Knock knock knock— 

“Xiao Qian, come out and eat.” 

Bai Yao’s voice came from outside the door. Before Su Liqian realized it, evening had already arrived. 

After collecting her thoughts, Su Liqian left the room and sat across from Bai Yao. 

“Here, Xiao Qian. I specially went out to buy this today. Eat more,” Bai Yao said gently. 

Most of the dishes on the table were unfamiliar to Su Liqian. She mustered the courage to take a bite—and was surprised to find they tasted pretty good. 

“Xiao Qian, have you made up your mind?” 

Su Liqian looked up at her father, but before she could answer, Bai Yao cut in. 

“Aiya, she just got out of the hospital. Why bring this up now… Xiao Qian, your father and I have talked about it. If it really doesn’t work out, then don’t take the exam.” 

Su Liqian paused, her chopsticks in midair. 

She knew Bai Yao was talking about the entrance exam for Beili High School. 

The original Su Liqian had always been an average student since middle school. Her spiritual strength was only ranked B, and she was always at the bottom of her class. Her parents wanted her to work harder to get into high school, and even though she kept saying “I don’t want to study anymore,” deep down she was pushing herself. 

But that’s when the tragedy happened—something no one saw coming. 

Only after Su Mingyang and Bai Yao received the hospital’s call did they begin to regret everything. 

If they had known things would end up like this, they would never have let her take that entrance exam. 

Seeing the heartache and guilt in their eyes, Su Liqian couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. 

Their daughter was already gone, but now she had to live on in her place. At the very least, she was determined to find out the reason behind the original Su Liqian’s sudden spiritual outburst and give her an answer. 

That was the promise she made. 

“Mom, don’t worry. I’m fine now. And I’ve already decided—I will take the high school entrance exam.” 

Bai Yao froze with a piece of food halfway to the plate, staring at Su Liqian in shock. 

She felt like her daughter was acting a little differently today, but couldn’t quite figure out why. 

“Xiao Qian, are you… really sure? But what if your spiritual strength becomes unstable again?” 

“The doctor already said it’s fine now. Don’t worry, Mom. If I can’t pass, I won’t force myself. I already signed up anyway, so there’s no harm in trying.” 

“Alright. Dad supports you.” 

Su Mingyang was the first to voice his support for her decision. Naturally, Bai Yao didn’t object anymore. She just reminded her to be careful before falling quiet. 

After finishing dinner and returning to her room, Su Liqian turned on the smart computer and searched for information on high schools in the Sixth Star District. Excluding Beili High School and a few others that had already finished admissions, only one school was left—Lanxi High School. 

Su Liqian fumbled around until she found Lanxi High School forum. Out of curiosity and a desire to learn more, she opened it. 

The first post she saw on the forum was exactly the topic she cared most about— 

Anonymous: The exam is tomorrow, I’m so nervous! Seniors, how hard is the Lanxi entrance exam usually? 

The post was trending, with plenty of comments underneath. Some were from other students looking for answers, while others were replies from friendly seniors or random passersby. 

One Shot, One Kill: It’s that time of year again where the seniors lend a hand… but all I can say is… good luck, kids. I’ve been through it too. 

Aspiring Cardmaster: Lanxi’s exams have been getting harder every year. It’s the second-ranked school in the Sixth Star District, and it’s been grinding hard to surpass Chenya. 

Star Cat Keeper: I heard this year’s entrance exam for Chenya requires you to successfully craft an Illusion World Card. 

Galactic Baby: Huh? Isn’t card crafting part of the high school curriculum? 

Jiangjiang’s No.1 Fan: I came to read seniors’ experiences but now I’m more nervous than ever… 

Working Hard to Make Money: What if Lanxi has the same exam topic?! Is it too late to cram? Waaaah… 

Su Liqian scrolled for a while. Her gaze stopped at two key words—card crafting. 

In her mind, the phrase referred to projecting spiritual strength into a transparent card and shaping it into an Illusion World card with specific traits. 

This was how the start network explained “card crafting.” 

In other words, unlike cards that already have set attributes, card crafting involves creating new cards using transparent ones. 

By combining spiritual strength with Illusion World shaping ability, one could randomly create a card from a particular card set. The card’s type and quality varied and depended on chance—much like the gacha systems in games from her previous life. That’s why, in real combat, people mostly used fixed cards. 

But card carfting wasn’t just proof of a person’s abilities. It was also a necessary step for becoming a powerful card master. 

Some of the strongest card masters could even create entirely new Illusion World card sets—people with this rare, one-in-a-million talent were known as Dream Casters. 

In other words, if she wanted to bring the Illusion worlds in her mind to life, she had to become a Dream Caster first. 

Su Liqian became more and more fascinated as she read, as if she had entered an unprecedented, magical world, eagerly absorbing knowledge. 

It wasn’t until her mother, Bai Yao, knocked on the door to remind her to rest that Su Liqian suddenly realized it was already late into the night. 

Tomorrow was the entrance exam, her last chance to get into high school. However, trying to cram all the knowledge in one night was clearly unrealistic. It would be better to rest properly so that she could be in the best state of mind tomorrow. 

