With a wave of his hand, Qing Long summoned an old wooden box that descended from midair.
“This box contains twenty different requirements,” he explained. “Before each round of character creation, you and I will take turns drawing one requirement from the box, which will serve as the guideline for that round. We’ll do this three times in total.”
Qi Xia glanced at the wooden box, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
Using three “requirements” to create three “characters”?
He chuckled and looked up again at the pitch-black sky.
“Interesting. Qing Long, where did this wooden box come from?”
“Oh?” Qing Long paused, then replied, “I am no longer a ‘mortal.’ Is it really so strange for something like this to appear?”
“Not necessarily,” Qi Xia answered, still gazing upward. “Earlier, we looked up at the sky multiple times but never saw anything hanging there. Could there be a ‘door’ in the sky?”
“You—” Qing Long frowned, visibly displeased. “What does this have to do with the game?”
“True, it doesn’t,” Qi Xia conceded. “But I do have another question… Since this game has never been played before, why did you specifically prepare rules and props for a life-or-death wager?”
“That’s a good question,” Qing Long chuckled. “Naturally, it’s because I plan to kill you in this game.”
“How absurd,” Qi Xia remarked. “Just earlier, on the rooftop, you told me and Chu Tianqiu that you wanted us to have a fair fight to determine who truly deserves to become a ‘god.’ Yet behind the scenes, you prepared props for a life-or-death gamble with me.”
“Hah.” Qing Long shook his head. “So what? I’m the one who sets the ‘rules’ here. Adjusting them to suit my needs—what’s wrong with that?”
“Quite a lot, actually,” Qi Xia countered. “In my eyes… even you fear those ‘ears.’ You’re worried that if ‘Tian Gou’ finds out about your underhanded tactics, it’ll cause problems, isn’t that right?”
Qing Long narrowed his eyes but remained silent.
“So in a place where he can’t hear, you resort to such despicable methods,” Qi Xia continued. “Even if you refuse to admit it, if all the ‘Celestials’ were to rebel against you at once, it’d be a real headache for you, wouldn’t it?”
“Qi Xia,” Qing Long said coldly, “you should understand that our current relationship is one of ‘mutual exploitation.'”
“Indeed.”
“Then don’t provoke me,” Qing Long warned. “Our deal will end one day, and there will come a point when I lose my patience. When that happens, even if I have to abandon our agreement, I will make sure you die.”
“I was just stating facts. Why are you so angry?” Qi Xia asked.
Qing Long snorted and changed the subject. “Any other questions about the ‘rules’?”
Before Qi Xia could respond, Chen Junnan raised his hand from nearby. “I have one.”
Qing Long frowned and turned to him. “What is it?”
“After this ‘life-or-death wager’ is over…” Chen Junnan’s eyes flicked subtly toward Xuan Wu, “if you lose, will this thing kill you?”
Xuan Wu stiffened for a moment, her gaze flickering before she replied, “I cannot defy Qing Long.”
“Huh?” Chen Junnan burst into laughter, his expression mocking as he stared at Qing Long. “Then what’s the fucking point?”
Qing Long sneered. “Xuan Wu is my subordinate. Not defying me is her bottom line.”
“Listen to yourself—does that sound like something a decent person would say?” Chen Junnan retorted. “If we lose, we die. If you lose, she can’t defy you. Are you playing on god mode or something?”
Qing Long hadn’t expected Chen Junnan to challenge Xuan Wu before the game even started. Suppressing his irritation, he forced a diplomatic response:
“Fair point. Since this is a ‘life-or-death wager,’ fairness is essential.”
With a smirk, he turned to Xuan Wu. “This time, you may defy me.”
“This time…” Xuan Wu repeated slowly, as if tasting the words. “I can kill you?”
Her demeanor shifted instantly—her body trembled faintly, and she muttered under her breath:
“Kill you… yes, kill you…”
Qing Long frowned slightly. “Why is that good?”
“If I kill you… I’ll be free, won’t I?” Xuan Wu’s voice quivered. “And if I fail, you’ll kill me instead, right?”
Those who had seen Xuan Wu before noticed this was the first time she had spoken so much, proof of her intense agitation.
Sensing her unstable state, Qing Long quickly clarified, “Don’t overthink it. This exception applies only this once.”
“Once…” Xuan Wu shuddered, her face still obscured by her thick hair. “Just this once…”
Qi Xia smirked and interjected, “Should we have Xuan Wu choose the ‘blueprint’ for us now?”
“‘Blueprint’…” Qing Long nodded. “Yes.”
After absorbing the rules, Xuan Wu slowly walked to the scattered pile of “characters” and began sifting through them.
