Chapter 1079: Summoning Half of Old Qiao
Chen Junnan rolled over, his whole body aching terribly, and he cursed Qiao Jiajin and Zhang Shan ten thousand times in his heart.
“You two were fighting… but why did you have to be so heavy-handed… dammit…”
Chu Tianqiu took another step forward and noticed Chen Junnan’s condition was even worse than before. Although he couldn’t enter the room to execute him directly, there was no way Chen Junnan could dodge the iron chain he threw.
“Cough, cough…”
Just as Chu Tianqiu was about to attack again, he heard coughing from behind him.
He frowned slightly and turned to look at Qiao Jiajin.
“Oh man… it hurts so much…” Qiao Jiajin took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes. “So hungry…”
“Ah… Old Qiao, you’re finally awake…” Chen Junnan shouted from the ground in the other room. “Go! Give him a beating!”
“Huh…?” Qiao Jiajin noticed that his eyelids didn’t seem as swollen anymore, and most of the pain on his body had subsided. But what exactly was going on now?
He opened his eyes and only saw darkness in the mid-air, feeling a bit disoriented.
“Little Chu! Little Chu is trying to kill us both… hurry up and use your damn skill to break his spell…” Chen Junnan shouted while coughing. “Once this kid loses his [Tianxing Jian], I’ll get up myself and beat him too!”
It took Qiao Jiajin a few seconds to remember where he was. He also coughed a few times and slowly said, “Tianqiu…? Okay… Tianqiu, you are not allowed to out…”
Hearing this, Chu Tianqiu immediately sensed trouble. He raised his right hand, filled with murderous intent, and attacked toward Qiao Jiajin’s neck.
But the next second, his consciousness wavered for half a second, and his body became uncontrollable. He was forced to turn toward Chen Junnan and then charged violently into the room where Chen Junnan was.
Fortunately, Chu Tianqiu was rational enough to immediately realize something was wrong, and he stopped his forward momentum.
In that instant… the murderous intent in his mind toward Qiao Jiajin had all turned into murderous intent toward Chen Junnan. How bizarre was that?
If he hadn’t stopped in time, he would have been locked in the same room as Chen Junnan by now.
“Heh heh…” Chen Junnan laughed from the other room. “This time I really took the fall for Old Qiao’s death. Admit defeat, Little Chu.”
“…You are not allowed to cheat.” Qiao Jiajin stammered out the second half of the sentence.
As his words fell, a flash of light passed, and sparkling stars burst forth from Chu Tianqiu’s body.
When the countless starlight settled, the atmosphere gradually quieted.
“You really have some skills.” Chu Tianqiu clenched his fist, clearly sensing that the [Divine Power] had disappeared.
“Little Chu… are you still not admitting defeat?” Chen Junnan shouted from the other room. “I used just a little trick, and your [Echo] has already been broken… just give up already!”
“Me admit defeat?” Chu Tianqiu paused, then laughed. “Is it possible that it’s you who lost the display screen, not me?”
“Uh…”
Chen Junnan then realized that breaking Chu Tianqiu’s [Echo] only saved their lives but didn’t actually help them in this game.
“I’ll just say you guys got lucky.” Chu Tianqiu said. “When the effect of [Po Wan Fa] wears off, I’ll be back. Don’t forget that I also have [Po Wan Fa] on me. As long as I can break Qiao Jiajin’s ability first, none of you can stop me.”
“Dammit…” Chen Junnan said. “Little Chu, you’ve really gone crazy. Isn’t this a goddamn word puzzle game? Your strategy is to go on a killing spree here to win?”
“In a pure intellectual contest, I might not be a match for Qi Xia.” Chu Tianqiu said. “But when it comes to ‘methods,’ I might not be inferior to him. As long as I can win, any means is acceptable in this game for me.”
After saying this, Chu Tianqiu looked at Han Yimo. “When the time comes, you’ll die too. Be prepared.”
“Ah? Me?!”
Han Yimo felt his Dao heart shattering. He had worked so diligently for Chu Tianqiu’s team for so long, even handing over two [Characters] in succession, only to end up being discarded like a dog after the rabbits are caught?
Seeing Chu Tianqiu turn and leave the [Preparation Area], Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin knew they couldn’t stop him now. They could only let him walk past them and enter the room where Wen Qiaoyun was, closing the door.
“Qiaoyun…” Chu Tianqiu said. “I have a bad feeling.”
“What’s wrong, Tianqiu…?” Wen Qiaoyun asked. “Isn’t this plan going perfectly?”
“We have our plan, but Qi Xia should have his own plan too.” Chu Tianqiu said. “To be safe, I need you to consider what I told you last night.”
“Last night…” Wen Qiaoyun nodded with a complicated expression. “You mean betting with Di Long…?”
“That’s right.” Chu Tianqiu said. “No matter what happens next—whether we show clear signs of defeat, or I die, or the display screen is destroyed—as long as you can say that sentence, the rules of the game will change. That might be our only way out.”
“Okay… I… I understand.”
…
Qiao Jiajin dragged his exhausted body up and limped over to the room where Chen Junnan was. Just one look and he was startled.
“Oh man! Jun Nan!” Qiao Jiajin quickly went over and helped Chen Junnan up. “Who beat you into a pig’s head? Was it Tianqiu?”
“Uh…” Chen Junnan found this really hard to explain. “Little Chu definitely couldn’t have beaten me like this… Rather than him, it’s more like you did it.”
“Huh?” Qiao Jiajin blinked. “Jun Nan, what nonsense are you talking… How could I have beaten you like this?”
Chen Junnan was stunned for a moment. He felt he couldn’t tell Qiao Jiajin that he had activated [Scapegoat]; otherwise, if Qiao Jiajin said ‘Don’t cheat,’ all these injuries would be returned to him intact.
“True enough.” Chen Junnan shook his head. “Let’s just say it was Zhang Shan who did it.”
“The big guy did it…?” Qiao Jiajin seemed to think of something. “Jun Nan, I was too absorbed in the fight with the big guy earlier and didn’t notice. Were you also at the scene?”
“Uh… Old Qiao, don’t ask blindly.” Chen Junnan said. “If you ask too much, I’ll be embarrassed too.”
“Alright.” Qiao Jiajin smiled sheepishly. “Do you want me to help you sit for a while? It looks like you fought the big guy yourself. I’m feeling refreshed now, not tired at all!”
“Dammit… you still have the nerve to say you’re not tired…” Chen Junnan said. “Quickly help me sit down… Ouch, I’m dizzy.”
“Okay, okay, cheer up, Jun Nan!”
Qiao Jiajin quickly helped Chen Junnan back to the [Preparation Area], but saw Han Yimo standing there with a complicated expression.
“Writing boy… what’s wrong with you?” Qiao Jiajin asked. “Why do you look like you’ve lost your soul?”
“I…” Han Yimo knew he hadn’t lost his soul, but had lost his faction.
“Ah! I almost forgot!” Chen Junnan walked over and patted Han Yimo’s shoulder. “Little Han, don’t overthink it. I suspect that was Chu Tianqiu’s final test for you. As long as you hold on this time, you’ll definitely succeed!”