166: Alternative ace choice

Chapter 166: An Alternative Ace Choice

Inside the virtual space.

As soon as the 10-minute preparation time was up, Chang Zhun appeared punctually, and the match began on time.

One seed player and fifteen other new students were instantly randomly teleported to the center of the arena.

And the seed player who was drawn from the crowd was Chi Xi.

Among Chi Xi's opponents, there were several Platinum 8 players.

They instantly reached a consensus through eye contact: first eliminate the opponents with lower ranks.

There were two reasons for reaching this consensus.

First, eliminating weaker opponents required fewer cards, allowing them to preserve their strength to the maximum extent.

Second, if a group of high-ranked players ended up having their victory stolen by a low-ranked player, where would they put their face? So, it was better to eliminate them first.

Shi Li and his two roommates in the audience were naturally most concerned about Chi Xi's deck.

The deck Chi Xi displayed was a very neat, textbook-style lineup.

First row cards: 3 damage-absorbing.

Second row cards: 3 Recovery/utility.

Last row cards: 3 output.

A typical warrior, mage, and priest iron triangle theory.

“What do you all think about this round?”

A Ya Jun looked at his three roommates.

To be honest, the decks of the other Platinum 8 students didn't look bad either.

In a free-for-all mode, it was hard to predict the winner.

Chang Zhun: “I believe it will end within 30 minutes.”

Gong Ping: “I believe this will be a fair duel.”

Shi Li: “I believe in the existence of the Concept God.”

A Ya Jun:

“...”

No, can you stop answering irrelevantly?

“It seems Chi Xi looks down on this first stage a bit.”

Gong Ping mumbled, “Out of 10 cards, only 6 are three-star, and among the remaining 4, there's even 1 one-star card.”

“No, quite the opposite, I think she has given it a lot of thought.”

Shi Li, however, held a different opinion: “Her deck seems to sacrifice strength, but in reality, it's to ensure the completeness of her tactical setup, and at the same time, it should also be to preserve some strength.”

The 9+1 deck had a total base attack power of 330 points.

Considering the single-hand rule, the probability of a successful Defense in the first round was not high, and at least one side would inevitably play a Counter.

However, under normal circumstances, the total base health of the opponent's front-row cards was only 300 points.

There would be 30 points of overflow.

Chi Xi's card placement strategy was very clear: to use her numerical advantage to overwhelm her opponent, who was only Platinum 6.

And this was done while trying to preserve her deck as much as possible.

These 3 Recovery/utility cards were the greatest guarantee for maintaining her deck.

“So you think Chi Xi can win, right?”

A Ya Jun looked at Shi Li.

“Yes, the final showdown should be between Chi Xi and Du Ge.”

Shi Li had already reviewed all the decks on the field.

Gong Ping: “That precise?”

Shi Li: “You might not understand what top-tier computing power is.”

Chang Zhun: “Then can you predict the final duration of this round again?”

Shi Li: “Get lost.”

However, the outcome of the match proved Shi Li's prediction.

The final showdown of this round really was between Chi Xi and Du Ge.

Chi Xi making it to the end was not surprising.

But the deck Du Ge presented was definitely not the strongest compared to the other Platinum 8 students.

Gong Ping: “You guessed it right!”

Chang Zhun: “You are simply the God of Prediction.”

Shi Li: “Hmph, you should call me the God of Strength.”

Gong Ping: “Bah, then I'm the God of Fairness.”

Chang Zhun: “I want to be the God of Punctuality.”

A Ya Jun: “...”

God of Runner-up, it somehow doesn't sound right to say.

The first free-for-all ended with Chi Xi's victory.

With the help of numerous Recovery cards, she still had 3 regular cards + 1 ace card remaining when she entered the final showdown.

Her opponent, Du Ge, only had 1 regular card + 1 ace card left, and was defeated without suspense.

“It seems Chi Xi's choice was correct.”

Looking at this result, Gong Ping couldn't help but analyze: “This single-hand card rule is really strict.”

A Ya Jun: “Yes, and I didn't expect it to be single-hand for the entire match, not just per round. A hand card used once cannot be used in subsequent rounds.”

Chang Zhun: “At this rate, we should make it for dinner on time.”

Shi Li: “...”

