Chapter 1105: If You Don't Believe, It Vanishes
Qinglong knew the situation was getting out of hand, but what could he do to salvage it now?
"A 'wood' and an 'inch'..." A slow smile spread across Qi Xia's face. "Qinglong... this is a mistake only you would make. No matter which 'participant' it was, they wouldn't lose their life over such a simple rule. Only you would, because you've always held the most fundamental rules in contempt. So no matter what character I formed, it doesn't matter. I won this round."
It was only then that Chen Junnan seemed to realize something, his eyes slowly widening. "Holy shit... now that you mention 'fundamental rules,' I just realized—that little god's third character doesn't even fucking contain 'soldier'!"
"No way." Qiao Jiajin also nodded. "He's right! Straw Lady, kick his ass—he broke the rules!"
"Two components..." Xuanwu also seemed to catch on. "Two components are indeed wrong. There's not even half a 'soldier.'"
Qinglong stood there expressionless for a long time upon witnessing this. No one had any idea what he was thinking.
But at that moment, Zheng Yingxiong suddenly caught a vague thought in Qi Xia's mind. He furrowed his brow, then turned to look at Qi Xia. Qi Xia gave a slight nod.
After a long while, Qinglong slowly bared his teeth. "So-called games of strategy... are truly troublesome things."
Qi Xia frowned, staring expressionlessly at Qinglong. He knew that defeating Qinglong would require far more than winning a single game—this was only a decent start.
"Qi Xia, I could have easily crushed you with my bare hands, yet I stooped to match wits with you," Qinglong said. "How troublesome this is..."
"It seems you've added your own terms as well," Qi Xia replied. "If you win, you'll say you defeated me through strategy. If you lose, you'll say it's beneath you. An interesting way to rationalize, I suppose."
"Still talking tough," Qinglong said. "You might not realize just how dangerous your situation is."
A thick killing intent emanated from Qinglong, and Zheng Yingxiong, who was standing nearby, found the scent of this "killing intent" so suffocating he could barely breathe. Before anyone could react, a cold voice rang out beside them.
"Qinglong, rule violation..." Xuanwu said. "Accept punishment."
Qinglong turned his head to glare coldly at Xuanwu. A furious grin spread across his face as he struck out with a palm toward her.
Xuanwu could only hastily raise her arm to block. Her entire body flew backward, countless strands of black hair trailing behind her like silk threads in the air.
After landing, Xuanwu quickly steadied herself, then lunged forward again.
Her long hair danced wildly in the air, like a flame dyed in ink.
Her hands formed claws—one aimed at Qinglong's throat, the other at his chest.
Qinglong blocked her claw strikes, then sent another biting blast of palm wind toward her, knocking her back another ten meters.
Xuanwu crashed heavily to the ground, coughed softly a couple of times, then rose expressionlessly.
Taking a deep breath, she slowly extended her hand into the air, as if she were about to reach into Qinglong's chest and pull out his heart. "Qinglong... accept punishment..."
But before she could make any move, her entire body froze like a statue.
"No way... what happened to Straw Lady...?" Qiao Jiajin cursed under his breath. But as he tried to step forward, he found his own body completely immobile as well.
Murmurs of confusion arose from everyone—they were all being pinned in place by some overwhelming force.
So Xuanwu hadn't given up; she simply couldn't move.
"It's 'Heart Snatcher,'" Qi Xia said.
Qiao Jiajin understood immediately. "Qinglong, no cheating!"
As soon as he said this, a faint burst of starlight erupted from Qinglong's body, then dissipated into the pitch-black space.
But a moment later, Qiao Jiajin realized something was wrong—he still couldn't move.
Everyone else gradually noticed the same problem. Even though some kind of "Echo" seemed to have vanished from Qinglong's body, they remained firmly trapped by the "Heart Snatcher," as if encased in concrete.
"What's going on?" Qiao Jiajin was stunned. "Qinglong, are you still cheating? Stop it!"
This time, not even a flicker of starlight emerged from Qinglong's body.
"Too bad..." Qinglong grinned maniacally. "'Heart Snatcher' doesn't belong to me."
"What...?" Chen Junnan's eyes went wide. "You old bastard, you—"
"Now here's an interesting puzzle," Qinglong said. "I'm carrying 'Heart Snatcher,' but who was its original owner? What was his name? How are you supposed to guess whose 'art' to break?"
It was only then that Chen Junnan and the others realized Qinglong's "Heart Snatcher" came from one of the "eyes" on his body.
Just as White Snake had said, he must have implanted various powerful abilities onto himself through "eyeball grafting." "Creed of Rupture" could only break Qinglong's own "Echo"—it couldn't break the "Echo" of the "Heart Snatcher's" original owner.
"To be honest with you," Qinglong laughed again, "even I've forgotten the name of that eye's owner."
Zheng Yingxiong swallowed hard. The situation was getting critical. He was about to speak when he once again sensed Qi Xia's thought.
It was: "Wait a little longer."
Zheng Yingxiong's own heart was pounding. Why, at this crucial moment... was Qi Xia placing all his bets on him?
"Qi Xia," Qinglong said, "it's hard to believe you didn't see this ending coming. From the moment you agreed to gamble with your life, you should have known you were doomed."
"Is that so?" Qi Xia said expressionlessly.
"I chose the referee. I designed the game. I even set the rules for victory and defeat in all of 'Paradise.' How could you possibly beat me?" Qinglong continued, laughing. "This might be the worst decision you've ever made in your life."
"Maybe there's still a way out," Qi Xia said.
"A way out?" Qinglong took a step forward. Everyone present—including Xuanwu—was forced to take a step forward as well. "Qi Xia, tell me—where is this way out?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Qinglong frowned slightly. He looked up at the pitch-black sky.
He blinked a few times, uncertain. Something felt off.
Had something just burrowed into his mind?
It felt like... a memory?
But how could a memory be forcibly thrust into his head...?
Zheng Yingxiong sensed Qi Xia's thought once more. It said: "Now."
He seized the moment while Qinglong's mind was wavering and spoke:
"The scent of the 'Heart Snatcher'... seems to have disappeared."