129: Chapter 128 The Emperor's Summoning

The living room was quiet for a few seconds. Su Bai leaned against the card crafting table. Ten thousand thoughts flew through his mind, finally landing on a very unacademic point.

"...So Venerable Qi Yuan still doesn't know..."

"Doesn't know what?"

"Doesn't know that his theory came from me..."

Li Qingyue paused for a moment.

Then, she laughed. A 9th-tier Supreme shouldn't laugh like that. She clutched her stomach, collapsing into the sofa, her legs swinging wildly over the edge. Her silver-white hair spilled across the sofa, and there was even a hint of moisture in the corners of her eyes.

"He doesn't know." Li Qingyue laughed so hard her speech was broken, "Pfft, he has absolutely no idea. The day before yesterday, he was still cursing in the group chat, saying he wanted to revoke the Card Creator license of that idiot scammer, and then turned around on the forum to call you a genius of the century. Hahahaha—"

Qin Ye glanced at Su Bai.

Su Bai watched his master, expressionless, as she laughed until her image completely collapsed on the sofa.

A 9th-tier Supreme.

The founder of space-time theory.

"...Master, have you laughed enough?"

"Not yet." Li Qingyue wiped the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand, "This matter."

She sat up. Her crimson eyes still held traces of laughter, but deep within them, a very calm light flickered.

"You absolutely cannot tell Qi Yuan."

"Huh?"

"Think about it." Li Qingyue placed the Stand Card on the coffee table, folding her hands over her knees, "He is now smugly sending his top disciple to compete, treating one-tenth of the theory as his trump card, holding it as the absolute truth. He thinks he's guaranteed a spot in the top three... If he discovers on the competition stage that the underlying logic of Shen Ye's Titan Furnace is a simplified version of your Stand framework, and that Shen Ye's opponent is you, the owner of the original framework."

The corners of her mouth curved into an arc that didn't fit the status of a 9th-tier Supreme.

"I want to see the expression on his face then."

Su Bai was silent for a beat.

"...Master, you are actually quite black-bellied."

"This is called academic rigor."

Li Qingyue thought for a moment, then explained: "However, Qi Yuan hasn't actually put in real effort this time. Most of his computing power is on the cloud; currently, he is purely using your theory to craft cards."

"Computing power is on the cloud?"

Su Bai was stunned, "What does that mean?"

"Simply put, the current Qi Yuan has separated his brain. Assuming his entire consciousness is 100, 90 percent of his will has been placed on the network to research projects for breaking through the Rank 9, and the remaining 10 points of will are the refraction of his reality, though this is abstract enough."

Li Qingyue laughed, "He probably never imagined that by combining forces with his disciple, he would actually be defeated by a Rank 2 rookie, haha."

Su Bai was shocked. Was a Rank 9 really this terrifying?

Kyubey jumped down from the windowsill.

"Su Bai. According to intelligence from the Rank 9 Kyubey, Venerable Qi Yuan just gave a passionate forty-minute lecture to seven assistants at the Sanctuary Material Institute. The theme of the speech was—'Why contemporary young Card Creators generally lack an innovative spirit'."

"...Did he use me as a positive example again?"

"Yes, he used 'genius of the century' eleven times, 'once in a millennium' three times, and 'I really want to throw that idiot scammer who designed pose-striking, weird-slogan-shouting cards for Wei Xiaoyu into the abyss' twice."

"..."

"He still doesn't know it's the same person."

Li Qingyue laughed until she collapsed again. This time, even the corners of Qin Ye's mouth twitched.

When Li Qingyue finally laughed enough, she brought the topic back on track.

"Rank 9 Stand." She picked up the cup of cold water on the coffee table and took a sip, "You said twenty axes, eight phases plus six physics plus four time plus two causality anchoring; if this configuration is a complete framework, it can indeed reach the standard of a Rank 9 Rainbow Card."

"But?"

"But there is a problem." Li Qingyue put down the water cup, "There were special reasons why the previous Incubators could create Rank 9 cards, but if you want to forge this card into a Rank 9, and a Rainbow Card at that, you cannot do without a special condition."

She held up a finger.

"The philosophers stone."

Su Bai was not surprised. He already knew this name from the system reward description and the introduction to the National Competition. A projection of fragments of ancient high-dimensional laws, a divine object that could ignore equivalent exchange and provide infinite magic power. A national treasure that only the National Competition champion was qualified to touch.

"No substitute?"

