At the Pinnacle of Cards, I, Lu Su, Stand Proud Above All!

Before False Karakura Town was dispelled, Xingu had vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

"Why does it feel like"

"This place can’t hold on much longer?"

Listening to the faint cracking sounds that occasionally reached his ears, the boy could not help muttering to himself.

Though he did not know whether it was merely his imagination, he still raised his guard.

At that moment, Principal Xie, who stood beside him, seemed to notice his unease and comforted him, "Don’t worry, Little Xin. With Xiao Luo here, nothing should happen."

This principal of Shanghai City No. 1 High School did not know that the attacker this time was a Master Card Master. Otherwise, he would not have been so calm.

Hearing this, Xingu temporarily put his worries aside.

He nodded silently, then glanced over the deathly silent city. "Can a Diamond Grade Card Master really accomplish something like this?"

Before today, the boy had never had a concrete understanding of this world’s top-tier power. He had assumed there would not be much difference from the high-level experts he knew.

But now, it seemed—

Bang—!

As Xingu’s thoughts ran wild, a crisp shattering sound reached everyone’s ears.

The boy finally realized that it had not been an illusion. Something unknown had happened outside.

Panic inevitably appeared on everyone’s faces.

Yet before they could voice their confusion, their vision blurred.

When they came back to their senses, the once deathly silent city had vanished. What appeared before them was a scene of utter apocalypse.

The Red Dragon radiating terrifying might slowly dissipated, while dark clouds blanketed the gloomy sky.

As far as the eye could see, the earth had become scorched wasteland, covered in lava and crystals.

What made things even more unbearable was that the excessively high temperature in the air made it difficult for the ordinary people present to breathe.

Drip—

At that moment, a tiny drop of water fell onto the charred ground.

Then, within a few breaths, torrential rain came pouring down.

Ignoring his rain-soaked body, Xingu stared blankly at the scene before him and almost instinctively swallowed.

Before him, a sword-wielding man was solemnly scanning the surroundings.

The moment they had left False Karakura Town, the boy had summoned his card to stay on guard.

But clearly, if danger truly appeared, the Bronze Grade card before him would be completely inadequate.

"Is this a battle between higher beings?"

Almost groaning, Xingu squeezed the words from his throat.

At that moment, he noticed Lu Su lying on the ground in the distance, and his heart immediately skipped a beat.

"Lu—"

Just as he was about to call out to the young man, he saw him struggle to his feet.

Seeing this, the boy could not help breathing a sigh of relief. "Looks like my Senior won."

Xingu had truly thought that False Karakura Town had shattered because Lu Su had died, but that did not seem to be the case.

Lu Su ignored the crowd behind him and instead staggered toward where Chris had fallen.

After all, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto’s Heavenly Ash Extermination had only destroyed half of the other man’s body. The other half had fallen to the ground after the Great Red Dragon dissipated.

"Cough, cough."

The discomfort in his chest made Lu Su cough softly several times. Dragging his exhausted body along, he slowly arrived beside Chris’s corpse.

But to the young man’s surprise, this Master Card Master was not completely dead yet.

Sensing Lu Su’s arrival, Chris slowly turned his one remaining eyeball and stared fixedly at the Diamond Grade Card Master whom he had never regarded seriously before today. "Lu Su."

"…"

Feeling his life force slowly fading away, the boy opened his mouth, yet did not know what to say.

His emotions were incredibly complicated. There was regret at not having been cautious enough, unwillingness at being unable to continue looking after the Fallen Cult’s subordinates, and—

The relief of accepting the outcome of a wager.

"Make Old Dog Jin come down to keep me company soon."

At the end of his life, Chris barely tugged his remaining half of a mouth into an ugly smile and left behind his final words.

"I will." Lu Su rubbed his dry throat as he made a promise to himself. "None of the people who came today will get away."

Having killed a Master Card Master in a fair one-on-one battle, the young man now had enough confidence to say such words.

Hearing him, Chris slowly closed his eyes.

Thus, the Inverted Cross that had ravaged Europa met its end upon foreign soil.

After a moment of silence, Lu Su ultimately reduced Chris to ashes just to be safe.

After all, no one knew whether a Master Card Master might have some strange contingency left behind. It was better to handle things cleanly and prevent any possibility of the corpse coming back to life.

After finishing all that, the young man looked toward Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto.

Seeing the other man shake his head slightly, he immediately relaxed. In the Soul Reaper Head Captain’s perception, no soul was hiding here.

At that moment, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto handed Lu Su a material.

It had been dropped by that enormous tree demon earlier.

Diamond Grade Adamantine Golem (Red).

After seeing the material’s detailed information, he could not help raising an eyebrow. An arrangement for it immediately came to mind.

Letting out a light breath, he put the material away.

After settling Chris’s matter, Lu Su turned to look at the uneasy crowd in the distance.

Seeing this, Principal Xie hurried to his side. "Xiao Luo, do you want to rest for a while? We’re not in a hurry to leave."

Anyone normal could see that the young man before them was already at the end of his strength, so the old man’s suggestion was entirely reasonable.

