That night, moonlight streamed through the windows of the luxury hotel, softly illuminating the transparent card floating in midair. 

Su Liqian focused all her spiritual strength on one point, channeling it steadily into the card. 

As the card spun, it began to take on color, slowly revealing its true form. 

The elegant, flowing words Illustrated World Notes appeared across the front. On the back, faint images of majestic mountains and rivers could be seen, with a paintbrush hovering clearly above them. 

A picture began to emerge on the card’s surface—a glowing spirit deer bathed in soft blue light, long antlers adorned with translucent streamers and pale yellow bells. 

Su Liqian remembered this creature. It was the first animal the little boy had drawn, and the companion that had journeyed with him across endless lands. 

It was a B-level summoning card. 

She felt pretty satisfied with her progress—being able to craft a B-level card now meant all that hard work was finally paying off. 

She’d also noticed that her card-crafting time had shortened, and her control over her spiritual strength had become much more precise—probably because she practiced so often. 

In the Interstellar, people had different ranks of spiritual strength. Most were born with fixed ranks, but that didn’t mean a B-level card would always lose to someone with A-rank spiritual strength. 

To some extent, spiritual strength determined a card master’s upper limit, but not their actual power. 

If an inexperienced rookie had A- rank spiritual strength, but went up against a battle-hardened B-rank veteran, chances are the veteran would win easily. 

After all, card battles weren’t just about spiritual strength. They were also a test of how well someone understood the Illusion World, and how smartly they played their strategies. That came from practice, insight, and lots of trial and error. 

Just like Ye Zilan before. 

He had A-rank spiritual strength, but struggled badly when using the powerful Sword of Judgment.  

That was due to his lack of battle experience. Besides proficiency, he lacked control over his spiritual strength. 

It’s like giving a car to a kid who just learned to walk—without enough training and real-world practice, potential doesn’t mean much. 

Nothing happens overnight. Growth takes time. 

And for Su Liqian, repeatedly crafting cards was one way of training her spiritual strength. 

Ever since she got into card crafting, this “training” had almost never stopped. Over time, her control had quietly surpassed that of others her age. That might be one of the reasons she had more wins than losses. 

But those thoughts weren’t what occupied her mind at the moment. 

After expending so much energy, a wave of drowsiness hit her. 

Su Liqian rarely stayed up late, and with something important happening the next day, she quickly cleaned up and drifted off to sleep. 

… 

The next morning, Shi Yue messaged right on time to pick her up. 

Xingqi University wasn’t far from the hotel, and with someone guiding her, they quickly arrived at the school gate. 

No wonder it was ranked as one of the top universities on the Katya Star. Even the gate stood out. 

Surrounded by towering, high-tech buildings, the entrance with the words Xingqi University hanging above it looked unusually modest. 

The golden characters hung overhead like stars suspended in a mysterious galaxy—solitary and brilliant, embodying the unique heritage of this school. 

Simple, yet grand. 

In this world, crystal-based materials had replaced traditional construction, creating entire cities made of shining glass and stone across the stars. 

But as soon as they stepped through the gates of Xingqi University, the buildings inside gave off a solid, familiar vibe, almost like stepping back into a memory from another era. 

Walking along the quiet pathways, Su Liqian was momentarily lost in thought. 

“You know, Xingqi was voted one of the top ten most beautiful campuses in the interstellar,” Shi Yue said with pride. “So, what do you think, little sister? Want to consider applying?” 

Su Liqian smiled. “I’ll try my best.” 

Taking in her surroundings, she felt a growing fondness for the university. 

As the two of them walked, most of the people passing by were Xingqi students—the future stars of upcoming card tournaments. 

Maybe it was the elite atmosphere, but Su Liqian noticed that everyone seemed to walk with a sense of urgency. 

“Is it always this crowded here?” 

“Not usually. Everyone’s here for the lecture today!” 

“A lecture? Sounds like it’s a big deal?” 

“Oh, definitely! The guest speaker is none other than Master Zi Lian! They’ve made plenty of spots available for online viewers, but everyone’s dying to see the legend in person!” 

Su Liqian caught the name immediately. 

“Zi Lian?” 

He was one of the most famous figures in the interstellar card battle scene—an alumnus of Xingqi University and a former champion. 

No wonder this lecture was so popular. 

Su Liqian felt a spark of excitement too. She had never met a Card Champion in the card tournament world before. 

Shi Yue led her to the lecture hall, and it was even more crowded than she expected. 

In the crowd, a tall, thin figure stood out prominently. 

Ji Yanxi was surrounded by a group of girls, clearly overwhelmed by all the attention—totally different from the calm, collected way he acted during battles. 