"None." Li Qingyue's voice was crisp, "The creation of a Rank 9 card is essentially the solidification of laws. Ordinary Rank 9 monster materials can only carry law fragments and cannot complete a full law loop. Only the philosophers stone—or rather, the projection of the philosophers stone—can provide that level of conceptual anchoring. Without it, no matter how beautiful the twenty-axis framework is drawn, it is just a piece of waste paper."

She looked at Su Bai.

"So you only have two choices. First, give up on the Rank 9 Stand and make a weakened version using Rank 8 materials. Second. Win the National Competition champion."

Su Bai picked up his card crafting pen. He spun it between his fingers.

"I was going to participate anyway. Now there's just one more reason I must win."

Li Qingyue looked at him. There was no expression of surprise on that little face; it seemed she had known he would answer like that.

"That's good." She jumped off the sofa and walked barefoot toward the door, "Also, there is one more thing."

"What?"

"The Empress wants to see you."

Su Bai's pen dropped again.

"...Huh?"

"The supreme ruler of the Dragon Kingdom, the Lord of All People, the holder of the Imperial Throne." Li Qingyue listed the titles without looking back, her tone like reading a delivery list, "She saw the first-day sales report of the magical girl card and acknowledged you."

She turned around.

"The Empress's original words were—'I want to meet this Card Creator who can give frontline soldiers an extra life'."

Su Bai opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Finally, he only let out a single syllable.

"...?"

Li Qingyue enjoyed her disciple's expression for three seconds. Then she pulled the universal balance from her sleeve, the golden card face spinning on her fingertips. Pale golden ripples appeared in the air, and a narrow spatial rift tore open silently.

"The time is set for one week later. Imperial Capital Imperial City. Someone will notify you of the specific arrangements."

"Master, wait a moment. Can't you say this kind of thing in advance? And using this tone of mentioning it casually before leaving—"

"If I had told you in advance, all your thoughts just now would have been on this matter."

Li Qingyue turned her head before stepping into the rift.

"The Stand Card is well made."

The rift closed.

The living room was left with only the afternoon sunlight, cold tea, and a cat whose eyes seemed to say, "See, I told you so."

Qin Ye picked up the bag of discount oranges on the coffee table. He peeled one. Ate a slice.

"Sour."

Su Bai stood in front of the card crafting table.

Three things were running at high speed in his mind. The philosophers stone for the Rank 9 Stand. The National Competition champion. The Empress's summons. These three things interlocked like three gears, each precisely linked to the other two.

If he couldn't win the championship, he couldn't make the Rank 9 Stand. If he couldn't make the Rank 9 Stand, he couldn't beat a peak Rank 5 opponent. If he couldn't beat the opponent, he couldn't win the championship.

And his current hand was—

A Rank 2 Card Creator. A Magic Card Master he had just picked up. A Rank 2 Stand Card. And three months of time.

His phone vibrated.

[Lin Xiao]: "@Su Bai The materials from the studio have arrived. Researcher Yun Zhi said she stayed up all night to finish a batch of new nano-interface membranes. Also, Young Master Qin Mo said the pre-order queue has already broken two million, and he asked if you can increase the production line. Also. Are you listening?"

[Su Bai]: "Yes. But let's slow down for a moment."

[Su Bai]: "I think I'm going to meet the Empress."

The group chat was silent for about five seconds.

[Zhao Dahai]: "???????????????????????????"

[Lin Xiao]: "What Empress??????"

[Su Bai]: "The Empress. The supreme ruler of the Dragon Kingdom. The Lord of All People. The holder of the Imperial Throne. One week later. Imperial Capital Imperial City."

[Zhao Dahai]: "Did you do something outrageous again?"

[Su Bai]: "Sold a few cards."

[Zhao Dahai]: "A few????? Is sixty billion called a few?????"

[Lin Xiao]: "Su Bai. Do you know who the last Card Creator summoned alone by the Empress was?"

[Su Bai]: "Who."

[Lin Xiao]: "Li Qingyue. Thirty years ago. When she created the universal balance."

Su Bai set his phone on the card crafting table.

Outside the window, the aurora sky was switching to twilight mode. The shadow of the old locust tree was stretched long; Qin Ye had finished the third orange.

One week later.

Imperial Capital Imperial City.

The Empress summons.

Su Bai picked up the card crafting pen again.

"Qin Ye. Double the training volume."

Qin Ye threw the orange peel into the trash can. The dark golden gear pattern on the back of his hand spun in the twilight light.

"...Okay."