No matter how hard Qi Xia studied, he couldn’t unlock the twisted character “士,” nor could he decipher its internal structure. Perhaps even Tian Tian herself had no idea what lay inside.
Thinking this, Qi Xia wasted no more time. He placed the character down and headed straight toward the opponent’s “preparation zone.”
Under the astonished gazes of Chu Tianqiu’s teammates, Qi Xia announced the outcome of the game.
Wen Qiaoyun seemed to have foreseen something. Slowly lifting her head, she looked toward Di Long.
A smirk curled on Qi Xia’s lips. Everything hadn’t ended—it had just begun.
At that moment, Di Long slowly stood up, as if she already knew her fate. She had waited far too long for this moment.
“Qing Long,” she said, “do you remember our bet?”
“Hmm?”
“The one about how I would die,” Di Long smiled. “If you guessed wrong, you’d have to grant me one request.”
“Have we come this far just for your petty little bet?”
“You wouldn’t dare cheat, would you?” Di Long replied. “The so-called ‘god’ Qing Long, ready to break promises left and right today?”
“Cut the nonsense,” Qing Long said. “What request could possibly trouble me?”
“Then it’s settled,” Di Long replied.
Wen Qiaoyun stared at Di Long for a long time before speaking clearly and firmly: “Di Long, I challenge you to a life-or-death gamble.”
Her voice wasn’t loud, yet it echoed clearly across the arena, reaching Di Long high above.
Di Long smiled gently, then leapt gracefully from the stands, landing precisely in the preparation zone where Wen Qiaoyun stood.
The next second, an eerie wind swept wildly across the battlefield, blowing strands of Qing Long’s hair.
Even before Qing Long turned around, he sensed the sudden presence behind him—his entire body now surrounded by long, black hair.
Xuan Wu had arrived. She stood silently behind Qing Long, like a statue.
Everyone in the arena felt the unusual aura and looked up toward the heights.
Xuan Wu’s long hair cascaded from the stands, making the entire viewing platform resemble a hanging head.
The pitch-black space grew increasingly cold. She stood silently behind Qing Long, while he still didn’t turn around, merely resting his cheek in his hand, gazing downward.
He recalled the bet he had made with Di Long.
It was about guessing how Di Long would die—either by provoking him and being killed by him, or losing the game and being killed by Xuan Wu.
Qing Long had chosen “you will die by a participant’s gamble,” essentially guessing that Di Long would be killed by Xuan Wu. Though it seemed unlikely anything unexpected would happen, this feeling of possible defeat unsettled Qing Long.
He needed to ensure Di Long would definitely die by Xuan Wu’s hand due to losing the bet.
At this moment, Xuan Wu hadn’t moved, standing still with a chilling aura, seemingly waiting for Qing Long’s command.
After a few seconds of silence, Qing Long spoke softly: “Once the game starts, find a way to rule Di Long as violating the rules.”
“Kill Di Long…?”
Xuan Wu’s eyes pierced from beneath her disheveled hair, scanning below to identify Di Long. A few seconds later, the scaly young girl came into view.
“Fine…” Xuan Wu grinned, her lips curling. “Killing Di Long sounds good.”
“Of course it does,” Qing Long smiled. “She’s truly too foolish. I definitely won’t kill her myself. So her only possible death must come from losing the game and dying by your hand.”
“Fine…” Xuan Wu nodded, her sinister gaze fixed on Di Long below. “From now on… even walking will be a ‘violation’ for her…”
In the game arena,
Everyone held their breath as Di Long landed. They all knew an even more horrifying game was about to begin.
It was said that during “life-or-death gambles,” many of the “Chinese Zodiacs” would alter the game rules. Now that Xuan Wu had appeared, what kind of rules would be used?
Among everyone, only Qi Xia calmly watched Di Long. Their eyes met briefly, but neither spoke.
Wen Qiaoyun took a slow step forward. She knew she was the one who had issued the life-or-death challenge. According to the saying “retribution has its target,” once the challenge was issued, only one of her and Di Long could survive.
But if she hadn’t issued the challenge, she, Chu Tianqiu, and everyone else in the team would have died. This was now her last desperate gamble.
“I’m ready,” Wen Qiaoyun said. “What rules will be used now?”
A few seconds later, Di Long revealed an extremely sweet smile, then laughed toward everyone:
“I surrender.”
These three short words landed heavily, silencing everyone.
Wen Qiaoyun and Yan Zhichun seemed to have countless things to say, yet now they were speechless, shock evident on their faces.
The leader among the powerful “Chinese Zodiacs” at the Earth rank… actually surrendered at this moment?
This “life-or-death gamble” hadn’t even started yet, and no new rules had been announced… and she had already lost?
Qing Long abruptly stood up from the stands, his expression furious.
“Hold on…” Wen Qiaoyun was stunned. “Wait… did you just say…”
Di Long smiled again at everyone, then turned to Qi Xia: “Goodbye.”
Qi Xia’s eyes dimmed slightly, then he nodded: “Goodbye.”
The next second, Di Long extended her right hand. Amid everyone’s confusion, she quickly plunged it into her own chest.
Immediately, she coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed weakly onto the ground.
Although Qing Long immediately began “teleporting” toward the arena, he was still half a second too late.
By the time Qing Long arrived, Di Long had only a final breath left, yet she still smiled, her eyes fixed on Qing Long.
“You lost, Qing Long,” Di Long coughed out another mouthful of blood. “In this game, I wasn’t killed by you or by Xuan Wu. I killed myself.”
To Qing Long, Di Long’s choice was utterly incomprehensible. In this world, nothing baffled him more than “suicide.”
So he said nothing, merely staring at the blood-spitting Di Long with an extremely strange expression.
“How…” Di Long smiled. “Planning to break your promise…? Not honoring our bet?”
Qing Long frowned and asked, “What do you want?”
“I want you to let everyone in Chu Tianqiu’s team go…” Di Long said. “I trade my life for theirs.”
Qing Long narrowed his eyes, watching the dying Di Long.
Now he had one more thing he couldn’t understand—besides “suicide,” there was also “dying for others.”
“You won’t agree…?” Di Long laughed. “With so many eyes watching… the man who calls himself a ‘god’ wants to renege in public…”
Qing Long glanced around the scene. Countless eyes were watching him curiously, seemingly waiting for a definite answer.
This feeling made him extremely uncomfortable.
Even if he refused, so what?
Even if he let Di Long slowly die, then killed everyone else here, so what?
Yet he did have a personal motive. Di Long’s request perfectly solved a dilemma that had been weighing on Qing Long’s mind.
In this game, he also wanted to let go of Chu Tianqiu, someone more like himself, but had lacked a good excuse. Now, everything could be resolved smoothly and naturally.
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