What Gong Ping and A Ya Jun said was correct; Chi Xi's victory made Shi Li reconsider.

He needed to consider making changes to his deck, and in the absence of hand cards, he should increase the number of Recovery cards.

Soon, the second match began.

Whoosh!

Before Shi Li could react, Gong Ping in front of him disappeared.

“Haha, that kid got picked.”

A Ya Jun scanned the situation below; at this moment, Gong Ping was standing in the crowd with a bewildered expression.

“One Platinum 10, one Platinum 9, this guy is doomed.”

Chang Zhun was equally gloating; for the other students besides those two high ranks, this match was definitely hell-level difficulty.

“Who do you think will win this time?”

A Ya Jun asked Shi Li.

“This match is—”

Shi Li was about to give a conclusion but then withdrew it: “Forget it, let's just watch first.”

This match had an unpredictable element, so he felt he couldn't judge it by common sense.

Thirty minutes later, the only person left on the field raised his hands high.

“Hahahaha! This is too fair!”

It was Gong Ping.

Shi Li: “...I knew it.”

A Ya Jun: “No way, he actually managed to pick up the win?”

Chang Zhun: “He got incredibly lucky.”

Gong Ping's miraculous luck once again played its part.

The Platinum 10 and Platinum 9 couldn't hold back and dueled each other before the final 1v1.

The result was a mutual defeat, with the winner left with only a sliver of health.

Then Gong Ping, who only had his ace card left but his ace card was almost at full health, took advantage of the situation.

Regarding this result, Shi Li could only say that it was not entirely unexpected.

From the initial city-wide mock exam, to the college entrance exam duel, and then to the college entrance exam.

It seemed as if some mysterious power was protecting Gong Ping.

To put it bluntly, this guy was exceptionally lucky.

Being only Platinum 6 yet securing a spot in the top 32 among this year's new students, besides good luck, there was no other explanation.

It should be noted that the subsequent competition system would be more complex, determining every specific ranking from the chief to the 32nd seat.

But having entered the top 32, the worst he could be was the 32nd seat.

For the entire year that followed, he would enjoy the treatment and resources of the 32nd seat.

This was why Gong Ping was so happy.

The competition continued, and in the 10th major match, A Ya Jun made his appearance.

It must be said that A Ya Jun's deck was quite suitable for use in free-for-all mode.

One Wall of Spreading Flames card in the front row, absorbing damage while also applying Ignite to the opponent to reduce Healing.

Then Cyber Firefighter in the ace position could even be revealed in the first round to start Extinguishing and dealing damage.

Overall, A Ya Jun won his round relatively easily.

However, what Shi Li noticed was that A Ya Jun did not play Cyber Firefighter's innate hand card.

After all, among those present, only he and Chang Zhun had seen that card in Gan Territory.

Unless someone deliberately investigated, other students would not know.

It was clear that the capable students were all trying to preserve their strength.

Shi Li then understood.

In the 15th match, Chang Zhun was selected to enter the arena.

To maintain fairness as much as possible and keep the pace of the competition consistent, the free-for-all mode deliberately shortened many operation time limits.

This way, Chang Zhun's rope burning wouldn't be as effective at messing with people's minds.

However, he also proved himself quite capable, managing to defeat a Platinum 9 opponent in the final duel with his Platinum 7 rank.

He also entered the top 32, which was impressive.

Unlike Gong Ping's opportunistic win, it was clear to anyone with an discerning eye that this was a genuine achievement.

One could only say that the unpredictability in free-for-alls was somewhat high; Gong Ping and Chang Zhun's advancement put all the high-ranked students on alert.

When the 23rd match arrived, it was finally Shi Li's turn to be teleported onto the field.

A Ya Jun: “It's finally Shi Li's turn. I hope he can pass smoothly.”

Gong Ping: “? Is he saying something to us in return?”

Chang Zhun: “From his lip movements, he's probably cursing you.”

It turned out Shi Li really became the unlucky guy Gong Ping mentioned.

Among his matched opponents, there was 1 Platinum 10 and 4 Platinum 9s.

All the extra non-seed Platinum 9s were here.

Besides that, including Shi Li, there were still 4 Platinum 8s.

