In her mind, Su Liqian kept building that magnificent world from the depths of her memories. She silently prayed: 

“Be it a deity or a monster, someone please come and save me!” 

Amidst a cloud of black mist, a transparent card began to emit a faint light. The familiar title Journey to the West was printed on it, and the back of the card featured a silhouette of the four main characters. 

With a flash of light, a red silk ribbon, seven feet long, appeared in Su Liqian’s hand. 

It was an A-level weapon card—Mixed Heaven Silk! 

Without thinking twice, Su Liqian gripped one end of the ribbon tightly and swung it to each side. 

Miraculously, the black wings, which had been densely packed, immediately scattered into black mist at the touch of the red silk and couldn’t gather again. 

The winged spirit, which had been so full of confidence just moments ago, was instantly restrained. The ribbon tightened, and it could only struggle, making faint, helpless sounds. 

The “Blood Prison” surrounding Su Liqian shattered in an instant. Su Liqian tightened the ribbon once more, and the spirit was reduced to a cloud of black mist. 

“!!!” 

Ke Xu stared in disbelief, his eyes wide, unable to accept that his carefully hidden “trump card” had been crushed by a mere high school freshman! 

“This can’t be!” 

Ke Xu unconsciously shouted, staring at the mist around him. His hand holding the card even began to tremble. 

Was he really going to lose here? 

To a freshman from Lanxi? How could he face the school after this? It was too embarrassing! 

No, he couldn’t afford to lose. He had already boasted about his victory, and admitting defeat now would be far too humiliating.

But the three A-level cards in his hand were already used up. How could he win? 

As Ke Xu anxiously observed Su Liqian’s every move, his heart raced, desperately trying to find any glimmer of hope. 

“Unlock.” 

Ke Xu drew a B-level weapon card, a regular laser gun. 

But Su Liqian wouldn’t give him a chance to counter. She immediately swung her Mixed Heaven Silk again. 

The red silk ribbon quickly extended like a serpent, targeting her prey. In just a few moments, it flew into the air and tightly wrapped around Ke Xu. 

“Ugh…” 

The Mixed Heaven Silk bound Ke Xu, making it hard for him to breathe. The more he struggled, the tighter the ribbon became. 

“Let… let me go…” 

Ke Xu’s voice was weak, no longer the arrogant tone it had been earlier. 

But Su Liqian wouldn’t let him off easily. 

That person had just tried to kill her. 

Although she wasn’t one to hold grudges, she wasn’t someone to be bullied either! 

Her grip on the silk tightened, and it almost seemed like Ke Xu would suffocate to death. 

“No…” 

Ke Xu’s eyes widened as he stared ahead. His vision was blurry, and only broken syllables escaped his mouth. 

Su Liqian could almost hear the jeers and insults around her, but she was lost in the near “revenge” feeling. 

Those who had tried to kill her would end up being defeated by her. 

But that thought only lingered for a moment before reason took over. 

Just as Ke Xu was about to lose consciousness, Su Liqian loosened her grip. 

The judge, who was about to intervene, stopped in his tracks. Looking at Ke Xu, who was still breathing but collapsed on the ground, he emotionlessly declared, “Su Liqian wins!” 

“Ohhh—” 

“We won!” 

“Su Liqian is awesome!” 

“Lanxi! Lanxi! Lanxi!” 

The audience erupted in deafening cheers. All the Lanxi students who had come to watch couldn’t help but get teary-eyed. 

It was so intense, so full of passion! 

Lanxi had finally won against Chenya, especially when their opponent was a senior “ace” player! 

This was such a victory for their pride! 

The Lanxi students were eager to share the news on social media and broadcast it across the galaxy. 

On the other side, Chenya students were the exact opposite. 

So humiliating! 

They had been sure of victory, yet they lost, and to a freshman who was participating in her first competition! Their previously arrogant demeanor was instantly extinguished, and they wished they could crawl into a hole. 

The harsh words they had spoken earlier now slapped them in the face. 

When had Chenya ever lost to Lanxi? 

The audience was split—cheering on one side, and stunned silence on the other. 

“Waaaahhh! We won! Qian Qian won! Qian Qian is amazing! Aaaaahhh!” 

Sen Ya jumped up excitedly, shaking Ye Zilan’s arm in excitement. 

But Ye Zilan wasn’t really paying attention to her. He was still immersed in the amazing match they had just witnessed. 

Su Liqian had grown so fast, so fast that she had already outpaced the rest of her peers by a large margin. 

She was like a rising star, and they would all witness her journey, whether it be difficult or brilliant. 

Ye Zilan felt a surge of excitement, as if he had just witnessed a high-level duel between top-tier Star Card Masters.

