“Qi Xia, Yan Zhichun has a deep connection with you, right?” Chu Tianqiu asked.

After hearing this, Qi Xia shook his head: “To be precise, the one with a deep connection to her isn’t me, but rather another arrogant thing.”

“No matter whether that person is you or not, Yan Zhichun is your powerful helper,” Chu Tianqiu said. “If she joins my side, what countermeasures do you have?”

“Indeed a bit troublesome,” Qi Xia said. “My original intention was to have Yan Zhichun join my team, thereby becoming my true ‘teammate.’ Right now she hasn’t completely trusted me, but instead trusts another person.”

“So your plan failed?” Chu Tianqiu asked.

“No.” Qi Xia shook his head. “When I learned of the ‘Appointing Generals’ rule, I figured it out. Time is extremely tight – there’s already no way for me and her to establish something as ethereal as ‘trust’ within just one short morning.”

“Oh…?”

“I think ‘fear’ and ‘defeat’ will be more direct,” Qi Xia said. “So her joining your team isn’t inappropriate at all. What I need now is someone who can be completely controlled by me, not a long-term trusted cooperative partner.”

“Just based on that…” Chu Tianqiu said. “You were just talking about others being arrogant and conceited. What difference is there between you and him?”

“Ha…” Qi Xia laughed. “So in your eyes… I’m also this kind of person?”

Chu Tianqiu didn’t answer, only shook his head and asked: “You knew all along that I would choose Yan Zhichun?”

“Mm.” Qi Xia nodded. “Yan Zhichun went to ‘Heaven’s Mouth,’ so you should know her abilities. Considering her relationship with me as well, I prepared for both possibilities from the start. The probability of you choosing her is very high.”

Chu Tianqiu narrowed his eyes and began calculating Qi Xia’s next choice. If he himself chose “Yan Zhichun,” wouldn’t she then take “Wen Qiaoyun”?

These two chess pieces had now both been sent into the opponent’s hands, but “Yan Zhichun” to Qi Xia and “Wen Qiaoyun” to himself were completely different concepts.

At this moment, Earth-Dragon turned around and opened the wooden door. Before him was Yan Zhichun.

This time, her purpose in coming here was to fight side by side with Qi Xia and also see Qi Xia’s abilities firsthand. Who could have expected that now she would have to join Chu Tianqiu’s team instead.

“You didn’t secure me…?” Yan Zhichun muttered to herself. “Once ‘Heart Snatcher’ joins the opposing side, how will you achieve victory?”

Only Earth-Dragon’s voice could be transmitted outside the door, so naturally she couldn’t give Yan Zhichun any answer.

After pondering in place for a long time, Yan Zhichun still chose to step through the door.

Qi Xia knew that only when Yan Zhichun didn’t completely trust him would she make the choice to “accept.” After all, from her perspective, she also knew that choosing to be his enemy would let her more directly feel the gap in ability.

Next, Chu Tianqiu seriously watched Qi Xia’s movements. Now it was Qi Xia’s turn to “Appoint Generals,” and this person would most likely be “Wen Qiaoyun.”

Both sides could almost be said to be “exchanging hostages.” For Qi Xia, “Wen Qiaoyun” was the current optimal solution. Chu Tianqiu could only seize the time to think of countermeasures.

He watched as Qi Xia raised his hand, his finger stopping in mid-air for a long time without writing a single character.

“Right…” Qi Xia looked toward Earth-Dragon and asked softly: “This door can freely go to any place?”

“Yes.” Earth-Dragon nodded and answered: “Theoretically, that’s correct.”

After hearing this, Qi Xia fell silent for a while. A moment later, he revealed a smile. This smile became increasingly strange, and his voice also began to gradually grow louder.

Although Earth-Dragon’s game venue appeared to have a large space within the pitch darkness, Qi Xia’s laughter actually produced an echo.

This laughter made Earth-Dragon and Chu Tianqiu suddenly feel puzzled.

“What are you laughing at?” Earth-Dragon asked expressionlessly.

“There’s actually an ‘echo’ here – this is too interesting…” Qi Xia answered. “I suddenly thought of a new way to play.”

“What…?”

Chu Tianqiu looked at Qi Xia with furrowed brows. Although he guessed that Qi Xia would write “Wen Qiaoyun,” he always felt that merely a “Wen Qiaoyun” wouldn’t make him this excited.

Qi Xia raised his head to look at Earth-Dragon, saying with an excited expression: “How can I be this conservative…?”

After hearing this, Earth-Dragon was slightly stunned and hastily walked forward a step, coldly questioning: “What are you planning to do?!”

“I’m here honestly ‘Appointing Generals’… why hasn’t ‘Azure Dragon’ arrived yet?” Qi Xia said. “Is there not enough entertainment?”

An ominous premonition suddenly rose in Earth-Dragon’s mind. His back also turned ice-cold for an instant. Qi Xia’s state made him feel extremely dangerous.

“Don’t act recklessly!” Earth-Dragon said. “You should know that this game…”

Before the words were finished, Qi Xia had already extended his hand and quickly wrote a single character on the screen—

“Yu”!

With just one character falling, the crack of the wooden door behind Earth-Dragon instantly lit up with dazzling blood-red light, as if the other end of the door led to the unceasing hell.

Countless wails and screams faintly transmitted from the other end of the door, as if evil spirits were about to appear on stage.

“Hahahaha!” Qi Xia laughed loudly. “Doesn’t ‘Azure Dragon’ want to see entertainment?! I’ve thought of the most interesting entertainment!! A door that can lead to ‘any location’! What audacity! To actually place this kind of thing in front of me… it seems Azure Dragon truly knows nothing… what a minuscule ‘Dragon’…”

At this moment, Chu Tianqiu also widened his eyes. He knew he had completely lost track of Qi Xia’s train of thought.

The current Qi Xia was breaking away from the category of “human” and heading toward a higher level.

What was he trying to summon?

Qi Xia unhesitatingly continued to extend his hand. Just as he was about to write the character “Nian,” Earth-Dragon flew forward and grasped his wrist.

“Stop!” She shouted coldly. “Don’t do dangerous things! Where are you planning to make this door lead to?!”

Qi Xia had no immortal body. After Earth-Dragon grasped his wrist, he couldn’t move. However, he still turned his head back and stared at Earth-Dragon with an extremely manic gaze, then answered word by word:

“Lead to… the ‘New World’!”

“New World…? Madman…” Earth-Dragon said. “Calm down. Don’t do superfluous things. ‘Azure Dragon’ will arrive immediately!”

“Is three seconds enough?” Qi Xia asked.

“What…?”

“Five seconds?” Qi Xia asked again.

“Don’t force the impossible!” Earth-Dragon said. “A game personally designed by ‘Azure Dragon’ – how could he possibly not appear throughout?”

Earth-Dragon gripped Qi Xia’s wrist until the red characters on the electronic screen gradually faded and the blood-colored light behind the wooden door also disappeared completely. Only then did he let out a slight breath.

Seeing this, Qi Xia also slowly put away his manic laughter and said with a gloomy expression: “It seems the conservative ones aren’t me, but rather all of you.”

“You two… let me reemphasize the rules,” Earth-Dragon said, still somewhat shaken. “The target of this ‘Appointing Generals’ can only be ‘participants.’ If anyone makes dangerous moves again from now on, I will personally carry out ‘sanctions’ against them.”