Danger lurked in the unknown darkness, and Su Liqian had rarely felt this helpless. 

She couldn’t even manage to pull a card from her belt. 

What now? What could she do?

Countless escape plans flashed through her mind, only to be dismissed one after another.

She was still too weak. If that person wanted to kill her, Su Liqian had almost no chance of surviving.

Bang! 

Su Liqian sensed something slicing through the air—coming straight for her forehead.

She could almost see her death in the next second. 

But just as the laser shot was about to touch her, it suddenly stopped—just a centimeter from her forehead—as if time itself had frozen. It didn’t move forward at all. 

In that moment, it felt like even the air around her had frozen. 

Bang, bang, bang.

Several more laser shots rang out in quick succession, but every single one of them halted around her, then dropped to the ground with a soft clatter. 

Su Liqian couldn’t focus on what had just happened. Panting heavily in fear, her gaze landed on a dark figure in front of her. 

The person was cloaked in black from head to toe, wearing a mask adorned with mysterious patterns. Su Liqian couldn’t even tell their gender. 

It was him! 

Without thinking, Su Liqian took a half-step back. 

This person’s power was beyond measure; she was no match for him. 

Now that the enemy had stepped out of the shadows and was right in front of her, Su Liqian felt no relief. 

Because it meant he had come with the intent to kill her. 

His strength far surpassed hers. Even if they fought face-to-face, there would be little chance of winning. 

Su Liqian’s hand moved slowly, trying to pull a card from her belt. 

But just as she was about to act, the figure in black rushed at her with an almost invisible speed. 

A flash of silver gleamed in his hand. Su Liqian hurriedly tried to pull out a card to defend herself, but before she could unlock it, the blade was already closing in. 

Bang!

The expected pain never came. When Su Liqian opened her eyes, she saw a tall woman in a flowing white robe standing before her. 

The man in black was sent flying by a powerful force and crashed to the ground a short distance away. 

But he wasn’t dead. He quickly got back up. 

The man in black swept his gaze over them, eyes quickly locking onto the woman who had appeared out of nowhere. His grip on the weapon tightened as he braced for another strike.

But the woman merely stood calmly in front of Su Liqian, as if she had no intention of moving. 

Just as the man in black attacked again, the woman casually waved her right hand. The sharp blade in the man’s hand shattered the moment it touched her. 

“!” 

“!” 

Not only Su Liqian, but even the man in black didn’t expect the woman’s power to be this strong. 

He was stuck—charging forward would be reckless, retreating would mean failure. 

A direct fight clearly wasn’t wise, but if he couldn’t finish this mission… 

The man in black gritted his teeth, his body tense as he stared at the woman, afraid that one wrong move would lead to his death. 

Wait… 

Why did this woman look so familiar? 

As he hesitated, a familiar name suddenly flashed in his mind… 

Could it be…? 

Just as he was about to speak, the woman acted first, swiftly severing his throat with a single strike. 

The woman shifted slightly, just enough for Su Liqian to get a faint glimpse of her face. 

And once she did, Su Liqian’s jaw nearly dropped in shock. 

She looked so familiar! Like someone she had seen before! 

Suddenly, it hit her—the name that had once been famous in the Interstellar arena and then faded away for a long time: Yan Shuiyue. 

Su Liqian had watched many of her match videos and was familiar with her fighting style. Now, recalling the precise and ruthless way the woman had fought, it definitely resembled Yan Shuiyue’s signature moves. 

The familiar simple, form-fitting long robe, the deep blue patterned mask, and that familiar combat style… 

Could this really be Yan Shuiyue? 

But Yan Shuiyue had disappeared long ago. Why would she suddenly appear here and save her? 

All these coincidences made Su Liqian start to doubt the authenticity of this “Yan Shuiyue,” but no matter what, it was thanks to her that Su Liqian was now standing here safe and sound. 

“Thank you.” 

Su Liqian was about to step forward to thank her, but after she sheathed her sword, the woman only glanced at her briefly before vanishing in a flash of light. 

“???” 

What just happened? 

Su Liqian watched as the light flew toward her from where Yan Shuiyue had stood, then disappeared into her pocket. 

Su Liqian felt something in her pocket and pulled out a card. 

It was the same card she had received from Chi Yan when she went to the First Star District for a study trip. The once dull surface had somehow regained its luster, allowing Su Liqian to finally read the information on the card. 

At first glance, this card looked no different from a regular one. It depicted a woman in a white robe, wearing a mask, with her head slightly bowed and her hands clasped in front of her as if in prayer. 

