Card Duels: Start by deducing the Blue Eyes White Dragon!

At the top of the magic card, the cyan characters spelled out three words—Deep Sea King!

"With the imprint of my main combat magic card, I summon my strongest magic card monster—Deep Sea King! Descend!"

Deng Qilang forcefully pressed the magic card into the card slot.

The slot emitted a soft, natural white light.

As the light appeared, the magic card slowly transformed into particles of light!

The crystal at the front of the duel platform released a beam of light, tracing an arc before landing in the center of the arena.

It landed behind the Foul Breath Monster.

The massive arena floor began to tremble faintly.

Black water bubbled up from the white stone ground, growing more and more turbulent, spreading out in all directions.

Su Chengyang's expression turned serious.

No matter what, a three-star cyan-quality magic card monster was something to be taken seriously!

While he didn't like Deng Qilang as a person, or his personality, he had to admit that in terms of strength, the gap between them wasn't that large.

Of course, that was before the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card had been created.

Now, the situation was completely different.

In the front row of Class 3, second year, which also served as the waiting area, Zhang Mingyun stroked his chin and speculated, "Black water usually represents deep water, abyssal pools, or the deep sea. Deng Qilang's inherited magic card is probably from the Aquatic Clan, or maybe it's still from the Mutant Clan."

"It's definitely from the Sea Clan. I know Deng Qilang's family background. They originally came from the Three Immortal Islands in the Vast Sea Domain. Rumor has it they're from the First Emperor's Immortal Island. They have quite the lineage," He Nuonuo said in her sweet, soft voice.

"The Three Immortal Islands?"

Even Zhang Mingyun was surprised.

Across all of China, there were six major domains. Their Qingbei Academy was located in the imperial capital of the Upper Realm.

Among the other five domains outside the Upper Realm, based on past performance, the strongest was undoubtedly the Vast Sea Domain, centered around the Three Immortal Islands!

For Deng Qilang's family to have emerged from the Vast Sea Domain and prospered to this day, they definitely had something special going for them.

"Looking at it this way, Old Su might be in a bit of a tight spot," Zhang Mingyun said. "One of the biggest differences between long-established families and newly risen ones is that even their low-star magic card monsters are incredibly powerful."

"Ha, so what? The world of card masters has never been about invincible cards. Su Chengyang's new card is definitely going to be amazing!" He Nuonuo retorted confidently.

Every time she thought about the new magic card Su Chengyang had created—a dragon-type monster constructed through the Cartoon Clan—it felt almost unbelievable.

And he had actually pulled it off!

It was going to shock everyone later.

He Nuonuo was growing more and more excited.

She couldn't wait to see what kind of dragon Su Chengyang had created, and what its attributes would be.

"It's probably ice, earth, or fire. Those are the easier attributes to work with," He Nuonuo thought to herself.

Behind her, in the second row, third row, and further back, many of their classmates were also sweating bullets for Su Chengyang.

They watched as the water in the arena grew more and more turbulent, surging like a fountain that wouldn't stop!

A figure wearing a golden crown slowly rose from the water, emerging in the center of the arena.

It stood about 2.7 meters tall, with skin resembling that of a whale—dark cyan, with fins growing on its back, elbows, and other parts of its body.

Its green eyes glowed with a fierce light, and its hands clenched tightly, revealing sharp claws.

"You summoned me here just to deal with this scrap metal?" Its voice was hoarse, dripping with arrogance.

"Deep Sea King, destroy the enemy before you! Devour it!" Deng Qilang pointed at the Flame Heavy Knight.

He had long since grown to hate that knight.

"Devour it? Tch, what a boring meal. But I suppose I'll oblige."

The Deep Sea King leaped into the air, pouncing toward the Flame Heavy Knight. In an instant, its right arm ballooned in size.

It slammed down onto the Flame Heavy Knight!

The shield raised by the knight's left arm barely held for a moment before collapsing, letting out a twisted, creaking sound.

"Talent—Abyssal Devour! Heart Extraction—!" In that instant, the Deep Sea King's eyes turned pitch black, and the claws on its fingers glowed with a dark light. It pierced through the Flame Heavy Knight's outer armor in an instant.

After penetrating the thick outer armor, it grabbed hold of the knight's spiritual core—a flaming heart.

With a forceful tug, it yanked the heart out and dangled it in front of its mouth before swallowing it whole.

The Flame Heavy Knight exploded on the spot, disintegrating into particles of light and reverting to its card form, which flew back into Su Chengyang's hand.

The entire sequence happened so quickly that many were caught off guard, completely unprepared!

The Deep Sea King's strength was overwhelming.

Many first-year students who witnessed this were deeply shaken.

"In three-star duels, the difference in quality between magic card monsters can lead to a significant gap in combat power, sure. But... how can the gap be this huge?" a bespectacled female student murmured.

It was a one-hit knockout, an absolute defeat.

The Flame Heavy Knight had been at full health.

"Junior, that's not quite it."

A clear, melodious voice chimed in.

The bespectacled girl turned to see a second-year senior.

Her first thought was, She's so pretty! The senior radiated an aura of youthful vitality.

"Senior, you are...?"

"Me? My name is Jiang Xiaotian. You misunderstood. The Deep Sea King was able to one-shot the Flame Heavy Knight because it's a main combat magic card monster, and it has dual talent enhancements. That attack just now was also a talent effect!"

"So that's why it could unleash such overwhelming power and instantly defeat the Flame Heavy Knight!" The realization dawned on her.

Jiang Xiaotian shook her head.

"Right, but not entirely."

"Huh?"

"Think back carefully. When the Deep Sea King launched its attack, didn't Deng Qilang seem a bit off? Think about it."

The bespectacled girl frowned, then suddenly remembered. "Oh! His brow flashed with a hint of purple! That means he had already prepared his talent ability beforehand and activated it during the fight, which allowed him to one-shot the Flame Heavy Knight!"

"Exactly."

"Deng Qilang might act like he doesn't care about Su Chengyang, like he's already won, but in terms of strategy, he hasn't let his guard down at all. He's going all out to crush him, not giving him a chance to summon a new card to support the Flame Heavy Knight." Jiang Xiaotian's gaze shifted to Su Chengyang.

How would he respond?

A student recognized by the dean shouldn't be so easily defeated, right?

On the duel platform, Deng Qilang suddenly chuckled. "Su Chengyang, I know your deck. Now that your Flame Heavy Knight is gone, can your newly created magic card monster carry the weight? I'm curious."

His tone was superficially concerned, but it was clearly mocking.

"Hmm." Su Chengyang didn't bother responding.

His eyes remained fixed on the Deep Sea King.

It truly felt... different.

...

(End of Chapter)