At this moment, Su Liqian, who was standing in the center of the arena, was still unaware of everything going on. She was just staring in confusion at the male card master across from her, who looked upset. 

She frowned slightly. 

They shouldn’t know each other, right? 

“You’re that freshman from Lanxi?” 

Su Liqian raised an eyebrow. “Which freshman?” 

Ke Xu, whose enthusiasm for representing Chenya was abruptly cut off, impatiently asked again, “You’re that Dream Caster freshman or whatever?” 

“Yes, that’s me.” 

Su Liqian nodded casually, her indifferent demeanor only making Ke Xu angrier. 

What the hell was with that attitude? She clearly didn’t take him seriously at all. 

“Hmph, little girl, meeting me, Ke Xu, today is your bad luck. Your journey in the Card Competition ends here.” 

Su Liqian remained unfazed, narrowing her eyes as if she were watching a joke unfold. 

This attitude only fueled Ke Xu’s anger. 

This Lanxi freshman was way too arrogant. Did she seriously think she could beat a third-year from Chenya? 

If he didn’t teach her a lesson today, it would be an insult to his “Chenya Ace” title! 

“Let the match begin!” 

The moment the command was given, Ke Xu immediately pulled out his strongest card — the A-level weapon card from Shelter: the Lightbreaker Cannon. 

A flash of light, and a cannon, about half the size of a person, appeared at Ke Xu’s side. He effortlessly lifted it with one hand. 

The Lightbreaker Cannon was incredibly powerful and could change its form to suit the user’s habits. Despite being a heavy weapon, it had a low entry requirement, making it an excellent tool for Ke Xu. 

Being an experienced competitor, Ke Xu understood how to make the most of his advantages. 

He knew the cannon was perfect for long-range combat, so he followed up with a barrier card to set up a one-way shield around himself for protection. 

But Su Liqian wasn’t one to back down easily either. She quickly took out an A-level gear card to counter. 

“Unlock.” 

The blue mecha battle suit she wore was sleek and form-fitting, highlighting her attractive figure. 

“Unlock.” 

In the next instant, Su Liqian took out an A-level weapon card—the Frost Piercer Sword. 

“It’s the Frost Piercer Sword!” 

Almost instantly, the commentators recognized the sword in Su Liqian’s hand. The last battle had made a lasting impression, and this sword was both mysterious and powerful. 

Su Liqian, now clad in her mecha armor, held a glowing, ice-blue longsword. Though it looked a bit strange, no one dared underestimate the weapon in her hands. 

“Go!” 

With a single command, the sword flew from her hand, dancing through the air, following the movement of her fingertip. 

As soon as the sword left its sheath, a chilling aura filled the air. 

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The Frost Piercer Sword struck the shield around Ke Xu, making crisp, sharp sounds. 

“Hah! You think that little sword of yours can break through my shield? That’s just wishful thinking!” 

At the same time, Ke Xu’s Lightbreaker Cannon had finished charging. A blinding energy orb burst out of the barrel. 

Su Liqian’s visor quickly analyzed the cannon’s trajectory and speed, and she instantly sped up to dash in another direction. 

But — the Lightbreaker Cannon had an auto-tracking function! It started chasing her around the arena nonstop! 

“What the hell, this thing’s not even following Newton’s laws!” 

Then again… this wasn’t Earth. 

The cannon’s energy waves were blazing hot — if it hit her, it’d probably reduce her to ashes! 

Seeing her somewhat clumsy movements, Ke Xu couldn’t help but enjoy the moment. 

Pfft, what “genius dark horse”? She’s nothing special. 

But in the next second, just as the cannon was about to hit her, Su Liqian’s figure vanished on the spot. 

Boom!

The Lightbreaker Cannon slammed into the ground, creating a deafening explosion and blackening the area around it. 

Su Liqian’s figure reappeared right behind Ke Xu. 

She had guessed right — the moment she used teleportation to vanish, the Lightbreaker Cannon lost its target. 

“Hmph, let’s see how many times you can dodge!” 

Ke Xu sneered coldly, his eyes growing even icier. His hands began charging the Lightbreaker Cannon again—ready to fire. 

“Unlock.” 

Having participated in so many card battles, Su Liqian wasn’t unprepared. 

In fact, she had been crafting cards in her spare time over the past few days, and now they were coming in handy. 

As the Lightbreaker Cannon came charging toward her, Su Liqian remained completely still, standing her ground. 

Ke Xu had been ready to celebrate his victory, but just as a smile began to form on his lips, he saw a black hole, about half his height, suddenly appear in front of Su Liqian. The attack from the Lightbreaker Cannon was immediately swallowed up as soon as it made contact with the swirling black mist. 

“A black hole has appeared on the battlefield!” 

All the cameras instantly zoomed in on the card in Su Liqian’s hand—The Great Magician, a B-level card with the ability to use black hole magic once. 