Meanwhile, Qi Xia and Qing Long stood facing each other, their gazes locked in silence.
Soon, the rustling sounds from Xuan Wu’s direction ceased. She picked up a chain with two radicals attached.
“Good… this one’s good…” she murmured. “Finally, a ‘character’ I recognize—it’s ‘eight’…”
Qi Xia nodded. “Explain the rules.”
Upon hearing this, Qinglong flicked his sleeve and strode behind the massive wall. The others followed suit.
As they focused their gaze, they realized there was more to the area behind the enormous wall—a smaller screen and a “Phoenix Scroll Platform.”
“Qi Xia, this is where you and I will have our ‘Character Creation Platform,'” Qinglong said. “We will take turns writing three rounds of ‘characters,’ with each round determining a winner individually.”
“Oh?” Qi Xia examined the rules, which were nearly identical to the “Cangjie Game,” and nodded.
“I will have ‘Xuanwu’ randomly select a ‘character’ from all the previous ones. Then, you and I will use this character as a ‘blueprint’ to create new ‘characters.'”
“‘Blueprint’?”
“Exactly,” Qinglong replied. “The new ‘characters’ we create must incorporate part or all of the ‘blueprint.'”
“Alright,” Qi Xia nodded. “But how do we determine the winner for the new ‘characters’ we create?”
“Naturally, every newly created ‘character’ must meet specific requirements.”
As Qinglong finished speaking, he waved his hand, and an old wooden box descended from mid-air.
“This box contains twenty requirements,” Qinglong explained. “You and I will take turns drawing a requirement before each round of character creation. We will draw three times in total.”
Qi Xia glanced at the wooden box and couldn’t help but smirk.
Using three “requirements” to create three “characters”?
He looked up with a smile, his eyes scanning the pitch-black sky.
“Interesting, Qinglong. Where did this wooden box come from?”
“Oh?” Qinglong paused, a hint of surprise in his tone. “I am no longer a ‘mortal.’ Is it so strange for something like this to appear?”
“Not exactly,” Qi Xia replied, still gazing at the sky. “We’ve looked up at the sky many times before but never noticed anything hanging there. Could it be that there’s a ‘door’ up there?”
“You…” Qinglong frowned, a trace of displeasure on his face. “What does this have to do with the game?”
“Fair enough,” Qi Xia said. “Then let me ask you… why have you specifically prepared rules and props for a life-and-death wager in a game that has never been seen before?”
“That’s a good question,” Qinglong laughed. “Naturally, it’s because I intend to kill you in this game.”
“This is too bizarre,” Qi Xia remarked. “Earlier, on the rooftop, you told me and Chu Tianqiu that you hoped we would compete fairly to determine who is the true candidate to become a ‘god.’ Yet behind the scenes, you prepared props for a life-and-death wager with me.”
“Heh.” Qinglong shook his head. “So what? I make the ‘rules’ here. Is there anything wrong with me adjusting the rules according to my needs?”
“Of course, there is,” Qi Xia retorted. “In my opinion… even you are afraid of those ‘ears.’ Are you worried that if your despicable actions are discovered by the ‘Tiangou,’ problems will arise?”
Qinglong narrowed his eyes but remained silent.
“So, in a place where he can’t hear, you resort to such underhanded tactics,” Qi Xia continued. “Even if you refuse to admit it, if all the ‘Celestial-Level’ beings rebel, it would be a very troublesome situation for you, wouldn’t it?”
“Qi Xia,” Qinglong said, “you should know that our relationship is one of ‘mutual exploitation.'”
“Yes.”
“Then don’t try to provoke me,” Qinglong warned. “The day will come when our transaction ends, and there will be a point when I can no longer tolerate you. At that time, even if I have to abandon the transaction, I will surely take your life.”
“I’m just stating facts. Why are you so angry?” Qi Xia asked.
Qinglong snorted coldly and continued, “Are there any other points about the ‘rules’ that need clarification?”
Before Qi Xia could respond, Chen Junnan, who was standing nearby, raised his hand. “I have a question.”
Qinglong frowned and turned to Chen Junnan. “What is your question?”
“After this ‘life-and-death wager’ ends…” Chen Junnan’s eyes subtly glanced toward Xuanwu, “if you lose, will this thing kill you?”
Xuanwu paused upon hearing this, her eyes flickering for a few seconds before she replied, “I cannot defy Qinglong.”
“Huh?” Chen Junnan was both amused and angered by this answer. He looked at Qinglong with a sarcastic expression. “Then what’s the point of playing?”
Qinglong snorted coldly. “Xuanwu is my subordinate. Not defying me is her bottom line.”
