Magic Card Era: Infinite Deck Enhancement — Chapter 72

Chapter 72: Third-Generation Card Master! I Really Want to Pinch Her!

The staff at the Cang Capital General Association had been quite thorough during their orientation. The headquarters boasted a massive, dedicated dining pavilion that served specialty delicacies sourced not only from Cang Capital itself but from all twelve surrounding satellite cities. Participants in the Youth Training Competition didn’t need to fret over homesickness or unpalatable local fare; the culinary standards here rivaled the most opulent five-star hotels in the outside world.

“Master, I think I’ll pass on the meal,” Mana said, gently shaking her head as she smoothed out the sheets on the bed. “I plan to stay here and unpack our luggage.”

While she occasionally partook in human meals, the truth of her existence was far more mystical. Maintaining a Magic Card Spirit’s physical manifestation drew directly upon a Magic Card Master’s internal mana reserves. As long as that ethereal tether remained strong and the mana supply flowed uninterrupted, a Spirit could theoretically maintain peak condition indefinitely. Magic Card Elves simply didn’t require mortal sustenance to fuel their bodies.

Whenever they did eat, it was purely a recreational indulgence—a way to stimulate their taste buds and savor the rich flavors of the human world. Beyond that fleeting pleasure, mortal food offered them no tangible benefits.

“Is that so?” Luke leaned against the doorframe, easily reading the unspoken thoughts of his Dark Magician Girl. He didn’t push the issue. A wicked, teasing smirk touched his lips. “Alright then. I’ll just have to feed you myself when I get back, my little glutton.”

“Master!” Mana gasped. Understanding the underlying intimacy of his words, a lovely, vibrant blush bloomed across her cheeks. She shot him a spectacular eye roll, though the affectionate flutter of her eyelashes ruined the glare.

Compared to the mundane taste of cooked meat and seasoned vegetables, the pure, refined mana of a Magic Card Master was an intoxicating delicacy to a Spirit. The Dark Magician Girl was certainly no exception.

Naturally, there were many methods to transfer that energy. Through years of intimate development and shared battles, Magic Card Masters and their Elves had pioneered countless variations of mana exchange. Luke and Mana, of course, had practiced these deeply personal rituals many times behind closed doors.

Leaving his quarters behind, Luke strolled down the grand, vaulted corridors of the residential wing. He hadn’t made it far before a familiar, melodic voice drifted through the air, carrying an ethereal quality that seemed to freeze time for a fraction of a second.

“Luke. What a pleasant coincidence.”

He didn’t even need to turn around to identify the speaker. Among everyone he had crossed paths with, only Liu Yanran possessed a voice so uniquely weightless and hauntingly beautiful.

Honestly, even if she hadn’t awakened as a Magic Card Master, that singular vocal tone alone would have guaranteed her a place as a world-renowned idol. And that was without factoring in her stunning, otherworldly beauty.

But this was the Magic Card Civilization. Here, the absolute authority of a Magic Card Master reigned supreme. No matter how devastatingly gorgeous someone might be, without raw power, they were nothing more than a fragile vase waiting to be shattered.

“Indeed. Quite the coincidence,” Luke replied, turning to face her.

As Liu Yanran approached with her signature graceful stride, Luke arched a brow. She wasn’t alone. Walking beside her was a girl in a stunning, sky-blue sleeveless evening gown, a pair of delicate silver-rimmed glasses perched on her nose.

She boasted a tall, flawlessly proportioned figure that demanded attention. Yet, in stark contrast to Liu Yanran’s untouchable, fairy-like aura, this girl radiated a quiet, intellectual elegance. She looked like a brilliant scholar who had stepped out of a high-society gala.

However, what truly caught Luke’s eye wasn’t her scholarly vibe. It was the slight, baby-faced roundness of her cheeks.

Most of the beautiful women he encountered possessed sharp, oval faces or striking jawlines. It was incredibly rare to see such a soft, adorable, perfectly round face on someone so elegant. It took a considerable amount of willpower for Luke to suppress the sudden, overwhelming urge to reach out and pinch her cheek.

“Are you heading to the dining pavilion as well? Would you care to join us?” Liu Yanran asked as she closed the distance. Without missing a beat, she gestured to the bespectacled beauty at her side. “This is Shangguan Wan’er. She’s a dear friend of mine here in Cang Capital, and also one of the official candidates representing the General Association in this Youth Training Competition.”

