“Yo, chatting?”

A familiar voice sounded from behind, pulling Qi Xia back from his thoughts.

Xiao Xiao had already led her team to the game venue. Two men followed behind her.

One was Old Sun, whom he’d met yesterday, who could conjure stones. The other was a tall young man he’d never seen before. The young man wore a black leather jacket and gold earrings, looking extremely languid.

Qi Xia’s expression instantly turned stern.

There were still more practical problems that needed handling. He paid no attention to the three people outside the door and instead directly entered the building.

After entering, the space was visible at a glance. All that could be seen was an elevator and a wooden door.

“A five or six-story building actually has an elevator?”

Although Qi Xia found this somewhat puzzling, he still went to check the wooden door, only to discover it was locked and couldn’t be opened at all, so he could only enter the elevator.

The elevator panel had only two buttons—first floor and sixth floor.

Qi Xia thought for a moment and pressed the sixth floor.

The elevator was very fast, delivering Qi Xia to the rooftop in just a few seconds.

This was the first time Qi Xia had seen an elevator directly accessing a rooftop, and also the first time he’d seen such a flat rooftop.

Zhang Shan and the other two were already standing there, discussing something together.

Qi Xia exited the elevator and slowly walked toward the three, asking, “How is it?”

“You’re here?” Li Xiangling said. “We roughly know what we’re playing. It’s ‘Single-Plank Bridge.'”

Qi Xia nodded and looked at the game venue.

This building’s rooftop was very flat, but the center had been completely hollowed out.

Qi Xia stood at the edge of the hollow and looked down. Below were many hemp ropes crisscrossing in disorder, filling his vision so that the bottom couldn’t be seen.

A cold wind blew up from below, carrying the scent of rust.

If one fell down, they would either die from the fall directly or be strangled to death by the hemp ropes.

And in the central position of the entire cavity, a slender steel beam stretched across horizontally. The steel beam’s diameter was about one meter, with a span of at least twenty-some meters.

Just looking at the venue, this did indeed resemble the gameplay of “Single-Plank Bridge.”

While Earth-Tiger and the Extreme Path members hadn’t come up yet, Qi Xia decisively stepped onto the single-plank bridge.

He felt the hardness of this steel beam and tested the difficulty of walking on it.

“If this is truly a single-plank bridge, it’s far too simple.” Qi Xia stood on the steel beam, stroking his chin with his hand.

He believed that although a one-meter diameter wasn’t wide, it was more than sufficient for a person to walk on, and moreover, this steel beam was hard in texture and constructed very stably.

If that was the case… how would “combat,” “teamwork,” and “physical strength” be demonstrated?

“I understand…” Qi Xia muttered in a low voice. “There’s one type of rule that can satisfy all these conditions.”

“Hey, Liar boy, come down quickly. It’s dangerous.” Qiao Jiajin said.

Qi Xia nodded, walked down from the steel beam, then said to the three, “I’ve roughly guessed the game rules. Let me tell you the tactics now.”

“Game rules?” Zhang Shan blinked. “Isn’t it just ‘Single-Plank Bridge’? What else is there to guess?”

“No, calling it ‘Single-Plank Bridge’ isn’t quite accurate. It should be called ‘When Narrow Paths Meet.'”

…

Qi Xia had just finished briefing the group when Earth-Tiger had already brought up the three Extreme Path members.

Strangely enough, all six participants looked completely unnerved, each expression more relaxed than the last.

After Earth-Tiger exited the elevator, he glanced at Qi Xia and revealed a displeased expression. “Didn’t you only pay entrance fees for three people? Who let you in?”

“I want to watch from the sidelines.” Qi Xia said.

“There’s no such rule. Scram.” Earth-Tiger said coldly.

“I…” Qi Xia wanted to say more but vaguely felt killing intent emanating from Earth-Tiger.

“It’s fine, Old Qi. You can go down and wait for us.” Zhang Shan said. “I remember everything you just said.”

“Yeah, Liar boy, don’t worry.” Qiao Jiajin smiled slightly. “You can also take Big Guy and Kung Fu Girl down with you. Leaving me here alone is enough.”

“What are you saying, kid?” Zhang Shan said irritably. “Why don’t you go down instead?”

Qiao Jiajin stretched his arms and said, “Because I’ve got skills.”

“I’ve also got natural divine strength.” Zhang Shan replied.

Qi Xia looked at the three seriously and said, “My role ends here. What remains can only depend on you.”

“Mm.” Qiao Jiajin nodded.

“Keep yourselves alive, remember?” Qi Xia said.

“I know.”

With a complicated expression, Qi Xia walked into the elevator. As the elevator doors closed, he looked once more at his three teammates.

This time, he could only entrust everything to them.

Qi Xia arrived at the first-floor hall, found a wooden crate to sit on, then leaned against the wall with his eyes closed to rest.

This time he wasn’t participating in the game, yet he was more nervous than those participating in it.

Upstairs, Earth-Tiger had already begun explaining the game rules to everyone.

He first walked to one end of the single-plank bridge and planted a red flag there, then came to the other end and planted a blue flag.

“My game is called ‘When Narrow Paths Meet.'” Earth-Tiger said. “When the game begins, both sides need to stand on the single-plank bridge according to their teams. The teams are divided into left and right sides. The victory condition is that all surviving members of one side reach the opponent’s side and touch their flag.”

Zhang Shan looked at Qiao Jiajin somewhat uneasily.

This rule was almost exactly the same as what Qi Xia had just said.

The only difference was that Qi Xia had added one sentence: “Although the rules are roughly like this, there should still be hidden rules that can only be discovered during the game.”

Seeing no one asking questions, Earth-Tiger continued, “Now for some points of note. First, to reach the opponent’s side, you must cross the single-plank bridge. Arriving via routes other than the single-plank bridge will be considered ‘violation’ and will be subject to ‘punishment.'”

Li Xiangling looked at the venue, knowing this rule should be designed to prevent people from directly circling to the opponent’s rear from the rooftop.

“Second, participants can exit the single-plank bridge to rest according to their own needs, and this won’t be considered as giving up midway. To participate again, they need to re-enter the single-plank bridge from their own side.”

The six people still didn’t speak, only silently looking at the venue, contemplating tactics.

“Finally, any destruction of the venue is prohibited.” Earth-Tiger said. “Are the rules all clear?”

“Clear.” Zhang Shan replied.

“Any other questions?” Earth-Tiger asked.

Li Xiangling spoke up at this time. “Does this game have a time limit?”

“No.” Earth-Tiger shook his head. “As long as all surviving members of one side simultaneously touch the opponent’s flag, the game ends. Each winner receives eight ‘Dao’ plus all the spoils from the opposing team.”

Everyone nodded.

“Since there are no questions, the game will begin in three minutes.” After Earth-Tiger finished speaking, he retreated to the side. “Please stand on both sides of the single-plank bridge according to your teams.”

Qiao Jiajin, Zhang Shan, and Li Xiangling slowly walked to the red flag side, while the three opponents stood far away on the other side.

Both sides’ gazes were exceptionally cold and stern, as if neither wanted to say a single word more.