That night, even in her dreams, Su Liqian was surrounded by all kinds of cards… 

The sky of Katya Star was a clear blue, and the morning breeze slipped through the window, scattering the last traces of the night within the room. 

Feeling the vibration on her wrist, Su Liqian slowly opened her eyes and turned off the alarm clock. 

Lanxi High School wasn’t far from home, and both Bai Yao and Su Mingyang had gotten up early to walk her there. 

As they strolled along the road, Su Liqian took her time and, for the first time, truly observed this futuristic, sci-fi-like interstellar world. 

The neatly organized buildings seemed to be made of a glass-like material, reflecting a light blue glow under the sunlight. People hurried along the road, and there were rows of streamlined “cars” hovering above the ground… 

Walking on the sidewalk, even the street signs were transparent blue screens, on which she could check the route information she needed. 

“Xiao Qian, don’t be nervous later, just do your best,” Su Mingyang, who had been silent, suddenly patted his daughter’s shoulder as they seemed to approach the gate of Lanxi High School. 

“Mm, I know,” Su Liqian stopped walking just short of the school entrance. “Alright, you can leave me here. I’ll go back on my own after the exam.” 

“…Okay.” 

Though reluctant, Bai Yao nodded with a smile, watching her daughter walk through the school gate before turning to leave with Su Mingyang. 

“Hello, may I ask where the entrance exam for new students is held?” 

Lanxi High School was much bigger than she had imagined. Past the main gate was a large open area. After a bit of searching, Su Liqian finally spotted a girl coming out from the school and quickly went up to ask. 

“Are you here for the exam?” The girl glanced at the time on her wrist and muttered, “This early?” 

“Follow me, I’ll take you there.” 

Su Liqian thanked her and followed along. As they walked, she saw a row of desks set up in the distance, each with a strange-looking device placed on top. 

“Go over there to register, and once the time comes, the exam will begin.” 

“Okay, thank you, senior.” 

Su Liqian jogged over to the registration area. 

Perhaps because it was still early, only one teacher was sitting there, resting his head in his hand and dozing lightly. 

His long, messy hair covered most of his face, so Su Liqian carefully walked up and softly called out, “Teacher?” 

“Mm… huh?” Qi Feng rubbed his sleepy eyes and forced them open, squinting against the daylight. 

“Here for the exam?” 

“Yes.” 

“Uh…” Qi Feng straightened up, stretched, and then looked her over carefully. 

“Sit down.” 

Su Liqian obediently pulled out a chair and sat opposite Qi Feng. 

“Name?” 

“Su Liqian.” 

Qi Feng typed something on the smart computer in front of him, and soon, the data for the student named “Su Liqian” appeared. 

“Please channel your spiritual strength here.” 

Qi Feng pointed to a spherical device beside him. 

Su Liqian followed his instructions, concentrating her spiritual strength. After she directed it into the sphere, it briefly lit up. 

Qi Feng glanced at the results and couldn’t help furrowing his brows. 

“Your spiritual strength was previously ranked B?” 

“Yes.” 

Su Liqian couldn’t understand why Qi Feng suddenly brought it up. As far as she remembered, Lanxi High School had never set any requirements for spiritual strength rank. 

“Hmm… Take this and wait over there.” 

Qi Feng gave her a knowing look, not asking further, and handed her a card to go wait for the exam to start. 

Su Liqian took the card, but her gaze suddenly froze on a line of text— 

Spiritual Strength Rank: A 

No wonder that teacher asked about her spiritual strength rank earlier! When did her spiritual strength become Rank A? 

Is it because her soul was replaced, or is it because… of that so-called item that could increase spiritual strength? 

“Classmate, you’re here so early! Which school are you from?” 

A woman’s voice suddenly rang out beside her. Su Liqian suppressed her confusion and turned to look. 

The girl had her hair in two ponytails and was wearing a blue and white skirt. She was blinking her eyes curiously at Su Liqian. 

“I’m from First Middle School.” 

“Such a coincidence! I’m from First Middle School too! Which class are you in? How come I’ve never seen you before?” 

Facing the girl’s enthusiasm, Su Liqian felt a bit awkward. 

“I’m in Class Two.” 

“Class Two?” 

The girl seemed to be trying hard to recall something but eventually gave up. “Oh well, since we’re from the same school, let’s get to know each other! Hello, my name’s Sen Ya.” 

“I’m Su Liqian.” 

Sen Ya seemed to be naturally friendly, chatting with Su Liqian about random things for quite a while, until more and more people gathered around them, and the exam was about to start. 

“Hey?! Isn’t that Ye Zilan? What is he doing here in Lanxi?” 

A stir went through the crowd. Sen Ya seemed to have seen something unbelievable and stood there with wide eyes. 

“Ye Zilan?” 

“Yeah! That guy who’s always top of the rankings at our school! Don’t tell me you don’t even know who he is!” 

Following Sen Ya’s gaze, Su Liqian saw, surrounded by the crowd, a very handsome young man. 

Su Liqian didn’t focus on him for long, but instead noticed a group of teachers walking toward them. 

“Everyone, please quiet down and line up. We’re about to enter the exam hall!”