The next day, the semifinals of the Sixth Star District arrived as scheduled. 

However, this time, both the number of people present at the arena and the number of viewers in the livestream had increased significantly compared to before. 

For the first time, Su Liqian saw the audience seats completely packed. 

As usual, both sides entered the arena from opposite corridors, and the host announced the start of the match. 

It had been a while since she last saw Ji Yanxi, and he looked even more composed than during their previous match. 

This time, there was probably no bet involving the use of only one card, and Su Liqian found herself in a difficult situation facing such a powerful opponent. 

“I won’t lose this time,” Ji Yanxi said, sincere and without a trace of arrogance. 

“Unlock.” 

“Unlock.” 

Almost at the same time, they both pulled out an A-level card and activated it. 

One card came from The Beast’s Legacy, the other from Mecha Storm—both were A-level illusion armor cards. 

“It seems both sides are quite in sync! They both chose Illusion Armor cards as their first card!” 

“Starting with a double A-level showdown! This is gonna be intense!” 

Compared to last time, Ji Yanxi was clearly being more cautious today. 

The Illusion Armor card he used was from The Beast’s Legacy and was a divine armor. 

In simpler terms, it lets you become that character for a while. 

These types of Illusion Armor cards were rarer than others, and their combat capabilities varied. 

As soon as Ji Yanxi activated his card, a beast-hide cloak appeared draped over his shoulders, and his hair grew down to his shoulders. He looked a lot wilder and more rugged—just like the beast Mo Yi from the The Beast’s Legacy. 

In a flash of light, Ji Yanxi’s figure shot forward like a cheetah, leaving only a shadow behind. 

Su Liqian barely had time to react—she instinctively threw up her arms to block the sudden strike. 

He’s strong. 

The force of his attack pushed her several meters back before he switched tactics, giving her a second to catch her breath. 

But the next wave of attacks came crashing in just as quickly. 

She quickly pulled out a shield card to absorb some of the impact. 

But against overwhelming power, even that wasn’t enough. 

Seeing his attacks being slowed down, Ji Yanxi wasted no time and pulled out two more B-level cards—boosting his power and speed. 

Faced with such relentless attacks, Su Liqian barely had a chance to retaliate. 

Damn it… 

That familiar feeling of helplessness crept in. 

Su Liqian had been so fortunate up to this point that she had almost forgotten that this was a brutal competition. 

There would always be someone stronger than her, and no one would remain undefeated forever. 

Su Liqian’s arms, struggling to hold up, felt as if they were about to break. 

This match? It was one-sided. 

And this time, Su Liqian was the one on the losing end. 

She’d mentally prepared herself to lose—but when it actually happened, it still hit hard. She couldn’t help but feel frustrated and unwilling to accept it. 

But maybe… that was the true appeal of the competition. 

It’s not supposed to be smooth sailing—it’s full of surprises and challenges. 

This match hit her like a bucket of cold water, snapping her back to reality. It reminded her what this competition really meant. 

She wanted to get stronger. 

That desire had been brewing inside her for a while—and now, it finally surfaced. 

This was her passion—bringing those fantastical worlds to life. 

After everything she’d experienced, she was more determined than ever to become a card master. 

She didn’t want to lose again. So she lifted her head and looked up at the sky, toward a star that might not even be there. 

Time to set a small goal. 

She, Su Liqian, would become the strongest Card Master! 

But first—she had to make it to the finals. 

With her current strength, she had a chance… but it wasn’t guaranteed. 

And she didn’t want to leave it up to chance. 

*** 

Fortunately, Lanxi’s Special Class had arranged special training for the students who advanced to the Card Competition—and they even opened up the combat simulation rooms for students to practice. 

According to Sen Ya, ever since the room was opened, she hadn’t seen Su Liqian anywhere else. 

And as her good friend, Sen Ya naturally couldn’t escape the fate of being “dragged into training.” They even pulled in Ye Zilan to train with them. 

Ye Zilan was more than happy to join in, but the training room often echoed with Sen Ya’s complaints. 

“Aaaahhh—do you two ever take breaks?! Aren’t you hungry? How about I go buy lunch?” 

Su Liqian wiped the sweat from her forehead and nodded. 

“Okay. Let’s eat, then get back to it.” 

“Sure.” 

Since there weren’t any scheduled classes today, Ye Zilan thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. 

“No way!” Sen Ya protested. “If I train any more, my brain’s gonna short-circuit!” 

She rubbed her sore arms, hoping her pitiful expression would win her some sympathy. 

“Xiao Ya, your ranking’s on the edge right now. If you lose again, it’s gonna be risky.” 

Su Liqian didn’t sugarcoat it. 

Sen Ya, who had just been complaining, instantly shut up and gave a sheepish smile. 