“Listen to yourself. Does that sound reasonable?” Chen Junnan retorted. “If we lose, we die. If you lose, you can’t be defied. Are you playing with god mode on or something?”
Qinglong hadn’t expected Chen Junnan to question Xuanwu before the game began. Feeling a surge of anger, he could only pretend to be reasonable and said:
“You’re right. Since this is a ‘life-and-death wager,’ fairness is paramount.”
He grinned and turned to Xuanwu. “This time, you can defy me.”
“This time…” Xuanwu repeated the words, “I can kill you?”
Xuanwu’s demeanor visibly shifted. She began trembling slightly, muttering under her breath:
“Kill you… killing you would be good…”
Qinglong frowned slightly. “Why would it be good?”
“If I kill you… I’ll be free, right?” Xuanwu asked, her voice trembling. “If I don’t kill you, you’ll kill me instead, won’t you?”
Anyone who had seen Xuanwu before noticed that this was the first time she had spoken so much, indicating her heightened emotions.
Qinglong sensed that something was off with Xuanwu’s state and added, “Don’t overthink it. This is only for this time.”
“Just this once…” Xuanwu shuddered slightly, her expression hidden behind her thick hair. “Only this once…”
Upon hearing this, Qi Xia smiled and said, “Should we have Xuanwu select the ‘blueprint’ for us now?”
“‘Blueprint’…” Qinglong nodded. “Yes.”
After understanding the rules, Xuanwu slowly walked over to the scattered “characters” and began sifting through them.
Meanwhile, Qi Xia and Qinglong stood facing each other, their eyes locked in a motionless stare.
Soon, the sound of rustling came from where Xuanwu was. After a short while, the noise stopped, and Xuanwu picked up a chain with two radicals attached to it.
“Good… this is good…” Xuanwu murmured to herself. “Finally, a ‘character’ I recognize. It’s ‘eight’…”
Qinglong and Qi Xia turned to look. In Xuanwu’s hand was a “soldier” character.
“Good,” Qinglong said. “This ‘character’ will be the ‘blueprint’ for this life-and-death wager.”
“No problem.”
“From now on, every ‘character’ we create must include either ‘hill’ or ‘eight,’ or both,” Qinglong added. “If there are no issues, we will now draw the requirement for this round of character creation.”
“Wait,” Qi Xia interrupted. “Since you added a rule, I’d like to add one as well.”
“Very well,” Qing Long declared. “This ‘character’ will be the ‘blueprint’ for this life-or-death game.”
“No objections.”
Qi Xia nodded. “Explain the rules.”
Upon hearing this, Qinglong flicked his sleeve and strode behind the massive wall. The others quickly followed suit.
As they focused their gaze, they realized there was more to the area behind the enormous wall—a smaller screen and a “Phoenix Book-Carrying Platform” stood there.
“Qi Xia, this is where you and I will have our ‘Character Creation Platform,'” Qinglong said. “We will take turns writing three rounds of ‘characters’ here, with each round determining a winner individually.”
“Oh?” Qi Xia examined the rules, which were nearly identical to the “Cangjie Game,” and nodded.
“I will have ‘Xuanwu’ randomly select one character from all the previous ones. Then, you and I will use this character as a ‘blueprint’ to create new characters.”
“‘Blueprint’?”
“Exactly,” Qinglong replied. “The new characters we create must incorporate part or all of the ‘blueprint.'”
“Alright,” Qi Xia nodded. “But how do we determine the winner for the new characters we create?”
“Naturally, every newly created character must meet specific requirements.”
As Qinglong finished speaking, he waved his hand, and an old wooden box descended from mid-air.
“This box contains twenty requirements,” Qinglong explained. “You and I will take turns drawing requirements from it before each character creation round. We will draw three times in total.”
Qi Xia glanced at the wooden box and couldn’t help but smirk.
Using three “requirements” to create three “characters”?
He looked up with a smile, his eyes scanning the pitch-black sky.
“Interesting, Qinglong. Where did this wooden box come from?”
“Oh?” Qinglong paused, a hint of surprise in his tone. “I am no longer a ‘mortal.’ Is it really so strange for something like this to appear?”
“Not exactly,” Qi Xia replied, still gazing at the sky. “We’ve looked up at the sky many times before but never saw anything hanging there. Could it be that there’s a ‘door’ up there?”
“You…” Qinglong frowned, a trace of displeasure on his face. “What does this have to do with the game?”
“Fair enough, it doesn’t,” Qi Xia said. “Then let me ask… why have you specifically prepared rules and props for a life-and-death wager in a game that has never been seen before?”
