Magic Card Era: Infinite Deck Enhancement — Chapter 188

Chapter 188: You Can Spin It Like That Too?

Damn it!

Seeing Luke’s utterly nonchalant shrug, Zi Yan’s cheeks burned a furious crimson. His casual attitude practically screamed that the Monarch Realm was nothing—just a minor hurdle to be stepped over on a whim.

But Zi Yan knew the brutal truth. If breaking through to the Monarch Realm was genuinely that simple, she and her sister, Zi Yao, wouldn’t still be deadlocked at the peak of the Commander Realm! In fact, not a single member of Dragon Valley’s current generation had managed to touch the Monarch Realm yet. Not even with their innate talents forcibly elevated by the sacred waters of the Dragon Transformation Pool!

Her entire mindset shifted in a heartbeat. The irritation faded, replaced by a cold, solemn focus. If she made even a single microscopic error in the upcoming clash, she would be wiped off the field.

The boy standing across from her wasn’t just a talented freshman. Luke was a monster—an anomaly far more terrifying than herself, Zi Yao, or anyone else in Dragon Valley’s elite roster.

“You called it, Governor. Luke really is a Monarch Realm Magic Card Master already.” Back in the academy’s trial square, Zhan Tai Mingyue stared at the massive projection. Four distinct Magic Card Spirits now stood upon Luke’s side of the field. She let out a soft breath of disbelief. “Hitting the Monarch Realm right after enrollment… that kind of raw power eclipses a massive chunk of our senior students.”

Every student admitted to Tianfu Academy was a certified genius, but genius alone didn’t guarantee a smooth path to the Monarch Realm. Countless upperclassmen were still slamming their heads against the ceiling of the Commander Realm, grinding away in hopes of a breakthrough.

Luke, who had bypassed that bottleneck entirely by updating his Digimon data, was an absolute rule-breaker.

Interestingly, Zhan Tai Mingyue wasn’t overly shocked by the sudden appearance of a second Dragon-type Magic Card Spirit. Growlmon X had already shattered her expectations on that front. To her, the terrifying majesty of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon paled in comparison to the sheer absurdity of a freshman reaching the Monarch Realm.

“Isn’t this a good thing?” Wen Xiuyuan’s face split into a wide, thoroughly satisfied grin. “I pray that the freshmen we recruit only get more outrageous with every passing year. That’s how an academy survives—by injecting fresh, aggressive blood into its veins!”

Internally, however, the Governor was scratching his head. Didn’t that old ghost Shangguan Hong explicitly tell me Luke had a cyan Dragon-type? Why the hell is it a black dragon now?

Wen Xiuyuan studied the incomparably domineering form of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon on the glowing screen, a flicker of doubt crossing his mind. Shangguan Hong had specifically raved about a dragon named ‘Timaeus’ that could fuse with the Dark Magician Girl, transforming her into the Dragon Knight Dark Magician Girl and elevating her to a Seven-Star rank.

While this Red-Eyes Black Dragon was undeniably a Seven-Star Dragon-type, to Wen Xiuyuan’s trained eye, it seemed like a relatively standard—albeit incredibly powerful—beast. He heavily favored Magic Card Spirits with unique, rule-bending mechanics, like the evolutionary paths of Sistermon Ciel and Guilmon. The Digimon series held far more academic appeal to him.

Still, this black dragon looks mean enough to chew through steel, he mused. Pushing his slight disappointment aside, Wen Xiuyuan’s grin only widened as he caught a glimpse of Du Tianzong from the corner of his eye.

“Governor, you look incredibly creepy when you smile like that,” Meng Ningdie deadpanned, entirely unbothered by his authority. She actually recognized the Red-Eyes Black Dragon; it was the very card that had led to Luke becoming her junior brother in the first place.

Beside her, Zhan Tai Mingyue was quietly munching on a bucket of popcorn. She didn’t have the luxury of being as brazenly casual as Meng Ningdie, but her eyes were glued to the Red-Eyes Black Dragon with undisguised longing. The sheer romantic appeal of a Dragon-type Magic Card was universal—it transcended age, gender, and combat style.

