Chapter 205: There’s no chance, unless Wen Jiang plays three cards_1
In competitions like this, ordinary Spirit Card Masters were one thing, but those from the Nobility were another entirely; an extra layer of prestige was added to their name. Noble Spirit Card Masters were even more fervently adored by the masses. If a Spirit Card Master was from the Nobility, possessed good looks, and had strong abilities, it drove people insane. Every fan was essentially a Sheng Hongying 2.0. Similarly, precisely because there were so many star players, it was quite common for their fans to fight and tear each other apart.
Of course, this particular issue hadn’t been brought up yet.
「A few days later」
Zero Egg’s prophecy came true. After the selection for the top six from the top ten, the S Rank Broken Heart Association encountered the Beiwu Association and was unexpectedly eliminated. The main reason was that particular player’s mistakes. Provoked by his girlfriend, he made major errors in the competition, leading to the Broken Heart Association’s utter defeat. Losing to the Beiwu Association was as outrageous and unacceptable as the Temple of the Gods losing to a third-rate association.
After the match, the player naturally faced a torrential storm of insults. Fans of the Broken Heart Association frantically attacked the player. At this level, winning brought praise and losing brought criticism—there was nothing more to it. Although his circumstances garnered sympathy, such things didn’t matter on the competition field. A mistake was your own responsibility.
After the competition, Song Zhi, that year’s newcomer for the Broken Heart Association, gave an interview. She simply said, "Everyone performed very well; it’s just a pity." She could have achieved better results.
Song Zhi didn’t blame anyone; after all, the results spoke for themselves. Meanwhile, the Guiqing Association, to which Song Yingchen belonged, was unlucky to encounter Divine Punishment and get eliminated. Nevertheless, Song Yingchen’s remarkable performance in the competition left a deep impression on many.
The siblings were thus both eliminated just before the top six. However, because the drama surrounding the Broken Heart Association was so intense, other teams overlooked the Guiqing Association. Guiqing received more leniency for making it to the top six, especially considering they had been in decline for many years. With Song Yingchen joining this year, their entry into the top ten was seen as a sign of resurgence.
Tang Qian voiced the A-Rank Group’s collective sigh, "I’m going to get scolded to death when I return home this year. In the past, at least, I could get a top three finish, but this year, there’s no hope left."
It was one of their worst performances in recent years. Last year, Mountain Ghost had at least taken third place. This year, it seemed the third-place prize would likely go to the Posuo Association from Beiwu.
Regardless of whether they won third place or not, everyone was going to be roundly scolded. Last year it was Mountain Ghost. This year, Mount Flower faced online abuse from the outset, and now it was the Broken Heart Association’s turn.
Zero Egg cursed loudly, "That damn Grandson has such good luck! He made it into the top six and is still getting praised by everyone. Are people always this lenient with underachievers?"
Indeed, with the Broken Heart Association bearing the brunt of the criticism, the Guiqing Association making it into the top six this year seemed rather impressive by comparison. Song Yingchen’s official social media account instantly surpassed the ten million follower mark, with his follower count growing faster than Wen Jiang’s. After all, one was competing in S Rank and the other in the A-Rank Group; the scale of their competitions was incomparable.
Wen Jiang stated an undeniable truth, "You’re criticizing him now? If I hadn’t participated, and he still made the top six, you’d be saying, ’As expected of the main character, such a performance on his first try!’"
Zero Egg’s current arrogance was purely a result of being spoiled by Wen Jiang’s outrageous abilities. It even looked down on the world’s top six.
Zero Egg remained silent. Because, according to Wen Jiang, that was indeed a possibility.
The S Rank competition didn’t affect the A-Rank side, where the Broken Heart Association was performing well. In the A-Rank Group, Divine Punishment had already been unfortunately eliminated, leaving only the Temple of the Gods and Mount Flower as strong contenders. The Broken Heart Association conservatively estimated that if they were lucky, they might have a chance at second place. With the Temple of the Gods in the running, nobody could confidently claim the championship.
