Black Mist

Su Li naturally had no reason to refuse this duel—he needed more cards.

Zhou Qing was feeling extremely pleased with himself. He'd successfully condensed his Spirit Jade yesterday, become a certified Card Master today, and even drawn a Bronze Tier Two card. His path as a Card Master was going incredibly smoothly.

The moment he spotted Su Li entering the Card Master's Tower from afar, he immediately went to stake out the entrance. The two had clashed before, fighting until both were bruised and battered.

When he saw Su Li leave the Card Master's Tower with a White Card in hand, he immediately intercepted him and challenged him to a card wager duel.

If Su Li had been rational enough, he shouldn't have accepted a duel while holding a White Card. Yet to Zhou Qing's surprise, Su Li actually nodded in agreement.

The two headed to the combat grounds.

Quite a few Card Masters had now emerged, and Third High School provided combat grounds for them to spar.

At the moment, many Card Masters were dueling, though they were merely practicing rather than engaging in a card wager duel like Su Li and Zhou Qing.

"Awooo!"

A Bronze card in a young Card Master's hand lit up, transforming into a massive azure wolf that rode the gale forward. At the same time, his opponent summoned a huge bear, and the two beasts clashed fiercely.

Elsewhere, the card in a beautiful blonde woman's hand shimmered. It was a magic card that could continuously consume mental energy to launch repeated concentrated attacks.

Several scorching Fireballs shot out at once. The female Card Master opposite her rode a dog summoned by her card, dodging in a panic as she shrieked, "No! No!"

Naturally, Card Master duels weren't a matter of one person drawing a card while the other played one. In most cases, the Card Masters themselves had to join the fight as well. Otherwise, the physical strength that matched their mental energy would go to waste.

Of course, the best way to catch bandits was to capture their leader. If a Card Master lost consciousness or was killed outright, the cards they used would lose their power. Directly targeting the opposing Card Master was also a common combat method.

Su Li and Zhou Qing arrived at an empty field.

The battle was about to begin. Zhou Qing sneered, a bronze-colored card pinched between two fingers.

Bang!

A cloud of Black Mist instantly exploded from the center of the field. Within a few breaths, it had spread across the entire area.

Zhou Qing moved through the Black Mist, and the card in his hand flew into the air, hovering there like a black doorway as it continuously spewed out Black Mist.

[Black Mist]

Rank: Bronze Tier Two

Type: Domain

Effect:

The card continuously releases Black Mist, forming a Black Mist field. Within the Black Mist, all non-dark units suffer reduced five senses, while allied units gain "Night Vision."

Skills:

① Night Devour: The Black Mist slowly absorbs the strength of living beings within it.

② Bat Party: The Black Mist surges, summoning bats.

Overview: The Black Mist surges—this is a party for bats!

A Domain Card!

When Zhou Qing had drawn this card, he'd been ecstatic. Domain Cards were among the most valuable types of cards! They could even be called the core of an entire deck.

With this [Black Mist] card as the center, Zhou Qing could build an entire dark-element deck around it. Once Black Mist filled the battlefield during combat, he'd immediately gain the most advantageous terrain while weakening his opponent.

The young Card Master had once said, "Your luck isn't bad. Out of over a thousand cards, there are only ten rare Domain Cards."

After leaving the Card Master's Tower, Zhou Qing immediately found a Card Master to test it on.

Once a newly certified Card Master was swallowed by the Black Mist, even if they extended their mental energy, they could barely make out a blurry scene within three meters of themselves. At the same time, the mist continually drained their strength, placing them in a difficult situation.

Su Li was merely a Card Master who had just passed certification. He didn't even have a card capable of fighting. This battle was destined to end in Zhou Qing's complete victory.

Zhou Qing had only one card. His financial situation was far better than Su Li's, but he hadn't bought cards beforehand. He had deliberately waited until becoming a certified Card Master and receiving a free card before purchasing cards that could work together.

That meant Zhou Qing now had two ways to defeat Su Li.

The first was to summon Bat Party. The bats summoned within the Black Mist field would be more than enough to deal with Su Li.

The second was to just beat him with his fists. Considering their past grudge, nothing would be more satisfying than landing punch after punch.

Zhou Qing chose the second method without hesitation. He moved through the Black Mist with Night Vision, his sight completely unhindered. He saw Su Li standing in place as the White Card in his hand glowed, summoning a snow-white little fox.

"Eek, eek, eek!" The little fox found its surroundings gloomy and eerie, and its fur instantly stood on end. It squealed in fright, burying its head between Su Li's feet and trembling with its butt raised.

Zhou Qing nearly burst out laughing at the sight.

"..." Su Li fell silent.

The young Card Master hadn't lied to him. This card really had worked. He deliberately controlled the little fox's behavior. The silly, adorable fox might draw Zhou Qing's attention, while at the same time, he secretly tossed a Bronze card behind him.

Su Miaohan appeared for only an instant. Her skill, Shadow Sneak, activated, and she melded into the darkness.

Using two cards at once, it didn't matter even if Zhou Qing noticed Su Miaohan's appearance.

In fact, when Zhou Qing's card took effect, Su Li had nearly laughed out loud. It was practically tailor-made for Shadow Sting. Zhou Qing was delivering a card right to him.

"Hehehe..." Zhou Qing's laughter came from within the Black Mist.

