Amid the intense atmosphere, the finals of the Sixth Star District Card Competition finally kicked off. 

“First up is the female competitor known as the ‘Cold-Faced Assassin’—Lin Yuhui!” 

“And her opponent is one of the dark horse contenders of this year’s tournament, many people consider him a strong contender for the championship—Mu Yi!” 

The commentator’s excited voice echoed throughout the arena as a man and a woman appeared at the center of the stage. 

The female competitor appeared a bit older, with a face that seemed to be smiling, yet it was cold and unyielding as she stared at her opponent. 

Mu Yi, the male competitor, didn’t flinch, his gaze unwavering and calm as ever. 

Clearly, Mu Yi had more supporters than Lin Yuhui. Su Liqian had even taken a look at their profiles. Mu Yi was skilled and could certainly be considered a “dark horse” in this tournament. In contrast, while Lin Yuhui was known for her aggressive and decisive strikes, her overall strength was not on par with Mu Yi’s. 

Still, no one dared to predict the outcome of the match too easily. 

That’s the thrill of card tournaments. 

Even if there were differences in spiritual strength or card levels, they didn’t guarantee victory or defeat. 

What mattered in card tournaments was the skillful use of various cards from the Illusion World, the strategies, and psychological battles between the competitors. 

Throughout the history of the Interstellar Card Tournament, there were plenty of examples where the underdog triumphed over the stronger competitor. This only made the conclusion of each match less meaningful—the intense and exciting clashes were what the audience eagerly anticipated. 

“Let the match begin!” 

At the sound of the signal, Lin Yuhui and Mu Yi moved quickly, each drawing the A-level card they were most familiar with. The sound of their fierce clash rang out almost instantly.

Su Liqian, sitting in the back row, watched the match closely, her sharp eyes noticing something unusual. 

She had just glanced at both of their profiles and watched some match footage. Lin Yuhui’s spiritual strength was rank B, and in previous matches, she had clearly struggled with insufficient spiritual strength. Her combat style focused on quick, decisive victories, always aiming to finish the match in the shortest time possible. 

But today, Su Liqian felt that Lin Yuhui was deliberately “slowing down the pace.” 

Normally, Lin Yuhui would have used a powerful attack card right from the start, but today, she seemed to be dragging the fight on, almost as if she was trying to wear her opponent down. 

This strategy didn’t make much sense against Mu Yi, who also had B-rank spiritual strength. 

Though changes in playstyle weren’t rare, Su Liqian still stayed vigilant, continuing to observe quietly. 

“Oh? Is Lin Yuhui finally making her move? She’s taken out her signature weapon card and seems ready to take down her opponent in one strike!” 

“Looks like Lin Yuhui has made significant progress! Her spiritual strength has grown rapidly in just a few days, and this match is getting more and more exciting!” 

As the commentator had said, Lin Yuhui pulled out a lightsaber and prepared to attack her opponent. After Mu Yi dodged a few times, she remained calm, pulling out another A-level card from her belt. 

Su Liqian furrowed her brow, something still didn’t feel right. 

Sure, she had improved, but could she really boost her spiritual strength so dramatically in such a short time? 

As Su Liqian was thinking about asking Ning Yishi for advice after the match, the broadcast camera zoomed in on Lin Yuhui’s face, showing a look of pain. 

Her forehead was covered in beads of sweat, and her previously cold expression had turned twisted. 

Suddenly, Lin Yuhui’s attacks slowed down. Though Mu Yi didn’t know what was happening, he quickly seized the opportunity to counterattack. 

But just as Mu Yi was about to make contact with Lin Yuhui, something unexpected happened. 

BOOM!

“Ahhhhh!!” 

Su Liqian first heard a muffled sound, followed by a sharp scream from the front row. 

Lin Yuhui, who had been standing on the left side of the arena, exploded. 

In an instant, there was a loud “bang,” and blood and flesh flew everywhere. What had been a living person just a moment ago was now nothing more than scattered pieces on the ground. 

Mu Yi, who had been standing closest to her, was also affected. He was sent flying several meters away by a powerful shockwave, his body covered in blood—whether it was his own or Lin Yuhui’s, no one could tell. 

The whole thing lasted only a few seconds, but when everyone finally realized what had happened, the scene descended into chaos. 

People screamed, and some fled in panic. 

Anyone faced with such a bloody scene would react that way. 

The broadcast quickly cut away, and though Su Liqian didn’t directly see the explosion, she still felt nauseous when the camera showed the aftermath. 

How often do ordinary people see scenes like this? 

Thankfully, although the incident had come without warning, the authorities reacted swiftly. They organized a mass evacuation, dispatched personnel to secure the area, and worked to contain the spread of information.

Given the circumstances, it was highly likely that today’s match would be canceled.

As Su Liqian moved with the crowd toward the exit, she caught a glimpse of a familiar dark figure slipping past the staff and heading toward the scene.

