Earth-Ox didn’t respond. He simply swept his gaze over the survivors, then said with slight displeasure, “Nineteen ‘Dao’ per person. The game is over. Everyone, please come forward in order to collect your ‘Dao.'”

Little Glasses looked at Zhang Shan’s wounds and couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat. “Zhang Shan… are you really okay?”

“I’m just fine.” Zhang Shan smiled and patted Little Glasses’s head. “How about you guys? I see you and Old Lu are both in pretty good spirits.”

“Ah…!” Little Glasses suddenly exclaimed. “Zhang Shan, speaking of Old Lu, I have something I need to discuss with you…”

Old Lu also anxiously crowded in front of Zhang Shan, gesticulating as he spoke. “That’s right, that’s right! You have to help me out here!”

“Help you out? What happened?”

Seeing the three whispering among themselves, Qi Xia’s expression darkened. He turned back to ask Lin Qin, “What exactly happened on your side?”

Lin Qin took a deep breath and said, “To be honest, I originally thought we were done for…”

“That’s right…” Tiantian also said from the side. “When the black bear came out, Lin Qin and I were so scared we couldn’t even stand.”

“And then?” Qiao Jiajin asked.

“Then…” Lin Qin blinked, thinking as she spoke. “I only remember that man called Zhang Shan shouted ‘Everyone get out of the way,’ then lifted the iron plate by himself and struck at the black bear.”

“What?!” Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin both exclaimed quietly at the same time.

“We didn’t dare watch at all…” Lin Qin said. “It was simply too brutal. That man used the iron plate to knock the black bear down, pinned its body, then rode on the iron plate and kept attacking the bear’s head. The entire area was covered in blood…”

“Damn… that’s a real terminator…” Qiao Jiajin said through gritted teeth. “That big guy is seriously formidable.”

“He seemed to know the black bear’s weak points. Before the game even ended, the bear had already been beaten beyond recognition. Its nose was broken, and many of its teeth were knocked out…” Lin Qin said.

Tiantian also added, “But that Zhang Shan didn’t have it easy either. The black bear counterattacked in its death throes, flipped over the iron plate, then kept clawing at him with its paws, leaving him covered in blood. Fortunately, the bear fell within a minute. Thanks to him, none of the rest of us got hurt…”

After hearing this, Qi Xia couldn’t help but frown. No wonder Tiantian and Lin Qin had thought this game couldn’t be won by themselves.

It turned out that in their arena, no one had used the same method as him to pass. Instead, someone had used that heavy iron plate as a weapon and fought the black bear directly.

“If that’s the case… why did it take you so long to come up?” Qiao Jiajin asked. “The game ended three or four minutes ago before you came back. The liar and I were about to prepare funeral arrangements for you.”

“That’s even more terrifying…” Lin Qin pressed her lips together and said with her head down. “After that big man killed the bear, he suddenly said ‘I haven’t eaten in days, bear paws are good stuff,’ then directed us to use the iron plate together to break off the black bear’s forearms…”

“So those two bear arms…” Qiao Jiajin was about to say something when he suddenly saw the big man, Little Glasses, and Old Lu walking straight toward them.

All three had small pouches hanging from their waists—it looked like they’d already received their “Dao.”

The burly man in the lead had a cold expression, his eyes constantly fixed on Qi Xia. He seemed to have ill intentions.

“Oh…” Qiao Jiajin suddenly remembered the “deal” between Qi Xia and Little Glasses and knew the situation wasn’t good. “You liar, what do we do?”

“Matthew Effect…” Qi Xia murmured quietly to himself. “To those who have, more will be given until they have abundance. From those who have not, even what they have will be taken away.”

“What does that mean?”

Qi Xia didn’t respond. Instead, he lowered his head and calmly surveyed the environment, dragging a chair in front of himself to ensure he could maintain distance from the others.

Beside him were three more chairs. He looked carefully and noticed one chair positioned where he could most easily reach it. Its legs were about to break—it would make an excellent weapon.

The ox-headed man was still ten steps away and couldn’t intervene immediately. Qi Xia knew that as long as everything went smoothly, he could definitely take Zhang Shan down.

“Not a big problem…” Qi Xia looked at Zhang Shan with cold eyes. “He can kill a bear, but unfortunately for him, I’m not a bear.”

“What are you going to do…?” Lin Qin felt somewhat afraid.

Qiao Jiajin also looked seriously at the three approaching people and slightly moved his neck.

The atmosphere became somewhat tense for a moment, with the smell of gunpowder permeating the air.

If this big man was truly here to “stand up for” the others, it would definitely be a fierce battle.

Zhang Shan came before Qi Xia and looked at him thoughtfully.

Qi Xia also raised his head, gazing at this burly man who stood 1.9 meters tall.

“I heard… you had a little incident with my friends,” Zhang Shan said lightly.

“That’s right.” Qi Xia said. “That uncle bought his life from me with ‘Dao.'”

“Damn… who do you think you are…” Zhang Shan extended his pinky to scratch his ear. “Buying life from you—are you the King of Hell?”

“I can be.” Qi Xia took a step forward, bringing himself closer to the chair. “I can save lives, and I can also make people die.”

Zhang Shan frowned. “What’s wrong with you? Can’t you speak properly?”

“Whether I can speak properly mainly depends on whether you’ll give me the ‘Dao.'”

“You’re really annoying.” The big man frowned. “If I don’t give it, what do you plan to do?”

Little Glasses was stunned after hearing this and hurriedly said quietly, “Zhang Shan! What do you mean? This isn’t what we agreed on!”

“Don’t worry about it,” Zhang Shan said quietly over his shoulder. “I have my own plans.”

“If you don’t give it, I’ll take it myself.”

“Hmm? You tired of living, boy?”

Before Zhang Shan could react, Qi Xia immediately kicked the chair at his feet forward, striking Zhang Shan’s knee.

Zhang Shan cried out in pain and hurriedly retreated two steps.

Qi Xia seized this opening and immediately ran forward, smoothly grabbing the chair from the ground and grasping its leg. He knew Zhang Shan was injured—if he wanted to take him down, now was an excellent opportunity.

“Thirty-Six Stratagems: Capture the ringleader.” Qi Xia thought to himself, then swung the chair up.

Seeing the danger, Zhang Shan immediately crouched down and raised his hands to protect his head.

The next second, the chair shattered against his arm.

Crack!

Although this blow was painful, it didn’t hit a vital point.

“Destroy the strong, seize the leader, to disintegrate the body.” Qi Xia silently recited again.

Zhang Shan was clearly angered. “You’re playing for real, boy?”

But before he could finish cursing, he discovered that Qi Xia was still holding a broken chair leg in his hand.

Using the momentum, Qi Xia spun in a circle, then swung the chair leg at the other man’s head.

Zhang Shan was clearly no pushover. He immediately turned his head, using the hardest part—his forehead—to meet the wooden rod.

Crack!

The chair leg snapped on impact, leaving a red mark on Zhang Shan’s head.

“Interesting…!” Zhang Shan said through gritted teeth. “You fight to kill, boy… then I won’t hold back either!”