163: Chapter 163 Magical Substitute!

"So that's how it is."

"Even this can be touched."

The Stand tightened its five fingers.

Crack.

A crisp sound rang out.

The Mental Power network covering the twenty-three people—a first crack appeared!

"No—"

Han Ce only had time to utter one word.

The silvery-white light beam snapped instantly!

There was no explosion.

No shockwave.

Not even any dissipation of magic power.

Yet the twenty-two people connected to the Mental Power network simultaneously lost all shared vision!

Some were observing Qin Ye's Mental Power fluctuations through Han Ce.

Some were receiving elemental changes transmitted by Master Mage Chen Taixu.

Some were waiting for the spatial-type contestant to synchronize the next set of coordinates.

All information—instantly reset to zero!

The consciousnesses of the twenty-three people, originally interconnected, were forcibly separated by an irresistible force.

The three-layered lens in front of Han Ce shattered simultaneously.

Pfft!

He threw his head back and spat out a mouthful of blood.

He staggered back several steps, clutching his left eye tightly with both hands.

The Eye of Omniscience had not been dispelled.

The auxiliary pupil of omniscience was not damaged either.

Both cards were functioning normally.

But they could no longer transmit data to anyone else!

"What happened?!"

"The Mental Power network has been cut off!"

"Han Ce's two cards are clearly still active! Why is the combined effect gone?!"

"What exactly did Qin Ye hit just now?!"

On the commentary platform, Chief Commentator Lu Ming had completely given up on independent analysis.

He turned directly to the VIP area.

"Lady Li Qingyue!"

"What did contestant Qin Ye just attack?!"

Li Qingyue did not answer immediately.

She stared at that black-and-white world.

In her perception, Qin Ye had not destroyed any cards.

She hadn't interfered with any spells.

She hadn't even attacked Han Ce's Mental Power.

She had simply forcibly dragged a certain abstract concept that shouldn't exist in the material world into reality.

And then—shattered it.

"Connections."

Li Qingyue finally spoke.

"Qin Ye attacked the connections between the cards."

The entire arena went silent.

"The Magical Girl System allows the soul to obtain a stable shell in reality, while the Stand System allows the mind to possess the power to directly interfere with reality."

"After the two fused, the connections that originally could only exist on the level of the soul, mind, and rules were forcibly manifested by her into tangible entities in reality."

"The circuit connections between main cards and auxiliary cards."

"The contracts between summoners and summoned beasts."

"The Mental Power connections between supporters and those being supported."

"The energy transmission between formation nodes."

"These things—"

"Can now all be touched by the Stand."

Upon hearing this, the last trace of color drained from the Purple-Robed Chief's face.

He stared at the segment of silvery-white light dissipating in Qin Ye's hand.

His lips moved.

"She is not destroying the cards."

The old man's voice was dry.

"She is destroying—"

"Why the cards are able to take effect."

This sentence was transmitted throughout the arena via the sound-pickup formation.

Tens of thousands of spectators felt their scalps tingle!

Why can cards take effect?

Because the cards have established a Mental Power connection with the user.

Why do summoned beasts obey orders?

Because the contract connects both parties.

Why can support effects land on teammates?

Because magic power circuits have built a transmission channel between the two people.

Why can combined formations allow different cards to coordinate with each other?

Because there are connections between every formation node!

Qin Ye did not need to be stronger than their cards.

She did not need to understand the structure of every card.

She did not need to shatter magic head-on.

She only needed to see it.

And then—tear it apart!

"Scatter!"

Han Ce shouted sharply, clutching his left eye.

"Everyone, break all external connections!"

"Do not maintain the combined formation anymore!"

"Don't let her touch those lines!"

Before his voice even faded, Qin Ye moved.

She did not use Time Stop.

She didn't even rush toward any of the contestants.

She stood where she was, her five fingers gripping an earthy-yellow band of light.

That was the damage-sharing network between the six defense-type warriors.

The warrior at the very front had his pupils constrict sharply.

"Protect the connection!"

He slammed both hands into the ground.

Three phantom images of mountains rose from the ground, blocking that earthy-yellow band of light behind them.

Qin Ye didn't move.

The Stand took a step forward.

It did not attack the mountains.

Its right arm bypassed the defensive phantoms in reality and reached directly into the time frame behind the mountains.

On the temporal level—that band of light had no defense!

It gripped with its five fingers.

And pulled back!

Crack—!

The earthy-yellow band of light snapped in the middle.

The second cards on the chests of the six defense-type warriors simultaneously dimmed.

[Earth Veins] was still active.

But it could no longer connect to [Mountain Fortress]!

The six overlapping defense systems instantly reverted back into six cards fighting on their own.

The Stand threw a punch.

Bang!

The first mountain phantom shattered.

It turned.

An elbow strike!

The second one shattered.

A horizontal sweep of its right leg.

The third mountain phantom, along with the two defense-type warriors behind it, flew out.

Two white beams of teleportation light lit up simultaneously!

"Crimson Blood Lion Kings!"

Three scarlet giant beasts pounced from the side.

They opened their bloody maws in mid-air, sharp fangs aimed directly at Qin Ye's head, waist, and legs.

Qin Ye didn't look at them.

She raised her left hand.

She gripped the three scarlet chains extending from the summoner's chest.

The summoner's expression changed drastically.

"Come back!"

It was too late for the three Lion Kings to return.

Qin Ye took a step forward.

The Stand stood behind her, both hands simultaneously gripping the three contract chains.

It tore them apart to both sides!

Snap!

The first one broke.

Snap!

The second one.

The third one!

The three Crimson Blood Lion Kings, which were less than half a meter away from Qin Ye, stopped in mid-air simultaneously.

