Chapter 1104: Where Dreams Lie

Chapter 1104: Where is the Dream

Xuan Wu stared at the strange pattern on the huge screen, her lips moving slightly as she softly asked:

“This is…”

“Dream…” Chen Jun Nan replied, though he felt a little uneasy inside.

Could this “word” really beat “village”?

It wasn’t that Chen Jun Nan thought Qi Xia’s idea had any flaws, but the word “dream” seemed a little against the rules.

He could only hope that Qing Long wouldn’t notice this detail.

“Dream…” Xuan Wu paused for a moment, then said, “Dream is good… In a dream, anything is possible, and only in a dream can you escape the village…”

Qi Xia stepped out from behind the screen with a cautious expression, as the third round had come to an end.

Both Qing Long and Qi Xia looked uneasy, as if something was weighing on their minds.

Neither of them spoke, which was unusual, and they simply stood beside Xuan Wu, waiting for her judgment.

Just as Qiao Jia Jin was about to say something, Chen Jun Nan reached out and held him back, feeling that it wasn’t the right time to launch an emotional attack.

Chen Jun Nan knew that Qi Xia had done all he could.

With Xuan Wu as the judge, Qing Long had given an unbeatable answer by drawing from the other side’s life obsession, creating a response that went beyond physical reality.

In any normal situation, the game should have been lost, but Qi Xia had come up with the clever idea of “dream.”

He had exhausted all his options, and among all possibilities, only “dream” could make Xuan Wu hesitate.

However, Chen Jun Nan realized this round was different from the previous ones because Qi Xia had broken the rules.

If they started an emotional attack first, Qing Long might spot the logical flaw and turn the tables, so the best approach was to wait for Qing Long to make the first move and then counter with logic.

There was even a slim chance that, if no one objected, the game could end with “dream” as the winner.

Xuan Wu dragged her long hair behind her as she took a slow step forward.

For her, the answer between “village” and “dream” seemed obvious.

How could a confining “village” compare to a “dream” full of endless possibilities?

But what unsettled her was that no one was stepping forward to explain which one was greater.

“Dream is good…” Xuan Wu murmured to herself, seemingly tipping the scales of the game toward Qi Xia.

“Wait…” Qing Long couldn’t hold back any longer and spoke up.

Qi Xia and Chen Jun Nan turned to look at him, their expressions different.

“Xuan Wu,” Qing Long said, “where is the dream?”

“What…?” Xuan Wu asked.

“You know where the ‘village’ is, but do you know where the ‘dream’ is?” Qing Long pressed.

Chen Jun Nan furrowed his brow, realizing that Qing Long had finally caught Qi Xia’s weak point, and things were about to get dangerous.

He glanced subtly at Qi Xia, who remained composed, simply staring coldly at Qing Long.

“Where is the dream…” Xuan Wu pondered. “The dream seems to be…”

Qing Long snatched the paper from Xuan Wu’s hand and unfolded it for everyone to see. “The final rule of this game is that the one with the greatest land area wins, but ‘dream’ doesn’t exist in reality. How can it occupy any land?”

Everyone turned to look at Qi Xia, expecting some insight, but he just shook his head and said:

“I didn’t think of that aspect.”

Chen Jun Nan and Qiao Jia Jin exchanged confused glances, sensing something off about Qi Xia’s demeanor.

Was this a concession?

“So, is ‘village’ really bigger…?” Xuan Wu blinked in confusion. “‘Dream’ doesn’t exist in the real world, only ‘village’ does… ‘Village’ has land, but ‘dream’ doesn’t.”

Qi Xia nodded. “It’s pretty much as I expected. I also feel ‘dream’ isn’t quite right.”

“Oh?” Qing Long raised an eyebrow. “So, you knew you couldn’t win this round?”

“More or less.” Qi Xia nodded. “After all, your ‘village’ perfectly hit Xuan Wu’s mindset, which was beyond my expectations. I don’t know anything about Xuan Wu, so I couldn’t predict her judgment.”

“You could have at least put up a fight.” Qing Long said. “If I were you, I’d have some argument after playing the ‘dream’ card.”

“Is that so?” Qi Xia replied ambiguously with a nod. “Maybe when I saw your ‘village,’ I was already defeated. Everything after that was just a desperate struggle—anything I said would be mere quibbling.”

“Ha…” Qing Long slowly smiled. “Qi Xia, oh Qi Xia… Seeing you like this makes me indescribably happy.”

“What do you mean?”

“The look on your face when you admit defeat.”

“But I don’t feel like I have any expression right now.” Qi Xia replied coldly. “Besides, I haven’t lost. Even if you win this round, we’re still tied at one to one.”

“What difference does that make?” Qing Long countered. “I know what’s in that box—all the rules. From now on, I can keep hitting Xuan Wu’s core every time, but you? Not so much.”

“Is that so…?” Qi Xia nodded. “You think there’s plenty of time left to wear me down, and that the game is really tied at one to one so far… That’s quite unexpected for me.”

“Isn’t it?” Qing Long asked.

“In the end, I just ‘misread the question,’ but you ‘broke the rules.’” Qi Xia said. “I wonder how Xuan Wu would judge someone who breaks the rules in a game?”

“You…?” Qing Long hesitated.

“The so-called ‘Qing Long,’ the so-called ‘god,’ is just an ordinary person who thinks they’re clever. But then again, if you really had extraordinary wisdom, you wouldn’t have let the ‘End of All Things’ come to this point.” Qi Xia said. “I’m curious… What was the order when you created ‘village’?”

“‘Village’ only needs two components—does the order even matter?” Qing Long asked.

“What a convenient way to put it—‘two components.’” Qi Xia nodded. “‘Wood’ and ‘inch,’ right? A simple ‘village’ just appeared in your hands like that.”

Qing Long was about to agree, but suddenly realized something and fell silent.

“You see yourself as a ‘god,’ so no one questions your achievements, and you assume every path to ‘wood’ is valid.” Qi Xia looked up at the “village” on the screen. “But you have no idea how much effort us so-called ‘mortals’ put into forming that ‘wood.’”

“Qi Xia… You…”

“We take every step with extreme caution, because one slip could mean total ruin, so we always follow the rules.”