114: Chapter 114 Bankruptcy Imminent? Astonishing Energy Consumption

Truth Sanctuary. Late at night.

Qi Yuan placed his third cup of coffee of the day beside the pile of causality calculation drafts and rubbed his temples.

The communicator on the corner of the desk suddenly vibrated.

Sender: War Emperor Wei Potian.

"Old Qi, are you there?"

Qi Yuan raised an eyebrow. A guy like the War Emperor, who spent the whole year only roaring at people in his military tent, was actually using a question in a late-night message?

Tsk, things were probably not simple.

He put down his coffee cup and was about to reply when the communicator rang directly; this time, it was actually a voice call request.

"Old Wei, what's going on over there—"

"I'm asking you something." War Emperor Wei Potian's voice was very low, as if he were afraid of someone hearing him. "Hypothetically, I mean hypothetically. There is a card that, after activation, can generate an exclusive battle spirit based on the user's soul traits. The destructive power of this thing is linked to the user's Mental Power, but every bit of damage it takes is synchronized and fed back to the main body."

Qi Yuan's hand holding the coffee cup stopped in mid-air. Old Wei, this rough-and-tumble fellow, was actually starting to research Card Creator work? This concept... was interesting.

"And then?"

"Then this spirit has a special ability. It can forcibly freeze physical laws, causing Time Stop. But the price is—to move in the frozen world, the user's heart must withstand extremely terrifying pressure. If it exceeds a few seconds, the cardiovascular system will burst on the spot."

Qi Yuan didn't speak.

"There's more." War Emperor Wei Potian's speech speed got faster and faster. "Before activating the ability, you need to strike an extremely flamboyant pose. You also have to shout a slogan. It's shouted as 'Za Warudo'—I don't know what that means, probably something about smashing tiles. Or you let out a weird 'Wryyy' scream. After hearing it, the opponent might think you have a throat cramp..."

The other end of the line fell silent. For three whole seconds. Then—

"Hahahaha hahahaha hahahaha hahahaha—!!!"

Qi Yuan laughed so hard he slid off his chair. The coffee cup tipped over, and the calculation drafts were half soaked. He collapsed onto the edge of the desk, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably, laughing so hard that his glasses even flew off and hung by his ears.

"Old Wei—wait, wait a second—let me catch my breath—"

War Emperor Wei Potian heard the sound of fists pounding on a table from the other end. It took Qi Yuan a long time to pick up the communicator again, his voice still trembling.

"You make defensive gear to save your life, Old Wei, to save your life! Do you understand? This thing not only takes your life, but it also makes you wear a skirt in public—no, wait, makes you act like a circus monkey in public! Damage synchronization! Heart explosion! You have to strike a pose! You have to make weird noises! What kind of card are you having a Card Creator make? Who in their right mind would add this stuff to a card? Are they brain-damaged?!"

Qi Yuan choked on his laughter again.

"Which twisted sadist suggested this plan to you? Give me a name, and I'll go to the Truth Sanctuary Disciplinary Department right now to revoke this idiot scammer's Card Creator license! Immediately! Right now! Hahaha..."

War Emperor Wei Potian opened his mouth. Su Bai! Li Qingyue's direct disciple, the founder of the Magical Girl system... Su Bai, who had just tailored a Stand Card plan for his daughter today!

Damn it, is this brat messing around?

However, thinking about how Su Bai's previous magical girl card was also this abstract, War Emperor Wei Potian only felt a headache, but he didn't intend to cause trouble for Su Bai. After all, Su Bai might not have done it on purpose.

But... he still wanted to find a normal card for his daughter!

This kind of card is just too damn abstract. Just thinking about his daughter using this card makes him feel at a loss. After all, she is a Tier 9, she needs to save face!

"...Forget it."

"What do you mean 'forget it'?" Qi Yuan's voice rose a notch. "Old Wei, when did you become so easygoing? You are the War Emperor! The world's number one Tier 9! Your daughter's card is being messed with by some insane asylum plan, and you say 'forget it'?"

