Elemental Card King.

Chapter 158 Debts Must Be Repaid, VS. The Copyist!
"No, dude, is it really that serious?"

In the stillness, a sense of oppression pervaded the air.

This is different from the super zombie explosion caused by Qi Hanhai, the Undead Singer. When people realized that Ge Hao was risking his life without any safety measures, aiming for a one-for-one exchange, they found it difficult to accept emotionally.

It's purely harmful to others and doesn't benefit oneself.

This is pushing the limits of our understanding.

It looks like they're paving the way and clearing mines for their own teammates.

"It's a bit cheap." This approach has indeed drawn a lot of criticism.

Some people were secretly delighted, happy for their team's leader.

Under the rule of no tie, it's definitely a good thing that both teams are eliminated, taking away the title favorite and the number one player. It also benefits the others.

only.

But the most outrageous and bizarre things were yet to come.

As the energy surge caused by the self-destruction gradually subsided, and the vast dust and smoke it had stirred up also settled, a golden barrier stood firm in the field.

The pulse of the earth rippled continuously at the barrier, while a fine, silky gold leaf constantly surged forth, reinforcing the barrier.

"It's crazy, nothing happened." Qi Hanhai was deeply moved and even stood up on the spot.

Although many people mocked him for using the arena's boundaries to create a more powerful super corpse explosion.

If you really go to a secret wilderness for unlimited battles, the high-star corpses you've sealed in advance will be enough to give your enemies a hard time.

If the copyist hadn't played his trump card in time, having a hidden time-reversal spell card, he probably would have been eliminated by him long ago.

But now.

Su Chen actually withstood it.

asshole!

How can this be?

"Holy shit, is it true?"

This scene was so bizarre that it caused considerable agitation among many spectators.

"Su Chen is alright!"

Even the teachers from the Qingyun Provincial Team, who were just about to file a complaint in anger, breathed a sigh of relief.

On the giant screen, the golden barrier that seemed like a miracle began to lose its brilliance. The golden light dissipated into the air, and sand rushed to the ground, smoothing it out. With all obstructions removed, two figures, one large and one small, appeared before everyone.

as predicted.

Safe and sound.

He showed no signs of injury.

At most, the petite Golden Soil Spirit Princess seemed a little less imposing.

Is it this meaty?

There were players in the audience who played the Spirit Master deck. One player who focused on the Fusion Spirit Master deck was quite excited. He was familiar with the Spirit Master forms with multiple elemental pathways.

But this Golden Soil Spirit Princess, who is touted as the strongest tank form, is really a bit outrageous.

Although no one knew exactly how high the energy level of the explosion was, just looking at the scale and the destructive power that it was about to destroy the boundary barrier, if it were up to them to withstand it, they would probably have been reduced to ashes long ago.

"The winner is Su Chen from the Qingyun Provincial Team," Referee Han announced immediately.

As he read the announcement, he couldn't help but glance at the young man with a secret sense of unease.

What a terrible future!
Under the awe-inspiring gazes of the entire audience, Su Chen led Xiao Ling off the stage. Not long after the battle, thanks to the absorption effect of the True Spirit Body, the little guy's spirit became more and more vigorous.

As for the severely crippled body that had lost consciousness in the arena, it began to receive a set of rescue treatments.

Everything is as expected.

After witnessing how Ge Hao had severely injured the Red Dragon, Su Chen became more cautious and began to favor specific magical metal resources when exchanging points. He even fed some of the 'Heavenly Meteorite Profound Gold,' which was worth millions per fingernail.

Not to mention.

The 'Diamond Barrier' itself is a fusion defensive skill that combines the earth attribute 'Earth Dust Storm' and the metal attribute 'Golden Radiance Barrier'. Both of these are defensive skills that are enhanced by stacking two rounds, so its defensive strength is somewhat beyond conventional imagination.

Besides that.

He also pre-unlocked the perfect-level Sun Observation technique 'Holy Light Protection', whose 3-second damage immunity effect is enough to further enhance his own safety.

Ge Hao's loss was not unjust.

Even Su Chen didn't expect that beneath the other party's calm demeanor lay such a mad mind, willing to risk his life to drag him out of the game.

"We have reported it to the authorities, and it has been successfully accepted." Teacher He Yun was still shaken; she felt like her throat was about to jump out of her throat.

When Su Chen returned, all the provincial team members around him, while admiring him, were still somewhat apprehensive.

"Damn it, these Legion kids are too crazy." Even Vice President Li couldn't help but curse.

In national combat competitions, as long as there is no malicious intent to harm others, no one will be held responsible for death or serious injury. With current medical recovery methods, even if true biological death occurs, the patient can be perfectly saved.

Because of this guarantee, all the contestants can give their all without being constrained.