But surprisingly, the Broken Heart Association’s prayers were answered. In the matches to decide the top four, the Temple of the Gods was pitted against Mount Flower, while the Broken Heart Association faced an association from a small country in the North Continent.
"GIAO!"
Shi Qi was the most excited, exclaiming, "Such bad luck! I thought the Broken Heart Association would face the Temple of the Gods first!" Although this thought wasn’t very kind, meeting them later was definitely preferable.
Tang Qian sighed, "If the Temple of the Gods loses this, they can only compete for third place. I don’t think they’ll let that happen."
The implication was clear: the Temple of the Gods would undoubtedly resort to a double-card strategy to secure their victory. After all, such a situation hadn’t occurred in decades. Since Xi Zhou and the North Continent began dominating the arena, no one from Yunxia had ever managed to take the championship from them. The one time the Broken Heart Association had won a championship, it had at least been in the final PK round. Now, in the A-Rank Group, if the Temple of the Gods lost this match, they would only place third.
This would undoubtedly be a tremendous disgrace for them. It would be even more unbearable than Shaliye losing to Mount Flower. Not only would the Temple of the Gods find this outcome unacceptable, but the Empire of Frost Moon wouldn’t tolerate it either, even if it was just an A-Level match.
Ruan Chunen and the others could only smile bitterly. They had once been praised as professional players, but now they were acutely aware that they were indeed dragging Wen Jiang down. If any of Wen Jiang’s teammates could play with double cards, this matchup wouldn’t feel so disheartening.
Seeing the varied expressions on everyone’s faces, Tang Qian turned her gaze to Wen Jiang. After all, Wen Jiang was their last hope. "Are you going to use a double-card strategy?" Tang Qian asked.
Wen Jiang pursed her lips and stated a shocking number. "Three cards. I’ll play with three cards. That’s only two cards fewer than the Temple of the Gods; our chances of winning will be high enough."
She quickly elaborated, "If the Temple of the Gods wants to ensure victory, they’ll use either their Four Heavenly Kings system or the Moon Palace Card Set. They can ban at most five of our cards. We’ll be able to get three of our key cards out. If we get the first move, securing any two of those three cards gives us a 100 percent chance of winning. If we only secure one, the chances are smaller, but it’s not a problem. Three cards are enough for me to fight."
Three cards. That was a carefully calculated number. It was the maximum number of cards a player had ever simultaneously controlled in the competition’s history. Under normal circumstances, some might casually summon three or four Spirit Cards as if it were nothing. However, in a match between equals, there was no room for error. Controlling more than four Spirit Cards was very risky and irrational. To date, players had only ever fought battles using a maximum of three cards simultaneously. Wen Jiang’s decision to use three cards was like stepping right onto that limit.
One of her self-made Spirit Cards would be enough. For the other two, she could pick cards focused on special mechanics; it wouldn’t be too stressful for her.
Hearing Wen Jiang say this, Tang Qian’s eyes brightened. "Really?" she asked. "But don’t force yourself. Using three cards is very risky."
She didn’t doubt Wen Jiang’s ability to control three cards, but it was a risky move, and she had never seen Wen Jiang attempt it before.
Wen Jiang’s lips curved into a smile. "It’s fine," she said. "I told you, we have to secure this victory."
Naturally, there was no need for an extreme 5-versus-9 card battle. In a 7-versus-9 scenario, with her controlling three cards, their odds of winning already increased to 90 percent. The remaining 10 percent hinged on her not making any critical errors. Overall, it was doable.
And when this matchup result was announced, everyone following the competition was shocked. Some had anticipated this, but now that it was a reality, they could only lament Mount Flower’s bad luck.
Little Goat, a well-known streamer who had previously speculated about Mount Flower’s matches, started a live broadcast as soon as the results were out. Fans immediately asked for his thoughts on this match’s outcome.
Little Goat glanced at the flood of comments in the chat and said bluntly, "No chance. Unless Wen Jiang plays with three cards."
As soon as these words were spoken, the stream chat exploded with activity.