184: Advance to [Platinum 11]

Chapter 184: Advancing to Platinum 11

“I’ll gamble on it.”

However, Shi Li couldn't wait until Emerald 10; that would take ages.

And he was used to spending lavishly; this money felt hot in his hands.

But his luck today was indeed good; he passed the fourth stage after only 3 attempts.

Of course, the specific details of winning the fourth stage were not as ideal as he had imagined.

Firstly, under such high-pressure output threats, the core hand card Synchronize: cloud river could not be utilized.

Because there wouldn't be enough turns for the two character cards to charge.

The main hand cards that played a crucial role were Crimson Liberation: True and Dead's Talisman.

Crimson Liberation: True, naturally, goes without saying; after transformation, it could provide more output, and its health was also higher.

In the end, when only his ace remained to duel the opponents, Shi Li relied on its health reset and high attack to win a 1-vs-2 battle.

Then, the performance of Dead's Talisman was also very impressive.

It could be said to be very stable and solid.

Because both decks had strong output capabilities, after the Jumping Guard survived for 3 turns, 8 to 10 empty slots appeared on the field.

Each slot released 1 Little Tiao Tiao, and when activated by Dead's Talisman, they also had a total of 80 to 100 attack power.

Finally, the other major source of output was naturally Cicada Wing Patrol.

Just Fel Purge alone could deal 150 damage on the first turn.

Coupled with its own attack power, even the total single-turn output of Flower Cudgel Leader couldn't compare to it.

Upon reaching the fifth stage, the monsters still continued with the previous modifiers.

However, this time, the base stats changed from the previous stage's 30 attack, 100 health to 40 attack, 120 health.

Shi Li refreshed a few more times and passed the stage again.

In the sixth stage, the base stats reached 50 attack, 150 health.

With the modifiers, it became 100 attack, 250 health.

“Whether to go up or down depends on this stage.”

According to the previous pattern, this stage should be the last one countering three-star cards.

If there were more stages after this, the seventh stage would no longer target character cards below four-star.

Or perhaps, the simulated mission might end here.

He still had enough money for 6 more attempts; whether he was a hero or a coward was up to fate.

30 minutes later, “Haha!”

This mission has ended.

One Golden Cicada hand card can be obtained.

Can be redone after 30 days.

Yes/No to reset this mission for 12,000 cubic coins.

“This is too comfortable; I really need this hand card.”

After seeing the specific effects of the hand card, Shi Li was overjoyed.

Balance System System Resonance: 120% → 130%

Incidentally, his Balance System System resonance also caught up with the Rage System.

At the same time, at Qingchuan University's Steadfast Academy, a dignified-looking new male student walked into the office building.

The Emerald 1 tag on his head was very eye-catching.

One must know that even among senior students, Emerald card players were a minority.

So, for a freshman to reach Emerald, its value was self-evident.

The male student walked to an office on the top floor of the office building and was met by Dean Huang Zhenhao, the vice chancellor of Steadfast Academy.

“Zihu, you’re back.”

Dean Huang's smile was very kind.

That's right, this male student was An Zihu, the only S-grade treatment freshman in Qingchuan University's current class.

“I’m here to report, Chancellor.”

An Zihu nodded in respect.

“I’ve already heard about your matter; you performed very well.”

Dean Huang stood up and walked to An Zihu, patting his shoulder.

An Zihu's promotion to Emerald was earlier than he had expected.

But he knew that everything happened for a reason.

Because he encountered a hall master-level expert from the Blacklight Society in the exotic (other realm).

The Blacklight Society had a very clear hierarchy.

Without the corresponding rank, one could absolutely not hold the respective position.

And their hall masters corresponded to Emerald card players.

It was said that that hall master was no ordinary hall master, but one held by a Saint Child.

Each helmsman would cultivate a group of adopted sons as the Saint Children of their helms, so it could be said that those who could become Saint Children were absolutely one-in-a-million talents.

The result was that such an existence was defeated by An Zihu.

“Indeed, I encountered some unexpected events, so I found it uninteresting and came back.”

