Chapter 176: Rules Are Meant to Be Broken

Victory in the duel grants 10 activity points.

Completed the event task, showing a glimpse of talent, earning 10 activity points.

After eliminating the opponent and glancing at the rising activity points, Mu Yi picked up a card from La Luo La's corpse.

It was just an ordinary mortal‑bone five‑star card, nothing worth noting, and Mu Yi casually tossed it into his backpack.

Thanks to the integrated network's real‑time translation, even unfamiliar glyphs could be deciphered by Mu Yi.

If the paragraph is erroneous, please revisit later using a mainstream browser (Chrome, Safari, Edge...).

Event notice: Hei Mao Basi Te challenges you to a deck duel; the duel is about to begin.

Type: Monster Card

Mid‑sentence, a massive lion‑bodied sphinx statue burst from the card, its golden body dazzling, ruby eyes flashing red, and its forepaws shedding twelve silver‑bright claws.

Type: Monster Card

Sifengsi-Ke Lai Ou

For Hei Mao, this was far from a pleasant experience.

"Weak duelist, why make such a foolish choice!" Hei Mao Basi Te noted this, a human‑like sneer appearing on his face.

"Then let me show you true terror!"

If he had a decent deck, perhaps he could spar with the opponent, but with the rotten fish and shrimp in his hand, it's useless.

Mu Yi, LP5000

Sifengsi-Ke Lai Ou

Mu Yi did not hesitate; his sword spun, forming two massive blood‑red moons that slashed toward Hei Mao.

Five cards materialized before Hei Mao Basi Te, hovering in front of him; with a swipe of his claw, another new card appeared before him.

"Just an eight‑star monster, tone down the arrogance!"

The solid ground served as the optimal launch point, a massive roar accompanied by Frenzy airflow blasting the mist away, while Hei Mao's fur fluttered wildly.

Deep within the pyramid lay a hall, its center a altar‑like structure surrounded by countless mummies and sphinxes, as if all the pyramid's monsters had gathered here.

Mu Yi cheerfully chose to concede; what a joke, he's still a card‑master, dabbling in games like San Mou Sha, You Mou Wang, Lu Mou Shi… among others.

Amid the altar's glow, countless curses rained down, and numerous negative spell effects manifested on Mu Yi's body.

"Then just answer my three questions… what did you just say?" Hei Mao licked his claw nonchalantly in reply.

"Awo~" Hei Mao winced in pain; his massive size now made the perfect target.

Realizing this, Hei Mao immediately began to shrink.

Mu Yi snapped his fingers, and a scarlet spear shot out from behind.

Shards of stone splashed; the ground Mu Yi could never crush now moaned under the weight as if struck by a heavy hammer.

Like Hai Er La Ke, it didn't survive a single round in Mu Yi's hand and became a new card for him.

"Heh heh heh, so that's how it is?" Hei Mao Basi Te said, eyeing the cold‑glinting blade, finally grasping Mu Yi's meaning.

"This is the rule!" Basi Te fumed, clearly irritated by Mu Yi.

"Of course it's battle!" Mu Yi chose without hesitation.

Yet this thing turned out to be a forced duel, resembling the legendary Dark Duel.

"Rules are meant to be broken!"

Crimson armor rose from Mu Yi's body, his eyes now radiating terrifying murderous intent.

The complex effect description flashed three words in Mu Yi's mind—"Can't understand…"

At the hall's center stood a black‑obsidian altar, its darkness striking against the white marble surroundings.

With Time Acceleration, Mu Yi successfully evaded the strike.

"Since you chose battle, face the fury that disturbed my sleep!"

Mu Yi summoned it directly, replacing the previous snow monster, and ventured deeper into the pyramid.

"I concede!"

In an instant, Hei Mao's size shrank to that of a tiger, and his speed jumped several levels.

Hei Mao suddenly leapt from the fire‑lit shadows, lunging at Mu Yi.

Judging by the mass of the first minor monster, this secret realm seemed stronger than the Snow Mountain realm.

