Chapter 1101: How to Win

Everyone at that moment realized that Qiao Jiajin’s words had truly taken effect.

Xuanwu’s previously unshakable answer began to waver right then.

For Xuanwu, which one would be judged the winner between “fu” and “mi”?

Although only one eye was visible through her hair, that eye showed immense confusion.

In past games, she had always easily determined the winner, but this time, no matter what, she couldn’t reach a conclusion.

Since she was no longer human, she naturally couldn’t think from a human perspective.

But what should she do now?

“It’s okay,” Qi Xia said to Xuanwu at that point. “Just go with the answer you believe in, without listening to what others say.”

Those brief words were like a lifeline, pulling Xuanwu out of her inner conflict.

“The answer I believe in…” Xuanwu lowered her head and thought for a moment.

After a brief pause, she slowly lifted her head. “A tie.”

“A tie…” Qinglong furrowed his brow and said, “Are you sure about this?”

Xuanwu nodded slightly, causing her hair to sway. “I’m sure. In this round, I can’t judge a winner, so both are correct.”

“Whoa~~~~~~~~”

Chen Junnan suddenly exclaimed at that moment, “Old Qiao, Old Qiao! If I’m not mistaken, that little god has played two rounds with us, and he hasn’t scored a single point.”

“That’s right!” Qiao Jiajin nodded. “He looks pretty helpless.”

Upon hearing this, Qinglong’s face turned cold, and he could no longer tolerate Chen Junnan’s remarks. He vanished from the spot in an instant.

Seeing this, Xuanwu frowned and also disappeared from where she stood.

The next second, Qinglong appeared abruptly in front of Chen Junnan and raised his palm to strike, but Xuanwu instantly appeared at Qinglong’s side and grabbed his wrist.

In the blink of an eye, the two had made their moves, yet Xuanwu saved Chen Junnan’s life at the critical moment.

Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin, realizing what was happening, quickly stepped back and finally saw the situation clearly.

Xuanwu’s action seemed to enrage Qinglong greatly. With his wrist held fast, his entire demeanor grew dark and foreboding.

A few seconds later, he suddenly shook his wrist with tremendous force, sending Xuanwu staggering back several steps.

Xuanwu retreated rapidly and finally steadied herself, then let out a light cough.

No one knew how much force Qinglong had used, but it was clear to all that Xuanwu was not feeling well.

“Xuanwu…” Qinglong said with a laugh born of extreme anger, turning back to her. “Remember this moment. I won’t let you live, and I won’t let you die—I’ll give you even deeper torment.”

After hearing this, a hint of panic flashed in Xuanwu’s eyes, but it quickly faded as she replied, “The game isn’t over yet. Neither side can fight each other; we must settle it with Cangjie Qi.”

Qinglong snorted coldly, flicked his sleeve, and returned to the massive display screen.

Everyone exchanged uneasy glances at his appearance.

It seemed that no matter how the game proceeded, Xuanwu would face punishment. If Qinglong won the third round, the game would still end in a tie, potentially leading to a fourth round overtime.

But Qi Xia knew he couldn’t drag it out to a fourth round and still keep winning.

Qinglong would soon realize where the trick in this game lay, and the idea of beating him four times in a row through such means was utterly unrealistic.

The only reason Qi Xia had won was because of “zu.”

When Chu Tianqiu had surrendered outside the Cangjie Qi arena, Qi Xia, for safety, took the “jiang” from him and the “zu” from Jin Yuanxun.

After thinking it over, Qi Xia put the “zu” in his pocket and returned the “jiang.”

Combined with the subtle “shi” created by Tiantian, the total number of characters in the game hadn’t decreased.

This made it impossible for Qinglong to quickly identify which character was missing among the chaotic radicals.

At that point, Qi Xia had Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin use psychological tactics to make the truth even more obscure.

But Qi Xia also knew Qinglong would eventually catch on. To be safer, he suggested that both sides remove one character each without revealing which one, and then he handed the “shi” created by Tiantian to Xuanwu.

That way, even if the other side noticed the “zu” was missing, they would assume it had been removed, and they would never think there was an elusive “shi” in the game.

As Qi Xia had said earlier, as long as that character wasn’t held and examined closely, it would always be real.

So, Qi Xia used “mu” and “mu” to form “li.”

He took the “shi” from “zu” and the “ba” from “bing” to form a second “mu,” combining them into “li.”

As Xuanwu had said, Qi Xia’s combination included half of a “bing.”

In the second round, when Qi Xia was forming words in his mind, he discovered that “shi” could be rotated to become “yi,” and with “ba,” it could form “fu.”

However, “shi” and “yi” had different strokes—they were just very similar in shape. The only concern was whether the Feng Huang Xian Shu Tai could recognize such an abstract form.

Qi Xia hadn’t expected it to work, but in that instant, he recalled the “ze” created by Chen Junnan.

Theoretically, “ze” and “jin” had different strokes and were only similar in shape, so if “ze” could be recognized, then “yi” should be too.

Soon, he found his guess was correct, and this game must have been influenced by Baiyang.

After all, even Qinglong hadn’t noticed the “yi,” yet the Feng Huang Xian Shu Tai accepted it.

In that sense, the questioner and answerer had tied, with only Qinglong left in the dark.

That’s also why Qi Xia and Chu Tianqiu realized how crucial “zu” was, since the radicals “shi” and “tou” could combine into a vast array of characters. If all characters could be used freely, “zu” would be all-powerful.

But Qinglong wasn’t foolish. If they played three rounds in a row, he would surely notice that Qi Xia was using characters not in the pile. If he didn’t win this round, “zu” couldn’t be used again.

That would leave Qi Xia in a completely passive position. After all, Qinglong had already considered multiple possibilities, and even if both could use “zu,” the best outcome for Qi Xia would be a tie, with a higher chance of repeated losses.

So, the third round had to be a win, ending the game right there.

“Now, let’s draw the rules for the third round.”

After hearing this, Xuanwu paused, then pulled out the final rules for the third round from the box.

Everyone looked closely and saw written on the paper:

“The one with the largest occupied area wins.”