That is to say, the number of Platinum 8 to 10 players in this match reached 9, even exceeding half.

“It really is a genuine random draw, Shi Li couldn't complain about anything.

If it wasn't random, could a human possibly arrange such a formation?

“This is tough for Shi Li,”

In the audience, A Ya Jun looked worried.

“Wu Lanshan from Steadfast Academy, that’s Platinum 10, ranked second on the freshman combat power leaderboard—”

Chang Zhun recognized the identity of that Platinum 10.

“Wu Lanshan’s deck excels at negative effects and hard crowd control. In full reveal mode, her ability to break Defenses will be incredibly formidable.”

A figure suddenly appeared between the three of them.

“Whoa! You scared me to death!”

Gong Ping was startled by Chi Xi’s arrival.

“Although I really want Shi Li to advance, it looks very difficult for him this round.”

Chi Xi answered irrelevantly.

As a fellow contractor of the Show Card Hall, she had always paid attention to Shi Li.

But the current situation could only be described as extremely unfavorable for Shi Li.

One must know that there are many variables in a free-for-all. Even if she were placed in such a formation, she wouldn't dare guarantee survival until the end.

“Not necessarily. If the others suffer severe internal attrition, he still has a chance.”

Gong Ping had a lot to say about this kind of situation.

“Please select your opponent within 5 seconds, otherwise the system will force a match.”

At this moment, a broadcast sounded in Shi Li’s ear.

“Select opponent—”

He looked at the classmate to his left.

A male student, only Platinum 6, whose gaze was evasive.

Logically, his best path to victory would be to continuously fight lower-ranked opponents and preserve his deck's combat power.

But clearly, everyone else thought the same.

Moreover, even lower-ranked players would hope to face lower-ranked opponents.

Then he looked to his right; the female student had a large Platinum 10 above her head.

Shi Li immediately knew how to choose.

But just as he delayed for this small amount of time, card games frequently began around him.

Everyone dared not delay, each finding an opponent according to the 'downward' principle.

In the blink of an eye, only Shi Li and Wu Lanshan were left on the field without a game.

“Student Shi Li, it seems we cannot avoid a battle.”

Wu Lanshan’s smile was composed.

She relied on her higher rank and disdained to choose an opponent, she just didn't know what Shi Li was waiting for.

“Forget it, so be it.”

Shi Li sighed and actively sent out a cursor.

Damn it, I'm already Platinum 8, why would I be afraid of you?

Buzz—

Thus, the card table generated, and the game began.

Both sides' decks were arranged, and Wu Lanshan was the first to reveal her deck.

The first row of cards, like most people's configurations, were 3 Steadfast cards with the Defense skill.

Then the 3 second-row cards were quite striking.

They were actually 3 three-star Momentum cards, and one of them even carried a Characteristic.

Its projection was a slender dog with several barbed bone spurs on its back.

“Subterranean Rift Hound”

Momentum, 30 points, three-star attack 30, 100/100, 0/60

“Pack - Characteristic”: Each attack by Subterranean Rift Hound summons 1 Rift Hound.

“Opportunistic Pack Hunt - Passive”: When Subterranean Rift Hound and 2 or more Rift Hounds attack the same target, they apply Flaw effect. “Low Growl - 30 Energy”: Subterranean Rift Hound becomes an untargetable target and casts 30 Healing on itself.

“Pack Bloodlust - 60 Energy”: Subterranean Rift Hound attacks 1 target and grants 10 Encouragement to allied canine revealed cards on the field.

“Rift Hound”

Momentum, 5 points, one-star attack 5, 5/5, 0/20

“Pack Leader - Passive”: Every 2 attacks by Rift Hounds on the field grant Subterranean Rift Hound 5 Charge.

This was the first time Shi Li had encountered a character card with a Characteristic that included summoning, and even more so, free summoning.

This card definitely had overpowered attributes because, despite being only a three-star character card, it essentially had 5 modifiers.

The more Rift Hounds there were, the faster it would charge.

Moreover, in this kind of full-reveal PVP card game, it naturally started with 2 summon slots, namely the empty spaces to the left and right of the ace card.

It had hard crowd control and a very powerful self-preservation skill, but when fully charged, if there were enough Rift Hounds on the field, the burst power of Pack Bloodlust would be quite formidable.

