The First Round

The battle between Shanghai University Affiliated High School and Ning'an First High School ended swiftly.

Next, it was naturally Shanghai City No. 1 High School versus Ning'an Second High School.

"Let Lin Yue and me go first. If you go on, we probably won't get any chance to compete," Jiang Nanxi whispered to Lu Su.

Lu Su had no objections and simply nodded.

In the stands, Principal Xie frowned when he saw Lin Yue take the field. "Why isn't Lu Su going up? Are they trying to conceal information?"

In his view, this should have been the three of them's strategy. If Lu Su could avoid revealing his strength, he would still have a chance to defeat Lin Jiānián tomorrow.

As Lin Yue's Minotaur appeared, his opponent summoned a tiger as well.

Tigers were not to be underestimated. Low-level cards could sometimes produce demon tigers accompanied by chàng ghosts, while high-level ones could even produce mountain lords akin to mountain gods.

But from Lu Su's observations below the arena, this was merely an ordinary Black Iron Grade Blue Card with nothing extraordinary about it. Presumably, like Lin Yue, its maker was laying the foundation for a future path.

The bull and tiger quickly became entangled in battle, but Lin Yue ultimately gained the upper hand thanks to the Item Card he had made.

However, Lin Yue's Minotaur was already covered in wounds by then.

Sure enough, in the next match, his Minotaur held on for only a few moments before falling beneath his opponent's Hellhound.

Lin Yue walked up to Lu Su and Jiang Nanxi with a guilty expression. "Sorry, Brother Lu, Sister Jiang. I lost."

"Let Sister Jiang avenge you," Lu Su said, patting Lin Yue on the shoulder in consolation.

To him, Lin Yue and Du Heng were practically polar opposites.

Of course, that might also have been because the two had saved each other.

But no matter what, having someone like this as a teammate was far better than having a clown like Du Heng.

Jiang Nanxi slowly stepped onto the field. The Three-Tailed Fox gradually appeared at her side, and what caught Lu Su's attention was the small suit of armor on its body.

Looks like she's also trying to address the Three-Tailed Fox's weaknesses, Lu Su thought to himself.

The Three-Tailed Fox's low-level illusion abilities often failed against mindless monsters, while its own offensive power was not as formidable as that of other Purple Cards. Jiang Nanxi had clearly been working to compensate for that.

Still, the Three-Tailed Fox was actually very strong in open combat, since its illusions could directly attack the opposing Card Master. But Card Master duels certainly did not allow that.

The best choice would have been to create a creature card focused on offense. But apparently, she had not had enough time to make one, so she had settled for crafting an Item Card to enhance the Three-Tailed Fox's attack power.

Fortunately, the Hellhound was affected by the Three-Tailed Fox's illusions and was quickly dealt with by Jiang Nanxi.

Ning'an Second High School's final student quickly stepped onto the field and summoned his card.

A muscular man with a bare upper body appeared.

Jiang Nanxi frowned at her opponent's card. "This aura—it's a Purple Card too."

While Jiang Nanxi was still considering it, the Three-Tailed Fox launched its attack.

The muscular man on the other side instantly froze in place.

Seeing this, Jiang Nanxi was overjoyed. Finally, one that falls for the Three-Tailed Fox's illusions.

That was right. After being thwarted twice in a row, Jiang Nanxi had begun to doubt herself.

The Three-Tailed Fox did not let its guard down. It immediately dropped to all fours and sprinted toward the muscular man.

Slash!

Its claws, gleaming with a cold light, swept across the muscular man's throat.

Blood sprayed through the air and splattered onto the ground.

Just as Jiang Nanxi thought the battle was over, she saw the calm expression on the opposing Card Master's face. Her heart immediately sank. "Three-Tailed Fox, watch out!"

Unfortunately, the warning came a step too late.

Roar!

The muscular man roared, transforming into a Werewolf before Jiang Nanxi's shocked eyes.

Thud!

The Three-Tailed Fox was viciously smashed to the ground by a wolf claw while still in midair.

Thankfully, the armor on its body blocked the lethal strike for it.

But in exchange, fine cracks appeared across the armor. It was obvious that it could not withstand many more attacks.

Naturally, the Werewolf would not let such an opportunity slip away.

Its two wolf claws frantically raked toward the Three-Tailed Fox.

Screech!

Sharp claws scraped across the armor, throwing off dazzling sparks.

The armor could not endure such relentless attacks and gradually dissolved into light, scattering through the air. Yet before it vanished, it still bought the Three-Tailed Fox a brief opening, allowing it to leave several bone-deep wounds on the Werewolf.

Unfortunately, after that, the Three-Tailed Fox was unable to turn things around and was brutally torn apart by the Werewolf.

Jiang Nanxi silently sighed. In the end, she had failed to preserve Lu Su's trump card. She walked off the field with a dejected expression and came to his side. "Sorry, I—"

Before she could finish, Lu Su interrupted her. "It's fine. Leave it to me."

Jiang Nanxi had thought Tsugikuni Yoriichi was his trump card, but he hadn't expected Kaneki to be the true trump card.

At present, Jiang Wang was probably the only one who knew about Lu Su's hidden ace.

Clearly, Jiang Wang hadn't even told his own daughter about this.

When Lu Su arrived at the edge of the field, he summoned Tsugikuni Yoriichi and quietly told him, "Go all out from the start."

With the referee's whistle, Tsugikuni Yoriichi activated his Markings and charged out in an instant.

"So fast!" The Ning'an Second High School Card Master's pupils suddenly contracted.

In the instant that thought flashed through his mind, Tsugikuni Yoriichi had already arrived before the Werewolf.

The Werewolf was gasping heavily, blood continuously streaming from the wound inflicted by the Three-Tailed Fox.

A flame-wreathed blade came slashing straight at him.

The Werewolf forcibly drew a breath, twisted aside to evade Tsugikuni Yoriichi's strike, and viciously swiped at his head.

The Ning'an Second High School Card Master's face lit up with delight. At first, he had been frightened by the speed of his opponent's card, but now it seemed his Werewolf should be able to take it down.

The Werewolf's claws struck Tsugikuni Yoriichi in the face.

But nothing happened.

It was the Three Treasures Pearl. Before taking the field, Lu Su had already condensed the Three Treasures Pearl onto Tsugikuni Yoriichi.

As one of the Golden Beads around his neck slowly dimmed, Tsugikuni Yoriichi changed his downward slash into a horizontal cut and beheaded the Werewolf in a single stroke.

"What?!" The Ning'an Second High School Card Master stared at the scene in disbelief. He had never expected the originally favorable situation to turn so abruptly.

As the Werewolf card slowly dissipated, the referee waited three seconds. Seeing that the Ning'an Second High School student did not summon another card, he announced the result.

"Shanghai City No. 1 High School wins!"

In the stands, Principal Tang's eyes nearly popped out. He had originally thought his old friend was merely putting on a brave face when he said he had two promising talents, but there really were two of them. He immediately said sourly, "Old Xie, your luck has finally turned. You really picked up a treasure."

You weren't afraid of your brother living a hard life; you were afraid of your brother driving a Land Rover.

But when he turned and saw Principal Xie's worried expression, Principal Tang grinned again. "What a pity. In any previous year, you really could've shown off. But this year, you ran into Lin Jiānián from Shanghai University Affiliated High School. Guess you're just unlucky."

Seeing Principal Tang like this, how could Principal Xie not know what he was thinking? He couldn't help rolling his eyes, though inwardly, he sighed.

If we'd hidden Lu Su's card a little longer, we might've had a chance of beating Lin Jiānián.

But now... it'll be difficult.