Chapter 118 [Star River Consciousness Realm]

"The start-of-term grand competition!"

Gu Ye lay flat on his bed, his eyes gently closed, a pair of minimalist silver-gray glasses resting on his face.

Though he appeared to be resting, his consciousness had long since detached from his physical body, stepping into a vast and brilliant virtual sea of stars.

"So, what the teacher said in class was true; only when a Card Master reaches the Silver rank can they truly appreciate the joy of being a Card Master."

What he was wearing at this moment was the [Galaxy Consciousness Realm] glasses, exclusive to Silver-rank Card Masters.

This was no ordinary accessory; it was a virtual universe portal meticulously crafted by the Galaxy Corporation, equipped with a massive array of exclusive games, professional forums, card databases, and other diverse content. It served as a core platform for high-ranking Card Masters to communicate and study.

However, its greatest limitation was that a Card Master must break through to the Silver rank; only then could their mental strength withstand the aftereffects of entering the [Galaxy Consciousness Realm].

Gu Ye reached out and casually tapped a star, and a stream of information flowed into his mind, allowing him to immediately understand the function of that star.

"Let's go to the forum first!"

As his thoughts shifted, his figure dissipated in the sea of stars, and when he reappeared, he was already on a bustling virtual street.

On the street, Card Masters chatted in twos and threes, with speech bubbles floating above their heads.

High above, a giant virtual screen scrolled continuously, broadcasting real-time updates on new Federal card policies, popular Card Domain intelligence, and highlights of top Card Master duels, making for a lively scene.

Gu Ye stood in place, and with a flash before his eyes, a virtual screen appeared.

Others saw this and couldn't help but smile; another newcomer had arrived.

He accurately located the forum exclusive to Silver-rank Card Masters and, with a swipe of his fingertip, quickly browsed through various featured posts.

From card combinations and realm advancement to Card Domain exploration and card-making techniques, all kinds of substantial content were available. Gu Ye read through them one by one, gaining a thorough understanding of the core of cultivation at the Silver rank.

"card decks!"

"So, upon entering the Silver rank, the competition is no longer about the strength of individual cards, but about the system and synergy of the entire card deck. No matter how strong a single card is, it is difficult to withstand the offensive of a well-structured card deck."

The forum listed countless famous card deck archetypes: sacrifice style, rush style, protect-the-core style, control style...

After thousands of years of development and accumulation, various card deck systems had long since matured, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, adapted to different combat styles.

Gu Ye's fingertip paused on the screen, and he pondered inwardly:

The start-of-term grand competition was imminent. Any of his fellow freshmen who had broken through to Silver had almost certainly built their own exclusive card decks. If he were completely unprepared, he would inevitably fall behind.

He must build a complete card deck of his own before school started.

"Then I'll just make a card deck of my own."

Having made up his mind, Gu Ye once again channeled his thoughts, and his figure jumped to a star labeled "Creative Workshop." This was an exclusive space for Card Masters to conceive cards and design card decks, quiet and undisturbed.

He closed his eyes and recalled various classic cultural IPs from his previous life. The first to appear was the Three Kingdoms system corresponding to Zhang Fei. With many generals and strategists, the synergy was extremely strong, making it very easy to build a highly compatible, synergistic card deck with great combat potential.

But Gu Ye thought again; although a Three Kingdoms deck was good, he wanted to try a brand new deck with a completely different style. Moreover, his current card-making level allowed him to attempt crafting purple cards.

Gu Ye lightly waved his sleeve, and ripples appeared in the void before him as the figure of a young boy slowly coalesced:

He looked about ten years old, wearing a red and white baseball cap, a medium-blue jacket with gold trim, a dark teal short-sleeved T-shirt underneath, light blue jeans, a brown belt, and black, white, and red sneakers.

It was none other than Ash, known as Master Zhi. Gu Ye always felt something was missing.

Looking at the formed figure, Gu Ye frowned slightly, feeling it lacked a bit of soul, but a moment later, he slapped his forehead in realization.

"I remember now."

A yellow-skinned mouse appeared beside him, and as Gu Ye looked at the pair, it started to make sense.

"I can also make a 'protect-the-core' style deck, specifically to protect Ash."

"Wait a minute, what about me..."

Gu Ye suddenly remembered that he, as a Card Master, also needed protection.

"Then I'll just hide."

He instantly recalled the "cannot be targeted" state the opponent had triggered during his duel with Xu Yuanmo, which allowed them to avoid damage throughout the entire fight.

If he could incorporate such an effect into his card deck, he could conceal his figure and avoid damage.

After thinking this through, Gu Ye added a few new partners for Ash.

In addition to the original yellow-skinned mouse, he added the "Wife Beast" and Magikarp. The last two were a small, warm-orange dinosaur with short, thick limbs and a dark blue, fluffy puppy.

Gu Ye stared at the prototype of the card, nodded with satisfaction, and then turned to organize the framework of the Three Kingdoms synergistic card deck, silently noting down the required card-making materials, intending to craft them all after finding the materials later.

However, these few cards for Ash might take up his entire month, as the "corruption value" was too troublesome.

Even Ning Shijun, who had become a god, could not completely eliminate this strange power.

Although most of Gu Ye's cards had undergone Refinement and purification in the furnace, a small portion still originated from external Card Domains, making it inevitable that they would be contaminated with corruption value.

To purify them completely and craft perfect purple cards would require a great deal of energy and time; being able to form a complete card deck before school started was already the limit.

After making his decision, just as Gu Ye was preparing to leave the Galaxy Consciousness Realm, a series of beeping sounds suddenly rang in his ears.

Gu Ye checked carefully and discovered that so many people had added him as a friend.

Gu Ye casually accepted one, and a sweet female voice suddenly rang out.

"Hello! We are the official representatives of the 'Slash Me Once, 999 Critical Hit' game. Congratulations on winning the lottery! You have received a 100,000 diamond gift package. Log in and get it immediately..."

Gu Ye hurriedly closed the private chat channel and set himself to private mode.

This was too terrifying; Gu Ye had only registered for the [Galaxy Consciousness Realm] a short while ago, and advertisers were already adding him.

"[Galaxy Consciousness Realm], what are you people even doing!"