Pie

In the pitch-black room, Brother Hu jolted awake from the floor.

"How did I fall asleep?" Brother Hu clutched his forehead in slight pain.

"Oh, right. After I killed Skinny, I got a little tired, so I lay down to rest." Staring blankly at Skinny's corpse on the floor, Brother Hu muttered to himself, completely overlooking the absurdity in his own words.

Then, he froze.

"Why is Vampire on cooldown?"

The moment that thought arose, a faint stab of pain shot through his head.

"Right, Skinny fought back and killed me."

Brother Hu failed to realize that Skinny, an ordinary person, had no ability to resist a vampire at all.

"It's time to go to the place provided by the Spirit Summoning Society."

Putting his thoughts aside, Brother Hu prepared to leave.

What he did not know was that, at that moment, a snow-white phantom of a Six-tailed Fox was silently watching everything through his eyes.

Sitting in Jiang Wang's car, Lu Su felt the night wind.

To his surprise, Jiang Wang's sports-car-like vehicle was actually extremely comfortable to sit in.

After all, the reviews he had seen in his previous life all said sports cars were uncomfortable.

Before long, the two arrived beneath the Shanghai City Card Master Association Headquarters.

Lu Su followed Jiang Wang to the top floor.

It was the same office, and the same people.

When Bai Yueming saw Lu Su, a warm smile appeared on his somewhat aged face. "Classmate Luo, we meet again."

"Hello, Master Bai." Lu Su politely returned the greeting.

But now was not the time for pleasantries.

Yan Wenlai got straight to the point. "Classmate Luo, Director Jiang has already told us about what happened."

"You handled those Spirit Summoning Society criminals very well."

Lu Su knew his own situation best. If he had not happened to create Luffy today, he would surely have been in grave danger. After all, his other cards had all entered cooldown.

Unaware of Lu Su's thoughts, Yan Wenlai continued, "For this incident, the Association has decided to reward you with two million Great Ming Treasure Notes."

Two million.

It was not a small sum. A gold-quality Bronze Grade material on the market cost around one and a half million.

Still, there was no need to call him all the way here just for that, was there?

Lu Su pondered silently, while saying aloud, "Thank you to the Association for the reward. I will definitely work even harder for the Association in the future."

Yan Wenlai and Bai Yueming exchanged glances and both laughed quietly.

This young student might not have been old, but he certainly had a way with official-sounding talk.

Still, that was fine. He was clearly a clever person, so they could safely entrust the task to him.

Just as Lu Su was filled with doubt, Yan Wenlai spoke with a serious expression. "It's like this, Classmate Luo. The Association has a task to assign you."

"The Association hopes that you can participate in the Talent Cup and take first place."

Lu Su could not help but pause. He said somewhat hesitantly, "If the Association needs me, I certainly won't refuse. But I'm only a student."

They're not really going to make a Third Year High School student do something this dangerous, are they? Lu Su grumbled inwardly.

The Association had so many Card Masters. There was no need to insist on sending him, unless...

Yan Wenlai seemed to see through Lu Su's thoughts and said with a smile, "Classmate Luo, you may not know this, but only Third Year High School students can participate in the Talent Cup."

"Rather than find someone unfamiliar with the situation, it would be better to send you directly."

What Yan Wenlai did not say was that, as far as he knew, Lu Su was the only Third Year High School student in all of Shanghai City to have reached Bronze Grade. Taking first place should be a certainty.

"Besides, the Association will not let you suffer a loss. As long as you take first place, even if you fail to achieve outstanding results in the Jiang Province Unified Examination two months from now, I can guarantee your admission into Shanghai University's Card Making Department." As though afraid Lu Su would refuse, Yan Wenlai immediately added.

Lu Su drew in a sharp breath. The reward was indeed extraordinarily generous.

The Card Making Departments of major institutions of higher learning were comparable to military academies in his previous life, established specifically to train the Association's middle and upper management.

It could be said that once he entered Shanghai University's Card Making Department, Lu Su was guaranteed to become a Director Luo in the future.

He immediately replied, "Chairman Yan, you flatter me. Shanghai University or not, I simply want to do my best for the Association."

Seeing Lu Su agree, Yan Wenlai revealed a satisfied smile. As for Lu Su's roundabout words, he simply pretended not to hear them.

"By the way, Classmate Luo, would it be convenient for you to show us your Bronze Grade card?" At that moment, Bai Yueming, who had remained silent beside them, asked curiously.

During the phone call earlier, Jiang Wang had only mentioned that Lu Su had created a Bronze Grade card. He had not said what quality it was.

Lu Su did not hesitate. He immediately summoned Luffy.

Seeing Luffy's goofy smile, Bai Yueming could not help but stare in a daze. "This is truly... incredible."

With Bai Yueming's skill as a Master Card Master, he could naturally tell that Luffy possessed exceptionally high red quality.

Yan Wenlai, standing to the side, was already too shocked to speak.

The two of them had reviewed Lu Su's record before he arrived and had long known that Lu Su had only gathered all his card-making materials today.

In their eyes, Lu Su could at most use the high quality of his materials to produce a Purple Card.

They had never expected it to be a Red Card.

That meant Lu Su had created a Red Quality card on the very first day he stepped into Bronze Grade.

After a moment of silence, Bai Yueming solemnly said, "Classmate Luo, I can make an agreement with you. If you take first place in this Talent Cup, then place in the top three of the Jiang Province Unified Examination and choose Nanda University afterward, I can take you as my disciple."

Bai Yueming was a university scholar at Nanda University, and he had not taken on any disciples for many years.

Hearing Bai Yueming's words, Yan Wenlai abruptly turned to look at him.

One had to know that Bai Yueming's previous disciples had all been at least Jade Grade. Given the talent Lu Su had displayed, along with Bai Yueming's favor, he was surely capable of reaching Diamond Grade in the future.

Perhaps even...

Master Card Master was not impossible.

Seeing that Bai Yueming did not seem to be joking, Yan Wenlai immediately began giving Lu Su frantic looks.

After all, Lu Su was from Shanghai City. Bai Yueming could not remain in Shanghai City forever, but even if Lu Su went elsewhere afterward to gain experience and polish his credentials, he would definitely return to Shanghai City in the end.

Jiang Wang, standing beside Lu Su, also secretly tugged at Lu Su's sleeve, signaling for him to agree.

At this moment, Lu Su was already somewhat dizzy from this pie falling from the sky.

The man before him was one of Great Ming's three Master Card Masters—the Duke of Hai, Yama Bai Yueming.

Ever since card masters had emerged, the title of Duke of Great Ming could only be granted to Master Card Masters.

It was also one of Great Ming's methods for winning over Human Heart. After all, every Master Card Master was capable of destroying a nation alone.

Of course, the nations in question certainly did not refer to countries with territories as vast as Great Ming's.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Lu Su said in a deep voice, "Thank you for your favor, Master Bai. I will definitely work hard."

Seeing Lu Su agree, both men could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

They had truly feared that Lu Su might have a lapse in judgment and refuse.

However, at that moment, Lu Su continued, "Chairman Yan, if I take first place, I hope the Association will let me enter the Black Flag Secret Realm once more."

"Even if there are no other rewards, that will be enough."