Su Liqian told her parents the good news about getting into the Special Class, and they both rewarded her with some “congrats money.” 

Luckily, the Special Class was in a different building, and even the dorms were separate from her old ones. That meant she could finally move out of her original room and—just like she’d hoped—move in with Sen Ya. 

The new dorm assigned to Special Class students wasn’t much different from the old one. After she unpacked, Su Liqian sat at her desk and pulled out the card that had been stolen from her before. 

That card had actually given her some new idea. 

She’d made quite a few cards by now, and there were some she didn’t really need anymore. Why not sell them online to people who did need them? That way, she could not only practice her card-crafting skills but also make some money to buy those expensive simulation balls and new cards. 

With that in mind, she took out her smart computer and opened up the interstellar trading website. 

Instead of rushing to create an account, she first searched the website for information on the card trading market. 

After browsing for a bit, she noticed that most of the cards being sold were either unused cards or low-level cards. 

Which made sense. Once a card had been used with someone’s spiritual strength, it couldn’t be used again by others. That made secondhand cards kind of hard to resell. 

And as for the high-level ones? Those were usually made by well-known card masters who had no shortage of cash or sales channels, so finding cheap high-level cards on trading websites was naturally difficult. 

Now that she had a general idea of card pricing, Su Liqian created a new account—username: Qian Qian Smile. 

She picked a mature-looking profile pic, then casually uploaded one of her B-level function cards to the sales section. 

“Price: 999 star coins. Type: Function Card. Illusion World: Mecha Storm… Done!” 

She double-checked the info and hit “Post,” then stared at the listing screen for a while. 

“…Nothing’s happening.” 

Selling cards wasn’t going to be that easy, apparently. 

Mecha Storm was one of the most common card types. And her account was brand-new, so it probably wouldn’t attract buyers right away. 

Shrugging it off, she closed the site and figured she’d make a few more cards before trying again. 

Just as she was about to shut down her smart computer, a message popped up in the corner of her screen: 

“Card Master Su Liqian, congratulations! You’ve advanced to the semi-finals of the Sixth Star District Card Competition. We look forward to seeing more of your amazing work!” 

Wait, what? 

Su Liqian blinked, confused. Wasn’t the preliminary round supposed to last another week? How did she already advance? 

She opened her favorite forum to see if anyone else was talking about this early promotion—but there wasn’t much chatter. 

Could this be… a scam? 

Just to be safe, Su Liqian used a secondary anonymous account on the forum to post: 

[There’s still a week left in prelims, but I just got a message saying I advanced. Is this a scam text?] 

The replies came fast: 

Motivation Master: Holy crap, are you undefeated? Which district are you in? 

I Want First Place: …Ugh, I’m so jealous. Are you flexing on us right now?? 

Fighter Kaka: Yeah, if you’re undefeated, you can get advanced early. 

Chaos Card God: It’s just an early advancement… Happens every year. It’s just good luck. Nothing to brag about. 

Watching You in the Starry River: Dude, are you undefeated? Then why are you being salty? 

Card Shop Expert: Feels like there are fewer undefeated people this year. I heard there are some dark horses in this round. Looks like something interesting is coming up. 

… 

Su Liqian scrolled through the replies and finally got it—she’d advanced early because of her perfect win record. 

With exams over and the competition results in, it felt like a huge weight had lifted off her shoulders. For a moment, she didn’t know what to do. 

Just then, a new class announcement snapped her out of her thoughts. 

Their new homeroom teacher, Qi Feng, had a totally different teaching style from the previous one—more of a “let the kids run wild” vibe. 

Still, when it came to important updates, he didn’t slack. 

“Qian Qian! We’re going on a study trip!” 

Su Liqian froze. She hadn’t expected to hear that word in the interstellar age. She opened the class group chat and saw a short message: 

“We’re going to the First Star District for a study trip next week. Be prepared.” 

“AHHH! This is amazing! I’ve been waiting for this forever! The First Star District, can you believe it? I’ve never even been there!” 

Sen Ya excitedly ran over to share her joy with Su Liqian and immediately began preparing a “travel checklist.” 

The First Star District was the largest crystal mine on the Katya Star and belonged to the Graystone Star Realm. It had a very different landscape from the Sixth Star District. 

Su Liqian hadn’t stepped foot outside the Sixth Star District since arriving in this world. This trip felt like a dream come true. 

