73: The stars are the tomb, and the embers glow faintly.

Escaper… Lu Yuan looked at the burly man in front of him, finding it hard to associate him with a wandering fugitive.

“Your… home planet is?”

The anger in Sun Libang’s eyes gradually gave way to memory.

“Starfall Realm.”

“A place that… once possessed a brilliant civilization and a unique cultivation system.”

“But before the Alliance Association’s interstellar fleet, everything turned to dust.”

“My world was forcibly dragged into the Card Continent’s law, like trash, by them.”

“Ultimately… it was compressed into a so-called… Starfall Secret Realm.”

He gave a self-mocking laugh.

“It became a paradise for you Card Masters to explore for treasures and hunt ‘monsters’.”

“And I am just a survivor who fortunately crawled out of that destruction.”

Lu Yuan’s throat tightened.

“Do you know what it feels like for a planet to be dragged and compressed alive?”

Sun Libang’s voice trembled, filled with deep-seated fear.

“Forced law conversion!”

“The entire planet’s energy system was disrupted and reshaped!”

“Space was crumpled and folded like paper!”

“The crust cracked, oceans evaporated, the atmosphere was torn apart!”

“Countless living beings turned into pure energy in their wails, absorbed by that damned heaven-bestowed card god law!”

“Only the most core parts, the most powerful existences, the most unique mineral veins… could barely retain a trace of their essence during compression.”

“Ultimately, they transformed into the high-quality cards or precious Source Power ores that you flock to!”

“The so-called Secret Realms are nothing but the graves of planets!”

“They are the final tombstones of countless civilizations!”

“When ordinary creatures die, the dissipated energy can only condense into white cards and green cards.”

Sun Libang’s voice pulled Lu Yuan back to reality.

“Blue quality is already rare.”

“But gold cards…”

He stared intently at Lu Yuan, “The law fragments and energy levels contained within them are completely different!”

“They absolutely cannot be formed by the death of ordinary creatures!”

“It’s very likely… that you encountered a high-value compressed world, or rather… the remains of a powerful existence!”

“This is also one of the reasons we noticed you.”

Lu Yuan’s heart tightened.

We?

“Do you think I’m the only one resisting?”

A determined smile appeared on Sun Libang’s face.

“The universe is vast; how can there be only tens of millions of worlds enslaved by the Alliance Association?”

“There are always souls unwilling to be enslaved, always wise individuals who have seen through the Alliance Association’s hypocrisy!”

“We have an organization.”

He deliberately lowered his voice,

“Torch.”

“Composed of survivors like me whose homes were destroyed, and… some local Card Masters who still have a conscience and have seen the true face of the Alliance Association.”

“Our goal? It’s simple…”

He pointed to the sky outside the window—

“Break this cage!”

“Make those high and mighty guys pay the price!”

“Liberate all enslaved worlds!”

Torch… an organization resisting the Alliance Association!

Or rather… the cult mentioned on TV?

He looked at Sun Libang, this usually gentle and amiable teacher, who now exuded a chilling aura.

The truth was too shocking, the information overwhelming.

The darkness of the Alliance Association, the graves of planets, the existence of Torch… and his identity as an Earth Human.

He remained silent for a long time, processing everything.

Finally, Lu Yuan looked up, meeting Sun Libang’s eyes.

“You came to me, wanting me to join your Torch?”

Sun Libang, however, shook his head.

“No.”

“Not now.”

“It’s too dangerous for you, and for us.”

“The enemy Torch faces is the entire Card Master Alliance Association, those behemoths standing at the peak of the world.”

“Your current second-tier strength is far from enough to be drawn into this storm.”

“Even with two gold cards!”

“The Alliance Association’s eyes are everywhere; once exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable.”

“We came to you to give you a… choice.”

Sun Libang’s tone became mysterious.

“An… opportunity to quickly become stronger.”

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow.

“What opportunity?”

“According to Torch’s intelligence network…”

“A high-value target will appear soon.”

“A new world, just captured by the Alliance Association fleet, currently undergoing preliminary law conversion and energy stabilization!”

“Which means a Secret Realm formed from a brand new planetary remnant.”

“According to reliable sources, the Alliance Association will deploy it to an uninhabited area within Canglan Province.”

“Based on the preliminary energy assessment report we intercepted…”

“The core area of that new world… even has a tiny possibility…”

“Of giving birth to… an existence beyond gold!”

Beyond gold!

Lu Yuan’s pupils contracted sharply!

Above gold, was the legendary… red!

Representing the authority of rules, possessing the truly world-destroying power of… a Mythic-tier card!

Sun Libang watched Lu Yuan’s reaction and smiled contentedly.

He knew that no Card Master could refuse this temptation.

“Student Lu Yuan…”

“I refuse!”

“Are you… interested in trying for a… red card?”

“Uh… wait, what did you just say?”

“I said, I refuse.”

Inside the dormitory, there was a dead silence.

Sun Libang frowned, unsure how to speak for a moment.

“Teacher Sun, as you said. I also don’t believe a second-tier apprentice Card Master can obtain this so-called red card.”

“Don’t take me for a fool; I don’t believe the Alliance Association wouldn’t send top-tier forces to clear out this Secret Realm.”

“They captured it themselves; wouldn’t they be tempted by a red card?”

“Moreover, I’m not even a member of your organization. Why would I be worthy?”

Lu Yuan threw out three soul-searching questions. To put it plainly, a red card didn’t hold much appeal for him, and his Guaranteed Gold Drop talent might just allow him to be lucky once.

Anyway, with a draw every 7 days, he might even advance by then.

There was no need to risk his life for a non-existent card.

His shock earlier was from realizing he had found a good excuse.

In the future, he could use Secret Realms or ruins to explain the source of his gold cards, saying he picked them up by accident. What’s wrong with good luck?

Sun Libang fell silent, but then he thought, this information was originally just a grand promise from the organization, so being exposed didn’t matter.

He gave an embarrassed smile,

“As expected of a peerless talent, your insight is indeed strong!”

“In that case, I’ll be direct.”

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch, and everything I’ve told you is true.”

Sun Libang’s smile did not fade.

“In exchange…”

“We need information.”

“The organization needs to know… from which Secret Realm, ruin, or rather… which world fragment you obtained those two gold cards.”

“This is very important to us.”

He added, with a hint of plea in his voice.

“Perhaps… within the organization, there are survivors from that world.”

“Understanding their origin might help us find more clues, and even… find our way home.”

…