Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan
"Blood Moon, Sunshine Community, three buses, cholesterol, high blood sugar… you sure know how to play."
Chronicle sat on the sofa with a grandiose posture, his arms draped over the back of the couch.
Seven Brothers and Eight Brothers flanked him on either side, their domineering and eerie presence as deities of the netherworld accentuated by the dim candlelight and the ghastly glow of the television.
Zongzi Brother stood guard at the back, preventing Yu Anran from escaping.
"Whimper, I really didn't mean any harm, Chronicle, I just wanted to play a joke on you."
Yu Anran sobbed as she munched on the cake, her words muffled and unclear.
Chronicle only made out the words "play a joke" and chuckled: "But I'm not joking with you."
"Whimper whimper whimper…" The young girl sniffled, as if about to cry.
"Enough, stop pretending." Chronicle shook his leg.
Although the girl was under his control, she hadn't completely lost her grip on the domain. Switching to a couple of normal cakes was still feasible.
All this time, she had been acting with him.
And this was actually permitted by Chronicle.
He never intended to offend her to death; it was all in jest.
After all, the girl was the daughter of the richest man in Yunding, and the cards she created were quite interesting. It wouldn't hurt to make friends.
"Eh, did she add me on WeChat?"
With his level of mental power, he quickly remembered that she indeed had added him.
But since he became famous, he would wake up to no less than ten friend requests every day. Busy with his cultivation, he added a few at random without chatting, just letting them sit there, hardly familiar.
"Looks like I need to learn the 'Emoji Reply Technique' from Yingtai when I have time."
Chronicle thought to himself, instructing Eight Brothers to pick up the skinny black cat trembling in the corner: "This cat is mine now, no objections, right?"
"None at all, if Chronicle likes it, then keep it."
Chronicle nodded at the response, then waved his hand to signal the removal of the domain.
Yu Anran dared not refuse, quickly pulling out a small white flag from her pocket and shouting: "I surrender!"
The next second, the domain rapidly dissipated.
The Sunshine Community, marked by the passage of time, seemed like a sand painting carried away by the bustling wind.
"First group: Chronicle successfully breaks the domain!"
"Next, the roles will switch, please prepare within thirty minutes."
As the referee's voice fell, both sat down cross-legged, took out the mental power potions provided by the competition, and drank them down to recover their mental power as quickly as possible.
Normally, even with the aid of potions, thirty minutes wouldn't be enough for two late-stage bronze individuals to fully recover.
But Chronicle had Daiyu to assist him.
Her [Sprite] trait could automatically absorb the scattered spiritual energy from the world and convert it into mental power.
Although the conversion rate was low and a lot of spiritual energy might be wasted in the process, it was more efficient than having Daiyu directly use the spiritual energy in actual combat. In a competition, this was a game-changing skill.
Even if it only provided a small amount of mental power and couldn't solve the problem of mental fatigue, in such a "cutting-edge" competition, even the slightest bit of mental power could alter the outcome.
This was significant.
Thinking this, Chronicle relaxed his consciousness and gradually adjusted his breathing rhythm.
With each breath, he mobilized his sea of consciousness, rapidly accumulating mental power while converting spiritual energy.
Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye, and when the bell rang, both opened their eyes simultaneously.
"The competition is about to begin, please get ready."
The referee, dressed as a "working-class" individual, pushed his glasses up and spoke in a measured tone.
Chronicle and Yu Anran heeded his words, rising to their feet and moving to their battle positions.
"Offense and defense are indeed different. My card 'Blood Moon over Sunshine Community' is a mission-type domain card, not even a third as effective as 'Family of Five'…"
"In reality, they're all very powerful."
Yu Anran smiled and said, "Especially the 'Mother' card, I put a lot of effort into it. Its strength is top-notch among ghost-type cards of the same quality. You'd better be prepared."
"That powerful, huh." Chronicle narrowed his eyes: "Then I'll have to experience it for myself."
With that, he revealed a meaningful smile.
Yu Anran felt uneasy and instinctively wanted to retreat.
But being a Yunding native, she had a streak of madness and didn't fear Chronicle like others did. She genuinely wanted to test her strength against this shining commoner genius.
"Come on then."
"Alright."
Chronicle responded, pinching the card [The Death of Daiyu] between his fingers. As he infused it with mental power, the domain instantly unfolded.
***
Yu Anran felt the world spin, and when she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a garden pavilion with ornate carvings and painted beams.
"So beautiful."
She couldn't help but admire the surroundings, which truly refreshed her aesthetic sense.
"How unsophisticated was I before."
She smacked her lips: "Never mind, I'll note down these decorations and have my dad set one up for me."
"Truly beautiful."
She couldn't help but exclaim again, summoning five card spirits.
In the backstory, "Mother" was strangled to death with hemp rope by the furious "Cheng Ge."