An Zihu didn't offer much explanation; instead, he changed the subject: “On my way here, I seemed to have heard that some competition is being held among the freshmen?”

“That's the Freshman Placement Match; it has already reached the top 16, you're late.”

Dean Huang said with a smile.

“But why did I hear that if a student is absent from the Placement Match for some reason, they can later choose to challenge a player to fill a spot?”

What An Zihu cared about was not actually dueling those Platinum students, but the title of the top student of the year.

“It seems you are very familiar with the rules of the Placement Match; did you research it beforehand?

However, that substitute spot has conditions.”

Dean Huang smiled.

“If I remember correctly, meeting any one of the five conditions can be considered fulfilling the conditions for a substitute challenge.

I seem to meet the second condition: the substitute's rank is higher than all participating players.”

An Zihu had indeed done his research beforehand.

“Uh, you're right.”

Dean Huang rubbed his forehead.

There was indeed such a rule.

“Tell me, who do you want to challenge?”

Finally, he asked helplessly.

“I heard there’s also a combat power ranking among the freshmen.”

An Zihu, prepared, pulled out his phone: “The person in first place on it is from our Steadfast Academy, right? I'll challenge her.”

Starting with the academy's top student, that was very reasonable.

“Chi Xi, huh—”

Dean Huang seemed a bit troubled.

Because, judging by the current situation, Chi Xi was very likely to win the top spot.

Even with An Zihu's interference, she could still take the second spot.

Both of them were from Steadfast Academy, so why let other academies benefit from the spot?

“Chancellor, I am willing to duel him.”

As a result, Chi Xi suddenly pushed the door open and entered.

She happened to be passing by on an errand and overheard their conversation.

As soon as Shi Li returned to the dormitory, Gong Ping immediately greeted him.

“Big news! Huge news!

Chi Xi withdrew from the Placement Match and was replaced by someone!”

“Replaced?”

Shi Li didn't understand.

“A guy named An Zihu, whose rank reached Emerald 1, is the only S-grade treatment freshman in our class!”

“So it was him—”

Gong Ping then explained everything, and Shi Li finally understood.

An Zihu defeated Chi Xi and took her spot in the Placement Match.

“Hmm—”

Shi Li fell into thought, then his gaze drifted to A Ya Jun, who was washing his hair at the sink outside.

“Why do I always have a bad feeling that I and that student An will meet in the semifinals.”

When one Conceptual God is defeated by external factors, the other Conceptual God becomes equivalent to an invincible existence.

However, the subsequent top 16 to top 8, and top 8 to top 4 matches, went relatively smoothly.

In both matches, Shi Li did not draw A Ya Jun or An Zihu.

So, the final top 4 were Shi Li, A Ya Jun, An Zihu, and Duan Xinxin.

The top 4 and the finals would all be held on the same day.

Each person needed to play 2 matches.

The winners would enter the finals to determine first and second place, and the losers would enter the loser's finals to determine third and fourth place.

With half a month left until the competition, Shi Li planned his schedule for this half month.

Firstly, as the only freshman from Po Shi Academy to enter the top 8 and top 4, he once again enjoyed the prize pool alone.

900,000 in prize money was deposited into his account the next day.

His personal assets immediately reached 1.05 million.

Currently, Shi Li only had one place left where he needed to spend money.

That was Red Blade Maiden's three-to-four Star Ascension mission.

“It's impossible to reach four stars in the Placement Match.”

However, he temporarily held no such expectations: “I should still go to the Abyss first.”

In fact, if he didn't have to come back for the Placement Match, he would have immediately challenged the 8th floor of the Abyss the moment he reached Platinum 10.

Because, in addition to challenging the 8th floor, he also wanted to see if Withering Dragon could be farmed in the Abyss dungeon.

If it could be farmed, then the Abyss would be its best Star Ascension location.

So, taking leave again, Shi Li returned to Durian City.

Last time, he was scolded for not greeting Brother Hou, so this time he sent a text message half a day in advance.

However, just like last time, he didn't want to attract too much attention.

So, he didn't ask Director Hou to pick him up, but quietly entered the Abyss by himself.

After some time, the mission progress of Abyss No. 68 had made considerable strides again.