“Cough, cough! Girl, I am your elder. Give me a shred of face, would you?” Wen Xiuyuan’s smile stiffened into a grimace as he glared at her.

If Meng Ningdie didn’t have the Night Queen standing behind her as a backer, he would have gladly assigned her a month of grueling detention to teach her some respect.

A few seats over, Du Tianzong’s brow was furrowed so deeply it looked carved from stone. What lineage does this Dragon-type belong to? Our clan’s archives have absolutely zero record of it.

One Growlmon X was an anomaly he could brush off. But a second, completely undocumented dragon? That demanded his full attention. He didn’t recognize a single scale on either beast, yet the oppressive, suffocating aura radiating from the Red-Eyes Black Dragon proved it was absolutely no weaker than Zi Yan’s Skywing Dragon.

Honestly, if the Dark Magician Girl and Sistermon Ciel weren’t standing right there on Luke’s side of the field, Du Tianzong would have suspected the boy was a rogue junior who had secretly defected from Dragon Valley.

A distinct, highly unpleasant premonition began to coil in his gut.

“So, what do you think, Old Man Du?” Wen Xiuyuan leaned over, his grin practically splitting his face. “The top scorer of our Eastern Region’s entrance exam this year… the quality is pretty spectacular, wouldn’t you agree? Hitting the Monarch Realm at his age—I dare say even your prestigious clan doesn’t have a single junior who can match that pace.”

Damn it!

Du Tianzong gritted his teeth. He was already giving himself a headache trying to identify Luke’s dragons, and now he had to deal with Wen Xiuyuan rubbing salt in the wound. It took every ounce of his cultivated restraint not to manifest a Magic Card and hurl it directly at the Governor’s smug face.

“Indeed, his quality is exceptional,” Du Tianzong replied, his eyes darting as he quickly formulated a counter. “But if I am not mistaken, Luke secured his position as the top scorer precisely because he wields a Dragon-type Magic Card, correct?”

A self-satisfied smile slowly returned to Du Tianzong’s lips. “It seems that Dragon-type Magic Cards inherently possess an overwhelming advantage over other series. As for the cultivation pace of the younger generation… every clan employs different long-term foundations. A temporary gap in realm is harmless.”

In Du Tianzong’s mind, the logic was flawless. Luke’s victory was inextricably linked to the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Therefore, it was a victory for dragons. Didn’t that just objectively prove the supreme dominance of Dragon-type Magic Card Spirits? It completely validated Dragon Valley’s entire developmental philosophy!

Are you kidding me? You can spin it like that?!

Wen Xiuyuan rolled his eyes so hard they nearly stuck in the back of his head. Go find me literally one other rookie Magic Card Master who broke into the Monarch Realm at eighteen! “A temporary gap is harmless,” my ass!

Catching the exchange, Meng Ningdie and Zhan Tai Mingyue shared a silent look. They collectively decided to pretend they hadn’t heard a thing, quietly sipping their milk tea and chewing their popcorn.

Having a Governor who bickered like a petty child was truly a test of endurance.

A deafening roar shattered the clouds.

Back inside the isolated combat space, the Red-Eyes Black Dragon and the Skywing Dragon had already collided. The sky became a chaotic warzone of tearing claws and explosive breath attacks. The sheer kinetic force generated by the clash of two Seven-Star Dragon-types completely dominated the arena, creating a shockwave so intense that the Dark Magician Girl and Sistermon Ciel were forced to hang back, unable to safely intervene.

While the two girls watched the aerial bombardment with caution, Growlmon X stared up at the sky, his massive, reptilian eyes practically burning with bloodlust. The demonic dragon’s craving for violence was leagues beyond his companions. He let out a low, rumbling growl, his claws tearing deep gouges into the stone floor.

“Easy now. No need to be so impatient,” Luke said, reaching out to firmly pat Growlmon X’s armored plating. “Your turn will come soon enough.”

Calming the beast, Luke tilted his head up, his gaze locking onto the brutal, high-altitude dogfight tearing the sky apart.