When Su Liqian went to school in the second week, as expected, she was called to the office again. 

This time, though, there was a well-dressed middle-aged man sitting next to Cheng Yu. 

Knock knock. 

“Come in.” 

Su Liqian walked in and greeted politely, “Teacher, is there something you need?” 

The middle-aged man beside Cheng Yu stood up and looked at her carefully. 

“Oh, this is Principal Ye from Lanxi.” 

Ye Congyi extended a hand. “Hello, Su Liqian.” 

“Hello, Principal.” 

“Mm. Su Liqian, we didn’t actually call you here for anything serious. I watched the preliminary round of the Sixth Star District Card Tournament the other day. Several of our school’s students performed very well.” 

Ye Congyi smiled in satisfaction. 

“The reason I called you in is mostly because I’m personally curious. The Illusion World card you used in the match—would you mind sharing which Dream Caster created it?” 

“Ah, that…” 

She had more or less guessed that being called in had something to do with this, but explaining who crafted the card was a bit complicated. 

“I’ve always enjoyed collecting and reading about ancient civilizations. Journey to the West is a story from the Chinese civilization on Blue Star.” 

“Chinese civilization?” 

Ye Congyi repeated the name, seeming thoughtful. 

The history of Blue Star was from so long ago. Many of its civilizations had already faded away. He didn’t expect someone would still mention that name today. 

“So… are you saying this Illusion World card was your original creation?” 

“Hmm… I guess you could say that.” 

As soon as she said it, the room fell silent. 

Ye Congyi and Cheng Yu were both stunned. 

They needed a moment to process what they’d just heard. 

If Su Liqian was a Dream Caster, then it all made sense. 

But the idea itself was hard to believe! 

There had never been a recorded case in interstellar history of someone awakening their Dream Caster ability at sixteen! 

And now, this kind of “young genius” had just happened to appear at their school? 

Even though it was hard to accept, the surprise was so overwhelming that it quickly drowned out all their doubts. 

Ye Congyi, being someone who had seen a lot in his life, quickly gathered his thoughts and said seriously, “If this is true, then you’re the youngest Dream Caster in interstellar history.” 

This wasn’t just a big deal for their school—it was a major discovery for the entire interstellar alliance. 

After giving her a few serious reminders, Ye Congyi hurriedly left to report the matter to the alliance. 

After the principal left, Cheng Yu gently patted Su Liqian on the shoulder. 

“Do your best on the placement exam. You can head back now.” 

“I understand.” 

Su Liqian nodded and turned to leave the office. 

When she returned to the classroom, Ye Zilan was casually flipping through a book at his desk. 

Ever since they’d seen each other at the restaurant, Ye Zilan had gradually become more talkative. 

At least, unlike the previous week, he wasn’t going days without saying a word or two. 

“Zilan, I didn’t quite get this part. Can you explain it to me?” 

A girl in the class seemed to gather her courage and walked over, holding out a book. 

Ye Zilan looked up briefly and said in a polite yet distant tone, “Sorry, I don’t have time right now. Maybe ask someone else.” 

Saying the harshest rejection in the gentlest voice—Su Liqian had lost count of how many times she’d witnessed scenes like this since becoming Ye Zilan’s deskmate. 

The girl looked a bit embarrassed and quickly took her book and fled from the awkward moment. 

“You always say that exact line when you turn someone down.” 

Now that they were more familiar with each other, Su Liqian occasionally teased him. 

Ye Zilan flipped another page and chuckled. “Can’t help it. People come to ask me things every day. If I answered every one of them, I’d have no time for myself. Besides, they’re not really here to ask questions sincerely.” 

“Sounds like you’re already used to it.” 

Ye Zilan didn’t deny it. 

There was still some time before the end-of-month placement exam. Su Liqian either went to eat with Sen Ya or returned to her dorm to review her lessons. 

Her roommate, Ren Yi, was rarely in the dorm. Even when they occasionally ran into each other, they would only exchange an awkward greeting. 

“Beep beep—” 

Her communication wristband beeped. Su Liqian checked it and saw that the instructor for the practical training class had posted a notice in the class group chat: 

Qi Feng: “Each class should form its own teams—three people per group. Tomorrow’s practical training will be conducted in a team battle format.” 

Forming teams? 

Su Liqian frowned, and the names of classmates she had spoken to briefly crossed her mind. 

In her previous life, she hadn’t been great at socializing, and she always found group projects a headache. She hadn’t expected to face the same problem even after coming to the world. 

Before she could open the group member list to start thinking about potential teammates, a chat window from Ye Zilan popped up. 

Ye Zilan: Want to team up for the practical training class?

Su Liqian naturally didn’t refuse. To be honest, in this class, Ye Zilan was the person she was most familiar with. 

Su Liqian: Sure. 

