Chapter 466: Soul Cards
Can’t deny... this bet has somewhat surprised Chen Xuan.
What is the opposing force? It is a deity worshiped by a group of Devils. Even Devils think about stripping you to the bone, demanding not only souls but also turning bodies into puppets, yet the Star God only wants to turn him into an Angel Envoy; the treatment really is worlds apart.
Of course, Chen Xuan cannot possibly believe him.
Who knows what the enemy is plotting behind the scenes?
He replied nonchalantly, "How do you want to bet? ’Guess the Coin’?"
"That game’s variations are too shallow, let’s play something different." The Star God shook his head, "And didn’t you want to see me display my prowess? I’ll use this game to show you."
He waved his hand and a round table with two chairs appeared between them.
Then he snapped his fingers, and a set of cards floated up on the table.
The cards seemed to be crafted from thin metal sheets, with a dark golden body and intricately engraved patterns on the back, looking exquisite.
This isn’t much more High-Level than ’Guess the Coin,’ thought Chen Xuan.
The Demon he killed before, Gustav, used Forbidden Ability with poker.
The Star God seemed to see through his thoughts, "This is not ordinary poker, why not take a look?"
Chen Xuan pretended to cooperate and sat in the chair, thinking quickly about countermeasures. He lost the scan gun now, but the abilities he exchanged previously remain: the Lotus Cloud Sect’s three-part "Immortal Technique," "Decomposition and Re-Fusion," and "Celestial Thunder Order." Facing Gustav, he once used the method of flipping the table to directly destroy the opponent’s abilities, relying on Decomposition and Re-Fusion. But facing the Forbidden game initiated by the Star God, it’s hard to say if the method will work.
Divine Eye Technique remains an excellent ability to observe the gambling scene.
Thousand Thoughts Sword equates to an extra arm, capable of interfering with the opponent’s cards or cheating.
Overall, this won’t be a mere gamble.
Thinking of how to break the situation, he flipped the top card.
Upon seeing the front of the card, Chen Xuan was stunned.
It actually portrayed a woman’s bust.
And this woman was no stranger to him: Fei Wuniang.
Below were several rows of small characters.
— "Point value: ?"
"Attack Power: ??"
"Special skill temporarily unavailable."
Let alone others... just the three-dimensional bust looked almost real; at first glance, the intricate golden edges on the card seemed like the cage itself, with Fei Wuniang trapped in the center, showing a pitiful expression. If she hadn’t moved, Chen Xuan would have thought it was a flat cage for imprisoning souls.
Two seconds later, he snapped back to reality and flipped the next card.
Another acquaintance, the Demon named Andor.
The small character’s details were similar.
"How is it, interesting right?" Star God sat across from him, "This game is called Card Duel, each card has its own attack power, skill, and point value; you can use it to attack my cards or attack me directly. We both have 5000 life, the first to exhaust it loses."
Not simple size comparison...
Chen Xuan frowned, the more complicated the rule, the worse it is for him. If the opponent secretly cheats, he may not even realize it, and the game sounds like a strategic battle where cheating effect is greatly reduced.
"You should see, I don’t want to play a game with a predictable outcome. Some followers use the blessings I bestow as sure-win profit means, which clearly violates my original intent." The Star God explained warmly, "Don’t worry, this game is fair for both of us, considering it’s your first time, I can also offer some advantages."
"Stop pretending, making it sound like you expect me to win." Chen Xuan sneered.
"Expecting you to win or lose fundamentally makes no difference, both pre-assume results." He was completely unoffended, "I know lower life forms have sluggish minds, and your reaction deepens this understanding. Allow me to ask out of curiosity, do you really believe winning against me is definitely the right choice?"
Chen Xuan squinted at him, "What do you mean?"
Could the game itself be a trap? Winning equates to losing?
"You see... you’re even unclear about your future trajectory." The Star God spread his hands, "Ascension is so important, yet you’re treating it like child’s play, like children playing with singularity particles, unaware these could easily erase their world. Oh, I’m targeting humans, not you specifically."
"Us?" Chen Xuan leaned forward keenly, "Who else is treating it lightly?"
"I’ll mention someone you’ve heard of: Jiang Yiheng."
Dr. Jiang of the Dimensional Limit Mechanism!?
"You’ve met him as well?"
"I said, you’re one of the few lucky ones among but not the only lucky one." The Star God said calmly, "Unfortunately he has walked too far on the wrong path, unqualified to be my Angel Envoy. Watching this vast world, who clearly sees the path to ascension?"
"I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts." Chen Xuan probed.
"Give your soul to me, and you would naturally understand." He retracted the cards, "Enough idle talk, let’s return to the main subject. For you to fully play, now let me demonstrate a part of the game."
Finishing the sentence, two cards were tossed his way.
Chen Xuan picked them up and saw they were the Fei Wuniang and Andor he flipped earlier.
But this time, their information had changed.
Fei Wuniang.
— "Point value: 1."
"Attack Power: 150."
"Charm: Can turn one enemy card into personal use within a game round."
Andor.
— "Point value: 2."
"Attack Power: 325."
"Piercing Hostility: Excess damage dealt to the hand cards hits the player themselves (affected by encouragement)."
"You should have seen the content above, this is the advantage I grant. Ordinarily, this information is only revealed once the game officially starts, and the cards are in your hand." The Star God said, "Every round you can adopt a strategy and gain a point value, how to use them is your freedom."
The rules aren’t complex.
The strategies the opponent mentioned were actually only three: check an opponent’s hand card info; sacrifice a personal hand card; use a special skill once.
Each sacrifice earns a sacrifice point, convertible to the next round’s point value.
Defeating the opponent’s cards earns encouragement points, each encouragement doubles the damage hand cards deal to players.
"Enough talk, it’s your turn now, you can play the card." The Star God raised his hand, "This is just a demonstration that won’t count toward game results, you may try freely."
As he finished, a row of green numbers appeared on Chen Xuan’s side of the table.
Life 5000.
Point value 1.
This doesn’t seem to be something changeable by Thousand Thoughts Sword.
With 1 point value, he had no other choice but to put Fei Wuniang up.
The moment this thought arose, the card surprisingly floated out of his hand, face-down onto the table.
At the same time, the other side placed a hand card as well.
I see, thought Chen Xuan, before the card flips, both sides’ card data are confidential. As for strategy, it can be used before placing or opening the cards.
Well then...
"I use a card’s special ability."
He pointed at the Star God’s face-down card.