Magic Card Era: Infinite Deck Enhancement — Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Friendly Match? Crashing the Party!

Zhou Rong couldn’t help but feel a lingering sense of unease. Back in her day, she had only managed to secure the coveted title of Elite Member after grinding her way to the late Monarch Realm. The standard promotion requirement was absolute: one had to successfully create a Seven-Star Magic Card. Yet here was Luke, a complete novice in the grand scheme of Magic Card Masters, bypassing the Seven-Star requirement entirely for a shot at Elite status.

Still, a quiet sense of pride smoothed over her reservations. Luke was a student of their very own Third High School. Neither First nor Second High School had ever produced a talent worthy of such unmatched treatment. When she looked at it from that angle, the blatant favoritism didn’t seem so unacceptable.

Besides, her personal acceptance hardly mattered. The mandate had come straight from Chairman Yu, the Branch Chairman of the Cangling City Magic Card Association. In all of Cangling City, only City Lord Cang Fenghua held enough authority to stand on equal footing with him.

“Compared to the ordinary ranks, Elite Members enjoy a vastly superior tier of treatment,” Zhou Rong explained, her tone turning professional. Zhang Ming stood nearby, listening intently—he wasn’t an Elite Member himself, so he lacked her firsthand experience. “Every year, countless people submit their applications. The pass rate is notoriously abysmal.”

She looked at Luke, her gaze softening with encouragement. “Since Chairman Yu thinks so highly of you, seize this opportunity. Push yourself to secure that Elite Membership. The resources it unlocks will pave a golden road for your future development.”

“I understand.” Luke nodded, accepting the sleek Magic Card Association membership card and sliding it into his pocket. He would dig into the specific perks of the association once he got back to the quiet of his own room.

“The expedition into the Demon Spirit Home was originally scheduled for tomorrow morning,” Principal Gu said, breaking the brief silence. His previously relaxed expression had hardened into something far more serious. “However, due to an unforeseen variable, that timeline has been pushed back. We depart in three days.”

The sudden shift in the principal’s demeanor drew Luke’s immediate focus. Beside him, both Zhou Rong and Zhang Ming straightened their postures, clearly just as blindsided by the news.

“Tomorrow, City Lord Lin Heling of Cang Yue City will arrive with a delegation,” Principal Gu continued slowly, measuring his words. “They are initiating an exchange program. Naturally, this includes a friendly match between the academies of our two cities. The City Lord’s explicit intention is for you to step up as one of our core representatives in this arena.”

Cang Yue City? A friendly match? Luke blinked, a dry sense of amusement flickering in his chest. Was anyone actually buying the friendly part? This wasn’t a polite visit; this was someone kicking down the front door to crash the party. Cang Yue City was a titan, a major metropolitan powerhouse that consistently ranked in the top three.

“With the college entrance examination looming right around the corner, Cang Yue City bringing a team here is anything but a courtesy call,” Zhou Rong said, her voice tight. She knew the crushing disparity in strength between Cangling City and Cang Yue City better than anyone. As a proud citizen of Cangling, her tone carried a sharp edge of displeasure at Lin Heling’s predatory timing.

“That is certainly true,” Principal Gu agreed, shaking his head. “But as our City Lord pointed out, the board has changed this year.” A faint, confident smile touched the older man’s lips. “Luke, your Dark Magician Girl is an anomaly. Even looking back at previous college entrance exams, she possesses the raw power to contend for a spot in the top ten of the entire Eastern Region. Cang Yue City is marching in here expecting an easy sweep. Their wishful thinking is about to hit a brick wall.”

“If that’s the case, then I really can’t let you down,” Luke said, rolling his shoulders. A spark of genuine anticipation lit up his eyes. He had been itching for a proper target to test the Dark Magician Girl’s newly upgraded strength.

More, Cangling City was his turf. If an outside force wanted to waltz in and throw their weight around, Luke saw absolutely no reason to play the gracious host.

“In that case, go home and prepare well.” Principal Gu’s smile widened into a knowing, almost predatory grin, clearly reading the fighting spirit radiating from his student.