Therefore, she possessed some traits of a hanged ghost.
Due to the backstory, she could also bind with some sharp blade accessories, activating a powerful skill called [Rope Grudge].
"Brother" was threatened by his evil desk-mate and had to bring him home to meet his mother.
Unfortunately, he ran into his father burning hemp rope and dealing with the scene, and then…
"Calm Cheng Ge" took action, completing a "hat trick" (triple kill).
The pitiful "Brother" thus harbored immense resentment, unlocking many interesting traits and skills.
After that, the sister was woken up by the noise, so she carried her toy bear and rubbed her sleepy eyes, walking out of her room.
And so… she became a vengeful spirit with summoning skills.
"Grandma" saw "Mother's" appearance and was scared to death.
—The affair was just a rumor she had heard and made up. Now that she had some confirmation, she was on her way home to explain to her son, only to encounter these events.
Boundless fear pierced her already haunted heart.
As for "Cheng Ge," or "Father" from [Family of Five], he had several skills and traits to assist "knife people."
Though he was the only "living spirit card spirit" in this small card set, he was actually more sinister than any other card and was the second most powerful after "Mother" in normal conditions.
"Speaking of 'Mother'… where the hell is my knife?!"
Yu Anran exclaimed, then remembered the next second that Chronicle had taken it, and helplessly patted her head.
She pulled out a spare one for "Mother" to use: "Don't lose this one now…"
The sentient "Mother" smiled gently and nodded.
But the next second, her spirit body uncontrollably drifted westward.
"What's going on?"
Before Yu Anran could react, the sister was also dragged westward by an invisible force of the rules, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
The remaining three card spirits, though not dragged away, had some of their attributes stripped away as a contribution to Baoyu and Daiyu's wedding.
Seeing this, Yu Anran slapped her forehead: "Right, the data mentioned that Chronicle is best at N-T-R type skills and traits."
Then she suddenly remembered her boast about "Mother's" strength and his words: "Then I'll have to experience it for myself."
"So, that's what he meant by 'experience'…" Yu Anran pursed her lips, feeling wronged: "How can there be such a mean card master?!"
"Mother" might be strong, but she was only "blue-grade four-star" level, within the strong summoning range of the Grand View Garden.
The sister was only "blue-grade three-star," with no right to resist at all.
This is the nature of an aggressive domain.
In battles of the same level, its dominance and power are almost irresistible.
If it were a real fight, she could try to dodge, but now Yu Anran was already within the domain under the competition rules, and she could only grit her teeth and face it.
"It's not a big problem; no matter how powerful he is, he hasn't broken through the silver level and doesn't have that strong mental power."
"Not to mention he just spent a lot, and it hasn't fully recovered."
"It's hard enough to maintain the domain, let alone support several blue-grade three and four-star card spirits, probably won't last more than ten minutes."
"I just have to drag it out… eh?"
Before she could finish her analysis, she and the remaining three card spirits were transported to a crossroads.
The world behind her crumbled away, turning into an infinite abyss of darkness, quickly approaching her feet.
Two paths lay before her.
To the left was a magnificent hall adorned with big red lanterns and "Double Happiness" stickers, with music and grand singing.
To the right was a small courtyard bathed in cold moonlight, with withering flowers and sturdy bamboo rustling in the night breeze, a picture of desolation.
"This is forcing me to choose."
Yu Anran bit her lip and headed straight for the path on the right.
In her view, something like a "wedding," once it takes a turn, can be incredibly sinister, and she might not be able to withstand it.
As for the latter, just a small courtyard, how much more sinister could it be?
It's just some standard sinister tricks.
Without the strong contrast of a "wedding," it couldn't scare her, who had spent three years in Qing Mountain.
"My heart is like iron, unbreakable!"
"If a small courtyard like this can break my defense, then Chronicle is my father."
Yu Anran smiled confidently, letting "Cheng Ge" and "Old Granny" each grab a shoulder, and dashed toward the direction of the Xiao Xiang Pavilion.
"Hope it doesn't leave her with a psychological shadow."
In the main hall of the Grand View Garden, Chronicle, dressed as a groom, sat on the steps, with Yingtai temporarily playing Daiyu beside him, and Old Zongzi as the "guest."
They were the weakest party in this domain.
Yu Anran was deceived by her own thinking patterns.
In fact, the Xiao Xiang Pavilion, guarded by Daiyu, Mountain Ghost, "Mother," and "Sister," was more dangerous than the "Nine Nether Dreamland" watched over by Seven Brothers and Eight Brothers.
After all, the latter was restricted by rules and would only unfold on its own after the domain had been up for ten minutes, targeting living beings and living spirit units.
But that's not the point.
For a card master, watching one's own card spirits become the enemy's "wings" is a deeply bone-chilling and heart-wrenching matter.
"This girl really doesn't know how to choose."