“Okay, okay, I get it! I was just unlucky before. Ugh, fine—you win. But food first, or I will die of starvation…” 

Note to self: What do you do when your friends are way too good at everything? 

She couldn’t even bring herself to admit she originally only wanted to make it to the semis. 

Sen Ya sighed dramatically. 

Life’s hard. Gotta cherish it while it lasts. 

*** 

After training that day, Su Liqian returned to her dorm to rest. She originally just wanted to post something on her Star Art account, but then she suddenly noticed a new verified tag had been added to her profile—“Dream Caster.” 

The school had mentioned applying for the verification on her behalf before, but she didn’t expect it to go through this fast. 

Su Liqian hadn’t paid it much attention at first, but when she looked at her latest post, she found that the number of comments had jumped from just a few dozen to several thousand—and it was still climbing. 

@HideAndSeekTeacher: What’s going on? Did Star Art verification system glitch? 

@StarryHeart: Never heard of this player before? And she’s a Dream Caster?! 

@KatyaNative: She’s only in her teens, right? A Dream Caster? No way—is the record about to be broken?! 

@WannaTourTheStars: Must be fake. If she really were a Dream Caster, wouldn’t it be all over the place already? Every school would be fighting to recruit her. 

@ShelterDogFan: Holy crap! It’s real! The official account posted an independent card crafting video! It’s a new Illusion World! 

@StarNetAddict: She’s apparently been using Illusion World cards that weren’t even recorded in the system since the prelims, but no one dared to think about it back then. 

@GalacticFoodie: Looks like we’re about to witness the rise of a new genius. Following her before she gets too famous! 

All because of a tiny little verification tag, Su Liqian’s follower count skyrocketed overnight, and she even ended up on the trending forums. Everyone was jumping on the hype train, predicting big things for her. 

Card Masters were common, but Dream Casters? Now that was rare. Not just prestigious schools, even the Interstellar Federation would offer top-tier perks to people like her. 

After all, in many ways, the growth of Card Masters depended on the creativity of Dream Casters. 

Without Dream Casters constantly creating new Illusion Worlds, there would be nothing for Card Masters to work with. 

So even though Su Liqian was still a newcomer in the competition scene, that one label made her stand out in a sea of competitors. 

Still, popularity wasn’t going to win her the next match. Right now, her only focus was preparing to dominate the upcoming battle. 

The match schedule for next week had already been released, and Su Liqian felt a wave of nervousness when she saw her opponent: Ye Zilan. 

To be honest, Su Liqian’s current strength was already considered excellent among her peers—but Ye Zilan was also a prodigy. 

After training alongside him for a while, Su Liqian could tell that their abilities were neck and neck. Winning this match was going to be tough. 

This was probably the strongest opponent she had faced so far—someone truly at her level. 

And not just Su Liqian—Ye Zilan was also looking forward to the match. 

Ye Zilan: I’ve been wanting a proper match with you for a while. Didn’t expect it to happen this soon. 

Su Liqian: Don’t worry, I won’t go easy on you. 

Ye Zilan: Good—neither will I. 

Su Liqian smiled as she replied, then turned off her communicator and focused on reviewing real-match footage from past competitions. 

Both of them were silently preparing, determined not to lose. 

Days flew by, and the day of the match finally arrived. The moment Su Liqian and Ye Zilan stepped onto the stage, the livestream viewer counts suddenly spiked. 

Su Liqian spotted Ye Congyi in the audience, then turned her eyes back to Ye Zilan. 

【They’re here! I made it just in time!】 

【I wonder if she’s gonna debut a new card today. Can’t wait!】 

【Hold up—isn’t this the new Dream Caster everyone’s been talking about? Gotta check this out.】 

【Whoa, she looks so young!】 

【Isn’t this the girl who beat Ji Yanxi? Yup, definitely a genius.】 

【Her opponent looks strong too. This could go either way.】 

【Even if she doesn’t win today, this girl’s future is set.】 

【Why are there suddenly so many people in the stream?】 

【Everyone’s here to watch the future legend, lol.】 

Amid all the attention, Su Liqian walked calmly to the center of the stage and exchanged a smile with Ye Zilan. 

“The match begins!” 

The timer began counting down. Su Liqian didn’t dare be careless—right away, she pulled out her only A-level card. 

Ye Zilan, clearly prepared, also pulled an A-level card 

It was the Sword of Judgement, a legendary weapon card from the Wings of Divine Light. 

“That’s the Sword of Judgement! One of the top five A-level weapon cards! If he can wield it properly, it’s a total game-changer!” 

The commentator’s voice was full of excitement. 

However, at Ye Zilan’s current level, he couldn’t fully unleash the sword’s potential. It even took considerable effort just to lift it. 

That was Su Liqian’s chance!