But this card had no level markers, and there was no color around the edges, making it seem more like an ordinary decorative card that couldn’t be used. 

Su Liqian furrowed her brows. 

She had just seen “Yan Shuiyue” transform into light and slip into her pocket. It seemed very likely that Yan Shuiyue had returned to the card. 

What was going on? 

Could this be a summoning card that summoned Yan Shuiyue? 

Impossible. Real people couldn’t be summoned by a card. 

Could it be some Illusion World character that resembled Yan Shuiyue? 

Su Liqian hadn’t heard of such characters in the Illusion World. 

Besides, this card looked nothing like the usual summoning cards. 

What kind of card could be unlocked without spiritual strength? And this Yan Shuiyue seemed to have her own consciousness, able to fight on her own and leave whenever she wished. 

This was strange. 

What did all of this have to do with Yan Shuiyue? Could it be related to Yan Shuiyue’s disappearance years ago? Was she “sealed” inside the card? 

Su Liqian’s mind started to race, but she quickly realized that her current situation wasn’t safe. 

The person who had tried to kill her was lying not far away. She had just wanted to go check the body of the man in black who had been killed by Yan Shuiyue, but when she looked, black smoke was rising from his body. Before long, he vanished completely. 

This was so eerie. 

Su Liqian broke out in a cold sweat. 

After confirming there were no traces left, she cautiously looked around and hurried out of the area. 

It wasn’t until she saw the crowd gathering near the competition venue that she finally breathed a little easier. 

Her heart was still racing, but she found a spot to sit and tried to calm herself down. 

She couldn’t let this incident disrupt her focus. Every match in the finals mattered now—if she wanted to advance, she had to win them all. 

Still, what happened today served as a wake-up call. 

Someone might already be targeting her. 

With a somewhat heavy heart, Su Liqian turned her attention back to the competition. 

Despite the major incident that had happened yesterday, it didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the audience. The stands were still packed. 

The competition quickly resumed, and everything seemed as usual, with no sign of anyone being affected. 

Su Liqian’s match was the last one in the morning, so she still had several matches ahead of her. 

She had planned to watch a few more matches, but the events from the morning still weighed on her mind. After watching one match, she closed her eyes to clear her thoughts and recharge for the upcoming fight. 

Her opponent was a skilled card master. She had already studied this opponent’s previous matches and battle videos. 

With only one loss so far, she might even stand a chance against Ji Yanxi. 

Her fighting style was fierce, and she liked to attack unexpectedly. Also, she used rare cards that were hard to predict on the battlefield. 

Su Liqian had already mentally rehearsed her battle with this card master—Shao Mi—many times. Overall, her chances of winning weren’t high, but she still had a chance. 

Both of them preferred unexpected tactics. Just as Su Liqian didn’t know much about Shao Mi’s cards, Shao Mi was equally unfamiliar with hers. 

It was a game where neither could predict the next move, and just as Su Liqian was thinking this, she suddenly sensed movement beside her. She slowly opened her eyes. 

The girl who had been sitting next to her was gone, and a man had taken her place. 

When Su Liqian saw the man’s profile, she froze. 

It was him! That Captain Gu! 

Su Liqian didn’t want to believe in coincidences, but the fact that this “big shot” had just “happened” to sit next to her was too strange. She didn’t want to ask him anything rashly, so she turned her gaze away and waited to see what he would do. 

Sure enough, after a while, the man spoke first. “Hello, I’m Gu Nianye, the captain of the Alliance’s Special Investigation Unit.” 

Su Liqian turned to face him, meeting his sharp gaze. 

“Hello. What can I do for you?” 

“You’re being targeted.” 

Gu Nianye’s tone was flat, as if he were talking about something trivial. 

“You must know that, right?” 

Although Su Liqian had prepared herself mentally, hearing his words still made her heart skip a beat. 

“…Yes.” 

Su Liqian nodded but didn’t say anything else. 

She was waiting for Gu Nianye to continue. 

“Have you ever come into contact with a spiritual strength drug?” 

So it was related to that thing. 

Su Liqian instantly thought of a thousand possible answers, but in the end, she just nodded. 

“Yes.” 

That “organization” was probably already keeping an eye on her. With her strength alone, she couldn’t possibly fight them. Besides, there was no way to hide it anymore, so she might as well be honest. Maybe she could get some information or even temporary protection from the authorities. 

“Did you ever take them?” 

Gu Nianye turned his gaze back to Su Liqian. 

“Yes.” 

Gu Nianye seemed to pause for a moment, and after a long while, his cold voice rang out again. 

“After the match, come with me.”

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