Su Liqian placed the simulation sphere at the center of her desk and slowly placed one hand over it. 

The story of this Illusion World wasn’t all that complicated. It was set in a world powered primarily by music. The people here loved and revered music. A few years ago, however, a group known as the “Devil’s Melody” suddenly emerged, disrupting the world’s balance and trying to steal its energy. Under their destruction, the residents of this world suffered greatly. Beautiful music was shrouded in sorrow and darkness, and areas invaded by the Devil’s Melody became filled with pain and despair. 

The protagonist of the story was a girl born with perfect pitch. Deep in her heart, she had always carried a seed of music, but in this city where harmony had been shattered, music was strictly forbidden. 

In most stories, evil never triumphs over justice, and this one is no exception. The protagonist decides to leave her hometown and embark on a journey to find “true music.” Along the way, she meets like-minded companions and arrives at the Music Capital—the only unpolluted sanctuary. 

To resist the invasion of the Devil’s Melody, the protagonist and her companions waged a life-and-death battle against the villains in the Music Capital. In the end, their final song, played with their very lives, finally brought a ray of hope to this darkened world. 

The story has an open ending, but overall, it followed the typical structure of most Illusion Worlds. 

Due to the limitations of its setting, most of the cards crafted within this Illusion World were music-related—such as weapon cards shaped like instruments or songs with specific abilities. 

Perhaps because of this limitation, the Illusion World didn’t achieve the ideal level of popularity. 

After all, without special equipment or cards with specific functions, most people without a basic understanding of music would likely be at a disadvantage when using instrument-type weapon cards. 

Su Liqian wasn’t completely tone-deaf, but her knowledge was limited to a brief period of learning the guitar, so she didn’t have much of an advantage. 

“Well, I can always learn,” she thought. 

Many of the cards from Echo of Hope had mental attack capabilities, which was exactly what she needed—so she wasn’t willing to give up on it just yet. 

After familiarizing herself with the two simulation spheres, Su Liqian packed up her things and obediently lay down to rest. 

The next morning, she arrived at the designated training room provided by the school. 

As soon as she opened the door, she saw a familiar figure. 

Ye Zilan? 

Su Liqian wasn’t surprised to see him, but she was surprised that he was there so early. 

She usually arrived early due to her morning running routine, but Ye Zilan, who was always punctual, had arrived earlier than her. 

“Good morning.” 

Su Liqian walked over to greet him. 

“Morning.” 

Ye Zilan glanced at her, seemingly surprised that she was so early as well. 

“Do you usually come at this time?” 

“Yeah.” 

Su Liqian nodded, but Ye Zilan remained silent, looking thoughtful. 

After a long pause, Su Liqian seemed to hear him let out a quiet sigh. Combining that with his odd behavior that day, she couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong? Is the competition preparation not going well?” 

“…No.” 

Ye Zilan looked at her and then suggested, “How about we have a match first?” 

It was still early, and it would likely be some time before Sen Ya arrived, so they had enough time for a practice match. Su Liqian didn’t refuse. 

“Alright, combat simulation?” 

“Mm.” 

Ye Zilan walked over to activate the training room’s equipment. A massive rectangular battle platform slowly rose into place. 

Su Liqian nimbly jumped onto the platform, ready to begin. 

Since the Star District Finals had been so busy lately, and their schedules never lined up, they hadn’t had a real match like this in a long time.

Although Su Liqian occasionally asked about their recent competition situations, she rarely watched their match videos. Therefore, she wasn’t sure about Ye Zilan’s current strength. 

“Let the match begin!” 

The electronic sound rang out, and Su Liqian moved first. 

Even though it was just a practice match, Su Liqian didn’t hold back. She came out strong, just like in a real competition. 

Ye Zilan quickly reacted, using two A-level cards to counterattack. 

After a few rounds of clashes, Su Liqian started to feel puzzled. 

This didn’t seem like Ye Zilan’s usual strength. 

After all, in previous matches, Ye Zilan had been her equal opponent. In their last match, she had almost lost. 

But now, Su Liqian actually felt… relaxed? 

She had to admit that after some time of experience, Ye Zilan had improved a lot, but she still felt like she had the upper hand, completely different from last time. 

What’s going on? Was he holding back? 

Su Liqian shook her head, dismissing that thought. 

Ye Zilan kept playing cards, putting all his strength into every attack. She didn’t want to disrespect him by thinking he was holding back. 