But his self-destruction just now almost reduced Ge Hao to ashes; his actions are truly incomprehensible.

to this end.

The Qingyun Provincial Team reported Ge Hao's behavior to the authorities, stating that it triggered the malicious harm clause and constituted serious unfair competition.

The latter, however, was described in great detail and emphasized.

If it is proven that Ge Hao's actions were all instigated by Instructor Beiluo, or coerced by the copyist Cao Zheng, then a series of consequences will escalate significantly, and they even hope to force the other two legion members to withdraw from the competition.

Considering that Su Chen, a strong favorite to win the championship, will face Cao Zheng, the copyist, in the next match, it's hard not to speculate.

"Hmph, it would be best if he withdrew from the competition." Vice President Li didn't believe there wasn't something fishy going on behind the scenes.

The authorities naturally accepted the report. After Ge Hao regained consciousness, they took him and a Beiluo instructor backstage, and even Teacher He Yun herself was called over.

After two matches, the investigation results are in.

"No one authorized it and no private transactions were found."

Teacher He Yun looked somewhat dazed and sighed inwardly, "In other words, it was solely Ge Hao's doing. His top 16 result has been canceled, and his record in this national competition has been completely invalidated. At the same time, the Beiluo Provincial Team, which failed to supervise properly, has been criticized by name, and further punishment is reserved."

"Are you sure?" Vice President Li and the others were stunned.

“That’s right, the organizers used the ‘truth-revealing technique’,” He Yun said.

"This is outrageous."

Everyone found it hard to accept.

A minor dared to risk everything, even his own life. If the referee had been even slightly slower, he wouldn't have been able to save his own body. This kind of willingness to pay any price is truly chilling.

The Xinjiang youths are terrifying.

Ms. He Yun, who was observing the proceedings, was also deeply moved by this incident.

Her gaze was thoughtful, her thoughts drifting, but she was thinking of Wang Liyang, and the military officers and generals who had been dismissed, arrested, or imprisoned as mentioned in the reports.

This campaign, which was seen as a purge of the military's conduct, proceeded smoothly like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, without any obstacles whatsoever.

The newly appointed First Consul has perfectly achieved his goal; there is even a proposal in the council aimed at disbanding the Dimensional Exploration Legion, awaiting a final vote.

He Yun thought for no reason that if a minor border youth could be so resolute and ruthless, then at least half of the expeditionary army's generals were as docile as lambs.

"I wonder what Wang Liyang is doing?"

The other person had been gone for more than a week. After spending half a year together, He Yun was curious whether the other person had returned to his military post.

"Blood and sweat are not shed in vain; the North Star will eventually be rewarded."

At the stands belonging to the Beiluo Provincial Team, the iron-willed lieutenant colonel leading the team, with unwavering resolve, uttered an ancient military proverb.

After learning about the organizer's decision regarding Ge Hao's punishment, he had already decided in his heart to repay the reward double upon his return.

He said coldly, "Ge Hao's wishful thinking is all for you and for Tang Nianwei, both before and now."

"remember."

"No one can let down the people of the frontier. We will never tolerate any form of indebtedness."

"To live up to the land, to honor the brave and loyal, and to repay all debts"—this is the survival rule of the Northern Frontier, the sons of the five border legions of the Alliance, and even the soldiers of the Exploration Legion.

These beliefs are what unite a group of people to guard the frontier day and night, and what enable them to traverse the vast expanse of space to explore the unknown cosmos.

"I understand."

A cold determination flashed in Cao Zheng's eyes: "I will not let Ge Hao down. I will carry on his efforts and defeat him in a fair and square manner."

He was no longer the carefree man he once was; his voice was deep and solemn, as if he were making some kind of declaration.

To others, Cao Zheng, who was usually forgetful and often slack off at work, seemed to have really grown up.

Who knows how much trouble this problem boy, who relies on his unique talents in various aspects but can't muster much enthusiasm, has caused his instructors?

Ge Hao's series of sacrifices did not seem to have been in vain.

"Teacher, I want to know more information about Su Chen."

This guy even humbly sought advice from his teacher in preparation for the upcoming quarterfinals.

Half an hour later.

He began to warm up intently on his own.

Soon.

The Round of 16 has officially ended.

The top eight contestants have been determined.

"Tang Nianwei and Cao Zheng from the Beiluo Provincial Team."

This was not unexpected before the competition, as the strength of the team's players has been consistently strong in previous editions.

One thing that is quite remarkable is that Tang Nianwei, who was initially thought to be a smokescreen, is still gaining momentum.

"Pei Xingwei and Qi Hanhai from the Jiangnan Provincial Team are not outrageous either."

Jiangnan Province is, after all, the largest economic province in China, with a wealth of talent, and its performance in previous national competitions has been considered typical.

