Chapter 988: Conservative

“Qi Xia, you have a close relationship with Yan Zhichun, don’t you?” Chu Tianqiu asked.

Qi Xia shook his head. “To be precise, it’s not me who has a close relationship with her, but another arrogant thing.”

“Whether it’s you or not, Yan Zhichun is a powerful ally for you,” Chu Tianqiu said. “If she joins my side, what will you do?”

“It is indeed a bit tricky,” Qi Xia replied. “My original intention was to have Yan Zhichun join my team and become my true ‘teammate.’ Right now, she doesn’t fully trust me—instead, she trusts someone else.”

“So your plan failed?” Chu Tianqiu asked.

“No,” Qi Xia shook his head. “When I learned about the ‘pointing the general’ rule, I realized time was too tight. There was no way to build something as elusive as ‘trust’ between us in just one morning.”

“Oh…?”

“I think ‘fear’ and ‘defeat’ would be more direct,” Qi Xia said. “So it’s not a problem if she joins your team. What I need now is someone who can be completely under my control, not a long-term partner who trusts me.”

“With that attitude…” Chu Tianqiu said, “you just called someone else arrogant. How are you any different?”

“Ha…” Qi Xia laughed. “So in your eyes… I’m like that too?”

Chu Tianqiu didn’t answer, only shook his head and asked, “Did you already know I’d choose Yan Zhichun?”

“Yes,” Qi Xia nodded. “Yan Zhichun has been to ‘Paradise Gate,’ so you must know her capabilities. Considering her connection to me, I made two preparations from the start. The chance of you choosing her was high.”

Chu Tianqiu narrowed his eyes, calculating Qi Xia’s next move. If he had chosen Yan Zhichun, wouldn’t Qi Xia take Wen Qiaoyun?

Now, both pieces had fallen into each other’s hands, but Yan Zhichun’s significance to Qi Xia and Wen Qiaoyun’s to him were entirely different.

At that moment, Di Long turned and opened the wooden door—Yan Zhichun stood before them.

After hearing the situation, Yan Zhichun hesitated visibly.

Her purpose in coming here was to fight alongside Qi Xia and witness his abilities firsthand. Who would’ve thought she’d now have to join Chu Tianqiu’s team?

“Didn’t you try to win me over…?” Yan Zhichun murmured to herself. “Once ‘Soul Snatcher’ joins the enemy, how will you win?”

Only Di Long’s voice could be heard beyond the door, and she naturally offered no reply.

After a long moment of contemplation, Yan Zhichun finally stepped through the door.

Qi Xia knew that Yan Zhichun would only choose to “accept” if she didn’t fully trust him. From her perspective, aligning against him would let her gauge his strength more directly.

Next, Chu Tianqiu watched Qi Xia’s movements closely. It was now Qi Xia’s turn to “point the general,” and that person was almost certainly Wen Qiaoyun.

This was practically an “exchange of hostages.” For Qi Xia, Wen Qiaoyun was the optimal choice at this moment, leaving Chu Tianqiu scrambling to devise a countermeasure.

Qi Xia raised his hand, his finger pausing midair for a long time, writing nothing.

“By the way…” Qi Xia turned to Di Long and asked softly, “This door can lead anywhere?”

“Yes,” Di Long nodded. “In theory.”

Qi Xia fell silent for a moment before suddenly breaking into a smile—one that grew increasingly eerie, his laughter swelling until it echoed through the darkness.

Though Di Long’s game arena seemed vast in the pitch black, Qi Xia’s laughter somehow reverberated.

The sound unsettled both Di Long and Chu Tianqiu.

“What are you laughing at?” Di Long asked expressionlessly.

“There’s an *echo* here… How fascinating,” Qi Xia replied. “I just thought of a new way to play.”

“What…?”

Chu Tianqiu frowned at Qi Xia. Though he suspected Qi Xia would write “Wen Qiaoyun,” something about his excitement suggested it wasn’t that simple.

Qi Xia looked up at Di Long, his face alight with excitement. “How could I be so… *conservative*?”

Di Long stiffened and stepped forward, demanding coldly, “What are you planning to do?!”

“If I just sit here obediently ‘pointing the general’… why hasn’t Qinglong shown up yet?” Qi Xia mused. “Isn’t there enough entertainment?”

A foreboding sense of dread surged through Di Long, her back turning icy. Qi Xia’s demeanor struck her as alarmingly dangerous.

“Don’t act recklessly!” Di Long warned. “You know the rules of this game—”

Before she could finish, Qi Xia’s hand shot out, swiftly writing a single character on the screen:

**”Yu”**

The moment the character appeared, a blinding crimson light erupted from the cracks of the wooden door behind Di Long, as if it now led straight to the depths of hell.

Faint screams and wails seeped through from the other side, as though demons were about to emerge.

“Hahahaha!” Qi Xia laughed wildly. “Qinglong wants a show?! I’ve thought of the most entertaining one! A door that leads *anywhere*—how bold! To place something like this before me… It seems Qinglong knows nothing… What a pitifully small ‘dragon’…”

Chu Tianqiu’s eyes widened in shock. He realized he could no longer follow Qi Xia’s thoughts.

Qi Xia had transcended the realm of “human” entirely, ascending to something far beyond.

What was he summoning?

Without hesitation, Qi Xia reached out again, about to write the character **”Nian,”** when Di Long lunged forward and seized his wrist.

“Stop!” she barked. “Do not act recklessly! Where do you intend to send this door?!”

Qi Xia, lacking an immortal’s physique, couldn’t break free from Di Long’s grip. Yet he turned his head slowly, fixing her with a gaze brimming with madness before enunciating each word:

“To… the *New World*!”

“The New World…? You lunatic…” Di Long hissed. “Calm down. Don’t do anything unnecessary. Qinglong will arrive soon!”

“Three seconds—is that enough?” Qi Xia asked.

“What…?”

“Five?” Qi Xia pressed.

“Stop being unreasonable!” Di Long snapped. “Qinglong designed this game himself. Did you really think he wouldn’t appear at all?”

She held Qi Xia’s wrist firmly until the red characters on the screen faded, and the bloody light beyond the door vanished completely. Only then did she exhale in relief.

Seeing this, Qi Xia’s manic grin slowly faded, replaced by a cold, dark expression. “It seems the conservative ones aren’t me… but *you*.”

“Let me reiterate the rules,” Di Long said, still shaken. “This round of ‘pointing the general’ can only target *participants*. If anyone attempts anything dangerous again, I will personally *sanction* them.”