Yu-Gi-Oh!: This card wants to go to you.

"【Gilsu, Knight of the Night Star】".

With a mechanical sound, a tall figure holding a spear slowly emerged. He was covered in hard armor, which gleamed with a cold metallic luster.

"【Gilsu】's entry effect sends 【Self-composed Sacred Music: Dream Collapse】from the deck to the graveyard."

"Activate the effect of [Self-Playing Sacred Music - Dreamy Collapse] again."

"Ban this card, send [Star Relic - Star Staff] from your Deck to the Graveyard, and increase [Gilsu]'s ATK by 800."

【Gilsu】ATK: 1800→2600

"Activate the effect of the Graveyard card [Star Wand], banish this card, and Special Summon the banished [Playful Demon]."

A melodious orchestral tune began to play, and the scattered dark mechanical parts slowly floated into the air, gradually piecing together the [Playful Demon].

"Battle phase," Xia Sheng said indifferently, his tone devoid of any emotion.

"【The Great Coffin of the Carving Demon】, 【Beatrice】, 【Gilsu】, 【Playful Demon】, direct attack.

The four monsters launched their attacks simultaneously, and in an instant, the entire testing platform was enveloped in various lights.

The testing platform trembled and roared continuously, bearing immense pressure. Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, cracks could be seen appearing on its surface, and the basic score continued to plummet.

Trial Platform LP: 6800→4200→1700→0

A crisp announcement rang out in response.

【Congratulations】

[Ninth Gate Challenge Successfully Completed]

“Beautiful.” Luo Bai raised an eyebrow.

The fifteenth gate was successfully completed, and only the sixth gate remains to complete the set of sixteen spirits.

In the last ten minutes or so, the others could still struggle.

Xia Sheng let out a long breath, picked up the source card, and was about to walk through the door.

Suddenly, a delicate hand grabbed him.

"Brother... I'm here too..." Xia Yu pleaded.

Xia Sheng's heart clenched, and his voice was weary: "Only one person can enter through each door."

The challenge rules are in smaller print.

Only one person can enter through a door, and the same strategy for passing a level can only be used once. You cannot lend your card to someone else to use the same strategy again.

Xia Yu's [Machine Monster Bug] deck couldn't deliver a one-card kill.

"Are you going to abandon me?" Xia Yu lowered her head, her expression unreadable.

Xia Sheng closed his eyes, turned around, and left behind the ruthless words: "I must move forward."

He released Xia Yu's hand and took heavy steps toward the ice gate.

"Do you really have to leave..." Xia Yu asked, her head bowed.

Xia Sheng remained silent, as if he hadn't heard anything, and continued walking forward on his own.

However, just as he took a step, a flash of cold light appeared, and a sharp dagger pierced his chest from behind. The sudden turn of events left everyone inside and outside the door stunned.

Xia Sheng stared wide-eyed at the protruding blade in front of his chest in disbelief, but his face did not show much shock or fear. Instead, he had a look of relief and liberation.

His lips curled up slightly, revealing a bitter smile, as if he had already anticipated this outcome.

"Are you really going to leave..." A familiar, deep voice came from behind, the voice of the attacker.

However, Xia Sheng did not look back, but took firm steps forward and slowly walked forward.

Before embarking on the duel with the god Pharaoh, director Carl gave all the actors three instructions.

First, we must do everything in our power to collect and protect the Dragon Epic Cards; second, we must keep a close watch on a certain person, and if we cannot control them, we must assassinate them; third, we must resolutely defend the Uncharted Territory - Death Prison.

Xia Yu stood there blankly as her brother's figure gradually disappeared into the distance.

The dagger slipped silently from her hand, making a crisp sound on the cold ground.

There was never a younger sister in the first place. It was just a drama designed by the director to make him believe that he had a younger sister, since he knew that Gil Su had been reincarnated into Xia Sheng.

It's all fake, even the actors are fake.

The director's instruction was to kill her, but she only gave him a perfunctory stab, which was like a tickle to her war god brother.

What you can't keep, you can't keep no matter what you do.

The ice gate slammed shut.

The siblings' childish game of house has come to an end.

Luo Bai witnessed all of this through the screen, feeling as if he had swallowed a shard of glass, and muttered to himself, "This director is deeply sinful."