"If we're talking about the most bizarre case this year, it has to be the Qingyun Provincial Team."

At this point, no one would have imagined that this province, which seemed to have nothing to offer except its population, would produce two monsters this year.

Su Chen, in the advance intelligence, only appears in the last line of information, simply described as an elemental ruler.

Now, this guy has become the hottest favorite to win the championship.

Meanwhile, Xia He, who was aloof and indifferent, also began to show her talent. She quietly won the top eight while being ignored by others, and her mastery of the Taiyin Refining Technique stunned everyone present.

Outrageous.

Some people even heard that the handsome man and beautiful woman were from the same prefecture-level city.

This is absolutely outrageous.

Among the remaining eight, there is Qi Jinglong, the top player from the Tianfu Provincial Team and a fantasy fusionist, and Gao Jun, the controversial civil war king from the Guodu Team and a judge.

So, is it true that only one of these eight players is not making the national team?

Gao Mingxuan asked curiously, as he wasn't entirely clear on the intricacies. "Not necessarily."

Senior researcher Duan Lianqing responded: "The five main players and two substitutes are selected because there will be team competition rules in the World Championship. The selection list will be as different as possible in terms of card deck style and positioning to complement each other. To a certain extent, we will also take into account the positioning of the champion and select the corresponding team plugins."

"Wow!"

Gao Mingxuan's face lit up with joy, and he exclaimed, "Brother Chen, that's amazing! Isn't that how you build a team around him?"

Good guy.
As soon as these words came out.

Many people in the vicinity turned their eyes to him.

You're such a premature champagne fan.

Besides, Xia He is also in the team, so we should consider her feelings. In short, don't say anything that is not conducive to unity.

"Ahem, let's keep a low profile and build up some good karma." Vice President Li gave a fake smile: "There's still a tough battle to fight later."

At this moment, even Li Dun, who had seen many storms, felt a little uneasy.

"It's like a gambler with a lot of chips at the table. Until the very end, all those chips are gone and he doesn't end up in his pocket. The worst thing is when someone goes all in and wins. That's infuriating." This analogy is quite apt.

As he said this, his expression was deeply moved, as if he had gained profound insights.

At this moment, everyone looked at the vice president with somewhat strange expressions.

"You've gambled quite a bit, haven't you, Vice President?" Gao Mingxuan said bluntly.

"Haha, a little hobby." This made Li Dun laugh awkwardly and become careless.

Aside from a minor incident.

The short break is finally over.

Referee Han arrived at the ring immediately.

In the first match of the quarterfinals, Su Chen was still the first to lead the pack.

"come on!"

"Take them down."

A chorus of encouragement followed.

"Come on!"

Interspersed among these was a childish, innocent voice.

Little Ling floated up from her seat, waving her little fists to cheer on her owner.

"Goodbye, Sister Xiahe; goodbye, Sister Heyun." After waving politely to everyone around, the well-behaved and adorable Xiaoling disappeared along with her owner.

"Ok?"

Some people are quite curious about this.

"We still need to bring our summoned creatures," Luan Dehai said, voicing the question on everyone's mind.

to be frank.

Even Zhu Wan'er and the others couldn't help but stroke their chins, pondering whether Su Chen should release his summons when facing the clone Cao Zheng.

Previously, Cao Zheng had a hand with [Mirror Master] and [Unparalleled Fusion] in order to counter most summoner-type card players.

His innate ability to copy at least 90% of the original's abilities is why he gains momentum so quickly, consistently dominating the original with his "pirated" version.

“Brother Chen is different,” Gao Mingxuan said with a smile.

Although he didn't quite understand the specifics, he was certain that Su Chen had his reasons for doing so.

“Without the Demon Spirit Master card, at most you can only make his Mirror Master card ineffective, while [Peerless Fusion] and [Copy Processing] can be used in other ways, so exchanging cards is not worthwhile at all,” Duan Lianqing offered her insights.

As early as after the first stage, she gave Su Chen a strategy report.

It outlines many relevant matters for dealing with copyists.

then.

She felt there was no need to restrict herself.

"After all, Xiaoling isn't fighting alone, and the other side has a lot to do."

at the same time.

The entire aerial screen now focused on the two figures in the arena.

Suddenly, a long-absent commotion arose in the venue, and the once quiet place finally came alive again.

"Here it comes, it's definitely a preview of the championship."

"Let's get rid of that kid Cao Zheng as soon as possible."

"Indeed, I've disliked him for a long time."

There was a lot of discussion outside the venue.

The copyist's playstyle is extremely annoying, not to mention that Cao Zheng himself has an eccentric personality and always maintains a playful, carefree attitude towards life.