Listen to how happily he's laughing. He probably hasn't noticed Su Miaohan, right? Su Li judged.

He picked up the little fox at his feet. It wriggled in his arms, its two ears standing tall, looking utterly adorable and dim-witted.

By now, Zhou Qing had stealthily approached to within five meters of Su Li. Seeing Su Li's actions, he thought, This kid must've been scared stupid by my display. He actually has time to fuss over that dumb fox. Is he planning to use it as a projectile?

Victory was already in his grasp.

Zhou Qing crouched slightly, then pushed off with both feet and shot forward, raising his fist to smash Su Li.

Suddenly, Zhou Qing's vision went black. The next moment, his entire body flew backward. A footprint appeared on his face, and two teeth fell out along with blood.

He slammed heavily onto the ground. A Card Master's mental energy was powerful and their will resilient, so Zhou Qing immediately endured the pain and sprang into a half-crouch. His eyes darted around, yet he saw only Su Li holding the little fox where he stood.

Some unknown force had attacked him?

"What happened?" Zhou Qing gritted his teeth, bloodshot veins appearing in his eyes. After confirming there were no other creatures in the Black Mist, he fixed his gaze on that snow-white little fox.

A White Card was a card without a rank. Most had no combat ability, and even those that did were weaker than a Card Master himself. How could it have seriously injured him before he could even react?

Could he have misjudged it? Was that actually a Silver Tier card?

The only Silver Tier card among those thousand-plus cards hadn't been drawn yet. Could Su Li, that bastard, really be this lucky?

"A newly certified Card Master definitely can't unleash a Silver Tier card's true strength. He'll even have difficulty using it. He's already at the end of his rope," Zhou Qing analyzed calmly.

Using cards, maintaining cards, and having the cards wield their power—all of it required support from a Card Master's Spirit Jade. For a newly certified Bronze Card Master to directly use a Silver Tier card, it would even take more mental energy to maintain its stability.

At this moment, the appearance of the [Black Mist] Domain Card had drawn some Card Masters over to watch.

The previous class of Card Masters had graduated, while this class consisted of newly certified Card Masters. They had no card reserves to speak of, much less rare cards like Domain Cards.

"That's a Domain Card..." a female Card Master said enviously.

"This is so unfair! Why did I draw a [Close the Door] card?!" A boy was overcome with grief and indignation. He clenched his fists desperately, tears falling despite himself.

"Brother, don't lose heart. I drew an [Unclog the Toilet] card. My family is poor, so I was utterly hopeless at first. But the old security guard introduced me to a toilet-unclogging job. After half a month of leaving early and coming home late, I've already saved up quite a decent amount." The black-haired, crew-cut boy had a rough voice and a sturdy build.

He continued to comfort him. "As the saying goes, there are no useless cards, only useless Card Masters."

"Get lost!" the [Close the Door] boy roared.

Zhou Qing began to act more cautiously. Moving through the Black Mist, he didn't rush in for the kill. Instead, he used his mental energy to connect with the [Black Mist] card and activated Bat Party.

"Ah~"

Zhou Qing let out a pained groan. Before Bat Party could activate, Su Miaohan emerged from the shadows and kicked the back of his left knee.

Half-kneeling on the ground, Zhou Qing endured the pain and threw a punch behind him, but struck only empty air. Su Miaohan appeared before him again and drove a punch into his abdomen, making him vomit bitter fluid.

At this point, how could Zhou Qing not understand? That bastard Su Li actually had a second card. He had used the little White Fox to distract him, then quietly released this beautiful girl card at some unknown moment.

"Bat Party!"

Zhou Qing wasn't defeated. He immediately reacted, rolling toward a denser patch of Black Mist while activating the card's skill.

The Black Mist churned. Several bats flapped their wings, red light gleaming from their eyes. Rather than trying to find the vanished Su Miaohan, they flew straight at Su Li.

The little White Fox's fur stood on end as it desperately burrowed deeper into Su Li's arms.

But Su Li remained calm, standing where he was, because Su Miaohan was already diving down from above, a cold, gleaming dagger somehow now in her hand.

The blade flashed, and the bats were instantly sliced into pieces.

[Black Mist] was only a Bronze Tier Two card after all. Bat Party was more useful for interference than actual combat, and it was completely crushed by Bronze Tier Three Su Miaohan.

"Damn it!" Zhou Qing was beginning to lose his mind. His eyes bloodshot, he charged at Su Li.

He refused to accept this. This was a card wager duel. If he lost, he would lose this rare Domain Card, something he simply couldn't accept.

Then he suffered Su Miaohan's merciless beating. His fighting technique was utterly outclassed, and in the end, he collapsed onto the ground, bruised and battered.

Once the Card Master lost consciousness, the Black Mist dispersed. Su Li caught the fallen [Black Mist] card and smiled.

"According to the rules, this card is mine now!"

"This was a card wager battle!" someone exclaimed.

It was common for Card Masters to fight decisive battles with cards as the stakes, but it was something new to these newly certified Card Masters. And now, with the wager decided, a rare Domain Card had been lost and claimed by the victor.

Liang City No. 3 High School was thrown into quite a stir.

The instigator, Su Li, returned home and took out the three cards he had.

[Shadow Sting—Su Miaohan]

[Black Mist]

[Lost Little Fox]

Time to continue strengthening the cards!