Furthermore, Pack Bloodlust included not only Subterranean Rift Hound and Rift Hound, but all cards with the 'canine' tag.

Wu Lanshan’s other 2 second-row output cards, one had Stun, and one had Petrification, and all of them were canine cards.

Plus, her ace card was also a Characteristic dog, so she had a total of 4 canine cards.

Even without summoning Rift Hounds, the benefits were substantial.

As for the last row of cards, they were 3 support cards with Recovery and utility functions.

“What a strong deck—”

Seeing Wu Lanshan’s 10 cards, Gong Ping couldn't help but exclaim.

“Shi Li is in a tough spot.”

Chang Zhun also frowned deeply. Chi Xi's words were indeed correct; facing such a full-reveal 9+1 deck, it was hard to be optimistic about Shi Li.

“Impressive.”

Even Shi Li himself had to admit the opponent's deck was powerful.

So he began to reveal his own deck.

The regular cards were still the ones he had preset.

Cicada Wing, bo shan, Tiao Tiao

Empty, cloud mountain, Flower Cudgel Leader

Defeated Demon, Empty, Red Blade Maiden

Originally, seeing how others played earlier, he also wanted to conserve strength, replacing bo shan with Greater Stone Sprite, and cloud mountain with Fluorescent Vine.

But encountering a Platinum 10 opponent right away meant he couldn't hold back anymore.

His maximum conservation was to use as few of his innate hand cards as possible.

“Shi Li’s formation…”

However, when he saw his regular card lineup, A Ya Jun’s brows furrowed even tighter.

Especially the modifiers carried by Red Blade Maiden and her position.

Abundant + Crimson Blaze + Vast.

“He actually didn’t bring any sustain modifiers. You know, sustain is the most important part in this mode.”

“And Red Blade Maiden or Flower Cudgel Leader should be placed in the ace position, after all, there's a 30 attack + 100 health bonus.

Especially Red Blade Maiden, the ace version of Vast's damage would be an additional 30+20 = 50 points of damage compared to now.”

Gong Ping and Chang Zhun also felt something was off.

“However, his formation seems to have some thought behind it.”

At this moment, Chi Xi had already seen Shi Li's hand reach for the middle row ace card.

Which meant his ace card was placed in the middle row.

“This way, Wu Lanshan will face a choice.”

“Should she clear the middle row directly, going straight for the kill, or clear the right row first, eliminating the biggest output threat?”

The others understood her meaning.

Next, it would depend on what kind of ace card Shi Li would reveal.

Shi Li picked up the face-down ace card, but when he threw it onto the card table, it turned into two cards.

“He’s doing magic again.”

Amidst Gong Ping’s complaints, the faces of the two cards were also revealed.

“Lotus Succubus”

Berserk, 30 points, two-star attack 60, 200/200

“Whip of Pleasure - Characteristic”: Lotus Succubus’s attacks convert to Healing, consuming an equal amount of health (T5).

“Narcissism - Passive”: Lotus Succubus gains 10 Healing each round (T5).

“Kiss of Betrayal - 30 Health”: Lotus Succubus causes 1 target to gain 1 round of Turncoat effect (T0).

(“Turncoat”: Forced to attack the adjacent target behind it)

“What?! He has this kind of card?!”

“Holy moly, 60 attack, does that mean she can Recovery 60 health with one slap?”

“This card—has very strong sustain!”

As for the other card Shi Li threw out, it was Power of Love.

There was no other way; in his lineup construction, this innate hand card was definitely unavoidable.

This time, he made the Succubus fall in love with Red Blade Maiden.

With Lotus Succubus’s sustain, Red Blade Maiden indeed no longer needed to carry Recovery.

And there was no need to worry about Lotus Succubus consuming too much of her own health by adding health.

After all, 200 health was only enough for 3 additions.

If the ace card burned itself to death, that would be a joke.

“But even so—Shi Li’s disadvantage is still clearly present.”

Chi Xi didn't deny the strength of Shi Li’s deck.

But the opponent ultimately had 2 more regular cards than him.

Whether he could win would depend on his specific operations.

And even if he won, whether he retained enough strength to deal with subsequent battles was also a big problem.