Chapter 42

"Old Yu, the Magic Card Spirit of this contestant of yours is a bit special." After thinking for a moment in his mind, Mo Mo Yingtian still hadn't found any information about the Dark Magician Girl, which made him frown.

No information meant that dealing with her would become very troublesome.

If her strength were average, it would be fine, but the Dark Magician Girl's performance just now couldn't be described as average.

As for an original Magic Card, Mo Mo Yingtian didn't think in that direction for the Finish Finish Time being; unless he saw it with his own eyes, it was indeed hard to lean toward that possibility.

Surprise? Unexpected? Special is just right! Damn it, for the past while, I let you old schemer show off in front of me, now it's my turn to feel good!

Facing Mo Mo Yingtian's question, Yu Yu Haojia just smiled mysteriously and didn't take the bait.

At this Finish Finish Time, just smiling was enough. As for revealing information about Lu Li and the Dark Magician Girl to Mo Mo Yingtian? Don't even think about it; he wouldn't do such thankless work.

……

"Silence Spell, breaking the release of skills directly from the source? A very special idea." Compared to others, Shangguan Hong appeared much calmer.

As an Immortal-realm Magic Card Master, what kind of scene hadn't he seen? Although the Silence Spell was special, some high-level Magic Card Spirits or fierce beasts could also achieve this.

Even, if the level was high enough, one could be immune to the effects of the Silence Spell to a certain extent.

"Superimposing the skill of Spell Nullification onto a spell-type Magic Card Spirit is indeed a very alternative concept," Shangguan Pu also nodded.

Generally speaking, abilities with similar effects appeared on non-spell-type Magic Cards. After all, although the Silence Spell was useful, for Magic Card Spirits that used spell abilities as their main output, it was undoubtedly a double-edged sword.

Used well, it could naturally achieve unexpected results; used poorly, the caster could only stare blankly.

……

Having defeated You You Zhiwen and successfully advanced to the next stage, the subsequent battles still didn't have anything eye-catching. Lu Li just watched casually and continued to conceive the background and settings for his new Magic Card.

Until dusk arrived, all the contestants completed the battles of this stage, and the dial hanging above the entire battlefield gradually turned into light spots and dissipated from the inside out.

"The progress is okay, especially finding the key breakthrough point for evolution. The conception of the evolution Magic Card from the growth stage to the mature stage is basically complete," Lu Li thought silently as he reopened his eyes. "According to the current progress, I might be able to complete the conception of the ultimate evolution Magic Card before the college entrance exam."

"The simulation construction progress of the Digimon worldview is also steadily improving, with progress exceeding 90%. It is estimated that in a few more days, it will reach 100%."

"Now for me, all that's missing is materials." Materials—the eternal topic for Magic Card Masters. Even if the background and settings of a Magic Card were excellent, if there were no materials and no way to create the Magic Card, it would be meaningless.

"However, possessing the ability to rewrite and reorganize, materials are no longer a big problem." Since obtaining this permission, he had been working on it bit by bit every day, rewriting useless materials into the materials he needed, so he wouldn't be lacking too much.

While Lu Li was silently summarizing his situation, Shangguan Hong on the podium had finished talking with the twelve branch heads, including Yu Yu Haojia, and stood up.

"Congratulations to all the contestants who passed the first stage of the youth training tournament," a voice, aged yet majestic, rang out, instantly attracting everyone's attention. Shangguan Hong looked around and spoke again, "At the same Finish Finish Time tomorrow, the second stage of the youth training tournament will begin."

Seeing this, all the advancing contestants couldn't help but sit up slightly.

"The second stage of the youth training tournament will be held in a dimensional plane. The specific rules will be announced later. Contestants can pay attention to the information received on their personal terminals at that Finish Finish Time."

After saying a few words, Shangguan Hong dismissed everyone, and the various Magic Card Association branch heads led their respective contestants away.

"Alright, those who failed shouldn't be too sad; this is also a valuable growth experience for you," Yu Yu Haojia encouraged at the Cangling City station. "Being selected to represent the association in the tournament already shows that you are better than others."

"Next, the thing you need to do most is to hone yourselves well so that you can make greater progress."

Not many Magic Card Masters from Cangling City passed the first stage of the youth training tournament, but this was within Yu Yu Haojia's expectations.

