167: Top 32, Academy Deck

Chapter 167: Top 32, Academy Card Deck

After both sides finished placing their cards, Shi Li pulled out another card.

“This round, I will play this hand card.”

He pressed a LV2 Defense card into the hand card slot on the card table.

A glow appeared, indicating the successful placement of the hand card.

In Grand Melee mode, the first round's Defense is especially crucial.

Without Defense, one's first-row Persistence cards might be instantly defeated, leaving no time to Charge and unleash skills.

“Is that so?”

Wu Lan Shan had never seen this kind of self-reporting tactic before and couldn't help but smile.

“Then I'll play this hand card.”

In return, she also placed her hand card into the slot.

It glowed, taking effect.

“It's over, Wu Lan Shan has been tricked.”

If anyone present was most familiar with Shi Li's tactics, it was definitely Gong Ping.

“I dare say Shi Li's card isn't LV2 Defense; it's probably just a low-value LV1 hand card.”

“His true purpose is definitely to bait out Wu Lan Shan's LV2 Counter.”

Actually, no matter what hand card Shi Li wanted to play this round, in her plan, she would inevitably use this LV2 Counter.

Because as the side with a card advantage, Wu Lan Shan's choice was to take the initiative.

Her actions were approved by the Void Commentators.

“Wu Lan Shan is right. She has more cards, more output, and more total health. Why should she go head-to-head with him in Defense?”

“Indeed, everyone has three first-row cards. If they exchanged Defense, Wu Lan Shan would undoubtedly suffer a greater loss.”

“Because her total output is higher, if it's reduced by 50%, her loss will be even greater.”

“Moreover, if the Jumping Guard uses Defense, its benefit would be too great.”

“What's more, Shi Li's formation is full of temptation; it's hard to resist unleashing output. As long as you take out the two regular cards in the middle column, you can directly get to the trump card.”

However, after all that talk, the hand card nullification Wu Lan Shan had envisioned did not occur.

“Magic dispel!”

Instead, a delicate shout came from Shi Li's character card formation.

The Demon-Defeating Dark Hunter formed hand seals, and the strange markings on its skin seemed to come alive, growing and twisting.

“Anti-Magic Mark - 10 Energy: The Demon-Defeating Dark Hunter makes its side immune to enemy hand card effects this round.”

“Oh no.”

Wu Lan Shan's expression immediately changed.

“Seeing you play that hand card, I can now confidently use my skill.”

Shi Li said leisurely.

Actually, Gong Ping was wrong. The highest form of deception is a mix of truth and falsehood.

What he intended to play this round was LV2 Defense.

Two targets, Cicada Wing Patrol + bo shan, would perform Defense.

Given the opponent's 9+1 output, the Jumping Guard performing Defense wouldn't be very meaningful.

After one round, he hadn't lost a single card, while Wu Lan Shan had directly lost two first-row cards.

“It's over, this kid is going to pull off another upset.”

Looking at the card layout, Gong Ping complained.

“He essentially only used 10 Energy from the Demon-Defeating Dark Hunter to bait out the opponent's LV2 Counter.”

“Now, any LV2 hand card Shi Li plays, Wu Lan Shan will have no way to stop.”

“Both sides now have 7+1 decks. Wu Lan Shan only has a slight advantage in health.”

“And with her second-row card exposed so early, she's in a tough spot now—”

In just one round, Shi Li's reputation had reversed.

In the next few rounds, Shi Li did not stingy his hand cards.

Although it was a single-hand card rule, he understood that the most important thing was this first match.

He not only had to win the first match but also win comfortably.

However, Wu Lan Shan was not an easy opponent. Although she lost a LV2 Counter and two first-row cards at the start.

She still held on tightly.

Before long, both sides had only three character cards remaining on the field.

“Looking at it this way, the situation is a bit different again.”

“Although Wu Lan Shan suffered a disadvantage at the start, her subsequent handling was quite rational.”

“Shi Li's trump card isn't actually very threatening; it completely lacks autonomous attack capabilities.”

“As long as his regular cards are cleared, it's tantamount to winning without a fight.”

“Shi Li is also very restrained. The Lotus Succubus, apart from gratuitously healing the Red Blade Maiden, hasn't spent any health to heal other cards.”