Star rating: Six‑star

Effect: As long as this card is face‑up on your field, when a monster on the field returns to its owner's hand, that owner must send one card from their hand to the graveyard.

Normally in such secret realms, cooperation and competition are unrestricted, but partnering with a stranger is too risky, so sending them out is more realistic.

Mu Yi stroked his chin, pondering, when he suddenly recalled Anubis's insight: the worst can also be the best—could this be what it refers to?

Guided by intuition, Mu Yi walked toward the left hidden door; after all, exploring the realm has no time limit, and completing this side quest might yield special rewards.

"Clang!"

The barrier's ascension; he's growing accustomed to using this method against foes.

After consecutively dispatching several Sifengsi series monsters, Mu Yi finally reached the pyramid's depths.

The dreaded hammer launched straight into a life‑or‑death clash!

Terrifying extremes of heat and cold split the hall in two.

"Welcome to the Trial Land!"

Ai Ji Shen Guan-Pei Te La

"Damn it, you should fight at that trial arena over there, why come here!" Hei Mao clearly fumed.

"Where's the promised fair duel? You're cheating, right?"

Once a monster card is destroyed, only a one‑day interval is needed before it can be summoned again, entering a virtual graveyard; according to Lily's data, some magic cards appear capable of reviving those destroyed monsters.

Mu Yi saw the monster's name, his eyes lit up; based on previous experience, a monster with a name should have a special effect.

The graphic symbols above explain the interior pathways of the pyramid and some fable‑like things, seeming to introduce the boss's biography inside the pyramid.

—Ice Snow Storm

【In a deck duel, the duelist cannot make a move】

Hei Mao plunged straight into the shadows, then seemed to vanish in the hall, but Mu Yi could feel a strong killing intent locking onto him.

Hei Mao let out an angry roar from its throat, its claws like phantoms struck Mu Yi's chest; the transparent magical shield shattered, and the Dragon Scale armor beneath the shield was easily torn apart. A burst of fireworks erupted from Mu Yi's chest, and one to three clear bloodstains appeared on his chest.

"You have no way to retreat now; I will show you what battle truly is!"

6‑1. 2‑2‑3. 1‑5‑5. 3‑8

【Sphinx‑Hailrak】

Before Mu Yi could catch his breath.

A person should have self‑awareness; his brain is basically unsuited for puzzles, so just honestly do what he does best.

A cat meowed from the all‑black altar, a black cat stretched lazily atop the altar.

As long as one bravely accepts one's shortcomings, the rest is a boundless sky.

In an instant, Mu Yi rushed to Hei Mao's front.

At that moment, a special energy fluctuation appeared on Hei Mao; she darted onto the altar, which began to glow, seeming to merge with Hei Mao.

"My turn ends!"

Where the snow monster was slain, a creature with a lion's body and an eagle's head appeared before Mu Yi.

But since it can't be moved, forget it.

Mu Yi tossed a card; Ice Snow Storm and Fire Ring turned the entire hall into a double layer of ice and snow.

After Mu Yi entered the hall, the twelve cat‑headed statues' eyes simultaneously flashed with azure light.

Two massive Anubis statues stood at the pyramid entrance, looking sacred and untouchable; Mu Yi tried to move them, but found they were rooted to the ground and gave up.

A creature with a sheep's head, eagle's wings, and lion's body; the term Sphinx itself means a winged monster, though most of the time Sphinx refers to a lion‑bodied, human‑faced being.

【Please choose your deck】

Mu Yi scratched his head; he hadn't expected that the battle Hei Mao mentioned would become a card duel, but thinking about it, this world follows card‑duel activities, so a battle becoming a card duel isn't that incomprehensible.

"Summon a servant to fight, set five spells on the battlefield!"

—Slip into the Shadows

The next moment, a Fire Ring spread from Hei Mao, emitting terrifying heat, warping all the hall's air.

After eliminating the unstable factor, Mu Yi walked toward the pyramid.