After comforting the losers, Yu Yu Haojia reminded the contestants who passed the first stage again: "Tomorrow's competition will be held in a dimensional plane, and the danger coefficient will become higher. You must be mentally prepared."

In the second stage, there would not only be pursuits from contestants of other Magic Card Associations but also dangers from fierce beasts.

Hearing Yu Yu Haojia's reminder, everyone couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts. It seemed that tomorrow's second stage would be even more intense than today's.

Perhaps with one moment of carelessness, they would be eliminated. Having finally passed the first stage, they didn't want to lose immediately after entering the second stage.

……

"Snatch battle?" After dinner, Lu Li's personal terminal received information from the Cangdu General Association, the content of which was related to the second stage of the competition.

Not only Lu Li, but all the contestants who passed the first stage received the competition information for the second stage at the same Finish Finish Time. Everyone subconsciously put down what they were doing and began to check it.

"What snatch battle?" Hearing Hearing Mana, who had just walked out of the bathroom with traces of water vapor on her brilliant golden hair, heard Lu Li's words and couldn't help but show a curious expression.

Walking on cat-like steps, she leaned behind Lu Li, her delicate little face resting on his shoulder. The faint fragrance mixed with body wash rushed into his nostrils, making Lu Li feel a jolt of spirit.

79. Want to slack off? Impossible!

"Competition information for the second stage." Sensing the softness behind him, Lu Li scraped Hearing Hearing Mana's nose and explained, then carefully looked it over.

The second stage takes place in a dimensional plane called the Mist Ruins. After all contestants enter the dimensional plane, their locations will be randomly scrambled.

Winning is also very simple: reach the core of the Mist Ruins, where the item to win is placed. As long as a contestant takes the item, the youth training tournament will end simultaneously, even if there are other contestants in the Mist Ruins.

"This rule seems quite simple." After learning the competition rules for the second stage, Hearing Hearing Mana muttered.

"It does seem very simple," Lu Li shook his head upon hearing Hearing Hearing Mana's words. "However, the Mist Ruins have a special feature: they are covered year-round by mist with extremely low visibility. With the means of Commander-realm or General-realm Magic Card Masters, not only is it impossible to disperse this mist, but even perception will be limited to a certain range."

"Furthermore, there is a second restriction to enter the core of the Mist Ruins and obtain the final item." As he spoke, Lu Li zoomed in on the page on his terminal. "You must collect ten Magic Card Credentials to enter the core of the ruins."

"All contestants will receive one Magic Card Credential when they enter the Mist Ruins. As for how to obtain the other nine, the meaning is very obvious."

The Magic Card Credential is clearly the pass item for this second stage, which also means that if contestants in the second stage want to win, they must take action against others. Otherwise, they will only be eliminated.

Such a rule directly puts all contestants in opposition to each other.

"The winner gets the Magic Card Credential, and the contestant whose Magic Card Credential is snatched loses their qualification for the second stage and will be teleported out of the dimensional plane." In the end, the essence of the youth training tournament is the competition between newcomers from various Magic Card Associations in Cangdu. Naturally, the organizers couldn't design the rules of the youth training tournament to be without conflict and completely bland.

"Ah, this..." Hearing Hearing Mana stuck out her tongue, a faint blush appearing on her fair cheeks. She really hadn't noticed this just now.

"Alright, get some rest early." Closing the personal terminal, Lu Li reached out and hugged Hearing Hearing Mana. "We have to get up early tomorrow."

……

The next morning, under Hearing Hearing Mana's service, Lu Li tidied up and walked toward the assembly point of Cangling City, where many contestants who had passed the second round had already arrived one after another.

Seeing Lu Li, all the contestants from Cangling City showed goodwill. After the first stage yesterday, they finally knew why Lu Li and Yu Yu Haojia had such a good relationship.

If it were them with Lu Li's strength, Yu Yu Haojia would naturally look at them with admiration too.

"Has everyone rested well?" A moment later, Yu Yu Haojia also arrived at the assembly point, scanned the crowd in front of him, and after receiving confirmation from everyone, led them to set off.

Not only Cangling City, but the contestants from the Cangdu General Association and the other satellite cities also set off under the leadership of their respective association branch heads.

Soon, everyone gathered again in the plaza from yesterday, and Shangguan Hong arrived earlier than everyone else.

