My Stubborn Soul Card Follower

The duel examination progressed swiftly, especially for Xu Tianzhi, who slashed without hesitation.

Although the duel examination results weren’t heavily influenced by victory or defeat, primarily judged by the examiners and professional referees’ scores, losing a duel inevitably left some examinees feeling dejected.

However, most examinees, no matter how upset, didn’t show it on the spot.

After all, since Life Card Masters are linked to Extraordinary Power, the world has begun to focus on their psychological health.

If merely losing a duel examination causes you to mentally collapse, it suggests you might not be suitable to become a Life Card Master.

Otherwise, if you lose several times in the buffer zone, you might end up blackened and corrupted.

Though many duels proceeded smoothly, a bothersome cloud always loomed over Xu Tianzhi’s heart.

Soon, this cloud materialized into reality.

The referee called out Alice’s name.

Alice’s golden hair was distinctly noticeable in Huaxia, coupled with her beautiful face, making it impossible for anyone to ignore her presence.

Xu Tianzhi, defeated many times by Shen Sui, naturally couldn’t forget Alice’s appearance.

It was Alice who, a year ago, in this very place, handed him a defeat, thus beginning his tangled fate with Shen Sui.

The only difference was, a year ago, Alice was in the arena.

Now, she stood truly before him.

If he were to tell his year-ago self about this, he would probably scoff.

The Soul Card Followers have come into reality.

And now she wants to duel me?

How could such a thing possibly happen?

As Xu Tianzhi’s expression grew complex and his thoughts tangled, Alice spoke: "I’ve seen you."

Her melodious voice pulled Xu Tianzhi’s thoughts back to reality.

"Oh? Really?" Xu Tianzhi forced a smile.

"Mm, in Shen Sui’s duel recordings," Alice said, touching her chin, "You’re always the one who loses."

Nonsense! I’ve never beaten Shen Sui!

Xu Tianzhi’s mouth twitched, not knowing what to say.

Alice continued talking to herself: "Mm, for this examination, how about having a real duel?"

A real duel?

Xu Tianzhi was mildly startled upon hearing this.

As with last year, because the gap between distributing Dueling Devices and starting the duel exam isn’t long, the examination decks weren’t the complete forty cards but twenty.

This restriction applied to the examiners too.

Thus, Xu Tianzhi’s deck had been cut in half.

"Are you sure?" Xu Tianzhi looked at Alice with a peculiar expression, saying, "This isn’t magic..."

He doubted that Alice, a visitor from another world, could quickly assemble a complete forty-card deck.

Even if she did, the quality of the cards would be uneven, right?

Though he had lost to Shen Sui many times, it was because Shen Sui was too strong, not because he was weak!

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Even now, Xu Tianzhi remained a renowned Life Card Master nationally, right?

Xu Tianzhi felt a bit proud, thus told Alice: "No need, right? The duel examination is like this, no need to make it more difficult."

Alice tilted her head: "Why call it harder? The exam result doesn’t depend on winning or losing; whether with twenty or forty cards, as long as I display my skills, I can pass, right?"

"That’s true..."

"I’ve prepared my deck now," Alice took her full forty-card deck from the Dueling Device, "Temporarily reducing it by twenty cards would actually be disadvantageous for me."

Xu Tianzhi deeply looked at the deck in Alice’s hand.

Who knows how many cards Shen Sui contributed?

Seeing Xu Tianzhi’s hesitation, Alice showed a pleading expression: "Please!"

She originally intended to provoke Xu Tianzhi into compliance.

With lines like "Are you afraid of losing to a duel novice?"

Or "It seems Shen Sui has broken your backbone!"

But Alice could see that Xu Tianzhi was a proud Life Card Master.

This pride wasn’t contrary; it was a display of his confidence and love for dueling.

Loving someone like him, how could Alice speak harshly?

Seeing Alice’s expression, Xu Tianzhi eventually softened.

Hopefully, after defeating Alice, Shen Sui won’t trouble me...

Hmm, perhaps it might be a good thing if he does.

I could then take the opportunity to invite him to duel.

Though Shen Sui has now become a world power beyond my reach.

Yet true duelists can’t refuse a thrilling duel with such opponents.

"Alright, if that’s what you wish." Xu Tianzhi said, glancing at the referee nearby.

The referee nodded.

Actually, no matter how Alice performed in this duel, Tianyi Academy wouldn’t miss such a student.

This is Alice! She’s an absolute live billboard!

As soon as she enrolled, Tianyi Academy wouldn’t even need major promotions; numerous Life Card Masters would naturally promote for her.

More brilliantly, with Alice on campus, more star Life Card Masters might accept the academy’s invitation to teach at Tianyi Academy.

Of course, this wouldn’t affect the duel itself.

It was predetermined; the duel was just a formality.