As the turn marker flipped over, Xu Tianzhi's turn could begin.
Xu Tianzhi cast a somewhat wary glance at the two spells in Shen Sui's back row.
Though only one turn had passed, Xu Tianzhi already knew that the examinee across from him was no ordinary rookie.
If a spell could be activated during the opponent's turn, there would be a fleeting pause at the activation timing.
Xu Tianzhi thought to himself that he had to stay alert for those timing pauses this turn.
"My turn." Xu Tianzhi declared the start of his turn, then immediately noticed a pause in timing.
What?
He froze slightly, then heard Shen Sui's voice from across the field. "At this moment! Flip the set card and activate the Spell Card Feigned Weakness!"
Shen Sui flipped over the five-star set card. It was, indeed, the Spell Card Feigned Weakness.
"Pay Half of Life Points, then discard one card from my hand and target Alice's Little Mare on my field. Until the end of the duel, reduce its Spirit Value to 0. After that, until the end of this turn, you cannot activate card effects of the same type as the discarded card!" Shen Sui explained Feigned Weakness's effect.
As he spoke, Shen Sui's Life Points rapidly fell from 1000 to 500.
Then Shen Sui pulled a card from his hand.
The card flipped over, revealing the Follower Card Silver Moon Wolf King Harley.
"I discard Silver Moon Wolf King Harley. Until the end of the turn, you cannot use Follower Card effects!"
Shen Sui's words were like an icy hammer in the depths of winter, smashing down upon Xu Tianzhi's heart.
What?!!
His pupils contracted, and for a moment, he was stunned.
After all, much of his deck's setup relied on the effects of Follower Cards.
This was troublesome.
"Next, I activate the effect of the Permanent Spell Card Star Super Magic Array." The magic array beside Shen Sui lit up. "After one of my Spell Cards resolves and enters the graveyard outside my turn, I can return it to my deck."
The Feigned Weakness that had just entered the graveyard bounced back into the deck.
[Wow, he turned it around! This rookie looks really strong!]
[Could another Xin Yuan Ying Xue have appeared? Defeating a fifth-order opponent with no rank?]
[My Xiao Xue is still more awesome. She defeated a Fifth-Order Soul Card Master at full strength.]
[Damn it! Xiao Xue is obviously mine!]
The comments instantly erupted into chaos.
"My turn, draw." Xu Tianzhi drew a card from his deck.
Yet when he entered the main phase, that familiar pause in timing appeared again.
Hm?
Xu Tianzhi's heart skipped a beat, but Shen Sui showed no sign of acting.
There's a timing window. I need to be careful.
Xu Tianzhi silently reminded himself, but when he saw the card he had drawn, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. With this card, there was no way he could lose!
"Pay 12 Soul Points!" Xu Tianzhi activated the card almost without hesitation. "I activate from my hand! Permanent Spell Card Mecha Crisis!"
As the Spell Card shone, layer upon layer of metallic luster appeared on Xu Tianzhi's field. Surging metal components and flickering code filled the air. In that instant, it was as if he had entered a wondrous sci-fi age.
[It's here! It's here! Xu Tianzhi's trump card, the invincible Mecha Crisis, is here!]
[Come on! Let the rookie experience the terror of a fifth-order professional Soul Card Master!]
[Your field-clearing and lockdown abilities are indeed powerful, but what if, and I mean what if, I use Mecha Crisis, the core Spell Card of the Android Deck? How will you deal with that?]
Yet the next moment, before Xu Tianzhi could even explain Mecha Crisis's effect, Shen Sui slowly flipped open a spell in his back row. "At this moment! Flip the set card and activate the Spell Card Friendly Fire!"
"It can only be activated during either player's main phase. Destroy one Follower on my field, then activate one Spell Card from the graveyard or deck."
"I choose to destroy Novice Magician Alice on my field and activate the Spell Card Revival from the graveyard!"
"Target one Follower in my graveyard and Special Summon it to my field."
"I choose to Special Summon Silver Moon Wolf King Harley from my graveyard to the field!"
Silver Moon Wolf King Harley, Spirit Value 1600.
"Next!" Shen Sui raised his hand, and the Star Super Magic Array beside him lit up. "I activate Star Super Magic Array's effect and return Revival and Friendly Fire to the deck."
Xu Tianzhi's mouth twitched. Isn't this supposed to be my turn? Is it really appropriate for you to keep comboing like this?
What made him despair, however, was that Shen Sui's combo clearly was not over.
"At this moment, I activate the effect of Novice Magician Alice after she entered the graveyard! Once per turn, when she is destroyed by an effect and enters the graveyard, I can pay half my Life Points to Special Summon her to the field." Shen Sui paid half his Life Points, reducing them to 250. "Then, she changes form into Magic Apprentice Alice."
"At this moment! Novice Magician Alice's effect activates! When she leaves the field due to a form change, destroy one Life Card on the opponent's field! I choose to destroy Mecha Crisis on your field!"
With a crisp crack, the newly activated Mecha Crisis instantly shattered and entered the graveyard.
"..." Xu Tianzhi fell into a brief silence.
[???]
[666]
[Hahahaha, incredible!]
[Holy shit, this guy is good.]
[Is Mecha Crisis supposed to be strong? Why didn't I feel it?]
[Hold back your combo recital and let me take over!]
[Hahaha! Xu Tianzhi must be miserable right now.]