"The person is gone, but a knife was left behind."

He vaguely remembered someone telling him that Xia Yu might be an actor, but no one bothered to confirm it. He was content to live in a fantasy, and onlookers could only respect that.

Unexpectedly, at the moment of parting, the younger sister betrayed her older brother.

The story of the brother and sister's separation is buried in the wind and snow.

All eyes turned to the final sixth gate, where three or five people stood around it, but their willingness to fight seemed weak, as if they had already given up.

Suddenly, a slight earthquake broke the silence; the ground began to tremble slightly, and snow rolled down the mountain peaks with a soft rustling sound.

Luo Bai and the others frowned: "What's going on now?"

"An avalanche ahead of schedule? Isn't there still more than ten minutes left?" The climbers exchanged surprised glances, completely bewildered.

Then, an incredible sight appeared before everyone.

Suddenly, a huge crack appeared in the snow, and a figure slowly crawled out from underground. The person was covered in molten lava, and every step left behind melted snow and steam on the ground.

His skin had turned black from exposure to the high temperature of the lava, with some areas showing a charred color, and his face and limbs were covered with scars left by the lava.

His clothes had been burned to shreds by the lava, leaving only a few tattered strips hanging precariously on his body, and his fingernails had become hard and sharp from crawling on the rocks for so long.

"This guy..." Everyone stared in stunned disbelief at the sudden appearance of the lava man. "Is he still alive...?"

Are you still alive?

Are they still human?

That was everyone's first thought when they saw him.

Under prolonged exposure to the scorching heat, the skin on the entire body gradually peeled and charred, leaving dark red patches. It would be no exaggeration to say that the body was completely disfigured.

Dibel vaguely recognized something and exclaimed incredulously, "Nan...Nanyang Ling?!"

“The sun…” Nanyang Ling gazed at the trial platform and took heavy, scorching steps.

The people on the snow met his sharp gaze and quickly made way for him.

Chapter 649 The Cleanest Trial (Final)

...

The year 214 of the New Spiritual Calendar, ten years after the Great Explosion of Divine Will.

There are only two humans left in the world.

Good news, it's a boy and a girl.

Bad news: they are mortal enemies.

Inside the laboratory, the man carefully lifted the baby out: "Come and see, our child."

"Who has a child with you!" the woman retorted loudly, but quickly softened her tone, "It's just a chemical product."

“It’s still a defective product.” She pressed a button on the supercomputer next to her and brought up the experimental report.

As the first experimental infant, it had many imperfections, including a compatibility score of less than 3.5 and congenital inability to experience pain.

"He won't live to adulthood," the woman sighed mournfully. "Or perhaps..."

In such a cruel world, without the warning mechanism of pain, one wouldn't even know if bitten by a venomous snake.

“No!” the man said decisively. “He has his own life to live.”

"Life?" The woman smiled bitterly, unconvinced. "What else can we give him besides his life?"

“We’re not even his parents.”

After the Great Explosion of Divine Will, the world was left in ruins.

The two didn't have much time left, and were forced to launch the forbidden Numbered Citizens Project for the sake of the continuation of humanity.

“There’s nothing here…” The man looked at the dilapidated scenery outside the window and smiled slightly. “Let’s start by giving him a name.”

"How about... Bai?" He turned to look at the woman.

The woman's eyes flickered, somewhat moved: "Nanyang Bai? Not a bad name."

"No," the man waved his hand and said, "The child will take your surname."

He gently lifted the baby, smiled in the moonlight, and said, "Look how adorable he is."

"It's a pity that they have the surname Nanyang."

...

"Such a strong obsession." Luo Bai couldn't help but sigh.

For the first time, he felt he had lost in terms of his desire to win.

It must take an incredible amount of determination to keep going even after being burned like this.

As Nanyang Yuzi watched the lava man move forward, she couldn't help but recall what her mother had told her many years ago: "He said... Nanyang is not a good surname, so he made you take my surname."

After arriving in Biantana, she became convinced of this over the past two hundred years.

Nanyang is indeed not a good surname.

Nanyang Ling walked onto the trial platform, glanced at the rules, and decisively picked up the Source Number Card.

Exquisite designs quickly appeared on the blank card.