It was Captain Gu—the one who had previously been with Zi Lian.

What was he doing here? Even if this incident was going to be reported to the Alliance, it wouldn’t make sense for someone to be here this quickly. 

Could it be that he’d been near the Sixth Star District this whole time? 

With everything that had just happened, a bold theory formed in Su Liqian’s mind. 

Could the accident involving Lin Yuhui be related to the spiritual strength drug? And was he sent by the Alliance to investigate this? 

Su Liqian kept thinking as she walked home, only snapping out of it when she received a few concerned messages from her friends. 

Even though the authorities had locked down the news quickly, rumors were already spreading. The incident had stirred up considerable discussion on the forums. 

But as usual, most of these posts were deleted within minutes. 

Su Liqian had planned to search for more information about the spiritual strength drug, but it seemed incredibly difficult now. 

She had been meaning to look into it for a while, but with no leads, it had been put on hold. 

And now, she found herself directly facing an accident. 

But Lin Yuhui seemed to have had a different reaction than what was expected from taking the drug. Her violent outburst was brief, unlike what was said about the drug’s side effects. 

Was it the loss of control over her spiritual strength that caused her to “explode to death”? 

Why would this kind of medicine, with such severe consequences, still be circulating in the market? 

Are there any other cases where someone took the drug and their spiritual strength remained normal, or even improved? 

A series of questions swirled in Su Liqian’s mind. She vaguely sensed the huge secret and danger hidden behind it, sending a chill down her spine. 

If she was one of the “lucky few,” could the organization selling the drug be keeping an eye on her? 

Su Liqian thought carefully about the details from when she first got the medicine to when she took it, and suddenly remembered something important. 

She hadn’t bought the spiritual strength drug from anyone—she had just found it by chance. 

That might be why no one was watching her. 

It would be hard for them to track her down. 

But maybe it was only a matter of time. If they monitored every “drug user,” then it was only a matter of time before they found her through clues. 

With her own safety at stake, Su Liqian couldn’t help but think of everything. 

The shock from what happened today was so overwhelming that she couldn’t calm down for a long time after returning. 

Soon, a message came through on her communicator announcing the official delay of the competition. The match she was supposed to have today was postponed to the next day.

After thinking for a moment, Su Liqian decided to abandon her plan to craft cards and instead sent a message to Ning Yishi. 

Su Liqian: Does a spiritual strength outburst lead to an explosion? 

Ning Yishi seemed to be free and quickly replied. 

Ning Yishi: Yes. 

Ning Yishi: A spiritual strength outburst is actually a spiritual imbalance. It can happen in a few ways: either the spiritual strength is unstable and fluctuates wildly, or there’s just too much spiritual strength in the body, and it can’t be processed or released, leading to an explosion.

Ning Yishi: The incident today was most likely due to an outburst of spiritual strength. 

Ning Yishi’s response was quick, and he understood exactly what Su Liqian was asking. 

Ning Yishi: By the way, find some time to measure your spiritual strength fluctuations. 

Su Liqian: Alright, thank you, Professor Ning. 

After turning off the communicator, Su Liqian couldn’t help but zone out for a moment. 

So much had happened today, but she had no clear answers. The messy questions swirled in her head, and no matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t figure anything out. 

The competition was tomorrow, so she decided to get some rest. 

That night, many people couldn’t sleep soundly. 

The next morning, Su Liqian was woken up by the alarm. Rubbing her tired eyes, she slowly got up and left the house. 

To get from her house to the star district center, she had to pass through a small path. She was already extremely familiar with this route, but today, as she walked down it, a strange feeling suddenly arose in her heart. 

Thump, thump, thump—thump, thump, thump— 

The path seemed especially quiet today, and Su Liqian could clearly hear her own heartbeat. 

Was someone behind her? 

Or maybe she was just being paranoid.

Su Liqian picked up her pace, trying to reach a busier intersection ahead. 

But in the next moment, danger struck. 

Whoosh.

Bang! 

Su Liqian instinctively dodged to the right, something brushing past her cheek, leaving only a gust of wind and a wound. 

Whoosh.

Before Su Liqian could react, another attack followed. 

Ugh… 

The attacker’s speed was terrifying. Su Liqian wanted to dodge, but a beam of light hit her shoulder, and she let out a muffled groan. 

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. 

The person hiding in the shadows clearly wasn’t planning to give her a chance to fight back. They wanted to kill her! 

Su Liqian’s heart raced, and she reached for her belt to grab a card. 

Bang!

Another laser shot straight at her right hand. The person wasn’t giving her any chance to retaliate. 

Su Liqian had no way to fight back. 

She was out in the open, while her enemy was hidden in the dark. She didn’t even know where the attacker was hiding. 

Was she going to die here? 

For the first time since crossing over, Su Liqian felt an overwhelming sense of fear. 

---

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