“But at this point, Wu Lan Shan should also make a move against the Lotus Succubus, otherwise, letting it continuously heal the Red Blade Maiden isn't a long-term solution.”

At this moment, Wu Lan Shan had 1 trump card + 1 Recovery card + 1 Control card remaining, in a single column.

Shi Li, on the other hand, had the Demon-Defeating Dark Hunter + Red Blade Maiden wide open, with the Lotus Succubus exposed in the middle.

“Gatekeepers.”

Looking at Shi Li's card layout, Chang Zhun suddenly uttered these two words.

“What?”

Gong Ping indicated he didn't understand.

“I understand! So Shi Li's character card layout has this profound meaning! The Gatekeeper tactic!”

Chi Xi, however, understood instantly.

“His far-left and far-right back rows are occupied by a Magic Immunity card and a Super Armor card, respectively.”

These two cards have now formed the position of Gatekeepers.

No matter if the opponent wants to use control or non-control debuffs to attack the trump card, he can calmly deal with it.

He only needs to move the corresponding Gatekeeper card in front of the trump card!

Wu Lan Shan's Counter has already been used up; she can't stop Shi Li's Movement at all!”

After her explanation, everyone immediately understood.

Now that Wu Lan Shan held hard control, Shi Li would naturally choose to move the Red Blade Maiden.

Anyway, it was at 150/150 full health, so even if the opponent focused fire, they couldn't instantly defeat her.

But Shi Li did not choose this. He chose to let the Lotus Succubus take a focused attack from the opponent, then instantly defeated the opponent's hard control card.

Only when the opponent had only their trump card left did he move the Red Blade Maiden to the front of the trump card.

With this move, Wu Lan Shan's defeat was officially declared.

Although her fighting spirit was gone, she couldn't surrender in Grand Melee mode.

So she could only quickly end the card game.

“Holy cow, that's amazing!”

Gong Ping cheered at this sight.

Shi Li ended the battle with 2 regular cards and 1 trump card, even holding at least two unused Recovery-type hand cards.

Such a huge advantage was unparalleled.

“This way, all four of us in our dorm have made it to the Top 32.”

Chang Zhun also breathed a sigh of relief.

Compared to Shi Li's victory, he cared more about everyone making it together.

“But I have a question.”

A Ya Jun wasn't trying to be a spoilsport but stated factually: “The single-hand card rule should include the unique card as well.”

“Which means in the next match, the Lotus Succubus won't be able to use its unique hand card.”

“Then wouldn't Shi Li essentially have one less trump card output than others—”

However, his question was immediately answered when the next match began.

What is meant by reserving status? Although the Power of Love can only be used once, the connection between the Lotus Succubus and the Red Blade Maiden still exists.

So, there's no need to play another Power of Love to maintain the effect.

“What is this thing you're playing—”

As one can imagine, when the opponent saw Shi Li's “crippled formation,” their mentality instantly collapsed.

A 150 HP, beefy monster that can deal at least 70 HP damage with one strike.

Behind it was an even beefier monster that could heal 60 HP at once.

Then, looking at their own pitiful, low-health regular card and a trump card that, despite being at full health and status, was useless in front of Shi Li.

How the hell do you fight this?

Ultimately, Shi Li secured the final victory in this round after the Demon-Defeating Dark Hunter was barely defeated, with two full-health cards remaining.

He advanced to the Top 32.

“Not bad, Little Hu.”

In the conference room, the vice-dean of Listen to the Wind Academy smiled upon seeing Shi Li advance.

“These are eight unique Characteristic cards—where did you dig up such a talent?”

“Give him some more time to develop, and he might make a name for himself in the New Star Cup.”

“Such a genius was actually poached by your Momentum Academy. I should have joined the inspection team for Jiangnan Province.”

Facing everyone's comments, Hu Lan merely crossed her arms and nodded slightly.

On the surface, she showed no expression, but inwardly, she felt incredibly pleased.

Families, who understands this feeling?

How many years has it been since my Momentum Academy was praised by these guys?

“I'm optimistic about his future development. It's just that his rank is still a bit low. I wonder if he can break into the top 10 after the ranking matches.”

However, at this moment, Vice-Dean Liu poured cold water on the discussion.

This was actually a realistic assessment. Full reveal games and partial reveal games are different.