After dodging two consecutive attacks without a scratch, Ke Xu was starting to feel impatient. 

It seemed like there was chatter around him, as if people were mocking him for not having defeated the freshman card master on the other side yet.

Ke Xu shrank the Lightbreaker Cannon in his hand and fixed it to his right arm. 

The smaller cannon was weaker, but it was much faster, allowing him to fire multiple shots in an instant. 

Bang! Bang! Bang! 

Though Su Liqian was agile, she couldn’t keep up with the continuous tracking shots from the opponent. 

This wasn’t working. She needed to take control of the offense again, and quickly. 

After using her spiritual strength to activate the black hole magic to swallow the attack from the Lightbreaker Cannon. Su Liqian’s spiritual strength was almost depleted. 

“Unlock.” 

Using her C-level card from Illustrated World Notes to recover a portion of her spiritual strength, Su Liqian began strategizing again. 

She had to break through Ke Xu’s shield if she wanted to regain the upper hand. 

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Su Liqian swung her hand, and the Frost Piercer Sword suspended in the air immediately split into hundreds of copies, forming a semi-circular ring around Ke Xu’s shield, ready to attack at any moment. 

“Break!” 

At her command, hundreds of ice-blue lights pierced toward the shield. 

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of the shield being assaulted was unrelenting, and it finally began to show signs of cracking. 

“Do you think you can break my shield with a few swords?” 

Ke Xu wasn’t impressed. However, in the next second, hundreds of Frost Piercer Swords quickly merged into a massive sword. 

Ke Xu’s eyes widened in shock as the massive sword fell from above, and then, clang, the shield shattered. 

Ke Xu was taken aback. 

He knew the strength of this shield, and how difficult it was to break, but this freshman had managed to do it. 

A warning bell rang in Ke Xu’s mind, and he had no choice but to reevaluate the opponent in front of him. 

Without the protection of the shield, the Lightbreaker Cannon charging environment wasn’t safe, and his offensive might turn against him at any moment. 

Ke Xu steeled himself. He had to do something. Grabbing the cannon, he immediately pulled out an A-level summoning card—Wings of Divine Light. 

“Unlock.” 

A sphere of light appeared, and a humanoid spirit with colorful wings flew out, leaving behind a trail of shimmering illusionary light. 

The spirit’s ears were two brightly shining feathered wings, and its golden hair fluttered above its head. 

This was his trump card! 

He’d spent a long time saving up to buy this A-level summoning card, which he had originally planned to use in the Star District Finals. He hadn’t expected he’d need to use it so soon. 

Ke Xu’s heart sank. 

Su Liqian had thrown off his plans, and it pissed him off. He needed to teach her a lesson. 

Since he’d already revealed his trump card, the situation was now in his control. 

“Illusion Wing Spirit! Wing Blades!” 

Ke Xu immediately issued the command. The small spirit flew up, wrapping its body with its wings, which then instantly expanded. 

What followed were several razor-sharp wing blades! 

Su Liqian spun to avoid the attack, but the assault was relentless. Even grazing one of the blades would result in deep, painful cuts. 

The situation, which had just started to turn in her favor, became unpredictable again. Su Liqian now had multiple wounds on her body, and there were faint bloodstains on her clothes. 

The sight of blood only made Ke Xu more excited. 

“Hmph, trash from Lanxi, die! Illusion Wing Spirit, Blood Prison!” 

The spirit high in the air spread its wings, and its body shifted from vibrant colors to a dull, dark hue. 

In the next instant, the spirit’s eyes snapped open, and it unleashed a red beam directly into Su Liqian’s soul. 

Countless black feathers shot out from behind the spirit, flying toward Su Liqian. She could only stand frozen in place, barely able to lift a hand. 

What was this move? 

There was no time to think. Su Liqian could clearly feel that the person in front of her intended to kill her. 

The cold, killing intent filled his eyes, and every strike he made was ruthless. 

It was the first time Su Liqian had felt such intense malice—or even killing intent—from a stranger since arriving in this unfamiliar world. 

She almost forgot that this wasn’t Blue Star. 

She was in a competition, a battlefield where “accidents” were allowed. 

Was her chance at rebirth going to end like this? 

No! 

She refused! 

Wake up! 

“Unlock!” 

Using nearly all her strength, the intense will to survive finally broke through the mental barrier. 

Su Liqian wasted no time. She immediately drew a shield card to block the incoming attack. 

But one shield wasn’t enough. 

The black feathers from the Illusion Wing Spirit came at her from all directions, burning her skin on contact and disorienting her mind. 

The red, bloody images kept flashing before her eyes. 

She was being mentally invaded. 

She couldn’t let this continue! 

Su Liqian pulled out a transparent card from her belt, ready to risk everything with her remaining spiritual strength! 

---

You can grab the full book now on my Ko-fi page, available in both PDF and EPUB formats! 🖤
📎 Here’s the link to the full novel