Magic Card Era: Infinite Deck Enhancement — Chapter 174

Chapter 174: Trial Road Survival Game

Zhantai Mingyue finally released her grip, her fingers slipping away from Meng Ningdie’s reddened cheek with a satisfied hum. The playful irritation faded from her expression, replaced by genuine curiosity. “I can understand the Lord dropping by on a whim,” she murmured, glancing sideways. “But what brings you out of hiding this time? Even when your own relatives were admitted to Tianfu in the past, you barely bothered to show your face.”

“Mingyue, I am standing right here,” Wen Xiuyuan said, his tone dry as dust. He pinched the bridge of his nose, exasperated by the casual dismissal of his presence.

Meng Ningdie rubbed her stinging cheek, shooting the older woman a withering glare. “Sister Mingyue, you have absolutely no restraint,” she grumbled, massaging the tender skin before answering the question. “And Chu Yun is different. She is my niece. If I didn’t make an appearance for her, it would reflect poorly on me as her aunt.”

Zhantai Mingyue arched a skeptical brow. The excuse sounded plausible enough on the surface, yet something in Ningdie’s evasive posture suggested otherwise.

Before she could press the issue, Wen Xiuyuan interjected. “The Trial Road has officially commenced. Are you two going to gossip all day, or are we going to observe?”

Hundreds of translucent light screens flared to life in the air before him. Each glowing panel locked onto a different new student, forming a massive, omnidirectional surveillance matrix that tracked every movement within the trial grounds. For an ordinary person, processing so much simultaneous visual data would induce immediate vertigo. But for an expert dwelling in the Immortal Realm like Wen Xiuyuan, the sensory overload was nothing more than a gentle breeze.

Chastised, the two women dropped their banter and turned their attention to the floating displays. Though their cultivation fell short of Wen Xiuyuan’s lofty heights, their vision was sharp enough to track the unfolding chaos.

Right in the dead center of the massive array, one particular screen commanded their attention. Luke.

“If memory serves, that is Luke,” Zhantai Mingyue noted, her eyes narrowing with predatory interest. “This year’s top scorer. I am quite curious to see how he handles the Trial Road.” Based on the raw data from the entrance exams, his combat metrics had eclipsed even Shangguan Wan’er’s. “It is a shame the exam regulations kept us from watching his actual matches.”

She recalled seeing Shangguan Wan’er standing right beside him just moments ago. Did those two share some sort of history? They both hailed from Cang Capital, making a prior connection highly likely.

“You can set your expectations high,” Meng Ningdie said, her voice laced with absolute certainty. “He will not disappoint.”

Zhantai Mingyue caught the subtle shift in her tone. She turned, her gaze piercing. “Is that so? You sound awfully familiar with him.”

Meng Ningdie didn’t flinch, her expression remaining perfectly serene. “Do I? You must be imagining things. I simply borrowed my teacher’s administrative authority to review his exam footage.”

Zhantai Mingyue scoffed softly. ‘Always flexing her connection to the Lord of Tianfu,’ she thought, though she let the matter slide.

“We certainly have reason to anticipate a spectacle,” Wen Xiuyuan remarked, his calm voice cutting through the rising tension between the women. “After all, this is the first time I have ever witnessed a freshman enter the Trial Road possessing the strength of the Monarch Realm.”

The casual statement hit like a thunderclap. Both women froze, their eyes widening in unison.

“The Monarch Realm?” Zhantai Mingyue snapped her head toward him, her disbelief completely shattering her composed demeanor. “Lord, surely you misspoke?”

It was an absurd claim. Tianfu was a gathering place for the most monstrous talents on the continent, yet reaching the Monarch Realm was a feat that guaranteed a spot in the top fifty of the entire academy. Such power was exclusively the domain of third-year veterans. No matter how brilliant a freshman was, the sheer accumulation of time and resources required to bridge that gap was impossible.

Meng Ningdie exhaled a shaky breath, her heart hammering against her ribs. Unlike Mingyue, she knew Wen Xiuyuan never exaggerated. “This junior brother of mine is utterly ruthless,” she whispered, a sudden, heavy pressure settling over her shoulders. Even she hadn’t touched the boundaries of the Monarch Realm when she first walked the Trial Road.

“It defies common sense, but I am not mistaken,” Wen Xiuyuan said, his gaze fixed on the center screen.

Ever since his initial conversation with Meng Ningdie, he had dug deep into Luke’s background. He had even made a personal trip to Cang Capital, consulting with Cang Ao and Shangguan Hong to verify the anomalies. A prodigy handpicked by the Night Queen. An Original Magic Card Creator. Luke warranted every ounce of his scrutiny. Yet, even Wen Xiuyuan hadn’t anticipated the sheer density of the boy’s aura upon meeting him in the flesh.

“He has completely shattered the historical record for the highest cultivation base upon enrollment,” Wen Xiuyuan murmured.

Zhantai Mingyue drew in a sharp breath, her eyes darting back to the screen. ‘This kid is a monster.’

[Trial Road Theme: Survival Game!]

[Rule 1: Every thirty minutes, a new wave of Mimic Beasts will spawn across the Trial Road. Higher-level Mimic Beasts yield greater points upon death. Any Mimic Beast surviving past the thirty-minute mark will automatically evolve by one level when the next wave initiates.]

[Rule 2: Every two hours, the two closest freshmen will be forcibly teleported into an isolated battle space. The victor returns to the Trial Road. The defeated is permanently eliminated from the assessment.]

[Rule 3: Eliminating a fellow freshman grants a massive point bonus.]

[Rule 4: Final rankings are strictly determined by total points. Trial points will be converted into official academy credits upon enrollment.]

[Countdown to commencement: 20 minutes!]

Luke stood in silence, letting the cold, mechanical text fade from his vision as he processed the brutal mechanics of the assessment. While he analyzed the rules, the environment around him shifted. A faint, geometric barrier expanded outward, carving out a temporary safe zone spanning several hundred meters. Hovering right beside his shoulder was a dim, translucent rhomboid crystal, pulsing with a faint hum.

“A survival game,” Luke muttered, his eyes scanning the desolate terrain beyond his barrier.

The rules were designed to force conflict. The escalating threat of the Mimic Beasts would drain their stamina, while the mandatory duels every two hours ensured a constant culling of the weak. Securing a top rank through pure monster hunting would be an exhausting grind.

A slow, dangerous smile curved his lips.

‘Wait a minute,’he thought, his gaze sharpening. The rules stated that forced duels happened every two hours, but they never explicitly forbade attacking other students in the open field. They were all sharing the same massive hunting ground.’If I just hunt down and eliminate every single participant myself… I win by default.’

The Trial Road was designed to weed out the weak. Luke fully intended to show them exactly what a true apex predator looked like.