Chapter 997: Cangjie Chess Rules

Qi Xia, leading the six people behind him, walked to the very end on the farthest left side, then reached out and twisted the door handle.

The door looked lightweight, and it opened with a simple push.

Everyone carefully peered inside. It was another corridor, not very long, and they were standing at one end, looking toward the other. The left side featured a bare, tall white wall, while the right side had another row of doors.

These doors were painted red, each about three to four meters wide, with a total of five.

Chen Jun Nan peeked inside and nodded.

"This is our Bei Zhan Qu?"

Everyone was unsure of the situation, so they entered the corridor. Once all were inside, the black door behind them slammed shut with a clang.

Qi Xia walked a few steps forward to the center of the corridor and noticed an old electronic screen on the left wall. The screen displayed a crude pixel image of a Tian Ping swaying left and right.

He touched the screen. It felt similar to the device used for "Dian Jiang," so it should allow writing.

Directly above the screen on the wall was a square black metal panel, about the size of a typical tablet, inscribed with five characters:

Feng Huang Xian Shu Tai.

Qi Xia touched it. It felt cool, and he wasn't sure of its function.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Cang Jie Qi."

A hoarse voice crackled with static, and everyone looked up. The walls here were very high, with no ceiling. Far above, a speaker was suspended, and the voice was coming from it.

"Next, you will play a game in my arena that lasts two hours."

Di Long, holding a walkie-talkie, continued:

"First, the winning rules: Within two hours, the side that first obtains twenty-eight Zi is the victor. If neither side reaches twenty-eight Zi by the end, both sides' assembled Zi will be placed on the Tian Ping, and the side with more Zi wins."

"Obtaining twenty-eight Zi...?"

Chu Tian Qiu and Qi Xia didn't immediately understand the statement.

"Legends say Cang Jie created characters," Di Long explained. "But in reality, Cang Jie organized and restructured the commonly used characters of his time into his own system. It's said he wrote down twenty-eight Zi. Now, you must emulate Cang Jie."

As the words ended, the black metal panel inscribed with Feng Huang Xian Shu Tai in front of Chu Tian Qiu and Qi Xia moved slightly, then slowly opened like a safe, revealing what was inside.

Qi Xia reached in and pulled out a string of metal objects, which made a rattling sound. The people around him gathered closer and examined it carefully. It turned out to be a chain-like item, resembling a keyring or a necklace.

Qi Xia separated it and found there were seven chains in total, each with a unique pendant that looked like a character.

Upon closer inspection, the characters were: Bing, Pao, Che, Ma, Xiang, Shi, and Shuai.

"Ah...?"

Chen Jun Nan and Han Yi Mo both exclaimed in surprise.

"Isn't this the characters from Xiang Qi?"

Chen Jun Nan picked up one of the chains casually and noticed it was a bit different from what he expected.

Some characters were a single solid piece on the chain, while others were split into parts.

For instance, Ma, Che, and Shi were each carved from a single block of dark gray metal.

But Pao, Xiang, and Shuai were divided into left and right components, yet still attached to the same chain.

For example, Pao had Huo and Bao, while Xiang had Mu and Mu.

The most unusual was Bing, which was split top and bottom into Qiu and Ba, hung together—if you didn't look closely, you'd never guess it formed Bing.

At that moment, Di Long's broadcast resumed:

"Now, both sides should have received your 'initial Zi.' Please have the Zhu Shuai distribute them freely. When the game officially starts, everyone must have 'Zi' on them. Those without 'Zi' must stay in the 'Bei Zhan Qu' on standby until they have 'Zi,' at which point they can enter the 'Zhan Chang Qu.'"

"Distribute freely..."

Qi Xia muttered to himself, then picked up the characters in his hand and examined them again.

"In the time ahead, these Zi will be your chips," Di Long said. "You can snatch Zi from anyone, or hold Du Ju in the Zhan Chang Qu. We've prepared numerous Du Ju and Cai Pan for you. In short... you can use any method or means to get the other side's Zi into your own pocket."

Before everyone could fully grasp the rules, they noticed something unusual above them.

Looking up, they saw Qing Long carrying Di Long as they leaped into the air and stood on what appeared to be an invisible black platform, blending seamlessly with the surrounding darkness.

"Hey!"

Chen Jun Nan shouted upward:

"Sister Long, does getting a 'Zi' count as a point?"

"Of course not," Di Long's voice echoed through the broadcast. "Only the Zhu Shuai can score points. In other words, no matter how many Zi you get or what kind they are, you must deliver them to the Zhu Shuai immediately."

Qi Xia looked up and asked:

"Can we exchange Zi midway?"

"No. You can only assign extra Zi to others when you've lost one."

Qi Xia nodded slightly upon hearing this.

Di Long continued: "The Zhu Shuai must place all obtained Pian Pang Bu Shou or individual characters onto the black metal panel inscribed with Feng Huang Xian Shu Tai—either by combining them or placing them as wholes—to earn a point. But remember, the entire Bei Zhan Qu cannot store Zi after the game starts. The Zhu Jiang must hand over any Zi except their own to their subordinates."

Seeing that everyone remained quiet, Di Long added:

"Since this is the first time running Cang Jie Qi, both sides' Zhu Shuai can try it once. Pick up your Bing Zu and place it on the metal panel."

Qi Xia frowned slightly, sensing he had caught the key point in those words.

He snapped back to attention, picked up the character for Bing, and brought it close to the black metal panel. In the next second, he felt a magnetic pull, and both Qiu and Ba stuck firmly to it.

The screen below the panel flickered and displayed a message:

"Received the character prototype 'Bing.' Please write a homophone."

"A homophone...?"

Qi Xia frowned.

"You've probably noticed by now," Di Long explained. "To prevent the Zhu Shuai from exploiting the system by combining obscure Sheng Pi Zi, every character you write must be one you recognize and can read aloud."

"Sheng Pi Zi..."

Qi Xia nodded. "I see..."

Without restrictions, it would be possible for the Zhu Shuai to keep experimenting in front of the screen, piecing together strange characters like Tiao or obscure ones, which would test luck rather than knowledge.

Then, Qi Xia reached out and wrote the homophone for Bing—the character Bing, meaning ice.

After a brief flicker, the screen displayed:

"Creation successful."