39: Favorite to win

When Shi Li returned to his seat, the second match had already begun.

The two sides in the second match were Liang Dan from Third High School and a Gold 4 player from Second High School.

The advantage of Gold 5 over Gold 1-4 is much higher than Silver 3 over Silver 1-2.

Because when a 4+1 deck is activated, the player gains an additional empty card slot column.

In these two columns, a total of 6 regular card slots, 4 regular cards can be placed freely.

The Ace card, on the other hand, can be chosen to be placed in either the left or right Ace slot.

The key is that in the opponent's eyes, both Ace slots will appear to be face down, making it impossible to immediately confirm which column the opponent's Ace is in.

This is a major advantage of Gold 5 over lower ranks.

The second advantage is the "first row full reveal" rule in PVP.

Gold 5 players have two first-row card slots, meaning they can reveal both the left and right first-row card slots in the first round.

Lower-ranked players can only reveal one card in the first round, while Gold 5 players reveal two.

Starting with a two-on-one situation, it's almost impossible to win.

So, with such an advantage, Liang Dan easily defeated her opponent.

She even used only one-star cards, not even two-star cards.

Shortly after Liang Dan, Fang Jinghai also appeared.

His opponent's rank was Gold 3, making the match even easier.

In the end, he won without even revealing his Ace card.

"Liang Dan and Fang Jinghai are indeed strong contenders for the championship."

Such a performance earned Shi Li's approval.

He knew that even if he faced these two now, he probably wouldn't have a chance to win.

The advantage of revealing two cards first is simply too great.

"Cheer for me."

Gong Ping's expression at this moment was very solemn.

His draw number was right after Fang Jinghai's.

This meant he almost drew a strong contender for the championship.

"Go for it, you can do it."

Shi Li smiled.

Xiang Bei also advanced to Gold 4, so the outcome of their match was truly hard to say.

Soon, the two stood on the dueling platform.

"I hope we can have a fair match."

Gong Ping was the first to declare his pre-battle statement.

"Hmph, after I take you down and then Shi Li, I'll be the number one player in the Show Card Hall this year."

Xiang Bei responded with a cold snort.

And so, their card game began.

It must be said that as contractors from the same Card Hall, the two knew each other quite well.

So, the battle was evenly matched.

In the end, both sides' last-row regular cards were eliminated simultaneously, leading to a situation where both Ace cards would be revealed at the same time.

"Generally speaking, the one who reveals their Ace first will definitely be at a disadvantage, because then the opponent can prepare a countermeasure in advance."

"But now, both sides will reveal simultaneously in the next round, so there's no targeting situation."

"I heard Xiang Bei is the second-ranked player in Second High School, right?"

"That guy from Twenty-sixth High School is playing well, actually fighting evenly with Second High School's second-ranked player."

"Among so many matches in the top 32, this one is the most entertaining and evenly matched."

"It really lives up to what that guy said earlier, a fair match, haha."

It was clear that everyone had high praise for this card game.

"Come on, a fair match!"

Gong Ping was the first to reveal his card; it was a relatively ordinary one-star card.

To reach this point with Xiang Bei, he had already used his 3 strongest cards.

The remaining two-star cards were not really suitable as Ace cards, so he could only use this one.

"Is this your Ace? Then I'm sorry, I'm going to win."

Xiang Bei's expression turned sharp, and then she revealed her Ace card.

Oh Holy Fire!

In the card's projection, a masked woman in a white night suit holding a flame-shaped token leaped out.

Holy Fire Believer

Balanced, 30 points, Two-star

Attack 70, 200 / 200

Momentum - Passive: When Holy Fire Believer is revealed, gain 10 Encouragement.

Passion - Passive: Holy Fire Believer's Encouragement lasts an additional 1 round.

(Encouragement: Increases the target's attack power by the corresponding value)

"A two-star Holy Fire Believer!"

"This Holy Fire Believer's traits are so suitable for an Ace card."

"70 points of attack for 2 rounds, plus 60 points of attack for 1 round, that's exactly 200 points!"

"Gong Ping's 60 attack will need 4 rounds to defeat 200 HP!"

"Xiang Bei is going to win this round."

In the player area, everyone analyzed and then reached a conclusion.

"Shi Li, what do you think?"

Just then, a girl next to him initiated a conversation.

She was his opponent, Yang Lai from Fourth High School.

"It's too early to make a judgment; I think Gong Ping has a better chance of winning."

Shi Li commented.

"You're from Twenty-sixth High School, so of course you'd speak up for him.

But there's no way he still has a Star Up card.

I'm more optimistic about Xiang Bei winning."

A player next to him immediately disagreed, with a hint of disdain in his tone.

As soon as that attitude emerged, Shi Li knew who this person was.

The Third High School player who had been chattering about him in the unmanned vending store earlier, seemed to be named Yan Hao.

His match was before Gong Ping's, and he had already successfully advanced to the top 16.

"When both Ace cards are revealed simultaneously, in addition to the cards' stats, the hand cards are also a very important factor."

Before Shi Li could speak, Yan Hao began his "lecture."

Gong Ping had already used his Star Up card on his regular cards to force a draw with Xiang Bei.

If he had saved Star Up, he might have had a chance now.

But without using Star Up, he might not have reached this evenly matched situation.

"So what?"

But Shi Li naturally understood Gong Ping's deck better than anyone present.

At the same time, Gong Ping indeed revealed a hand card.

"LV1 Star Down: Temporarily turns one two-star card revealed this round into a one-star card! (T0)

Hahahahaha! Didn't expect that, did you!"

Amidst his wild laughter, Xiang Bei watched in astonishment as her Ace card dropped from two stars to one star.

Holy Fire Believer dropping from two stars to one star meant she had to immediately discard a trait.

But the problem was that its two traits were complementary; removing one would completely disrupt her strategy!

"What?! This guy actually has such a rare hand card besides Star Up!"

"No, didn't he keep saying he wanted a fair match?"

"Exactly, using such a despicable tactic, how can it be considered fair?"

The students from Second High School were all speaking up for Xiang Bei.

"On the card table, where does 'despicable' come from?"

"What's more, now their Ace cards have become one-star against one-star, haven't they?"

"I think Gong Ping played very well."

In response to their double standards, players from other schools spoke out in rebuttal.

"Hmph!"

Yan Hao's face immediately turned a little ugly.

Having his words immediately refuted after speaking, no one's face would look good.

...

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