Meanwhile, miles away in the City Lord’s Mansion of Cangyang City.

City Lord Yan Yongtian stood by the grand window, watching the delegation from Cang Yue City finally depart. He exchanged a weary glance with his battered staff and shook his head with a heavy sigh. “That crazy woman Lin Heling is finally gone.”

While Cangyang City boasted an overall strength slightly superior to Cangling City, they were still roughly in the same weight class. Compared to the juggernaut of Cang Yue City, they were hopelessly outmatched. Their recent exchange hadn’t been a complete and utter massacre, but it had left them with virtually no room to breathe, let alone retaliate.

The suffocating defeat left Yan Yongtian and his elite officers grinding their teeth in frustration. Yet, they could only swallow their pride and endure it. Lin Heling was simply too strong, a tempest of a woman who crushed opposition with terrifying ease.

“Master, Cang Yue City’s next scheduled stop is Cangling City,” a voice rasped from beside Yan Yongtian. It belonged to his dog-headed strategist. “Cangling City’s foundation is even weaker than ours. They will certainly be chewed up and spit out by Cang Yue City’s vanguard. At the very least, we will have company in our misery.”

The strategist was sharp—it was solely thanks to his cunning advice that Cangyang City had managed to scrape together a single, face-saving victory during the brutal exchange. But the title dog-headed wasn’t just a colorful metaphor; the strategist was quite literally a dog-headed Magic Card Spirit, standing upright in tactical robes.

“I certainly hope so,” Yan Yongtian muttered, his tone thick with bitter envy. “I really don’t understand how that old lunatic Lin Heling stumbles into such absurd luck. During the last college entrance exam, she produced a student who shattered expectations and broke into the top three of Cang Capital. And this year? She somehow unearthed an even more monstrous talent.”

He turned away from the window, his gaze sweeping over his own crestfallen subordinates. “With a lineup like that, Cang Yue City might climb even higher in the rankings this year.” Yan Yongtian let out a long, defeated breath. “Why can’t our Cangyang City produce a genius like that?”

The gathered officials of Cangyang City exchanged awkward, embarrassed looks, staring down at their boots. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but geniuses of that caliber simply couldn’t be manufactured.

By the time Luke stepped out of Principal Gu’s office, the midday sun was already high in the sky. He offered a casual wave to Zhang Ming and headed straight home.

As for whether Luke would actually bother showing up for regular classes in the final stretch before the college entrance exam, neither Zhang Ming, Zhou Rong, nor Principal Gu gave it a second thought. In fact, they unanimously agreed that giving him total freedom was the smartest move for his growth.

The reality was simple: their high school didn’t employ a single teacher who had ever successfully created an Original Magic Card. They had absolutely nothing to teach him on the subject. If anything, it would make more sense for Luke to stand at the podium and lecture them on the intricacies of Original Magic Cards, completely flipping the script.

Back in the quiet sanctuary of his room, Luke settled into his chair and booted up his personal terminal. He slotted the sleek new membership card into the reader. A rapid sequence of data decryption and biometric authentications flashed across the screen before he was finally granted access to the Magic Card Association’s exclusive internal network.

Without the specialized authentication chip embedded within the physical card, ordinary citizens and unassociated Magic Card Masters would find it entirely impossible to breach the site’s firewall.

‘Magic Card Masters can conduct high-level transactions and post private commissions directly through the Association,’Luke read, scanning the introductory guidelines on the screen.’As long as a Master refrains from actions that actively sabotage the Association or the Ancient Kingdom, the governing body maintains a highly lenient stance, imposing minimal restrictions on personal freedom.’It was a sweet deal. He clicked over to the bounty board.’In addition, the Association issues a select number of special missions every month. Compared to the standard fare, the payouts for these special requests are astronomically higher—though the danger scales accordingly.’

After skimming the general operational structure of the Association, Luke’s eyes drifted away from the mission board and locked onto the marketplace tab.

Right now, hunting down rare materials in the trading system held far more appeal than risking his neck on a random bounty. He had a deck to build.