Attacked (Part 1)

"You lost."

Nariren crossed her arms, looking relaxed. Moze, on the other hand, could barely control his expression.

"You've only relied on some despicable tricks." Moze tried to appear calm. "Remember, the most important thing for a Card Master is their own strength."

Before Nariren could answer, a mocking voice interrupted their conversation.

"Moze, isn't it inappropriate for you to say that?"

"Regardless of the method used, Nariren did defeat you fair and square in the ring, using cards."

More and more voices joined in, and students who had come to watch the spectacle had arrived.

"That's right. The most important thing is the strength of the card master. Nariren was able to knock you off the stage, that's her strength."

"It's clearly thanks to those cards—"

"Captain Moze, if the cards are that important, why didn't you order some in advance?" The speaker was a senior student from the card-making department. If Ning Xi were here, she would recognize him as the one who helped her in the shop before. "Our academy has more than just Ning Xi as an excellent card maker, right? Why didn't you go look for one?"

Moze was speechless for a moment.

"What's the use then?" He suddenly stared at Nariren, his expression revealing a hint of ferocity. "A card master's ceiling is determined by their mental strength. You've beaten me now, but what about later? Five years from now? Ten years from now?"

"I will grow stronger and stronger, while you will only stagnate at the C+ level! You'll be stuck at the bottom of the card master class for life!"

“It’s not uncommon for low-level mental strength to be upgraded later in life.” Ning Xi interrupted their conversation, “Captain Mo Ze, instead of mocking my teammates, you should be preparing for the community points competition.”

"Upgrade the day after tomorrow?" Mo Ze smiled sinisterly. "Of course you can say that. Anyway, you're a natural S+, whether others upgrade or not won't affect you. On the contrary, you, Naliren, don't eat this poisoned cake—"

"Thank you."

Nariren ignored Moze and reached out her hand to Ningxi.

Her expression was serious, her golden eyes shining brightly: "Thank you for your card, it helped me defeat her once again."

"This...this is also your strength." Ning Xi was a little embarrassed. "You originally had a strong control over the power of the cards, otherwise it would have been impossible to control the amplified power."

"All I did was help you reach the threshold you had crossed before."

Nariren lowered her head slightly.

“…Ning Xi”.

"Um?"

"Don't worry about what others think, don't read what's said on the forum, you're excellent."

"You are a card maker capable of creating miracles."

The impact of this match on the academy will likely linger for quite some time. Besides the renewed scrutiny of the feud between Moze and Nariren, the card game students are also seeing the controversial card maker who has been a subject of much debate since the start of the semester.

The victim of the arrival incident, the unidentified unregistered person, the first place in the freshman assessment obtained by luck, and the first place in the midterm practice that is not so recognized.

She proved to everyone with her strength that she could also master higher-level cards.

Ning Xi.

Regardless of praise or criticism, many people have remembered her name.

...

"The 'Credit First' team's strategy was very clever." The silver-haired girl's expression was frosty, her eyes as clear as ice and snow, and empty of anything. "They placed their hopes of winning on the strongest member, Naliren, using spell cards and summoning cards to strengthen her, and then having the other two members eliminate interference for her, thus making up for the team's lack of average strength and achieving the final victory."

"This tactic doesn't work for us."

She was a freshman in the Royal Card Department, appearing younger than her classmates. In fact, because she frequently missed school, she was hardly known. Yet, her judgments convinced even the second- and third-year students.

What do you think of their card maker?

“Hmm… I don’t think she’s the key.” The girl shook her head. “The key to their strategy is that Nariren has reached the threshold of C-rank. Anyone else simply couldn’t withstand such a massive enhancement. The key to the battle is still the card master. The card maker… is just a negligible part.”

"Luo Qing'an?" She suddenly mentioned her companion's name, her words tinged with concern, "What's wrong? Have you had another attack?"

"It's nothing." Luo Qing'an came back to her senses and slowly shook her head.

He recalled the competition between him and Ning Xi, a competition that his father had decided on without his consent, but which was then forcefully inserted by Ning Xi.

Ning Xi may not even know about this, yet he is distressed by it.

“Don’t worry,” a teammate stepped forward and gently patted his shoulder. “Ningxi’s team is nothing to fear. Once we get to Naliren, the rest will be a disorganized mess. Are you worried about our strength?”

Luo Qing'an shook his head; he didn't want to ruin his relationship with the team.

However, the stronger they are, the more difficult it becomes for his skills as a card maker to be revealed.

...

Zhang Min has been having a great time these days.

Yu Xiangyin and Wang Rengui took turns treating everyone, and never mentioned asking them to reciprocate. Although Zhang Min usually ate the cafeteria's economy meals, that didn't mean she didn't like hot pot, barbecue, Chinese food, seafood...

