Chapter 87: Chapter 87: Tang Lili Wants to Shine
On the field, Tang Lili pursed her lips, her eyes filled with stubbornness, but a trace of tears had already appeared at the corners of her eyes.
"Oh? Crying?" Her opponent laughed loudly, "With such poor mental resilience, you shouldn’t become a professional. Otherwise, you’ll be crying on the field every day. Are you trying to win the duel by relying on your opponent’s sympathy? Hahahaha!"
As he spoke, the surrounding audience also burst into laughter.
"His name is Xiao Fa," Xinyuan Tanchun glanced at Tang Lili’s opponent, slightly frowned, and revealed a look of disgust.
"You know him?"
"He’s infamous in the circle," Xinyuan Tanchun said, "Although he’s only a fourth-level Life Card Master, he’s widely known for his various vile behaviors. Because he was shunned by players, he couldn’t make it in the professional arena and came to be an examiner for the Life Card Association."
Examiners for the Life Card Association are generally responsible for Promotion Tournament and Professional Accreditation Duel.
The former is a promotion competition for professional Life Card Masters, while the latter is a duel for amateur Life Card Masters to be promoted to professional Life Card Masters.
The Promotion Tournament requires players to defeat high-level examiners to advance. The Professional Accreditation Duel is similar to the recognition duel at the Duel Academy; you don’t need to defeat the examiner, just need their approval to gain the qualification of a professional Life Card Master.
The match Tang Lili was in was a Professional Accreditation Duel.
No one expected that in less than a month, this little rookie had already reached the threshold of professionalism.
On the field, Tang Lili was still struggling. She barely removed one of Xiao Fa’s followers on the field, but the originally smooth progress had become very laggy. Every card used required a long time to think.
"Are you done yet? Haven’t figured it out?" Xiao Fa impatiently picked at his ear, chuckling coldly, "Don’t struggle, I won’t give you this accreditation today."
Tang Lili lifted her head, looking stubbornly at Xiao Fa, "I have to finish the duel...."
"Meaningless struggle, just stalling for time," Xiao Fa shrugged, "I can responsibly tell you, with this deck composition, don’t even think about becoming a professional in this lifetime. An amateur is an amateur, even a newbie like you can gain a Professional Accreditation Duel qualification."
Tang Lili’s hand, drawing cards, trembled slightly.
"Are all examiners like this?" Shen Sui also felt it was a bit too much. An examiner for a Professional Accreditation Duel, using such harsh language to attack a girl yearning for professionalism.
"Your friend was just unlucky to encounter Xiao Fa," Xinyuan Tanchun said.
The duel ended quickly.
Though Tang Lili tried to struggle, in the face of the vast gap in deck strength, all struggles were meaningless.
Shen Sui stood there, silently watching Tang Lili’s small figure disappear into the crowd, accompanied by sobs.
He had dueled with Tang Lili and knew well the strengths and weaknesses of her deck. For her to gain a qualification for the Professional Accreditation Duel, she must have put in unimaginable effort.
However, such effort was mercilessly crushed by the examiner.
From Xiao Fa’s mouth, Tang Lili’s every effort seemed nonexistent, her weakness seemed like her original sin.
But from the perspective of Shen Sui and Xinyuan Tanchun, even though her mentality collapsed later and the deck strength led to some deformities in her playstyle, Tang Lili still possessed the strength of a first-level Life Card Master. This belittling was entirely deliberate by Xiao Fa; he simply didn’t want Tang Lili to become a professional Life Card Master, intentionally wanting to see this girl in pain.
This was apparent from Xiao Fa’s smug expression as he watched Tang Lili leave.
"She has two more chances to apply," Xinyuan Tanchun said, "As long as one examiner recognizes her, she can receive the first-level Life Card Master accreditation.... But I’m afraid her mentality might have issues, if she’s truly your friend, go comfort her."
Shen Sui nodded, but before he left, he glanced at Xiao Fa on stage.