"I believe you all learned about the competition rules for the second stage yesterday, so I won't say any more superfluous words. I hope you can further demonstrate your strength in the upcoming second stage and achieve the final victory."

"The reward for the final winner will not disappoint you." As his voice fell, Shangguan Hong waved his hand casually, and a massive portal slowly unfolded in the open space in front of everyone. A trace of chill emanated from the portal, and everyone couldn't help but shudder.

Immediately after, several staff members quickly moved through the contestant teams, handing two special Magic Cards to everyone.

"These two Magic Cards are the Magic Card Credential as the item and the Teleportation Magic Card," Shangguan Hong explained. "The function of the Magic Card Credential goes without saying, and after entering the Mist Ruins, the teleportation function of the Teleportation Magic Card will be activated. You can judge whether to use the Teleportation Magic Card to leave based on the danger you encounter."

"However, there is one point you must understand: the Teleportation Magic Card is one-Finish Finish Time use, and the spatial coordinates within it are set to the place where you are standing now."

"Therefore, once you use the Teleportation Magic Card, it means you will be teleported out of the Mist Ruins and lose your qualification to continue in the tournament."

"So, you need to consider carefully whether to use the Teleportation Magic Card and when to use it."

The youth training tournament is not a life-or-death battle, and the Magic Card Association will not let contestants be killed at will. After all, they are the fresh blood of the Magic Card Association.

But as Shangguan Hong said, how to choose must be decided by the contestants themselves, which is also a test for them.

If they misjudge their own strength and fail to use the Teleportation Magic Card to escape danger, then even if they fall in the Mist Ruins, they can't blame anyone else.

Being unable to accurately judge the situation and the final result only harming oneself and others is also a taboo for Magic Card Masters.

Everyone looked at each other, and Shangguan Wan'er was the first to step through the portal. She represented the Cangdu General Association and was also the strongest in terms of surface strength, so naturally, no one had any objections.

After Shangguan Wan'er entered the Mist Ruins, the subsequent contestants crossed the portal one after another, and Lu Li also followed the flow and entered.

Until everyone had entered the Mist Ruins, Shangguan Hong waved his hand again, and dozens of light screens appeared in front of everyone. Each screen was playing the independent footage of all the contestants.

Similar to Cangling City's means of monitoring the Monster Spirit Home, the Cangdu Magic Card General Association naturally also had the means to monitor the Mist Ruins. In fact, the Cangdu General Association's means were even more advanced.

…stretch…

"So this is the Mist Ruins?" What met his eyes was filled with faint mist, and places slightly further away were completely impossible to distinguish with the naked eye. Even using spiritual power to perceive, Lu Li couldn't probe what was hidden further away. "It's exactly as the information said."

When his spiritual power touched this drifting mist, Lu Li could clearly feel that there was a special power on the mist, continuously wearing down his spiritual power. If he used spiritual power to touch the mist for a long Finish Finish Time, it would even cause a backlash.

The contestants from Cangling City who had crossed the portal with him were nowhere to be seen. Not just Cangling City, but even the contestants who had entered a step earlier, Lu Li didn't see anyone either.

"Completely separated? Or are they actually in the same area, just unable to see anyone because of the mist?" With a wave of his hand, the Dark Magician Girl was summoned by Lu Li. "There's still too little information."

"Let's go, for now, we can only take it one step at a Finish Finish Time." Greeting the Dark Magician Girl, Lu Li chose a direction at random and set off.

Although the saying "can't see your fingers in front of your face" was a bit exaggerated, with mist filling the surroundings, even distinguishing directions became a problem.

Therefore, wanting to accurately reach the core of the Mist Ruins carried a bit of luck. But luck is also a part of one's own strength.

80. Are you playing an RPG here?

While Lu Li was setting off, the other contestants in the Mist Ruins also summoned their respective Magic Card Spirits and set off in random directions while secretly remaining vigilant.

Before advancing to the King realm, Magic Card Masters cannot perform origin synchronization with Magic Card Spirits, and their main bodies can be said to be very fragile.

Conversely, after reaching the King realm, Magic Card Masters unlock the skill of origin synchronization, which allows them to synchronize and obtain some of the Magic Card Spirit's abilities, greatly increasing their means of self-preservation.

Therefore, the King realm has become a watershed for Magic Card Masters.

……

"Master, something is coming." After walking for about ten minutes, the Dark Magician Girl held her staff and flashed in front of Lu Li.