Shi Li's strategy might work well in Grand Melee, but it doesn't mean it will work in regular PVP.

After all, the deck gap between him and Platinum 9, Platinum 10, especially Platinum 10, was undeniable.

“Hmph, then you just wait and see.”

Hu Lan clearly didn't like hearing that.

As soon as the free-for-all ended, she hurriedly returned to Po Shi Academy.

In the deepest part of the academy, there was a small fish pond, and next to the fish pond was a small thatched hut.

A thin but energetic elder, wearing a sun hat, was fishing with a rod.

“Dean.”

Hu Lan, who had been walking briskly, instantly softened her steps as she entered the lawn.

Because the other party, whether in terms of seniority or strength, deserved her respect.

It was none other than the Vice President of Qingchuan University and the Dean of Po Shi Academy, Wei Pojun.

“Oh, Little Hu.”

Wei Pojun smiled, but his eyes remained fixed on the water.

“I'm here today to report on the situation of our academy's freshman placement competition.”

“Oh, I almost forgot if you hadn't mentioned it. How did they perform?”

“A total of 3 people from our academy entered the top 32.”

“Is that so?”

Wei Pojun's tone didn't change, but his fishing line trembled almost imperceptibly.

This result was definitely not good.

With seven academies sharing 32 spots, their academy didn't even account for 10%.

“Do you still remember Shi Li?”

Hu Lan didn't intend to beat around the bush.

“Who?”

“The freshman recruited this year, the top scorer from Jiangnan Province.”

“Shi Li—”

Wei Pojun pondered.

“He's the one who broke the principal's stone lion.”

“Oh.”

When Hu Lan rephrased it, he immediately remembered.

“What's the matter? Did he break the other stone lion too?”

Wei Pojun finally put down his fishing rod this time.

“That's not it—”

Hu Lan laughed awkwardly: “I want to apply for this student to use the academy's Card Library.”

“Academy Card Library? It's only been less than a week since school started, right?”

Wei Pojun turned his head and stared at his junior.

He didn't look like he was joking.

The Academy Card Library was the foundation of the seven major academies.

It was only open to a limited number of students each year.

Even though Po Shi Academy had been relatively weaker in recent years, when it came to its foundation, no one was worse than anyone else.

Some things were even exclusive to their Po Shi Academy, and teachers from other academies had to beg them.

Each academy's Card Library was crucial and controlled by the Dean himself.

“Which floor do you want to open for him?”

“The second floor.”

“Little Hu, it seems you think highly of this young man—”

Wei Pojun was quite surprised.

As far as he could remember, it was the first time he had seen Hu Lan apply for a freshman who had only been enrolled for a week.

Not to mention applying for the second floor.

The Academy Card Library had a total of four floors, with each floor containing better items than the last.

The fourth floor even contained five-star materials.

“I do indeed have high hopes for his development.”

Hu Lan spoke frankly.

She could say that she had watched Shi Li's growth step by step, starting from the Jiangnan University tryouts.

Honestly, only a few months had passed, but Shi Li had already grown from Gold 4 to the current Platinum 8.

The most crucial point was that his main deck was entirely composed of Characteristic cards.

She had initially been skeptical about him cultivating too many Characteristic cards, worrying that he might bite off more than he could chew.

However, the facts proved that Shi Li overturned her prediction.

This was quite rare and commendable.

To put it bluntly, as soon as she saw Shi Li's deck, she had already concluded that this year, no, for the next few years, their Po Shi Academy would rely on this kid.

“Since you think highly of him, I trust your judgment.”

Wei Pojun stood up and began to pack his fishing gear.

“But you young people tend to be too hasty in your actions.”

Hu Lan certainly didn't dare to refute him verbally, only secretly grumbling that she was no longer young.

“I, however, believe that one shouldn't jump to conclusions too early. How about this: if he can enter the top 16 next week, I will open the Card Library for him.”

In the short time it took to say that, he had already packed his fishing gear and walked towards the thatched hut.

“Understood, Dean.”

Hu Lan said respectfully.

Since the Dean had said so, he must have his own considerations.

After watching the Dean enter the house, she turned and left.

She would not question any of the Dean's decisions, except for wrong ones.

Little did she know, Wei Pojun immediately started rummaging through his belongings as soon as he entered the house.

