Chapter 98: The Village of the Magic Clan

Tiancheng Guang stepped forward a few paces, lifted the mask from the masked figure, and glanced once.

"Senior Shenlin!" Shurakasaka, standing nearby, also saw this sight; his pupils shrank and he let out a startled cry.

"You actually recognized him?" Tiancheng Guang couldn't help saying.

At first glance, he had no idea who the man lying on the ground was—he had been nearly drained of life by the Illusion Demon, his skin withered, his face twisted, like a zombie; he simply hadn't recognized him at all.

Only after Shurakasaka spoke did he take a closer look and faintly begin to make out something.

Only after confirming the man's identity did Tiancheng Guang understand why he kept ranting about wanting to humiliate him.

It was Shenlin Yao.

He didn't know whether Shenlin had willingly become an experiment subject for the Illusion Demon to seek revenge, or whether he'd been punished by Red Horse Zero King after losing to Tiancheng Guang and losing his name in the Fusion Department.

Shurakasaka, upon seeing Shenlin Yao, grew tense and asked Tiancheng Guang whether he should immediately take Shenlin Yao to the infirmary. Tiancheng Guang didn't mind—he was in this state now, and he'd probably spend the rest of his life lying in bed anyway.

According to the "Hai Ma Company Special Law" that Chronos had previously explained to Tiancheng Guang, anyone who seeks death like this bears full responsibility for their fate, regardless of the outcome, and has nothing to do with Tiancheng Guang as his dueling opponent.

Afterwards, Tiancheng Guang chatted with Shurakasaka for a while; since he'd suddenly appeared in such a place, there must have been a reason. After giving him a slight scare, Shurakasaka confessed he'd been secretly following Tiancheng Guang.

This left Tiancheng Guang speechless.

In short, after scaring him a bit, Tiancheng Guang told him not to spread word of the Illusion Demon. Seeing Shenlin Yao's miserable state himself, Shurakasaka was flustered and readily agreed—he had no idea what was really going on anyway.

What if Shenlin's condition was partly Tiancheng Guang's fault? How could he possibly speak carelessly?

After their chat, Tiancheng Guang felt uneasy and ultimately invited Shurakasaka to join his Fusion Department.

Hearing he could join directly without application, he became excited and nodded vigorously without stopping.

"Are you worried that the mortal will be silenced?" On the way back, Tierra asked casually.

"Yes," Tiancheng Guang nodded. "Though he's just an unlucky bystander, he was seen by the other side. If they mistake him for my accomplice, he might get assassinated at any moment—that'd be bad."

"If he's in the Fusion Department, everyone can watch out for each other. It's at least some protection."

Tiancheng Guang returned to his dorm, turned on the light, pulled out his deck, and while checking his cards, said to Tierra: "You're saying I'm wasting my time?"

"No," Tierra shook her head directly.

At other times, seeing Tiancheng Guang "idly helping others," she'd have been uninterested—but this time was different.

During her "first duel," her opponent used dirty tactics, and then a shadowy figure behind the scenes called her "evil" and "dark"—it had genuinely enraged her.

And worse, they'd even claimed she was far inferior to the Illusion Demon!?

The Illusion Demon's essence is a demon.

She was a god!

The God of Creation! The "Creator."

Even a deceased god is still a god!

What she wanted was resurrection, then resetting her planet—creating robots or mechanical demons symbolizing death, or if absolutely necessary, copying Tiancheng Guang's kind and building Autobots.

Yet she'd been "insulted" by some random fool.

Not invoking divine punishment would be utterly unjustifiable.

She didn't argue with Tiancheng Guang; instead, she urgently urged him to put the Illusion Demon card into the workshop immediately and, together with the other spirits, gather the cards' power—preferably using "that card's" power to awaken the shattered Illusion Demon card or elevate it outright.

If absolutely necessary, she was even willing to share a small portion of her newly restored power.

Though it wasn't much.

But her power was perfectly suited for the Illusion Demon.

Still, Tiancheng Guang needed to carefully consider this.

Should he prioritize nurturing the Illusion Demon card, or prioritize crafting Divine Yingyi cards? It depended on the current situation.

At least for now, Tiancheng Guang couldn't determine which option offered better value.

Or, simply put, play a few duels and see what Superfusion thinks.

In the following days, Tiancheng Guang encountered nothing particularly notable.

The Fusion Department, after sending people to "intimidate" Tiancheng Guang and amusing him, abruptly shifted its tone and kept pushing Marufuji Xiang forward to duel. With some new cards and his already decent skill level, Xiang performed exceptionally well in recent exchange duels, excelling in every aspect. The Fusion Department leveraged this and Xiang's identity as Marufuji Ryo's younger brother to constantly promote themselves, hoping to attract new members.

Despite the Fusion Department's reputation having sunk to rock bottom after the events of the past half-year, a few scattered individuals still joined.

Regarding the use of their name, Marufuji Ryo was too busy planning his post-graduation career as a professional duelist to pay attention, and Tiancheng Guang had already spoken to him about Marufuji Xiang.

In fact, to some extent, Marufuji Ryo's protection of Xiang was also a form of suppression—he was simply too outstanding, making his younger brother feel inferior and fostering certain unspoken personality traits and habits, some of which were tied to him.

When he heard that Marufuji Xiang had actually joined the Fusion Department and become a purple-clad duelist, Marufuji Ryo had wanted to argue and duel with Tiancheng Guang. But over these days, Xiang's fame grew, and the Fusion Department even portrayed him as a "second Marufuji Ryo," leaving Ryo somewhat bewildered.

Could Xiang really be that strong?

Was he really not just joining the Fusion Department under Tiancheng's suggestion to relieve pressure, but truly dissatisfied with me and seeking self-expression?

Was he truly determined to prove himself superior, to reach even greater heights after breaking free from me?

Is this real?

It left Marufuji Ryo utterly confused.

But after thinking for several days and seeing everything progressing smoothly, he stopped asking questions.

Since Xiang had become the Fusion Department's current "leader," and the department was using the Marufuji brothers' fame to recruit new members, eventually Xiang would be pushed to face Tiancheng Guang in a direct duel—then, at last, changes and results would become clear.

After passing through the initial post-semester "restlessness period," students' studies gradually settled into routine.

At this time, Tiancheng Guang finally had the chance to complete what he'd missed earlier.

The Dimensional "Village of the Magic Clan."

During the break, due to Da Desi's sudden intrusion, they'd been forcibly dragged into the Grand Cosmic Workshop and had no opportunity to go. Now, for the first time this semester, Tiancheng Guang immediately called on Sanze Sanze Dadi, preparing to fulfill what he'd missed during the break.

"Hmm—this is the Village of the Magic Clan? The air is so fresh."

First Chapter

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(End of Chapter)