Su Liqian noticed him lift his hand and put it down again, clearly unsure of what to say in the face of the group’s enthusiastic “attacks.” 

Ji Yanxi had always struggled with situations like this and was thinking of finding an excuse to escape when, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar figure nearby. He immediately waved his hand in their direction, successfully drawing attention away from himself. 

At that moment, Shi Yue and Su Liqian were like his lifesavers! 

“Old Shi, what took you so long to get here? If you’d come any later, I wouldn’t have been able to leave!” 

As soon as Ji Yanxi found an excuse, he broke free from the situation. While the others were still processing, he quickly grabbed the two of them and led them into the lecture hall through a side passage. 

“Little junior, you finally made it! So, what do you think? Shi Yue did okay as your guide, right?” 

Ever since their last encounter, Ji Yanxi had been calling her “Junior.” Even though Su Liqian had questioned it, Ji Yanxi had brushed it off with the excuse, “My intuition tells me you’ll eventually come to Xingqi.” 

“Mm, Brother Shi Yue’s very responsible. He arranged everything really well.” 

Ji Yanxi nodded and punched Shi Yue on the shoulder. 

“I knew you were reliable. Let’s go, the lecture hall is just ahead, and I fought for these seats! They’re right up front!” 

Shi Yue, seemingly used to Ji Yanxi’s occasional loud and dramatic personality, just smiled at Su Liqian with a helpless grin. 

The three of them found their seats and sat down. Just as Ji Yanxi had said, they had prime spots — probably the best in the whole hall. 

From here, they had a full view of the stage without being so close that it felt overwhelming. 

Not long after Su Liqian sat down, more people started to fill the seats around her, and the noise gradually increased. 

“Beep—” 

Su Liqian seemed to hear a faint mechanical sound, and then the whole room fell silent in an instant. 

A tall figure appeared at the center of the stage. 

The man had an elegant and approachable appearance, and when he smiled, his eyes became even gentler. 

“Hello everyone, I’m Zi Lian.” 

That one short sentence seemed to send the crowd of nearly ten thousand into a frenzy. Everyone collectively held their breath, eyes locked on the man on stage. 

That was Zi Lian! 

The idol of countless people across the interstellar world! 

How could they not be excited to see such a legendary figure appear before them? 

Compared to the others, Su Liqian remained much calmer. After all, she wasn’t a native and wasn’t as overwhelmed by the star power of these card players. 

But that didn’t stop her from respecting Zi Lian. 

Becoming the champion of the Interstellar Card Tournament—a title that may sound light, but one that carried immense challenges—had involved nearly a hundred rounds of competition! 

To stand out in this era of “card master’s everywhere,” and climb to the top of the pyramid — how much effort must that take? 

Su Liqian had never really thought about all this before. But seeing Zi Lian brought those thoughts to the surface without her even realizing it. 

“Card crafting is an essential skill for every card player. To craft a card, one must first understand the Illusion World to which it belongs… Since the interstellar world entered the card era, generations of Card Masters and Dream Casters have created countless stunning and fantastical worlds. As the new generation, our first task is to show respect for the valuable legacy left by our predecessors…” 

Zi Lian’s voice was soft and gentle, his eyes sweeping lightly over the crowd before he raised a floating simulation ball in his hand. 

“Does anyone recognize which Illusion World this is from?” 

The light inside the simulation ball shifted unpredictably, but even from a distance, everyone immediately recognized it— 

“Mecha Storm!” 

The voices from the audience rose in unison, answering without hesitation. 

“That’s right. This is the Illusion World that nearly every card user studies from the very beginning — Mecha Storm.” 

“Speaking of which, there’s probably no one here who hasn’t heard of it. The story of Mecha Storm isn’t just a popular Illusion World — it’s also a core memory for many interstellar children. You could say it’s the most familiar Illusion World in our collective memory.” 

“But… do you really understand it?” 

Zi Lian paused slightly and threw out the question. 

“Of course! I know Mecha Storm inside and out!” 

“I grew up watching the Mecha Storm animation!” 

“It was the first Illusion World card I ever crafted successfully!” 

“…” 

The audience responded enthusiastically, claiming they knew Mecha Storm like the back of their hand. 

But Zi Lian only smiled and remained silent. 

“Then who can tell me — how many cards does Mecha Storm have in total?” 

“One hundred?” 

“Eighty-six?” 

“No way there’s that many — probably just fifty or sixty…” 

Zi Lian shook his head. “Seventy-six cards.” 

“Then, who knows how many of those are undeveloped cards?” 

For the first time, the audience fell silent. 

Zi Lian smiled and scanned the students below, then held up a hand showing a number. 

“Six.”