His carefree and languid demeanor made people think he wasn't there to compete, but rather to have fun.

In addition, due to Ge Hao's egregious behavior, Cao Zheng's reputation has continued to decline.

"what!"

"This kid's got a serious look on his face."

Surprisingly, on the screen, Cao Zheng, who was in the left-hand ring preparation area, looked serious. His posture was vigorous, upright, and straight, just like a divine sword about to be drawn.

That resolute and calm face was no longer smiling; his lips were tightly pursed, his eyes were sharp, and his entire demeanor had changed dramatically.

He stared straight ahead at his opponent in the distance, without saying a word, but in a sense, he had already conveyed everything through his expression.

it is more than words.

Shortly after the referee announced the start of the countdown, a gust of wind swept across the arena from left to right, bringing a touch of coolness and a sense of impending doom.

"start!"

The words had barely left his lips.

At the same time, all the slight noise in the venue disappeared, and everyone held their breath and focused their attention on the venue.

The battle begins.

no doubt.

The copyist, Cao Zheng, has made his move.

His eyes suddenly became like an unfathomable pool of water, and in the blink of an eye, they were filled with a dazzling light.

Copy and start!
hum!
He stretched out his right hand, and a luminous light flowed in his palm, transforming into a brand new Demon Spirit Card.

Immediately afterwards, as he activated it, a fire-attribute summoning circle bloomed in front of him, flames raged and sparks flew, and a Blazing Flame Spirit Envoy, almost a one-to-one replica, descended.

Slightly more agile and lively than the original, this fake inherited an extremely high stat, but its eyes were vacant, like a puppet.

Interestingly
The moment the counterfeit is fully formed.

As the little spirit, trailing flames, charged straight ahead, a surge of water erupted from its body, causing its temperature to plummet. Miraculously, its fiery red form, previously enveloped in flames, transformed into a crystalline, aquamarine color.

The Azure Waves Envoy makes a grand entrance.

"Humph!"

The replicator Cao Zheng's eyes were once again filled with light, and he couldn't help but say, "I'll play along to the end."

Currently, he can perfectly copy any card/skill/spiritual technique that triggers an effect, but he currently only has a maximum of three copy slots.

In a sense, copying all the cards is equivalent to him having three more contract cards than others.

10 vs 7!

But right now.

The opponent played a trick of switching cards and changing attributes. In order to avoid being countered by elements, Cao Zheng followed suit without hesitation, and the attribute of the Demon Spirit card in his hand was changed to water element.

The counterfeit Blazing Spirit Envoy in the arena also transformed into the Azure Wave Water Envoy in an instant.

"Sure enough, whether it's element switching or elemental synergy, the essence still involves changes in the cards themselves. This way, Cao Zheng can always succeed by copying cards," a teacher outside the arena sighed inwardly.

"etc."

But the next second, a lot of noise broke out in the audience.

This time, Su Chen switched attributes in an instant. His figure, which was just riding the surging waves, was surrounded by a chilling aura in less than a second, and every step he took left a trail of ice crystals.

Elemental counterplay is back again!

Cao Zheng was very patient and continued to accompany him to the end, also switching to the ice attribute.

but
This clearly cannot be synchronized.

"It's gotten much slower."

In a daze, not only the instructors, but even some contestants with slightly poor dynamic vision could clearly perceive the difference in the efficiency of switching attributes among themselves.

In particular, Cao Zhengben, the copyist, was a step too slow and could only copy what the next person did.

"this!"

At this moment, the Beiluo provincial team realized that something was wrong.

In the following few seconds, the two engaged in a fierce competition, frequently switching between dazzling card attributes.

Because of this extremely focused operation, the two of them didn't even have time to activate the second card.

In the end, Cao Zheng finally suppressed his stubbornness and stopped pursuing the matter after switching to the lightning attribute Lightning Spirit.

but.

Just as he was preparing his belated starting hand, his opponent immediately played his second contract card.

hum!
At least a hundred earth-attribute summoning arrays suddenly lit up the area around Su Chen.

Elemental Summoning - Earth, Inspire!
One breath less.

After successfully communicating with the elemental realm, it was as if the earth was splitting apart. Solid and heavy rock power suddenly appeared around Su Chen, and then more than a hundred earth-attribute monsters responded to the call.

They are either as majestic as giant rocks or dragged across the ground, covered in mud.

"Fuck!"

"This time, five four-star earth-attribute monsters actually responded to the call!"

Many audience members were stunned.

"This is definitely a banned card!"

But the words had barely left his lips.

Laughter came from all directions.

"Look!"

Cao Zheng, the copyist, also copied this Elemental Summoning Card, but only about sixty summoning lights illuminated around it.

"Is she still considered a supermodel?"

(End of this chapter)