“Oh no, where did I put the key to the second floor?”

A week of classes passed quickly.

Although two Platinum 10 players were unfortunately eliminated in the first stage, in just these seven days, two new Platinum 10 players emerged among the top 32.

One of them was A Ya Jun.

At the same time, five Platinum 8 players were promoted to Platinum 9.

It could be considered a small burst of talent.

Behind this, the support of various academies was certainly indispensable.

Being able to enter the top 32 meant having a chance to improve further, and it was natural for them to receive resource allocation from their respective academies.

Shi Li could be said to have not stood still, and also to have stood still.

Most of the school's lessons felt like content he had already self-studied, so he spent some of his time skipping classes to go to the Monster Training Ground at the District 11 Card Hall.

The Monster Training Ground here was of a higher standard than Durian City, with many Three-Star Demons.

He took the time to hunt for several days and earned a small profit of 40,000 cubic coins.

Although not a lot, it was enough to refresh the Demon-Defeating Dark Hunter's signature hand mission twice.

The second stage of the placement competition officially began today.

Compared to the first stage, the second stage's format was more complex.

First, the top 32 would draw lots and compete in pairs to determine the top 16.

Then, the 16 losers would compete in a round-robin points system to determine the rankings from 32nd to 17th.

For the winners, it was relatively simple; as long as they kept winning, it was essentially a pure knockout tournament.

Unlike the online free-for-all, the 32-to-16 matches would be held in the campus arena.

Shi Li and his three roommates went to the arena early in the morning.

“Out of 32 people, there are 4 Platinum 10 players. The probability of drawing one of them is 1/8.”

On the way, Gong Ping began to analyze anxiously.

“With your luck, you definitely won't draw them.”

A Ya Jun patted his shoulder, then wiped his hands.

“With your strength, you wouldn't be able to beat anyone you drew anyway.”

Shi Li patted his shoulder, using A Ya Jun's hand to wipe his own.

“Anyway, as long as I don't run into a conceptual god, I think I still have a chance against the others.”

One of the conceptual gods Chang Zhun referred to was right beside them.

“But I think you guys shouldn't underestimate the other two Platinum 10 players either.”

Gong Ping wagged his finger: “Duan Xinxin and Fernando are also ranked 4th and 3rd on the leaderboard.

Especially Fernando, that little foreigner is an A-level contractor for Star Card Hall.”

As he said this, he naturally looked at Shi Li.

“I advise you not to jinx it.”

Shi Li had already understood what the other person meant.

“It's fine, it's more interesting to have a competition where you constantly overcome stronger opponents.”

A Ya Jun seemed to have already accepted Gong Ping's prediction.

Just then, Chang Zhun stopped.

“It's not time yet.”

He said, standing at the entrance of the arena.

“I say, how about we go eat outside the south gate tonight?”

“Agreed, the meat-free dry pot at Blue Star is too delicious.”

“Depends on my mood.”

The three of them naturally ignored him and stepped into the arena.

As Chang Zhun entered the arena, the drawing ceremony began on time.

A teacher randomly drew names on stage, and the two people drawn would immediately go on stage to duel.

The first of the four roommates to be drawn was A Ya Jun. His opponent was a Platinum 9 girl with a very strong signature hand.

Shi Li admitted that the opponent was strong, but unfortunately, she met a conceptual god too early.

She was directly defeated by A Ya Jun's smooth deck, who won easily.

Then Gong Ping, with very good luck, drew a Platinum 7 opponent, the second-lowest ranked among the top 32.

The lowest ranked, of course, was himself.

This time, his luck could no longer protect him.

The opponent used the advantage of one extra card to defeat Gong Ping with almost no effort.

“I'm only Platinum 6, so why am I matched against a Platinum 7 opponent?

It's so unfair.”

He grumbled as he walked off the stage.

“It's already unfair to others that you even made it into the top 32.”

Shi Li retorted mercilessly.

Two people after Gong Ping, Chang Zhun was drawn to go on stage.

Chang Zhun himself was Platinum 7, and his opponent was Platinum 8.

However, he didn't lose the card game; instead, he was disqualified by the teacher after being warned three times for “intentionally delaying the game.”

This was quite satisfying, and even his roommates applauded.