Abyss No. 68, Current Stage Mission:

Number of 4-Evolution Kills: 2133 / 10000

Number of 5-Evolution Kills: 254 / 1000

Number of 6-Evolution Kills: 13 / 100

Number of 8-Evolution Kills: 0 / 10

Number of 10-Evolution Kills: 0 / 1

The number of completed quests on floors 4 and 5 has doubled.

The number of successful clears on floor 6 also increased by 50%.

Shi Li also saw on the leaderboard monument that 5 people had already cleared floor 7.

Wu Tianjin, Wu Tianzuo, Wu Tianming, Wu Tianhou.

Plus Wang Defa himself, still at the top of the floor 7 leaderboard, which is first place.

As for the floor 8 leaderboard, it was empty, with no names on it.

“Are they all using their real names? This is a family of siblings, right?”

While complaining, Shi Li walked into the teleportation gate to floor 8.

He specifically chose the time when there were the fewest people.

At this time, most card players were either resting or enjoying themselves, so no one noticed his arrival this time, nor did they notice him entering floor 8.

Actually, this was Shi Li's first time on floor 8.

Last time, he was immediately teleported away after completing the floor 7 challenge.

Upon arriving on floor 8, the Abyssal Kind here had faintly begun to shed their blob-like form.

Despite only being 0th evolution, they already possessed some biological Characteristics.

“Come on.”

Shi Li immediately cast a marker.

In his opinion, in the deep layers of the Abyss, the difference between 9+1 and 8+1 was not very significant.

The gap was not as large as that between Platinum 9 and Platinum 10 card players.

Mainly because the opponents were extremely strong with multiple entries, and since you would be crushed with 9+1 anyway, and equally crushed with 8+1, what was the difference?

Of course, your rank couldn't be too low.

If it was 7+1 compared to 9+1, then the difference would still be quite noticeable.

More importantly, it was about the synergy and mechanics between card decks.

He tried it, and the results were pretty good.

He had now played a total of 0th evolution and 1st evolution, two card games.

Then the Star Ascension quest count for Withering Dragon increased by 10.

This meant that even after evolution, they were still considered the same type of enemy.

So Shi Li directly refreshed the stage and challenged again.

This time, another 10 quest counts were added.

“Comfortable.”

The most efficient method had been found.

Since the 0th evolution Abyssal Kind were very easy to deal with, he simply set up a deck and started automatic combat.

The efficiency of automatic combat was much, much faster than manual control.

All Shi Li had to do was start a card game, finish it, refresh the stage, and start another card game.

During this cycle, he had a lot of free time.

So he simply began to work on Red Blade Maiden's three-to-four Star Ascension quest.

3000 demons was not a small number.

Shi Li kept grinding and grinding and grinding, and as a result, his 1.05 million cubic coins were all used up.

Red Blade Maiden's Star Ascension quest was still not completed.

“Hmph—”

This situation made him feel a bit dazed.

“But it’s true, whether used early or late, this hurdle must be crossed eventually.”

He didn't feel any heartache.

Anyway, he had accumulated a lot of experience, and he believed that with about 10 more attempts, he might be able to clear it.

The three-to-four simulation quest consumed a lot of mental power, so Shi Li didn't use up the 1.05 million all at once.

In addition, automatic combat in card games also consumed Energy.

So he did the simulation quest in bursts, resting in between.

When he was really tired, he would go to the NPC inn to rest.

This process took a whole week.

It was this week that brought Withering Dragon's two-to-three Star Ascension quest almost to completion.

“Comfortable.”

When the last demon was defeated, the quest was finally full.

“Honestly, this is the easiest character card for me to Star Ascension. It doesn't cost money or brainpower; it's just hassle-free pure grinding.”

He held the card in his hand.

A warm current flowed through his body, and his spirit immediately lifted.

Rank: Platinum 10 → Platinum 11

Stamina: 387 / 387 → 400 / 400

Energy: 393 / 393 → 406 / 406

Withering System Resonance: 40% → 60%

“Let’s look at the card first.”

The Bone Dragon in the card projection looked even more majestic, with ghostly flames burning fiercely in its eyes.