Ye Zilan slowly stopped, looking at her deeply. 

“Let’s stop here. I can’t beat you.” 

It wasn’t just Su Liqian—Ye Zilan could clearly feel the gap between them. 

Not long ago, they had been equally matched opponents, but in such a short time, after losing to Su Liqian, everything seemed different. 

Perhaps even earlier, since their first year, Su Liqian had never stopped showing her brilliance. 

That was the first time Ye Zilan had fallen from the top spot. 

What exactly happened? 

Ye Zilan had once refused to accept it, so he kept replaying her competition videos over and over.

From the first match until now, Ye Zilan had to admit that maybe it wasn’t that he had regressed, but that Su Liqian had grown too quickly. 

From childhood, Ye Zilan had always grown up surrounded by envious praise. He was the “golden child,” the “genius.” 

But he himself never really cared for that title—in fact, he scoffed at it. 

Could someone who could do simple things be called a genius? 

If so, then being a genius felt awfully cheap. 

Ye Zilan didn’t care and never liked to call himself a genius. 

But when he truly tasted defeat, he genuinely felt his unwillingness. 

He didn’t want to lose. He was still a driven young man. 

But after spending these days in the world of card masters, he realized that there truly are “geniuses” in this world. 

In this era flooded with talent, there are always people who rise above the rest with ease, who defeat another so-called “genius” without breaking a sweat. And maybe, that person was standing right in front of him. 

After thinking this through, Ye Zilan felt a bit more at ease. 

Everyone had always pinned high hopes on him, and he had always tried to act like it was no big deal. 

But now he understood, everyone has to lose at some point. 

Ye Zilan recalled what his father had said to him last time, “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. I’m already very proud of how far you’ve come.” 

He used to think his father didn’t understand him, but now he realized that maybe his father wasn’t so hard to deal with after all. 

After making it to the Star District Finals, Ye Zilan had already lost a match, but the feeling of defeat had gradually become much less intense. 

His father had asked him, “Why do you want to be a card master?” 

“Because I like it.” 

“Why do you want to compete in the Interstellar Tournament?” 

“Because I want to prove myself.” 

Actually, now that he had come this far, Ye Zilan was slowly stepping into the world he had longed for. Maybe he’d lose now, maybe he’d feel reluctant, but isn’t this something every great card master has to go through? 

And along the way, what he gained wasn’t just his card-playing skills, but also friendships, right? 

Ye Zilan looked directly into Su Liqian’s eyes, and out of the corner of his vision, he saw Sen Ya had arrived at some point. 

There was still a long road ahead… 

Su Liqian watched Ye Zilan’s expression shift from disappointment to acceptance. Though she didn’t fully understand what had happened, she was relieved for him. 

“Hey, why did you guys start without me? Training behind my back, huh! No way, I’m joining too!” 

Sen Ya’s voice broke the delicate atmosphere, and Su Liqian and Ye Zilan exchanged a knowing smile before beginning their training for the day. 

They thought the day would pass uneventfully—but unexpectedly, a small incident still occurred. 

Beep beep beep… Beep beep beep… 

Su Liqian’s communicator had been buzzing nonstop, the annoying sound making her feel frustrated. 

Before she could even check the messages, her mother, Bai Yao, began knocking urgently on the door. 

Knock knock knock. 

“Xiao Qian, are you busy? Can I come in for a moment?” 

“Come in.” 

Bai Yao looked worried, her eyes serious as she stared at Su Liqian. 

“Your cousin is in trouble.” 

Su Liqian’s heart skipped a beat. 

Although she had somewhat anticipated this, it still happened… 

She sighed helplessly, checked her communicator, and sure enough, it was a message from Hao Lin. 

Hao Lin: Xiao Qian, it’s your aunt. During today’s match, Hao Lin suddenly fainted after using your card. Do you know what happened? 

Hao Lin: Is there something wrong with your card? 

Hao Lin: Hao Lin’s still in the hospital in Fifth Star District, come over when you can. 

After a while, seeing that Su Liqian hadn’t replied, the sender became even more anxious. 

Hao Lin: You’re not planning to avoid responsibility, are you? He’s your cousin! It’s just a borrowed card, what exactly are you trying to do? 

Hao Lin: I’ve already notified your mom. If anything happens to Hao Lin… 

Seeing Bai Yao turn this into a big drama in just a few minutes, Su Liqian couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She sent the signed contract she had earlier and then turned on “Do Not Disturb” mode on her messages. 

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