“That’s a good question,” Qinglong replied with a laugh. “Naturally, it’s because I intend to kill you in this game.”
“This is too bizarre,” Qi Xia said. “Earlier, on the rooftop, you told me and Chu Tianqiu that you hoped we would compete fairly to determine who truly deserves to become a ‘god.’ Yet behind the scenes, you prepared props for a life-and-death wager with me.”
“Heh.” Qinglong shook his head. “So what? I make the ‘rules’ here. Is there anything wrong with me adjusting them according to my needs?”
“Of course, there is,” Qi Xia retorted. “In my opinion… even you are afraid of those ‘ears.’ Are you worried that your underhanded tactics will cause problems if ‘Tiāngǒu’ finds out?”
Qinglong narrowed his eyes upon hearing this but remained silent.
“So, in a place where he can’t hear, you resort to such despicable methods,” Qi Xia continued. “Even if you refuse to admit it, if all the ‘Celestial-level’ beings rebel, it would be a very troublesome situation for you, wouldn’t it?”
“Qi Xia,” Qinglong said, “you should know that our relationship is one of ‘mutual exploitation.'”
“Yes.”
“Then don’t try to provoke me,” Qinglong warned. “The day will come when our transaction ends, and there will be a point where I can no longer tolerate you. When that time comes, even if I have to abandon the transaction, I will surely take your life.”
“I’m just stating facts. Why are you so angry?” Qi Xia asked.
Qinglong snorted coldly and continued, “Are there any other questions regarding the ‘rules’?”
Before Qi Xia could respond, Chen Junnan, who was standing nearby, raised his hand. “I have one.”
Qinglong frowned and looked at Chen Junnan. “What is your question?”
“After this ‘life-and-death wager’ ends…” Chen Junnan’s eyes subtly glanced toward Xuanwu, “if you lose, will this thing kill you?”
Xuanwu paused upon hearing this, her eyes flickering for a few seconds before she replied, “I cannot defy Qinglong.”
“Huh?” Chen Junnan was both amused and angered by this answer. He looked at Qinglong with a mocking expression. “Then what’s the point of playing?”
Qinglong snorted coldly. “Xuanwu is my subordinate. Not defying me is her bottom line.”
“Listen to yourself. Does that sound like something a reasonable person would say?” Chen Junnan retorted. “If we lose, we die. If you lose, you can’t be defied. Are you playing with god mode on or something?”
Qinglong had not expected Chen Junnan to question Xuanwu before the game began. Feeling irritated, he could only pretend to be magnanimous and said, “You’re right. Since this is a ‘life-and-death wager,’ fairness is essential.”
He grinned and turned to Xuanwu. “This time, you may defy me.”
“This time…” Xuanwu repeated the words, “I can kill you?”
Xuanwu’s demeanor visibly shifted. She began trembling slightly, muttering under her breath:
“Kill you… killing you would be wonderful…”
Qinglong frowned slightly. “Why would it be wonderful?”
“If I kill you… I’ll be free, right?” Xuanwu asked, her voice trembling. “If I don’t kill you, you’ll turn around and kill me, won’t you?”
Anyone who had seen Xuanwu before noticed that this was the first time she had spoken so much. It was clear she was genuinely agitated.
Qinglong sensed that something was off about Xuanwu’s state and said, “Don’t overthink it. This applies only for this time.”
“Once…” Xuanwu shuddered slightly, her expression hidden behind her thick hair. “Only this once…”
Hearing this, Qi Xia smiled and said, “Should we have Xuanwu select the ‘blueprint’ for us?”
“‘Blueprint’…” Qinglong nodded. “Yes.”
After understanding the rules, Xuanwu slowly walked over to the scattered “characters” and began sifting through them.
Meanwhile, Qi Xia and Qinglong stood facing each other, their eyes locked in a motionless stare.
Soon, they heard the rustling sounds from where Xuanwu was. Before long, the noise stopped, and Xuanwu picked up a chain with two radicals attached to it.
“Good… this is good…” Xuanwu murmured to herself. “Finally, a ‘character’ I recognize. It’s ‘eight’…”
Qinglong and Qi Xia turned to look. In Xuanwu’s hand was a “soldier” character.
“Good,” Qinglong said. “This character will be the ‘blueprint’ for this life-and-death wager.”
“No problem.”
“Every character we create from now on must incorporate either ‘hill’ or ‘eight,’ or both,” Qinglong added. “If there are no issues, we will now draw the requirement for this character creation round.”
“Wait,” Qi Xia interrupted. “Since you added a rule, I’d like to add one as well.”
“Wait,” Qi Xia interrupted. “Since you added a rule, I’d like to add one too.”
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