Ye Zilan: Great, I’ll go fill in the team list then.

“Su Liqian?” 

Ren Yi’s voice suddenly came from behind. Su Liqian turned and asked, “Yes?” 

“Are you teaming up with Ye Zilan?” 

“Ahh, yes.” 

Su Liqian replied, surprised at how fast the news had spread. 

“Do you still need one more person in your group?” 

“Uh… I’ll ask Ye Zilan.” 

“Alright.” 

Su Liqian didn’t know how to say no, so she sent another message to Ye Zilan. 

Su Liqian: Do we still need one more? My roommate wants to join. 

Ye Zilan: Sorry, I just agreed to let Zheng Qing join. I was about to tell you.

Ye Zilan: In terms of overall strength, Zheng Qing is also among the top five in the class.

Su Liqian: No worries, I’ll let her know.

“Sorry, Ye Zilan already promised his roommate Zheng Qing. You might want to try another team?”

Ren Yi’s expression visibly dimmed. She pursed her lips and said, “Okay, I’ll ask around.” 

Su Liqian hadn’t expected things to come together so smoothly this time. Feeling in a good mood, she closed her review materials and went to bed early. 

The practical training class was held early the next morning, at the school’s dedicated training grounds. 

“This is Zheng Qing, and this is Su Liqian.” 

Ye Zilan introduced them briefly. Zheng Qing nodded at Su Liqian and greeted her. 

Qi Feng strolled over from a distance, yawning lazily, and waved at the class monitor to get everyone into their teams. 

“Ahem.” Qi Feng cleared his throat. “Practical combat is one of the most important skills for becoming a top card master. I believe most of you have participated in a card competition or two.” 

He glanced over the students standing in formation. 

“In real battles, it’s not just about card strategies. Rich experience and combat techniques can give you a huge edge.” 

“In these competitions, it’s not only about winning or losing—it’s also about what you learn from the fight. I’ve always believed that to deepen your understanding of Illusion World cards and use them better, you must first gain insight through real combat.” 

“Keep in mind, while most interstellar card matches are one-on-one, team battles are also a key component of the annual Interstellar University Tournament.” 

Qi Feng might have been the practical combat instructor, but he was certainly never short on words. 

“Alright, enough of my rambling. Each group should send one person to draw lots. Groups with matching numbers will be opponents.” 

Ye Zilan opened the glowing orb he drew—it showed the number “2.” 

Su Liqian scanned the surroundings with a quick glance. 

By coincidence, the team that drew the number “2” happened to be the one that Ren Yi was in. 

Ren Yi’s expression froze when she saw them. She turned and quietly said a few words to her two teammates. 

“Remember, team battles are different from individual battles. Coordination is key. Once you’re ready, let’s begin—just keep it brief.” 

Both teams stepped onto the battlefield while the rest of the class watched from the sidelines. 

Qi Feng observed the match while casually discussing the battle dynamics with nearby students. 

“Su Liqian, what a coincidence.” 

Standing beside Ren Yi were a boy and a girl. Their expressions turned sour upon realizing their opponents were Ye Zilan’s team. 

“Yeah, quite the coincidence,” Su Liqian replied calmly. 

“Oh come on, how are we supposed to fight with you two in one team? That’s so unfair.” 

The guy next to Ren Yi joked, and the girl nodded in agreement. 

Su Liqian simply smiled in return. 

“There’s nothing we can do about it. The rules didn’t say we can’t team up.” 

Ren Yi’s group had nothing to say in response. Frustrated, they could only resign themselves to their fate, already expecting their class performance score to take a hit. 

Soon, it was time for the second match. Su Liqian had watched Ye Zilan battle before, so she had a decent understanding of his style. Their teamwork was surprisingly smooth. 

Zheng Qing was also strong, and played a supporting role, significantly boosting their overall performance. 

In comparison, Ren Yi’s team appeared a bit flustered. 

Although Ren Yi was not bad in terms of personal skill, she seemed to struggle with coordination. The three of them played as if they were in three different matches, not paying attention to one another. 

As many had predicted, the match was a one-sided sweep—it was practically over the moment it began. 

After the match, Ren Yi walked off the field frowning and in a terrible mood. She didn’t say a word to Su Liqian even after returning to the dorm that night. 

Su Liqian couldn’t help but feel that Ren Yi’s gaze carried a hint of resentment. 

But there wasn’t much Su Liqian could do. She didn’t want to spend time and energy worrying about it either. 

As the interstellar competition progressed, the schedule only got tighter. On top of that, the upcoming assessment added even more pressure. Su Liqian was starting to feel seriously overwhelmed. 

Every day was filled with reviewing class content, practicing with the Illusion World simulation ball, and crafting cards whenever time allowed… 

After so many years, it felt like she was back in that busy student life all over again.