"He seems quite idle," Shen Sui observed, "Is it possible for him to be my opponent in the Ranking Tournament?"
"It’s possible," Xinyuan Tanchun discerned Shen Sui’s intentions, "You want to punish him through a duel? Watching too much animation, young man. This is reality, not a fantasy world, there aren’t so many..."
"I just feel that duels shouldn’t be a tool for some people to mock others," Shen Sui stated seriously, "If I can’t encounter him in the Ranking Tournament, there will surely be other means. Isn’t there the card-bet duel?"
Card-bet duel, a means for Life Card Masters to resolve personal disputes, betting a card from their deck in a duel that carries real stakes.
"You’re crazy, wagering a card-bet duel for someone you barely know," Xinyuan Tanchun remarked, though surprisingly acknowledging in his eyes, "Just make sure not to cry if you lose a crucial card then."
"Haha, young people should be more spirited after all," Shen Sui scratched his head, "I’m just afraid that by then, I won’t hold back and send someone to the hospital."
Xinyuan Tanchun couldn’t help but roll his eyes, "It’s just a card game, can you really put someone in the hospital? Do you think this is a fantasy novel or a superpower animation?"
Shen Sui waved his hands and walked towards the place where Tang Lili disappeared.
This cat-like loli girl wasn’t that hard to find, as soon as Shen Sui stepped out, he saw the cat ears trembling in the corner.
"Oh dear, caught a crying little kitten here." Shen Sui crossed his arms, standing on the stairs, overlooking Tang Lili.
Tang Lili, like a cat with its fur bristling, turned around swiftly, showing an alert expression.
"It’s you?!" Tang Lili recognized the face of the newcomer, her expression slightly relaxed, but tears still lingered at the corners of her eyes.
"Crying like this won’t do," Shen Sui said, "Someone might think you got dumped by your boyfriend.... Oh, no, given your height and physique, your boyfriend is more likely to end up in jail......"
"Shen—Sui!" Tang Lili viciously glared at Shen Sui, "What exactly do you want to say?!"
"I watched your duel just now."
The bristling Tang Lili instantly quieted down, even fell into a bit of silence.
"Your strength is sufficient," Shen Sui said, "That examiner intentionally blocked you."
"You don’t have to comfort me," Tang Lili sat down, "I saw it too."
She wiped the tears from her eyes and showed a determined look, "I will not give up. One day, I want to bring them to the stage of the professional arena, I want everyone’s efforts to be seen."
Those she refers to must be the cute girls in her deck.
"The night before the idol’s debut is the longest," Tang Lili said earnestly, "But I am confident to endure this long night."
"Ah.... seems I was unnecessary," Shen Sui thought, pulling a card from his dueling device, "Take this card, consider it a gift from me as a friend, to celebrate your future promotion to professional."
Tang Lili instinctively took the card from Shen Sui.
Spell Card [Invitation to the Same Path].
"Alright, I’ll be going then," Shen Sui turned to leave, "I hope one day we can meet on the arena, show me the brilliance of those idols then."
"Wait," Tang Lili called after Shen Sui.
Shen Sui turned back, puzzled, looking at Tang Lili.
Tang Lili drew a card from her small bag and handed it to Shen Sui, "This card, keep it with you for now. If we meet on the arena one day, I will win it back."
******
Card Name: [Stage Ready]
Category: Spell Card
Star Level: 5 Stars
Effect: Once per turn, choose one of the following effects to activate:
① Draw a card, you do not need to pay the usage cost for cards drawn with this effect;
② Discard two cards, gain 10 Soul Points.
*****
"You know...." As Shen Sui held the card, an unharmonious voice came from behind, "Though this scene looks nice, I must remind you, cards exchanged like this can’t be used. You have to go through the exchange process at the Life Card Store...."
Shen Sui glared at Xinyuan Tanchun behind him:
"Don’t ruin this moment full of the duelist’s spirit, you jerk!"