“Uh… never…” Bai Jiu shook her head. “We normally don’t need to train for these things, since we don’t need to participate in games.”

“That’s really troublesome.” Qiao Jiajin said. “You all rarely exercise, and don’t have much coordination or tacit understanding. If there really are any problems, we’ll only find out after the game starts.”

Qiao Jiajin pondered for a while, then suddenly came up with a good idea.

“Hey!” He called out to the Earth-Horse from a distance. “Can you let us test it out first?”

“Te-test it out?” The Earth-Horse was a bit stunned. “Test what out?”

“Can you let us push that ox horse thing first?” Qiao Jiajin said. “We need to try if it’s easy to push or not. If it’s hard to push, how are we supposed to play?”

“That’s not in the rules!” The Earth-Horse said. “I’ve never let anyone test push my ‘Wooden Ox and Gliding Horse’ before. Don’t even think about taking advantage.”

At this moment, a tall man with a cold, stern face beside Qiao Jiajin let out a cold laugh and spoke: “Earth-Horse, the ‘Wooden Ox and Gliding Horse’ you’ve meticulously crafted… is its purpose to kill people on ice?”

Qiao Jiajin looked up at this person. If he remembered correctly, he was “Strong Wind” Qiu Ershi.

“Of course not!” The Earth-Horse answered somewhat displeased. “Didn’t I say it many times? This is a lost item I’ve meticulously restored!”

Qiao Jiajin nudged Bai Jiu beside him with his elbow: “What’s this guy doing? Looks like he’s about to start arguing with the Earth-Horse.”

Bai Jiu smiled mischievously and said quietly to Qiao Jiajin: “Leave this kind of thing to Twenty. He’s very good at this sort of thing.”

“Then why won’t you let us push it on flat ground?” Qiu Ershi reached up to adjust his leather jacket collar. “Let me make a bold guess—the reason your ‘Wooden Ox and Gliding Horse’ uses a sphere at the bottom instead of wheels… could it be because it can’t be used on flat ground at all?”

“What?”

“No wonder… no wonder…” Qiu Ershi nodded. “Sorry, we shouldn’t have made such a request. Otherwise, for someone from a master craftsman family like you… forget it, it wouldn’t be good if word got out. Everyone understands.”

Just a few short sentences hit every one of the Earth-Horse’s sore spots, instantly making her somewhat restless: “Are you trying to provoke me?! Although I know this is your scheme, no one can insult a ‘craftsman.'”

“So…?” Qiu Ershi reached up to scratch his ear. “I’ve provoked you. Are you going to fall for it or not?”

“It doesn’t matter whether I ‘fall for it’ or not.” The Earth-Horse said again. “You can try this pushcart now, but I’ll also increase the difficulty later. Deal?”

“How will you increase the difficulty?” Qiao Jiajin asked with furrowed brows.

The Earth-Horse pointed at the wooden boxes on both sides of the track and said to everyone: “Do you see these boxes?”

“How could we not?” Qiao Jiajin asked back. “What’s special about these boxes?”

“These boxes will shoot out ‘balls’ when you make your round trips.”

“Balls?” Qiao Jiajin felt this word was quite interesting. “What kind of ‘balls’? Handballs or cricket balls?”

After hearing this, Bai Jiu looked at these wooden boxes—three on the left and four on the right, each marked with words like “Greedy Wolf” and “Army Breaker.”

“What kind of ‘balls’ will be shot… depends on your luck.” The Earth-Horse said. “The ‘ammunition’ in each box is different. The balls flying toward you come in a total of seven different materials.”

Although the game hadn’t started yet, everyone felt that seven different materials was definitely a trap.

“What’s the point of these balls?” Bai Jiu asked from the side.

“Of course it’s to kill you.” The Earth-Horse said. “Each ball can reach speeds of eighty kilometers per hour. People sitting on the Wooden Ox and Gliding Horse will be directly eliminated if hit, but those pushing the cart won’t be affected.”

Yun Shijiu nodded: “In other words, those pushing the cart can help ‘block balls’ for those riding it.”

“Not only that.” The Earth-Horse said. “If your abilities are outstanding, you can even catch these ‘balls.’ Some ‘balls’ even have item rewards written on them. These rewards can help you move better on the ice.”

Bai Jiu held up one finger and kept playing with her ponytail. Hearing this, she couldn’t help but interject and ask: “So can the people ‘riding in the cart’ ‘catch the balls,’ or can the people ‘pushing the cart’ catch them?”

“Both can.” The Earth-Horse paused and added, “If you’re brave enough, anyone can catch the balls.”

“I see.” Qiao Jiajin nodded. “But according to what you’re saying… doesn’t this actually lower the difficulty for us? Balls at eighty kilometers per hour, at this distance…”

Qiao Jiajin subtly moved his neck.

“I might be lucky enough to catch them.”

“It would be best if that’s the case.” The Earth-Horse nodded. “I’ve heard similar words many times, but I still advise you to dodge as much as possible.”

“So how will you increase the difficulty for us?” Bai Jiu asked.

“If you choose to push the cart in advance…” The Earth-Horse silently took two steps forward. “In the final round, I will act as the ‘pitcher.'”

“What?” Although Qiao Jiajin hadn’t directly fought with Earth-level beings, he definitely knew these people had extraordinary strength and tremendous power. “You’ll pitch? Aren’t you trying to kill people?”

“Yes, my original purpose was to kill people anyway.” The Earth-Horse said. “This is just a fair trade.”

Qiao Jiajin felt this was a difficult choice. If they didn’t let everyone get a feel for the so-called “Wooden Ox and Gliding Horse” now, they might spend a lot of time during the game getting familiar with this wheelless pushcart.

But if they agreed, this monster might kill teammates with the balls.

“So what should we do…?” He turned back to ask.

“Of course we should agree.” Bai Jiu said with a smile. “Qiao Ge, let’s agree with her.”

“I also want to agree.” Qiao Jiajin said. “But little girl, didn’t you just hear? She’ll pitch the balls…”

“She’ll pitch balls no matter what.”

“Ah?”

Bai Jiu slowly took a step forward, her petite figure forming a stark contrast with the Earth-Horse’s tall stature.

“Sister… you lied.” Bai Jiu smiled.

“Oh?” The corner of the Earth-Horse’s mouth also lifted slightly. “Is that so? Little sister, how did I lie?”

“Although I haven’t participated in games for a long time…” Bai Jiu showed a sweet smile as she played with her hair. “Can you ‘Earth-level’ beings change game rules because of different circumstances each time?”

“Little sister, you really are quite clever.” The Earth-Horse said expressionlessly.

“So no matter whether we push that cart now or not, you’ll definitely act as the ‘pitcher’ in the final round, right?”

After hearing this, the Earth-Horse stopped speaking and just stared intently at the short girl before her.

“So this opportunity to push the cart in advance is something sister is giving us for free.” Bai Jiu smiled and took the Earth-Horse’s hand. “Why is sister so kind?”