Chapter 1099: Spinning

After Qinglong confirmed the answer on the screen, he flicked his sleeve and slowly walked up to the crowd, as if he already had victory in his grasp.

"Qi Xia, it's your turn," Qinglong said.

Qi Xia's face flashed with a hint of hesitation. He knew that giving up wasn't his style, so he lifted his leg and headed toward the area behind the giant wall.

"Cheater," Chen Junnang grumbled irritably.

"How is that cheating?" Qinglong replied. "Just now, Qi Xia agreed to let me go first with the creation. This was the result of our mutual negotiation."

"Hah," Chen Junnang laughed. "If we were fighting, it'd be me stabbing you first, then you stabbing me back, right? How come it's always you getting the first stab now?"

"Too bad that's just how gambling with lives works," Qinglong said. "Once both sides agree, there's no going back."

At that moment, Zheng Yingxiong raised his nose and sniffed, clearly detecting a scent of hesitation from Qi Xia, who wasn't far away.

It seemed even he wasn't confident in his answer this time.

Now, no one could see Qi Xia's face, so they had no idea what he was pondering.

What other possibilities were there for a "character" that includes "bing" and is important to humans?

Han Yimo stared blankly at the people in the arena, still unsure of his own position.

Was he on Chu Tianqiu's side or Qi Xia's side?

If Qi Xia lost this gamble with his life... would he have to go down with him?

Fortunately, Chu Tianqiu's entire team had already left this place, so he could consider his mission accomplished and not worry too much.

Chen Junnang, Qiao Jiujin, Tiantian, and Zhang Chenze were all sweating nervously for Qi Xia.

The "rules" were becoming more and more abstract, and it was hard to say if they could win the next round.

If Qi Xia could pull off a victory in the second round, they wouldn't need to compete in the third.

But now... could he find a "character" from the remaining options that was more important than "mi"?

Everyone quietly waited for about a minute, but Qi Xia still didn't make a move.

He stood in front of the Feng Huang Xiang Shu Tai, stroking his chin as he carefully considered this abstract rule.

Qinglong had clearly practiced this in advance. When he created "mi," he didn't hesitate at all. From that perspective, even if Qinglong had rehearsed ahead of time, he believed "mi" was the only answer. As soon as he created it, the game was unbeatable for him.

So... was there any way to break this stalemate?

The rules were against him, the situation was against him, and even the order of moves was against him... So what was in his favor?

Qi Xia narrowed his eyes and looked up at Xuanwu, standing on one side of the giant wall.

Of course—the most favorable thing in this game for him might be the "judge."

Since it involved gambling with lives, they weren't using the screen's built-in scoring system anymore; instead, they were letting Xuanwu decide the winner.

So, was there a "character" that could twist the concept and confuse Xuanwu's thoughts?

Qi Xia quietly closed his eyes, and his mind raced with ideas.

Countless "characters" sprang up in his thoughts like bamboo shoots after rain, then broke down into countless radicals and components.

These radicals recombined and scattered, spinning like dancing butterflies in his mind as they tried to merge with "bing."

Qi Xia, like a creator looking down from above, examined all the possible "characters" that could be formed through rotation.

After ninety degrees, then another ninety, the radicals had rotated 270 degrees, but Qi Xia still hadn't found a suitable "character" to counter "mi."

"Wait..."

Qi Xia furrowed his brows with his eyes closed and caught a strange spark of inspiration in the darkness.

It seemed like a "character" had flashed by just now, but it vanished in an instant among the sea of characters, too quick to grasp.

If that "character" really existed... it might just confuse Xuanwu's thoughts.

He imagined the radicals that made up those two "characters" separately and tried rotating them ninety degrees several times, but soon realized something was off.

That "character" didn't appear when the radicals rotated ninety degrees—it only showed up for a split second when they rotated forty-five degrees.

So, to form this "character," one of the radicals needed to rotate forty-five degrees at an angle to create it.

After figuring this out, Qi Xia couldn't help but smile.

Was this the hidden secret of "Han Zi"?

He had just been saying that Qinglong's thinking was limited, but he hadn't realized he was trapped in the same box.

Who said every rotation of a radical had to be ninety degrees? Why couldn't there be a forty-five-degree rotation?

Qi Xia slowly opened his eyes and looked at the various devices in front of him.

The only challenge now was... could the Feng Huang Xiang Shu Tai recognize this unusual "character"?

"The strokes aren't the same; it's just the shape," Qi Xia murmured softly.

If it could recognize it... then this round of the game might still have hope.

After all, when ancient people created characters, they didn't think about strokes—they just pursued the shape.

Qi Xia shook his head helplessly. Who could have imagined, when "Cangjie Qi" began, that this "character" would appear in the game?

The others watched the empty screen in front of them, with Zhang Lüshi and Tiantian's palms sweating, but Qi Xia still didn't move.

Qinglong's face was full of displeasure as he turned to Xuanwu and said, "Isn't that enough? Even 'creating characters' needs a time limit. Are we going to wait until dark?"

"Alright..." Xuanwu nodded, about to say something, when he noticed the giant screen flickering to life.

Everyone looked up at Qi Xia's answer this time.

A few seconds later, a "ba" slowly lit up on the screen.

The crowd fell silent, though it used part of "bing." They all mentally ran through the possibilities of what could be formed. Besides "mi," what else was important to humans?

Qinglong sneered, as he had already considered all possibilities with "ba"—there was nothing more important than "mi." But before he could speak, the screen flickered again, and a "character" appeared that he never could have anticipated.

"Fu"!

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the screen, and the air went utterly still for a moment.

A few seconds later, Chen Junnang slowly uttered three words: "What the hell..."

"Too bad I couldn't form 'mu,' but 'fu' is enough to convey what I mean," Qi Xia said calmly as he walked out from behind the giant wall. "Only parents can grant humans life, and this rule comes even before 'mi.'"

Qinglong still found it unbelievable...

Could those radicals... actually form "fu"?