He had lost, but he needed to grow quickly too, at least not fall too far behind. 

“Mm, we won.” 

Ye Zilan looked at Su Liqian standing in the center of the arena, a faint smile curving on his lips. 

◇◆◇ 

Ke Xu was carried off the stage by his classmates who had come to watch the match. Su Liqian coldly watched him disappear from sight, and the battle-driven energy within her gradually dissipated. 

“Qian Qian!” 

Sen Ya’s voice brought her back to reality, and before she could react, she was engulfed in a hug. 

“Qian Qian, you were so cool just now! I declare, from today, I’m your number one fan!” 

“Congratulations.” 

As soon as the match ended, Sen Ya and Ye Zilan rushed over, offering energy drinks and checking on her. 

After a few days apart, Sen Ya seemed eager to spill all the gossip she hadn’t shared yet, including the recent friction between Chenya and Lanxi. 

Su Liqian finally understood the whole situation and figured out why her opponent had such inexplicable, intense hostility. 

“Good thing you won, Qian Qian! You have no idea how arrogant Chenya’s been these past few days! Now they’ve got what’s coming to them! If any of those clowns start jumping around on the Star Art again, I’ll just throw your match video at them!” 

“Exactly! The people from Chenya High School have been going way too far! They’ve been bullying our school for days, but now we finally won! I’m going to have so much fun trolling them online!” 

“Right?! Watching that match was so satisfying! Junior, you’re our school’s savior!” 

“I’ve been tired of the other side for a while now! You played great, junior!” 

One by one, students from the same school gathered around, congratulating Su Liqian and gossiping about Chenya. 

Su Liqian just smiled politely, and after some effort, managed to slip out of the crowd. 

The match had drained a lot of her energy, so once she got home, she collapsed on her bed. 

As soon as the match ended, someone uploaded the video to various social media platforms. 

It wasn’t just Chenya’s and Lanxi’s school forums that blew up; even in the entire Sixth Star District, the discussion was heating up— 

[Did anyone catch the livestream of the match between Chenya’s senior, Ke Xu, and Lanxi’s freshman, Su Liqian? Is Lanxi just that strong this year, or is Chenya really falling behind?] 

The thread had already reached over a hundred comments, with passionate discussions and a fair share of arguments. 

1L: What the heck? Just a passerby here—when did seniors start losing to freshmen? Especially from Chenya?! 

2L: Isn’t Ke Xu supposed to be Chenya’s top ace player this year? And he lost that easily? 

3L: Wow, is Chenya clashing with Lanxi again this year? Is Lanxi going for a comeback? 

4L: I’ve been following this new player called Su Liqian for a while. Knew she was strong, but I didn’t think she was this strong… 

5L: Ke Xu? I thought he was supposed to be pretty powerful? 

6L: Is no one going to talk about the match itself? Forget the grade or experience difference—it was really good. Especially Su Liqian: quick reflexes, super talented, total dark horse. Ke Xu losing to her was completely fair, honestly. 

7L: Holy Crap! Did that Lanxi girl cheat or something? All those A-level cards—must’ve just bought her way in. Shameless. 

8L: You okay up there? She only used one A-level card. The Frost Piercer Sword and the Mixed Heaven Silk were created during the match. Stop making stuff up and being bitter. 

9L: Lanxi’s momentum is pretty crazy this year. Chenya might not be able to hold onto their “#1 High School in the Sixth District” title. 

10L: That’s hilarious. One loss and suddenly they’re dethroned? Chenya could pull out a random student and still crush Lanxi. Ke Xu was just off his game today, clearly. 

11L: Chenya folks sure love excuses. Then go ahead and pull out someone who can fight, will you? Your so-called ace couldn’t even beat a freshman. You still have the nerve to show up here? I’d be too embarrassed to even log in. 

12L: Lanxi got lucky and won one match, and now they’re full of themselves. That’s about the extent of their skills. If Su Liqian really makes it to the finals, I’ll do a livestream streak. 

13L: Not gonna say anything. Just waiting for that livestream. 

14L: Why is everyone arguing again? Can we talk about Su Liqian herself? Isn’t she the youngest Dream Caster who was officially announced a few days ago? 

15L: Whoa, that’s her? Lanxi really hit the jackpot this year. 

16L: Every card Su Liqian plays looks kind of ordinary at first, but they’re all low-key amazing! 

17L: Smart people are already following her Star Art account. 

18L: It’s not just a win for Lanxi. We might be seeing the rise of a real “genius” in the Sixth Star District this year. Maybe someone from our district will actually make it to the Interstellar Tournament. 

19L: What’s the person above thinking? Wanting to make it to the interstellar competition on their first try—do they think everyone’s like Zi Lian? 

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