CHAPTER 15: FAMILIAR QUARREL_1

The sheer number of people contacting Wen Jiang through the post was overwhelming.

The Rabbit Demon Card’s appearance was so attractive that many asked if it was for sale, and some even sent her invitations from the Card Association.

Wen Jiang left all these matters for the System to handle. She only needed to focus on making cards in peace.

Song Yingchen, who had received a reply on his end, was not nearly as composed.

Listening to the news from the school, Song Yingchen lost control and slammed the glass cup in front of him to the floor. "Not replying?" he seethed. "How could she possibly not reply to my message?"

His subordinate, eyes downcast, reported, "Miss Wen provided the police with details of the bullying she experienced, but she didn’t formally file a report, so the police couldn’t obtain information from the school."

The Nobility was indeed formidable, but at its core, the Yunxia Empire was still a nation governed by societal laws. The Nobility had initially emerged due to complex historical issues stemming from the cards—problems that even the Yunxia Empire found itself powerless to fully resolve. Fortunately, the most significant powers, such as military and political authority, remained in the hands of the state.

Directly requesting information from the police would likely alarm the true heir of the Song Family, whose attitude towards Song Yingchen was far from favorable.

Song Yingchen didn’t dare. He had only just returned to the Song Family and was treading on thin ice. If he were to misuse the Song Family’s power now, acting recklessly, and then failed to shine in the card competition, he would be swiftly abandoned.

It had only been two days. He had merely failed to visit Wen Jiang in the hospital. How could things have escalated to this point? Why had she left so decisively? She had clearly said they depended on each other for survival, that she couldn’t live without him.

I was lying, and you actually believed it, you silly dog?!

Little did he know, the Wen Jiang who had truly loved him was long gone, her soul possibly reincarnated in some unknown world.

CLACK—CLACK—

The crisp sound of high heels striking the marble floor echoed. Song Yingchen and his subordinate both looked up.

"I was just passing by when I heard something shatter," a voice said from the doorway.

A tall woman in a gray trench coat and a matching form-fitting dress underneath appeared at the entrance to Song Yingchen’s study. She was an exceptionally cold and stunningly beautiful woman. Tall, with long, wavy hair cascading over her shoulders, the dignified composure of a noble family and a wild, untamed temperament were uniquely combined in her, creating a contradictory yet harmonious presence. She had ash-gray eyes that were exceptionally cold when she looked at someone, seemingly devoid of any warmth.

Even Song Yingchen subconsciously felt a sense of inferiority whenever he saw her.

"Sister," Song Yingchen said, his expression awkward and troubled. "I just... my hand slipped."

Song Zhi glanced at him indifferently, then turned and walked away. Amidst the sharp clicks of her high heels, only the lingering echo of her swift, decisive presence remained as she said, "The competition is imminent. Don’t waste time."

Song Yingchen’s expression darkened. She clearly knew about his recent activities. She was reminding him not to waste time on matters concerning Wen Jiang. For the Song Family, all he needed to do was win glory in the card competition. But how could he just let go of Wen Jiang?

He turned his head, reined in his emotions, and instructed his subordinate in a low voice, "Find her, but do it slowly and quietly. Don’t attract any more attention."

His subordinate nodded. Then he heard Song Yingchen murmur, as if to himself, "Without my protection, can she really survive here?"

This wasn’t the slum of their past. This was the Imperial City.

The subordinate, who had been with him through everything and knew the whole situation, gave him a strange look. He almost wanted to retort internally: The person’s already gone, and now you’re spouting this useless nonsense?

Wen Jiang was doing well; in fact, she was living very comfortably.

Zero Egg had initially thought that after finishing the Rabbit Demon Card, she would continue to work hard. Unexpectedly, after receiving 1,000,000 yuan, she went back to slacking off.

Oh, but it wasn’t exactly slacking off. She was frantically watching various domestic and international matches, cramming card game knowledge, especially from major international tournaments.

Similarly, Wen Jiang also noticed the Yunxia Empire’s decline in world card competitions. Although it was a powerful empire, and the top three spots were routinely swept by the three great empires, the Yunxia Empire had almost dropped to fourth place last year, which was rather embarrassing.

There was ridicule both domestically and internationally. Moreover, from some of the domestic naysayers, Wen Jiang recognized the familiar smugness of certain public intellectuals from her own world, from before the revival of Spiritual Energy.

Wen Jiang also discovered that the legendary nation-stabilizing cards didn’t appear in world card competitions. Matches mostly featured S Rank cards. Furthermore, although cards could be copied, duplicate SSR Cards rarely appeared in competitions. What? Do these competitors have some unspoken agreement not to use the same cards?

Wen Jiang voiced this question, but as soon as she said it, she more or less figured out the reason.

Sure enough, Zero Egg chimed in, "That’s because SSR Cards are difficult to make. Even copying them isn’t easy. It takes a UR Rank Card Maker a significant amount of time to copy a single SSR Card. If they were commonplace, the military would have long equipped every soldier with an SSR Card for defense. Besides, UR Rank Spirit Card Masters generally don’t participate in competitions anyway."

This was pretty much what Wen Jiang had figured.

She was currently watching a trending broadcast of the Thirteenth Professional League. As one of the grandest annual global events, it had concluded only a month ago, but the flame wars were far from over. Indeed, the flame wars were still raging.

The Mountain Ghost Association had arguably lost to the Frost Moon Empire by a single card, securing third place. In their five-person team, the Spirit Card Master specializing in control had made a mistake, failing to timely restrain the opponent’s key card, which led to their team being successively defeated by a combo.

This Spirit Card Master wasn’t very famous because, right after the combo defeat, the first card to be knocked out was that of team captain Tan Heming. Tan Heming was the face and spokesperson for the Mountain Ghost Association. His immense popularity also attracted countless anti-fans, and he ended up absorbing almost 90 percent of the criticism.

The screen was filled with a dense barrage of scrolling comments. Since it was an international website, the comments were not only in the Yunxia Language but also in the languages of other empires. However, the System could translate them all for Wen Jiang.

To put it mildly, the insults were vicious.

"With Tan Heming’s skill level? Please, I could do it if I were up there!"

"One card mistake and the opponent seizes the chance for a combo defeat! I think the Mountain Ghost Association should just give up competing. Tan Heming should go back to his country and commit suicide as an apology!"

"OHHH, it seems the Yunxia Empire’s skill level is as consistent as ever, hee hee hee."

"Wasn’t the control player the one who screwed up this round? Why are they flaming the damage dealer?"

"What’s this? So, Assistant Luo Juerao is just invisible? Just because the support’s mistake seems smaller means they don’t deserve to be flamed, huh?"

"Every time there’s a match, the comment section is a toxic cesspool. Everyone thinks they could get up there, thrash the Sanctuary, and kick Frost Moon’s ass. In reality, these players would beat the living daylights out of them."

"Can Yunxia even cut it or not? They keep boasting about their 6,000-year history and culture, but they can’t show any proof!"

"Oh my, if you really can’t hack it, Yunxia Empire, why don’t you bring out your new cards and enlighten us? Hee hee, that Dual-Change Card is just a gimmick, right? Your Card Makers still haven’t dared to release a video. Meanwhile, our Divine Race’s Dual-Change Card is already out and causing a stir, you know~"