Their massive bodies began to turn transparent, starting from the head.

There was no injury.

No death.

They simply lost the reason to remain in the reality world.

The summoned beasts turned into red specks of light filling the sky.

And dissipated!

The summoner stood there blankly.

Neither of his two cards was damaged.

His Mental Power was not exhausted either.

But he could no longer perceive the existence of the Crimson Blood Lion Kings.

The Stand raised a finger.

It flicked his forehead gently.

Bang!

A white light lit up.

Eliminated!

This scene fell into the eyes of the remaining contestants.

Everyone felt a chill run up their spines to the tops of their heads.

How to defend?

What to use to defend?

Conventional defenses block in reality.

The Stand can enter the time interlayer and touch those connections from another time frame.

Protection cards are useless.

Protecting oneself is also useless.

Because the target Qin Ye attacked was never them.

It was that invisible line between them and the cards!

"Retreat!"

Someone finally couldn't take it anymore.

He turned and headed back.

Qin Ye did not chase.

She only looked at the Wind Wing card behind him that was providing a speed boost.

A cyan line of light extended from the Wind Wing card to his legs.

The Stand reached out.

It gave a gentle pinch.

The cyan line of light snapped.

The wind wings behind that person instantly lost support.

The entire person crashed into a sand dune at three times his original speed.

The white light of teleportation lit up immediately afterward.

"Monster..."

Another contestant looked at Qin Ye.

"This isn't a battle at all."

"She is dismantling our cards!"

In just a few seconds, the combined battle formation collapsed completely.

The Mental Power network established by Han Ce was cut off.

The defense-type shared network was torn apart.

The summoning contracts collapsed.

The coordinate circuits between the spatial spikes were shattered by the Stand's punch, destroying four of them.

The twelve transparent long spikes lost their connection to each other and fell from mid-air one after another.

They scattered all over the ground with a clattering sound.

The remaining contestants began to retreat.

This time, no one cared about the nationwide broadcast anymore.

It wasn't that they wanted to retreat.

It was that the black-and-white world itself was forcing them away from Qin Ye.

Only two people did not move.

Master Mage Chen Taixu.

Wei Xiaoyu.

Qin Ye turned her head.

She first looked at Master Mage Chen Taixu.

The Myriad Phenomena Formation Diagram in Master Mage Chen Taixu's hand was connected to eight elemental veins that covered the entire arena.

If any one of them were cut off, it would cause a gap in the Myriad Phenomena perception.

But at the very instant Qin Ye's gaze fell upon him, Master Mage Chen Taixu suddenly raised his wooden sword.

Toward his own eight elemental veins—he slashed down with one sword!

Swish!

Wind severed.

Fire severed.

Water severed!

The eight elemental veins covering the whole arena were cut off by his own sword, seven of them!

The Myriad Phenomena Formation Diagram trembled violently.

Master Mage Chen Taixu's face went pale.

Blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth.

Yet, he smiled.

The last remaining elemental vein was not connected to any card.

It was connected to the wooden sword in Master Mage Chen Taixu's hand.

The most ordinary wooden sword.

No amplification.

No formation.

No external circuits.

Only a wisp of breeze he himself had infused into it.

"Young lady."

Master Mage Chen Taixu held the wooden sword horizontally in front of him.

"This humble Taoist does not know if you can sever the connection between a person and heaven and earth."

"But one would think—"

"It should be a bit harder than severing cards."

Qin Ye did not answer.

She looked at Wei Xiaoyu again.

The Titan Furnace inside Wei Xiaoyu was already running at 93,000 RPM.

Nine dark gold energy lines firmly connected the furnace core to the [Extreme Overload Protocol].

Every single one was transporting terrifying energy.

Qin Ye took a step forward.

The Stand raised its right hand.

Wei Xiaoyu suddenly let go of her battle axe.

She reached out and grabbed the first energy line.

With a forceful tug!

Snap!

The energy line broke.

The furnace RPM plummeted by 3,000.

The second one.

The third one!

Wei Xiaoyu personally tore off the connection between herself and the Extreme Overload Protocol!

Nine energy lines.

Eight broken!

Every time one broke, the furnace inside her would emit a deafening roar.

The violent energy, having lost the regulation of the auxiliary card, rampaged inside her body.

Blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.

Dark red cracks appeared under the skin of her arms.

Yet she did not stop.

Finally.

Only one energy line remained.

It was not connecting to an auxiliary card.

It was connecting her heart to the Titan Furnace itself!

Wei Xiaoyu gripped her battle axe.

The Extreme Overload Protocol lost its effect.

All precision controls, energy flow-back, safety protections, automatic cooling—all disabled!

The Titan Furnace returned to its most primitive state.

A star implanted in a human body, ready to explode at any moment!

"You can sever the connections of cards."

Wei Xiaoyu raised her head.

Flames that were almost substantial burned in her dark gold pupils.

"Then come and try."

"Sever my heart—"

"Along with the furnace!"

Boom—!

The furnace, without the restrictions of auxiliary cards, went completely berserk.

A pillar of dark gold fire shot into the sky.

The black-and-white world was torn open by a crimson rift hundreds of meters long!

Master Mage Chen Taixu stood on the left, gripping his wooden sword.

Wei Xiaoyu stood on the right, gripping her battle axe.

The remaining contestants were still retreating continuously.

Qin Ye stood in the very center of the giant clock.

Her black-and-gold skirt armor fluttered slightly in the heat wave.

The Stand behind her slowly clenched its hands into fists.

Click.

The soul gem on Qin Ye's chest turned another notch.

The hand on the clock on the ground ticked forward.

There remained—fifty-two seconds.