Chapter 1093: Gains

He naturally didn't know what had happened; he only saw that "Du Ming" seemed to have begun, and yet also seemed to have ended.

Di Long was already dead, lying on the ground, while Wen Qiaoyun stood there perfectly fine.

Qi Xia stepped aside, clearing a path for the people in the area to escape.

Then he turned to Qing Long and said:

"I just want to confirm again— they can leave now, right?"

"Yes," Qing Long nodded.

"It's not against the rules, is it?"

"It's not," Qing Long replied. "This game no longer involves them. It's just between you and me now."

"Good." After hearing this, Qi Xia glanced at Chu Tianqiu again, his eyes conveying a message once more.

Chu Tianqiu was utterly baffled by the scene before him. Both Qing Long and Xuan Wu were standing there, yet they were willingly letting the entire team go...

That could only mean one thing: his team had won the "Du Ming."

But how had this round of the Di Long game ended so quickly, in just two or three minutes?

And how had Di Long ended up covered in blood and dead in such a short time?

Overwhelmed by the flood of questions in his mind, Chu Tianqiu decided to set aside his thoughts for now and instead focus on what came next.

"Cangjie Qi"— what a ridiculous "Cangjie Qi"?

What exactly had he gained from this "Cangjie Qi"?

Midway through the game, Yan Zhichun had made a deal with him, offering help from "Tian Tang Kou" to "Ji Dao" in exchange for the right to use two "characters."

Now, at the end of the game, he had been forced into another deal with Qi Xia.

He had wagered entering Tian Long's dream in exchange for the survival of the entire team.

From the process, it seemed he had been making choices all along, but from the results, it felt like he had gained nothing— instead, he had fallen into two even deeper pits.

Was this path of ending up with nothing really the right one?

"Wait..."

Chu Tianqiu's brow furrowed suddenly as he recalled something Qi Xia had once said echoing in his mind.

Why did he always feel like he had gained nothing...?

He looked at the many teammates from "Cangjie Qi" in front of him, and a thought flashed through his mind—

Hadn't his teammates all survived?

Wen Qiaoyun, Zhao Yisheng, Jin Yuanxun, Xu Liunian, and even Yan Zhichun, whom he had met a few times.

Except for Zhang Shan... they were all alive, weren't they?

This was the first time Chu Tianqiu felt such a strange sense of contradiction in his mind.

Why had he never considered his teammates' survival as a "gain," or their death as a "loss"?

Thinking of this, he sighed deeply and looked up at Qi Xia, saying:

"Qi Xia, if I'm not mistaken, this bet was for the entire team to survive."

He didn't spell it out, since they were too close to Qing Long, but Qi Xia still understood what Chu Tianqiu meant.

Qi Xia nodded and said:

"I said the 'entire team,' and that's exactly what I meant— not a single one missing."

"You..."

Chu Tianqiu's expression darkened, knowing that for Qi Xia, this wasn't much of a challenge. He could only nod helplessly, then turn and step into the darkness.

At that moment, everyone in his team walked forward and entered the "door" representing escape before Qing Long could change his mind.

No one had expected the game to end like this— had they won or lost?

Soon, a new "door" appeared in front of them, one that hadn't been there before.

Chu Tianqiu stepped forward and pushed open the "door," finding that it led to the "Zhong Yan Zhi Di."

He realized the situation was somewhat absurd.

They had already boarded the "train," yet now they had to voluntarily get off.

After scrambling on the edge of death, he would enter the "train car" with Qi Xia again.

But if he didn't board this ship, was there a better opportunity for him?

"Tian Qiu..."

Wen Qiaoyun said beside him, "Have you thought about the path ahead?"

Hearing that familiar voice ring in his ear, Chu Tianqiu felt an unusual chill run down his spine for a moment.

In that instant, he seemed to understand something.

In this game, Qi Xia's true goal wasn't to make him personally end Wen Qiaoyun's life, but to help him realize Wen Qiaoyun's importance through the game.

After all, when Wen Qiaoyun said she would "Du Ming" with Di Long, no matter how things turned out, Qi Xia would step in to save her.

"You think 'gods' are ultimately just like ordinary people..." Chu Tianqiu said with a bitter smile. "You believe that only those with 'attachments' can reach peaks others can't."

Chu Tianqiu realized Qi Xia was using this opportunity to prove which path was the right one, but he was doing it in a way no one would dare imagine.

"Qiaoyun, let's go."

"Where to...?"

Chu Tianqiu pointed toward the "Zhong Yan Zhi Di" outside the door and replied:

"If possible, let's go see the outside world together."

"The outside world...?" Wen Qiaoyun followed his gaze.

But there was no "outside world" there—

Just a blood-red "Zhong Yan Zhi Di."

Chu Tianqiu didn't answer further. He walked out the "door" and vanished from the "Cangjie Qi" arena.

The others didn't hesitate any longer and followed him out one by one.

At that moment, Qing Long stood in the game arena, surveying the surrounding high walls, a slight smile curling at the corners of his mouth. Then he leaped onto the high platform.

No one knew what he did up there, but after a few seconds, all the central walls and "doors" began to slowly sink into the ground, except for the outermost perimeter.

The "He Dao" and both sides' "Bei Zhan Qu" connected into one vast, open area, leaving only Zhang Shan's body and a pile of quiet "characters" in the center.

The people who had been in the red team's "Bei Zhan Qu" finally had an unobstructed view and saw Qi Xia standing far away on the other side.

They were still reeling from the dramatic changes when they noticed Qi Xia and Qing Long facing off in the distance.

"Oh no," Chen Junnan said decisively. "It looks like Lao Qi is up against Qing Long."

"Damn!" Qiao Jiajin limped forward a step. "Jun Nan, should we go help and take him down?"

Chen Junnan was about to speak but felt a sharp pain in his ribs, so he said helplessly:

"Old Qiao, we might not even make it over there before we drop. Maybe we should skip the heroics."

"But what about that tricky guy? Can he handle that person?"

"This..."

The group watched the distance with worried expressions, but suddenly felt another change in the arena.

A white wall rose slowly in the center of the area, with a massive display screen hanging on it.