[New here, I don't understand. Whose turn is it now?]
The comments flooded the screen madly. Even the audience felt aggrieved on Xu Tianzhi's behalf.
Who was the professional Soul Card Master here? Why did it feel like Xu Tianzhi was the one getting crushed?
[Well, shit. I came to stomp low-ranked players and ran into a whale. What do I do? Waiting online, urgent!]
[Everyone, look at the dean's face! He looks constipated. I'm dying!]
Liang Hui's expression truly did not look good.
He was proud that the academy had recruited such a talented student.
But when he thought of how this student's Soul Card World was the Dawn Continent, and how Shen Sui might lose any chance of entering the Soul Card industry if his Soul Cards died, he felt deeply regretful.
At the same time, he regretted bringing Xu Tianzhi, the club's rising star, to give Tianyi Academy some prestige. Instead, Xu Tianzhi had humiliated himself in front of the entire internet.
If he had known, he would not have brought reporters and the livestream crew to the third examination arena.
Meanwhile, in the duel arena, Xu Tianzhi felt his blood surge. Fortunately, as someone seasoned by competition, he had the mental fortitude he needed. He took several deep breaths to suppress the churning in his chest, then pulled out another card from his hand. "Pay 2 Soul Points. I Normal Summon Mecha No. 3 Aken from my hand."
However, the moment his summon was complete, that heart-pounding timing window appeared again.
"At this moment, I activate the effect of Magic Apprentice Alice on my field. When you successfully summon a Follower, I can target one Follower on each side of the field and destroy the selected Followers."
"I choose to destroy the Follower on your field and Magic Apprentice Alice on my field."
Boom!
Aken had not even had time to unfold its form before it was destroyed alongside Alice and sent to the graveyard.
Yet it was not over. Shen Sui continued:
"According to Magic Apprentice Alice's effect, if the Follower destroyed this way is her, then after she enters the graveyard, I can choose and activate one Spell Card from my deck."
Shen Sui's deck slowly opened.
"I choose to activate the Spell Card Revival."
"I Special Summon Magic Apprentice Alice from my graveyard to the field."
Alice, who had just entered the graveyard, returned to the field amid the gleam of resurrection.
Her smile was still bright and adorable, but in Xu Tianzhi's eyes, it was filled with icy coldness.
"Next, I activate Star Super Magic Array's effect and return Revival, which resolved and entered the graveyard, to the deck."
It's useless! No one can stop the Android Deck's setup!
"Pay 1 Soul Point. I Normal Summon Conventional Power Machine No. 28011 from my hand!"
"At this moment!" Before Xu Tianzhi's Follower could even finish its setup, Shen Sui's voice rang out again. "I activate Magic Apprentice Alice's effect—"
"Doesn't that thing have a once-per-turn limit?!" Even someone as mild-tempered as Xu Tianzhi could not hold it together after seeing Shen Sui activate another effect.
Then he watched helplessly as Alice was destroyed, activated her effect, and returned to the field through Revival.
"I suppose not," Shen Sui replied.
An infinite chain! As long as he had no way to deal with that Follower or that Permanent Spell Card, he would never be able to summon even a single Follower.
This deck was way too damn Netherworld!
The blood Xu Tianzhi had finally suppressed surged up again. He had the urge to beat Shen Sui to death. If he had not been in such good health, he might have suffered a cerebral hemorrhage by now.
Fuck, I really want to beat that guy to death.
His gaze kept sweeping across the examination arena, searching for even the slightest weapon.
Unfortunately, considering the emotional fluctuations candidates might experience after failing, Duel Exam arenas contained nothing that could harm others or themselves.
Xu Tianzhi withdrew his gaze with slight regret and began considering what to do next.
Did his deck have any way to deal with those two cards?
Or any way to directly deal 250 damage and wipe out Shen Sui's remaining Life Points in one blow?
Xu Tianzhi knew the answer all too well: no!
He had never encountered an opponent like this before. There was no way he would have filled precious deck slots with cards that dealt direct damage.
And while the Followers on Shen Sui's field did not have particularly high Spirit Values, turn after turn, they would be enough to grind him to death.
There was no point in persisting. Dragging out a guaranteed loss would only make others look down on him as a professional Soul Card Master.
Xu Tianzhi calculated for a moment, took several deep breaths, and finally faced reality. Accepting the future where he would be mocked mercilessly, he gritted his teeth and said, "I surrender."
[Holy shit? He really won.]
[Who said failing students can't be strong? Didn't he just crush a fifth-order Soul Card Master?]
[Damn it! How did this guy win?! I still wanted to spank that catgirl!]
[Isn't that chain way too Netherworld? I feel like Xu Tianzhi's eyes are full of killing intent.]
[Of course. If it were me, I'd want to beat this guy up too. What kind of Netherworld deck is that?!]
Xu Tianzhi retrieved his Life Cards into his Duel Instrument, walked over to Shen Sui, and acknowledged his defeat. "You're very strong. Congratulations. I hope we meet on the competitive stage someday."
Shen Sui's eyes lit up. He had passed!
"Thank you." He stepped forward and shook Xu Tianzhi's hand. "I only won because I got lucky today. If your deck had been complete, I might not have won."
Xu Tianzhi restrained the urge to slap him to death and forced out a very strained smile. "No need to be modest. With your strength, you'll definitely shine brightly in the future."
Before you continue