Chapter 1090: The Sacrificer

No matter how Qi Xia studied it, he couldn't open that twisted "shi" character, and he had no idea about its internal structure. Perhaps even Tian Tian herself was completely unaware of it.

Thinking of this, Qi Xia wasted no more time. He set the "character" down and headed straight for the opponent's "standby zone."

Amid the astonished gazes of Chu Tianqiu's teammates, Qi Xia informed them of the game's outcome.

Wen Qiaoyun seemed to have anticipated something. She slowly lifted her head and looked toward Di Long.

Qi Xia's lips curved into a smile. Everything wasn't over—it was just beginning.

At that moment, Di Long slowly rose to her feet, as if she knew her fate, having waited far too long for this.

"Qing Long," she said,

"do you still remember our bet?"

"Mm?"

"The bet on how I would die," Di Long laughed. "If you guess wrong, you have to grant me one request."

"Are you still hung up on that petty bet, even now?"

"You wouldn't try to weasel out of it, would you?" Di Long said. "The self-proclaimed 'god' Qing Long is certainly ready to play dirty today."

"Cut it out," Qing Long said. "A mere request—surely it won't get the better of me?"

"Then it's settled," Di Long replied.

Wen Qiaoyun stared at Di Long for a long time before speaking clearly: "Di Long, I want to bet my life against yours."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it echoed clearly throughout the game arena, reaching Di Long high above.

Di Long smiled slightly, then leaped down from the stands, landing in Wen Qiaoyun's "standby zone."

In the next second, a gust of evil wind whipped through the arena, tousling the hair on Qing Long's forehead.

Before Qing Long could turn around, he realized his surroundings were covered in 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 sky.

Xuan Wu's long hair cascaded down from the stands, making the entire stand resemble a hanging head.

The dark space grew icy cold. She stood quietly behind Qing Long, who didn't turn around but continued to rest his chin in his hand, gazing downward.

He carefully recalled the bet he had made with Di Long earlier.

She had given two options for her death: one was to anger him and be killed by him, the other was to lose the game and be killed by Xuan Wu.

Qing Long's answer was "you'll be killed by the participants," meaning he guessed she would be killed by Xuan Wu. Although he felt nothing unexpected would happen, the possibility of losing made him feel irritated.

He needed to do something to ensure Di Long would die at Xuan Wu's hands due to losing the bet.

Xuan Wu remained motionless, her cold aura enveloping the area as she stood in place, 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 in violation."

"Kill Di Long...?"

Xuan Wu's gaze pierced through her disheveled hair, scanning below to identify which one was Di Long. A few seconds later, the girl covered in scales came into view.

"Sure... I'll kill Di Long," Xuan Wu grinned.

"Of course," Qing Long laughed. "She's incredibly foolish. I definitely won't kill her. So her cause of death can only be losing the game and dying at your hands."

"Sure..." Xuan Wu nodded, her face sinister as she stared at Di Long below. "From now on... even her walking will be 'a violation'..."

In the game arena, everyone held their breath after seeing Di Long land. They knew a even more brutal game was about to unfold.

There were rumors that in "life-or-death bets," many "Sheng Xiao" would alter the game rules. Now that Xuan Wu had appeared, what rules would be used?

Among the crowd, only Qi Xia remained composed as he watched Di Long. The two exchanged a brief glance, but neither spoke.

Wen Qiaoyun took a slow step forward. She knew she was the one who had proposed this life-or-death bet, and according to the principle of settling scores, only one of her and Di Long could survive.

But if she hadn't proposed it, she, Chu Tianqiu, and everyone on their team would die. This was their last desperate gamble.

"I'm ready," Wen Qiaoyun said. "What rules will we use?"

A few seconds later, Di Long flashed an extremely sweet smile and said to everyone:

"I concede."

The three simple words rang out with finality, leaving everyone in stunned silence.

Wen Qiaoyun and Yan Zhichun seemed to have a lot to say, but they were both speechless, their faces shocked.

The leader of the earth-level "Sheng Xiao" had conceded just like that?

The "life-or-death bet" hadn't even started, and the new rules hadn't been announced—yet she had already lost?

On the stands, Qing Long shot to his feet, his expression furious.

"Hold on..." Wen Qiaoyun stammered, "you mean..."

Di Long smiled at everyone again, then turned to Qi Xia: "Goodbye."

Qi Xia's eyes dimmed slightly, and he nodded: "Goodbye."

In the next second, Di Long extended her right hand and, to everyone's bewilderment, thrust it into her own chest.

She coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood and collapsed weakly to the ground.

Although Qing Long immediately began "leaping" to the arena, he was still half a second too late.

By the time he arrived, Di Long was clinging to her last breath, but she still wore a smile as she looked at Qing Long.

"You lost, Qing Long," Di Long coughed up another mouthful of blood. "In this game, I wasn't killed by you or by Xuan Wu—I chose to end it myself."

To Qing Long, Di Long's choice was utterly incomprehensible. The one thing he could never understand in this world was "suicide."

So he said nothing, just stared at her with a strange expression as she spat blood.

"How about it..." Di Long laughed, "ready to weasel out...? Our bet... not honoring it?"

Qing Long furrowed his brow and said, "What do you want?"

"I want you to let everyone in Chu Tianqiu's team go..." Di Long said. "I'm trading my life for theirs in this game."

Qing Long narrowed his eyes at the dying Di Long.

Now, there was something else he couldn't understand besides "suicide"—that was "suicide for the sake of others."

"You won't agree...?" Di Long laughed. "So many eyes are on you here... the man who calls himself a 'god' wants to renege in front of everyone..."

Qing Long glanced around at the people, countless eyes fixed on him, waiting for a clear answer.

The feeling made him uncomfortable.

So what if he didn't agree? So what if he let Di Long die slowly and then killed everyone else?

But he had his own ulterior motives. Di Long's request perfectly solved a dilemma weighing on his mind.

In this game, he wanted to let Chu Tianqiu—someone more like him—go, but he hadn't had a good excuse. Now, everything could be resolved smoothly.