He only felt a suffocating killing intent mixed with a gust of wind rushing at him, followed by a sound like ten thousand birds thunderously.

【Baste, LP8000】

"The first round of the ritual cannot involve battle, so this round ends here!"

—Time Confusion

Mu Yi's form became a bolt of lightning; his sword sliced a massive cross in the air.

Hei Mao's body suddenly swelled, occupying almost half the hall; dark, gloomy mist leaked from Hei Mao.

The name above his head also confirmed Mu Yi's suspicion; inside the hall was dead silent, as if everything had been paused.

However, halfway through speaking, he suddenly realized that Mu Yi had just said they should battle.

While Mu Yi was puzzled, the snow monster was destroyed by the enemy, turning into particles that returned to Mu Yi's wrist.

Passing the two statues, Mu Yi slowly stepped into the pyramid entrance; inside the pyramid lay another realm, and the seemingly small interior space was surprisingly vast.

"My turn, draw a card!"

"Duel!"

"Boom!"

Mu Yi didn't bother; such things are best left to the clever, thinking isn't really his forte.

Mu Yi drew his sword; not only does he not want to give Baste's deck, he also wants to snatch a deck from Baste, after all the secret realm's cap is only level 20, it's not impossible to beat.

The hall's door slammed shut with a thud; Mu Yi tightened his grip on his sword, seemingly with no way back.

Hei Mao jumped down from the altar, landing lightly before Mu Yi; golden‑yellow pupils emitted a faint glow.

On the altar stood a beautiful woman with long black hair, wearing a sheer robe, barefoot, holding an Egyptian scepter as a weapon; she seemed to be a priestess or pharaoh type.

"You lost; according to the rules, all your deck belongs to me!" Hei Mao Baste looked shocked, but still spoke in a businesslike tone.

Not far away, Mu Yi encountered another new card monster.

However, the things involved in this secret realm are basically all about the Sphinx, yet the Anubis statues outside the pyramid and the prophetic Anubis make it look very incongruous.

Mu Yi casually sent a snow monster to scout, following it toward the pyramid interior; along the way he carefully observed the surrounding murals, which were heavily Egyptian in style.

Looking at the five ordinary bone monster cards in his hand—Snow Monster, Ice Slime, Snowman… Mu Yi tossed the cards away.

Star rating: Six‑star

Effect: As long as this card remains on your field, the opponent cannot choose a defending monster as an attack target.

A good card; it seems to synergize well with other cards, and crucially, this monster can fly, so functionally it can perform many marvelous actions.

Without any pause, the moment it hit the ground, Mu Yi immediately triggered a power burst; Inner Qi surged out, and Frenzy airflow instantly radiated outward with him as the center.

He thought the two Anubis statues placed before the Ghost Gate gave a rather imposing presence.

Mu Yi was slammed onto the ground.

"Then, will you answer a question or fight?"

【Sphinx‑Hailrak】

Seeing the HP numbers appearing above his own head, and Baste's numbers being half again higher, Mu Yi was stunned.

Roar!

Boom!

"I won't give it!" Mu Yi smiled and refused Basi Te.

Following the hidden passage, Mu Yi finally entered another hall, peering from outside into its interior, and saw no mummy.

The Cross Slash sliced straight through the dense black chamber, heavily cleaving the black cat; a spray of blood burst from the wound, staining the black mist crimson.

Although the eagle-headed, eagle-winged, lion-bodied monster looked heroic, when faced with the Shura spear that surged like a torrent, it could only whine as it was slain, turning back into a card that became Mu Yi's loot.

Meow~

"Any side quest?"

"Come out, Golden Sphinx!"

Just as Mu Yi was about to charge in for a flawless sweep, he saw, on both sides of the hall entrance, a left and right passage that resembled hidden doors.

In a brief instant, Mu Yi performed thousands of negative spell effect checks.

Even though Mu Yi's trait immunized him against most negative spell effects, he was still enveloped by dozens of them, his body heavy, his steps floating, and even the hand gripping his sword seemed to grow weak.