"It's that I didn't explain it clearly."

"What didn't you explain clearly? Damage synchronization, heart explosion, Mental Power backlash, posing and screaming—you damn well explained it too clearly! I could draw a side-effect tree diagram for this ghost of a thing with my eyes closed! This thing shouldn't be called a Stand Card; it should be called a suicide assistant!"

War Emperor Wei Potian felt his temples throbbing.

He really wanted to roar back. He wanted to say, what the hell do you know? The person who made this thing just a few days ago let a Tier 7 sword cultivator vaporize three Tier 9 monsters with one shot. He wanted to say that the person who proposed this plan is the only person in the world who can let his daughter Stand alive until the end of the National Competition.

But he couldn't say it.

Because his daughter's combat style was already absurd enough—her equipment-destroying attribute left all the orthodox masters in the Imperial Capital helpless. If people found out that the War Emperor's daughter was going to bind a card that would cause her heart to explode, those masters would probably jointly petition to cancel her eligibility.

"...Just pretend you never heard it."

War Emperor Wei Potian hung up the communicator.

The study fell silent. The aurora curtain outside the window flowed slowly. War Emperor Wei Potian stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at his hands, which were bigger than sandpots. These hands could smash the skull of a Tier 9 monster with one punch, could hold off three poison dragons on the Abyss Front until reinforcements arrived, and could smash anyone who provoked the War Emperor's majesty into the floor, armor and all.

But these hands could not create cards.

He looked at the photocopy of the Substitute Arrow blueprint on the coffee table. Su Bai had drawn it on the spot; the lines were crooked, and the text in several places was so ugly it looked like it was written with a foot. But every barb on that golden beetle was accurate to the micron level, and the causality-nested logic of the circuit could be felt as an overwhelming pressure even by him, a layman.

How on earth did this kid's brain grow?

Those two slaps on Wei Xiaoyu's face during the day also slapped his heart as a father. But after the slaps, his daughter knelt in the moonlight, crying and admitting her weakness—he had raised Wei Xiaoyu for more than a decade and had never seen her bow her head. He had never seen her speak in that tone before.

Then Su Bai squatted down, looked her in the eye, and said, "Rotten wood can be carved."

"Rotten wood can be carved." These four words carried more weight than all the compliments those Imperial Capital masters had said to Wei Xiaoyu over the last decade combined.

But her heart would really explode. War Emperor Wei Potian tapped his fingers on the sofa armrest twice. Once the Time Stop pressure crossed the three-second threshold, the cardiovascular system would be like being crushed by a hydraulic press. His precious daughter would have to strike a flamboyant pose and shout "Za Warudo" on the nationally broadcast arena, then bet on whether she could end the battle within three seconds.

If she lost the bet, she would die on the stage.

He had made tactical decisions in military tents for decades and had never felt this sense of a sword hanging over his heart. Because those decisions were ones he had made himself, and he had carried the burden himself. This time was different. This time, he was off the stage, unable to do anything.

"...Damn it."

The dignified War Emperor squeezed these two words out of his throat, facing the empty study.

He picked up his phone, scrolled through his contacts, and finally stopped on Su Bai's name. He typed a line. Deleted it, typed again, and deleted it again. This repeated four or five times.

Then he threw the phone onto the sofa.

Forget it... In any case, let Su Bai make it first. Anyway, whether this card is made or not isn't up to him to decide. If it really doesn't work, at worst, they just won't use it!

Meanwhile. Purple Mountain Mansion. Underground Card Creation Room.

Su Bai squatted in the middle of a pile of materials that had exploded into fragments, staring expressionlessly at the charred, smoking remains on the card creation table.

Kyubey sat on the shelf nearby, its tail sweeping slowly.

"The eleventh time. This time, it was Tier 9 crystal core fragments and Abyss Sea sinking silver that exploded."

"I know."

"The consumption rate of the formless spirit sand is four times faster than you estimated."

"I know."

"You are about three days away from bankruptcy."

"...I didn't know that."