Withering Dragon

Withering, 30 points, Three-star Attack 30, 50 / 50, 0 / 60

Withering Immortality - Characteristic: Withering Dragon's maximum health is fixed at 50 points, and health is reset each turn. Wither Bomb - Passive: When Withering Dragon leaves the field, it grants 1 target 30 points of Wither effect. Old Death New Life - Passive: When Withering Dragon leaves the field, it grants 1 target 30 points of Charge.

Wither Magic - 30 Energy: Withering Dragon attacks 1 target, applying 30 points of Wither effect. Wither Curse - 30 Energy: Withering Dragon grants 1 target a Wither effect equal to 10% of its maximum health (Wither: Lose a corresponding amount of maximum health for this game, stackable).

“Oh? Health percentage?”

Shi Li didn't expect his second giant-killing card to appear like this.

The Energy cap directly doubled by 30 points, and this new entry would be very useful in PVE.

Compared to Crimson Blaze, its advantage was that it was an effect.

And what was deducted was the maximum health.

What this meant was that first, the effect was not damage, so it would not be reduced by Shield, Barrier, Defense, and other reductions.

Then, what was deducted was the maximum, so it would not be nullified or erased by super powerful healing like Araga's Offspring.

Shi Li had also checked the Wither effect.

It was a very rare and powerful effect.

While it couldn't be said to be exclusive to Withering Dragon, very few character cards possessed this effect.

Once released, it would be permanently effective for the current game.

However, compared to actual damage, it also had its drawbacks, or rather, weaknesses.

Wither cannot affect Magic Immune targets. It is very common for some big BOSSes to have Unyielding and Magic Immune.

This was especially true for the evolvable Abyssal Kind in the Abyss.

In addition, the Wither effect is afraid of Purification.

No matter how many layers or points you've stacked, 1 Purification will directly deal with it, making all your previous efforts futile.

Therefore, Wither is not invincible and needs to be used in appropriate situations.

“My 1.05 million cubic coins seem to have been used a bit too early—”

In addition to the Star Ascension card, Shi Li also obtained a token card for his innate hand, Withering Origin.

“But it’s fine. If I really clear floor 8, I’ll have money again immediately.

Oh, that’s right.”

He almost forgot to look at Withering Dragon's three-to-four Star Ascension quest.

“???”

As a result, with just one look, he immediately suspected he was seeing things.

Star Ascension Quest: Withering Dragon participates in defeating unique cards, 0 / 50000

“You’re kidding me, right?”

One-to-two was 1000, two-to-three was 3000.

How did it jump so much to three-to-four all of a sudden?

He had already spent a week grinding 3000 types in the Abyss, so how long would it take to grind 50000 types now?

17 weeks? 4 months?

Then for four-to-five, would he have to grind for several years?

“Forget it, I’ll look at it later.”

Shi Li shook his head, preparing to officially challenge floor 8.

Before reaching 6th evolution, he didn't think it would be difficult with his current level.

So he set up a general deck, intending to just crush it with automatic combat.

To improve efficiency and save time.

First row: Withering Dragon + Jumping Guard + bo shan.

Withering Dragon's tactics now came in two types: one was to bring all passives to the front row to tank damage.

Die early to release the death rattle early.

The other was to place it in the back row, making more use of other cards leaving the field to Charge, to achieve the goal of frequently releasing skills.

In the case of automated card games, the former was more suitable.

Second row: cloud river + Lotus Succubus + Cicada Wing Patrol.

A row of support cards, nothing much to say.

Last row: Tao Tao Mo + Flower Cudgel Leader + Demonbane Dark Hunter.

Tao Tao Mo would first make good use of Blindness and Water Wave Impact in the early game. Shi Li's setting was to switch it to Snail Walking Lady only when it reached the 5th turn, when there would be enough Movement space on the card table.

The final trump card was Red Blade Maiden, as usual.

After setting up all the program details, Shi Li let loose and started working. This automated playstyle proved quite practical, switching to manual control when it reached 6th evolution.

After only half a day of challenging, he actually saw 8th evolution for the first time.