She had already repaired the "first in credits" card without any problems; it was just a minor incident in her life.

Oh... there's another interlude.

Her terminal displayed a call from an unknown number, which Zhang Min answered with practiced ease: "Hello? Ning Xi isn't with me."

"Ms. Zhang Min." A polite, gentle male voice came from the other end of the line. He chuckled softly, "Having someone like Ning Xi as a roommate must be quite stressful, right?"

“There’s been a lot of discussion about your team at school lately. Naliren, Ningxi, Wang Rengui, Yu Xiangyin—everyone’s been discussed repeatedly, except for you.”

“Mingming, you are also a card maker in the team.”

What are you trying to say?

"Don't you feel resentful? You're both card makers, and neither of you comes from a prestigious family, yet the difference between you is so vast."

Zhang Min was silent for a moment, then said, "I didn't do anything, and I got free credits. What more do you want from me?"

She hung up the phone.

The caller clearly had ill intentions, but Zhang Min thought for a while without finding a way to identify them. She then decided to send a communication request to Ning Xi.

"Ning Xi?"

There was no reply from the other end of the terminal.

...

"Did Ning Xi receive training as a Card Master?"

In the school's conference room, Song Shichun raised his eyebrows slightly, not showing any surprise.

"It's not a big deal, is it? How many people decide to become a Card Master before even taking a mental test?"

"This isn't the kind of childish, playful training for card masters." Guan Heyu, the former referee, spread his hands, expressing his dissatisfaction with the newcomer's lack of attention to the matter. "The training she received was definitely the kind that only a large guild or an old family could provide."

"I don't know if you guys read popular cultivation novels. In a major sect, a disciple who is neglected and bullied is actually the only son of the Holy Lord of a demonic sect..."

Song Shichun seemed to be deep in thought: "You mean, before Ning Xi lost her memory, she might have been a member of some powerful family? Then I understand even less. Isn't it our academy's consistent code of conduct to be on good terms with aristocratic families?"

“I know why you’ve brought me here,” Murong Xixiu, who had been ignored, spoke up from the side of the conference table. “You want to ask whether Ning Xi’s mental strength trait is innate, right?”

Guan Heyu nodded.

"Professor Murong, you are an expert in the field of mental power. Please tell us your insights."

"Those who possess the 'domineering' spirit trait are very rare, and I cannot determine whether it is an innate or acquired trait. However, the 'domineering' trait is integrated with spiritual power, which does not conform to the characteristics of acquired traits. Therefore, I tend to believe that Ning Xi was born with this trait."

"In other words, as long as the organization she belongs to has a more advanced mental energy detector, they will not believe that Ning Xi has the potential to become a Card Master."

Is it possible that a family or guild that can provide professional training wouldn't even be able to find a single detector?

“In that case, there are many possibilities,” Song Shichun said. “Perhaps her identity was erased on purpose, and her appearance in the ‘domain’ is not due to a natural disaster.”

"But it's also possible that she's just an unlucky girl who developed a 'domineering' trait later in life," Murong Xixiu said. "Could the school urge the ethics committee to approve my experimental request? I really want to experiment on her."

"Everyone!"

The conference room door was pushed open, and Zou Yuan appeared in front of it.

“Zhang Min called me and said that Ning Xi suddenly became unreachable. She was certain that Ning Xi was not at school or making cards.”

...

"I wish I could use the cards normally too."

Ning Xi sighed for the umpteenth time.

After the competition, she began to study the card that Song Shichun had given her, the "mystery reward" for being first in the freshman assessment.

The relevant research paper was difficult, but she managed to digest most of it. The paper proposed that this card seems to transcend the mainstream card-making model, instead using some kind of extreme model, thus greatly improving the card's stability.

She studied this card for a long time but still couldn't figure it out; she could only be sure of one thing.

This card can only be used by those with high mental strength.

But how exactly to use it and what its purpose is remains a mystery to her.

Forget it, there's no rush.

Her itinerary for today is the "Chengpei" card-related item trading market, hoping to find some rare materials.

The trading market is quite far from the school, but luckily she doesn't have classes today, so she can take her time getting there.

After disembarking from the maglev train, Ning Xi followed the navigation and walked along a path leading to the market. Halfway there, she sensed something and released her mental energy, locking onto the furtive figure that had been following her for a long time.

Ning Xi didn't say anything more and directly pressed the convenient alarm button on the terminal. But her finger felt a sharp pain as it was cleanly severed by a blade that emerged from the shadows.

"S+?"

She heard a low, hoarse voice, like a sigh, coming from the shadows.

"This is my first time trying prey of this level."