Qi Feng might look like he’s half-asleep all the time, but when it came to getting stuff done, he didn’t waste any time. He blasted out a few more announcements and quickly appointed a class monitor. 

Time flew by after the exams. It wasn’t until Su Liqian stepped onto the school’s arranged spaceship that the whole “we’re going on a trip” feeling finally kicked in. 

The Sixth Star District was still quite far from the First Star District, but the spaceship sped up once it entered the sky route. 

Clouds zoomed past so fast that they didn’t even leave a trace. 

For Su Liqian, who’d never been on a spaceship before, even the quiet parts of the trip felt magical. 

“Whoa… this is way cooler than an airplane…” 

“An airplane? That seems like such an old mode of transportation. I think I’ve seen it in a book before!” 

“Ah, hahaha, yes, I’ve seen it too!” 

Su Liqian couldn’t help but pull out her communicator and snap a photo. 

“If we’re talking about coolness, though, warships are the coolest! I saw someone use a warship card from Mecha Storm in an interstellar competition once! I wish I had that kind of skill someday.” 

Sen Ya looked at the custom card in her hand, a look of longing in her eyes. 

Su Liqian patted Sen Ya on the shoulder. “You’ll get there eventually. Let’s work hard together.” 

“Mm!” 

… 

By the afternoon, the spaceship’s speed gradually slowed down and it docked in an open area. 

“Alright, we’ve reached our destination. Everyone grab your things and leave the ship in an orderly manner.” 

Qi Feng woke up right on time, stood up, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and made sure the students lined up properly to get off the ship. 

“Once we get to the accommodation, you can all rest for a bit. The actual schedule starts tomorrow, so you’re free to wander around today. If you need anything, just contact me.” 

With his messy hair looking like he was in a rush to get to his room, Qi Feng gave a few final instructions and handed everything over to the new class monitor. 

The class monitor was a short girl with a high ponytail. 

“Here, this is yours.” 

Yu Mi took a bracelet from a bag and handed it over. 

“This was probably the emergency bracelet the school gave to each student, meant for calling for help in case of an emergency. It also had other functions, and every batch of Special Class students received one.” 

Su Liqian took it and put it on. 

“Thanks.” 

Yu Mi smiled sweetly. “No problem.” 

After distributing the items, Su Liqian went back to her room to drop off her luggage. 

This time, the dorms were single rooms. After taking a quick look around, Su Liqian didn’t linger long. 

She had already made plans with Sen Ya to check out the center of the First Star District. 

“You guys are heading out too?” 

Just as they were about to leave, they ran into Ye Zilan, who was heading out as well. 

“Yeah, we definitely need to explore while we can.” 

“Let’s go together.” 

Su Liqian and Sen Ya exchanged a look and agreed to join Ye Zilan. 

The three of them took a ride to the center of the Star District. Along the way, the tall buildings outside the car window were scattered, but it looked a little different from the Sixth Star District. 

As soon as they arrived, what caught their eyes were huge stores selling trading cards. 

“The First Star District has a huge crystal mine. Since the cost of making crystal cards is lower here, the prices are naturally cheaper than elsewhere.” 

Ye Zilan seemed quite knowledgeable and patiently explained.  

“The crystals here are quite valuable as well. Some unprocessed ones are made into little items and sold.” 

“Ooh, let’s check it out!” 

Sen Ya immediately dragged them inside. 

The moment they opened the door; the bright lights almost made it hard to keep their eyes open. 

Colorful crystals had been made into various small trinkets. Not only were they highly decorative, but they also had practical uses. 

“Crystals are a type of energy source. Don’t be fooled by how small they are—once you inject spiritual strength into them, they can glow and even work as a battery!” the store clerk explained. 

Su Liqian was about to pick up a small ornament when suddenly, a ragged-looking young boy burst into the store. 

“Boss, what about these? Are they okay?” 

“Ugh, I’ve told you before, these are just scrap pieces. They’re worthless! You should take them back.” 

“…How about this one? I had to work really hard to find it!” 

“Sigh…” 

The shop owner let out a helpless sigh. He seemed to pity the boy and finally took out a few star coins. “Fine, fine. I’ll take them. Now go on.” 

“Thank you, boss!” 

Su Liqian watched as the boy walked out. 

A passerby curiously asked about the boy, and the owner shook his head. 

“Ah… he’s an orphan living near the mine. Poor kid. He survives by scavenging crystals from the edges of the mining area and comes here every day. The crystals he brings are all defective—I can’t really sell them, but I can’t just turn him away either…”