Magic Card Era: Infinite Deck Enhancement — Chapter 51

Chapter 51: Millennial Powerhouse!

Damn it. I completely forgot how terrifyingly sharp the old man’s intuition could be.

Catching the dangerous glint in Cang Ao’s eyes, Cang Fenghua felt a sudden, icy jolt in his chest. I miscalculated. Ever since he was a little kid, whenever his grandfather wore that exact expression, it meant absolutely nothing good was about to happen.

For the sake of his own physical well-being, Cang Fenghua abandoned his dramatic buildup and decided to rip the veil off the mystery right then and there. “Because Luke is an Original Magic Card Creator!”

He had originally intended to use this opportunity to show off his scouting abilities in front of the old man, but he hadn’t expected to accidentally poke a sleeping tiger instead.

“What did you just say?” Cang Ao, who had been lazily narrowing his eyes just moments prior, completely froze. His casual demeanor vanished, replaced by a flickering storm of shock and uncertainty.

Not noticing his grandfather’s internal earthquake, Cang Fenghua eagerly repeated his words. “Luke is an Original Magic Card Creator. During the recent unified exam, I personally witnessed the Realm Transcending phenomenon manifest when he was crafting his Magic Cards. Upon completion, a creative light pillar pierced the sky—an absolute signature that only occurs when an Original Magic Card is born into the world.”

He took a breath, his words spilling out faster as his excitement mounted. “In addition, the Dragon-type that slaughtered the Abyssal Predator was an Original Dragon-type Magic Card Spirit. And from what I managed to gather, the new Magic Card he plans to craft next is highly likely to be yet another Original Dragon-type.”

Cang Fenghua gestured emphatically. “A Battle General Realm Magic Card Master who already possesses two Original Six-Star Magic Cards, and is actively attempting to create a third. Isn’t that a level of talent unmatched by any Magic Card Master in the last thousand years?”

He leaned forward, his tone turning dead serious. “Grandpa, Luke isn’t just a genius or a prodigy. He is a true monster. As long as he is given enough time to grow, the heights he can reach will absolutely shatter our imaginations.”

“That is exactly why I said that even you, Grandpa, cannot compare to him in this aspect!”

Not long ago, Cang Fenghua had still been using the word ‘prodigy’to describe the boy. Now, he had firmly escalated his vocabulary to’monster’ to properly encapsulate Luke’s terrifying nature. This model shift was the exact reason he had personally sought out his grandfather today.

The creation of Original Magic Cards and the independent suppression of a Black Gate—both monumental feats had been accomplished by the exact same Magic Card Master. Even Meng Ningdie, the peerless talent taken in as a personal student by the Night Queen, was still a definitive step behind Luke at this stage of her life.

Cang Ao fell silent. He stared at his grandson, who was practically vibrating with agitation, while his own ancient mind rapidly processed the weight of those words.

Over the past thousand years, instances of a Monarch Realm expert successfully sealing a Black Gate alone were incredibly scarce, though a few did exist. Meng Ningdie had been the youngest among them—a record that had just been violently shattered by Luke. That alone would have been enough to command Cang Ao’s full attention.

But now, the revelation of Original Magic Cards entirely eclipsed the importance of the Black Gate. A Magic Card Master capable of constructing a flawless original worldview and manifesting it into reality… in the past thousand years, Luke was indeed the only one.

In the current era, the sheer mental and spiritual difficulty of constructing an original worldview meant that Magic Card Masters capable of such a feat were as rare as a phoenix’s feather or a qilin’s horn. Even with Cang Ao’s vast, centuries-spanning experience, the number of Original Creators he had met could be counted on a single hand. Without exception, every single one of those individuals possessed a terrifying strength that even he found deeply formidable.

The Night Queen. The Supreme.

These were nightmarish existences who had successfully constructed original worldviews and forged Original Magic Cards. Yet, based on the historical records Cang Ao had memorized, even those legendary figures had taken considerably longer than Luke to successfully create their first original works.