‘Another Shangguan?’Luke kept his expression perfectly neutral, but internally, he was already sighing.’Good grief. At this rate, am I going to bump into the entire Shangguan family tree on my very first day in the capital?’Even without Liu Yanran elaborating, Luke instantly deduced the deep, obvious connection between this girl and the imposing Shangguan Pu he had met earlier. Add in the fact that she was a hand-picked representative for the General Association’s Youth Training Competition, and Luke wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Shangguan Wan’er turned out to be Shangguan Pu’s daughter.’Brilliant. Another second-generation Card Master.’Wait. He paused, recalling the legendary Shangguan Hong.’No… she might actually be a third-generation Card Master!’

His mind conjured the image of Shangguan Pu—a man built like a brick wall, radiating the explosive, muscular aggression of a heavyweight boxer. Then he looked back at the soft, elegant, baby-faced Wan’er standing before him. The contrast was so absurd it left him momentarily speechless. Either she was the product of a miraculous genetic mutation, or her mother’s genes had fought a desperate, victorious war for dominance.

“Wan’er, this is Luke. He hails from Cangling City,” Liu Yanran introduced, deliberately keeping the details sparse.

There were two reasons for her brevity. First, she and Luke had only crossed paths twice, including this very moment. Though they had exchanged contact information after the regional exchange competition, their chat history was virtually non-existent.

Second, and more, she had lost to him. While Liu Yanran wasn’t petty enough to harbor a grudge over a fair defeat, she certainly wasn’t going to broadcast her loss to the world. Even to her absolute best friend, admitting she had been overpowered was a bitter pill to swallow.

“Hello, Luke.” Shangguan Wan’er offered a warm, knowing smile and generously extended her hand. Behind the polished lenses of her glasses, a faint, almost imperceptible spark of intense curiosity flickered in her eyes. This was the boy her grandfather, Shangguan Hong, had personally labeled a peerless prodigy. “You can just call me Wan’er.”

She hadn’t expected to run into him so soon, nor had she realized her best friend was already acquainted with him.

“A pleasure.” Completely unaware that he was already a person of high interest to the Shangguan patriarch, Luke reached out and grasped her hand.

The sensation surprised him. Unlike the delicate, bony hands of most female Card Masters, Wan’er’s palm possessed a delightful, plush softness. She wasn’t overweight by any metric—she was the exact type of woman who appeared impeccably slender in clothing, yet possessed a lush, yielding softness upon physical contact. If one had to put a word to it, voluptuous would be the most accurate description.

The observation flashed through his mind for only a second before he politely released her grip.

“Since we’re all heading the same way, let’s go together,” Luke said, nodding toward the corridor leading to the pavilion.

The trio fell into step. With Shangguan Wan’er acting as their local guide, Luke and Liu Yanran didn’t have to worry about handling the sprawling architecture of the General Association.

Naturally, walking flanked by two stunning beauties—one an ethereal fairy, the other an intellectual goddess—drew a staggering amount of attention. Eyes tracked them from every corner, and Luke found himself squarely in the crosshairs of public scrutiny.

“Look at that lucky bastard. How is he walking with two goddesses like that?”

Hushed whispers rippled through the grand halls. Countless young men stared at Luke, their eyes burning with a toxic mixture of envy and outright jealousy. They gritted their teeth, agonizing over why they weren’t the ones strolling beside Shangguan Wan’er and Liu Yanran.

A few particularly bold competitors were already whispering to their friends, calculating the risks of staging a chance encounter to introduce themselves. Beauties of this absolute, world-class caliber were more than enough to make young men do incredibly stupid things.

“I wouldn’t if I were you. Swallow your envy,” a local contestant from the Cang Capital General Association muttered, catching wind of the brewing foolishness. Though he was equally annoyed by Luke’s sheer luck, self-preservation won out. He shot a warning glare at the outsiders. “I don’t know who the girl in the yellow dress is, but you’d better kill whatever crooked ideas you’re hatching. The girl with the glasses? That’s the eldest daughter of the Shangguan family. Weigh your lives carefully before you step to her.”

‘The eldest daughter of the Shangguan family?!’

The words hit the crowd like a bucket of ice water. Every single competitor who had been eyeing the girls snapped back to harsh reality, cold sweat instantly beading on their foreheads. In Cang Capital, there was only one Shangguan family that commanded such absolute terror and respect.

Behind that soft-spoken girl in glasses stood a Sovereign and an Immortal. What kind of terrifying, divine background was that?!

And more… what kind of absolute monster was that boy, to be casually walking shoulder-to-shoulder with the eldest princess of the Shangguan dynasty?!