When they first began the treacherous path of a Magic Card Master, neither the Supreme nor the Night Queen had used Original Magic Cards! Yet, despite that late start, they had utterly dominated their respective eras, standing uncontested at the absolute pinnacle of the entire Magic Card Civilization.

If what Fenghua says is true… then Luke might very well be the Millennial Powerhouse of this era!

Pondering his grandson’s frantic report, a dusty, ancient legend suddenly surfaced from the depths of Cang Ao’s memories.

Within the highest echelons of the Magic Card Civilization, there was a quiet saying: a Magic Card Master who creates an Original Magic Card will inevitably become the strongest existence of their contemporary era, earning the absolute title of ‘Millennial Powerhouse’.

Though widely considered a myth, it was a pattern silently acknowledged by many top-tier Magic Card Masters. When looking back through the bloody annals of history, dividing the eras by millenniums perfectly aligned with the legend’s description.

Operating on a thousand-year cycle, the Night Queen had been the undisputed strongest two thousand years ago. It was precisely because of this overwhelming power that, even among the Four Great Territory Lords of the Ancient Kingdom, the Night Queen’s strength consistently ranked first, entirely eclipsing the other three Undying Realm powerhouses.

And the Supreme had been the strongest five thousand years ago.

As for the previous Millennial Powerhouse from a thousand years prior, she had not been born within the borders of the Ancient Kingdom, but in a foreign land. Yet, just like the others, she too was a Magic Card Master who had forged an Original Magic Card.

From the birth of that foreign powerhouse until this very day, Cang Ao had never heard a single whisper of a new Original Magic Card Creator appearing. If he hadn’t just learned about Luke, he might never have recalled the legend at all. A thousand years was simply too long of a gap for most to remember.

“Counting the time… the wheel has turned. It is indeed another thousand-year cycle,” Cang Ao murmured to himself, his aged eyes gradually igniting with a piercing, divine light. “Could it be that the Millennial Powerhouse of this era has once again fallen into the lap of our Ancient Kingdom?”

The manifestation of a Millennial Powerhouse was entirely unpredictable, save for the traceable element of time. They might spawn within the Ancient Kingdom, rise from rival nations, or claw their way up from some forgotten, impoverished corner of the Magic Card Civilization.

Their only unifying trait was the creation of Original Magic Cards. Judging by the current board, Luke was undeniably the prime candidate to claim the throne of this millennium.

Thinking of this, Cang Ao’s steady heart began to race. If this boy truly was the one, then once Luke fully matured, he would easily be able to guarantee the absolute stability and violent expansion of the Ancient Kingdom for the next thousand years. He might even bless the nation for millennia to come, just as the Supreme and the Night Queen had done before him.

Faced with that kind of legacy, Cang Ao freely admitted he truly couldn’t compare.

“Grandpa, what were you just whispering about?” Cang Fenghua asked, leaning in. The old man had deliberately lowered his voice, making the words impossible to catch.

“Nothing,” Cang Ao said, shaking his head smoothly. “Just an old man recalling some trivial matters.”

He had zero intention of breathing a word about the Millennial Powerhouse. It wasn’t a lack of trust in his grandson, but rather a matter of security. With Cang Fenghua’s current strength, he simply wasn’t qualified to carry the lethal weight of such classified information.

The legend of the Millennial Powerhouse was a secret strictly circulated among titans at the Immortal Realm and above. Because of this, even though Cang Fenghua knew Luke was an Original Creator, his mind lacked the context to connect the boy to the myth.

“Alright, the situation regarding Luke is perfectly clear to me. Regardless of his potential, since he single-handedly suppressed a Black Gate right in front of your team, he has more than earned a corresponding bounty,” Cang Ao said, his tone returning to its usual calm, authoritative cadence. “I understand what you need. Once I have personally arranged Luke’s reward, I will send it directly to your coordinates via space-time transmission.”