But Lu Su merely waved his hand and rejected Principal Xie’s suggestion. "We still don’t know what’s happening outside. Principal, take them and stay in this Secret Realm for now."

"It’s safer than outside."

Thanks to Chris, under the Great Red Dragon’s breath, the only living creatures left in the entire Secret Realm were probably their group. There was no need to worry about demon threats.

Principal Xie silently nodded. With his discernment, he naturally knew that the situation was highly abnormal.

However, since Lu Su, the highest-level person present, had already made arrangements, all he needed to do was carry them out. "Alright, I’ll make the arrangements right away. Xiao Luo, get some proper rest."

"Oh, and send Xingu over here."

Principal Xie was somewhat puzzled. He did not know why Lu Su wanted to see a mere Bronze Grade Card Master, but he still nodded slightly. "Understood."

The reason Lu Su wanted to see Xingu was simple.

Just moments ago, Little Spider had identified the boy’s detailed information.

Name: Xingu

Title: ???

Level: Bronze grade

Cards Held: Newbie Hero · Guran, Rust-Covered Sword of the Goddess.

Guran.

"What a familiar name."

Lu Su finally understood why Xingu’s card had seemed somewhat familiar.

It was because he had encountered the card’s original prototype in the Secret Realm before.

"But why would someone know of Guran’s deeds?"

Thinking of the known information—that the other party, like himself, was someone who had attained enlightenment—his gaze flickered.

He already had a rough guess.

Meanwhile, after learning that Lu Su wanted to see him, Xingu could not help feeling confused.

Still, he obediently came before the young man.

Yet the next moment, the words spoken by the person before him made the boy’s heart stop.

"You"

"Aren’t from this world, are you?"

A trace of panic uncontrollably appeared on Xingu’s face. He replied stiffly, "Haha."

"Senior, I don’t really understand what you mean."

Lu Su was not surprised by the boy’s reaction. He merely said softly, "Your card is called Guran, right?"

Looking at the incredulous Xingu before him, the young man gently patted his shoulder. "Once today’s matter is over, we can have a proper talk."

"Don’t worry. Great Ming isn’t the only place with people like you."

Then, before the boy could ask anything, he looked at Spider-girl, who had just barely recovered beside him.

With Miracle Magic, Little Spider could transform herself back into her original appearance.

Immediately afterward, the man and spider vanished from where they stood, leaving behind only Xingu, whose mind was in complete chaos as he continued wondering how the young man knew the name of his card.

It was true that there were methods to discover card information, but combined with Lu Su’s opening words, Xingu knew things could not be that simple.

He took a deep breath, then began waiting anxiously.

Outside.

Bai Yueming sat atop the ruins without the slightest concern for his appearance.

Beside him were Ji Weirui and… Ye Zhou.

Looking at Ye Zhou’s pale face, Bai Yueming’s expression was filled with concern. "Little Ye."

"Your body…?"

Hearing this, Ye Zhou revealed a somewhat bleak smile. "It probably won’t hold on much longer."

"Today, I went to spar with Adley, so he won’t keep thinking about it later."

Only then did Bai Yueming understand why he had not appeared until now.

As if to comfort the old man, Ye Zhou forced himself to speak energetically. "But after today, Jin Ping and the others should settle down for quite a while."

Bai Yueming did not intend to press further. Instead, he looked gloomily toward a Secret Realm Entrance standing amid Shanghai City’s ruins.

Not long ago, the old man had sensed that the Master Grade card he had sent to support his disciple had entered cooldown.

He did not believe his young disciple could survive against a Master Card Master fighting at full strength.

Seeing this, Ye Zhou pursed his lips before saying coldly, "Don’t worry, Elder Bai. Chris won’t escape today."

After speaking, he prepared to send Dongjun into the Secret Realm to kill him.

But at that moment, a black-clad figure emerged from the spatial vortex.

Seeing the figure, the three people present were all stunned.

They naturally knew whose card it was.

An absurd thought uncontrollably arose in their hearts. Could Xiao Luo still be alive?!

Before they could react, a young man in tattered clothes with an exhausted expression appeared before them.

It was Lu Su.

Seeing his disciple, wild joy immediately appeared on Bai Yueming’s aged face. "Xiao Luo!"

Hearing the old man call out, the young man in the distance immediately looked over.

Since he did not know the exact situation outside, Lu Su had not rashly left the Secret Realm. Instead, he had dispatched a Ghost Shadow Soldier to gather information.

Only after receiving confirmation that it was safe did he leave the Secret Realm with extreme caution.

Yet to the young man’s surprise, the battle outside seemed to have just ended. Ruined walls and rubble were everywhere, along with faint cries of pain.

It was then that he heard his teacher’s voice.

Seeing that Bai Yueming was unharmed, Lu Su could not help sighing in relief.

He quickly stepped forward. "Teacher, Master Ji, Ye Diantang."

"This—"

Just as he was about to ask about the current situation, Ye Zhou interrupted him.

The Hall of Fame Card Master looked solemn. "Xiao Luo, where is Chris?"

"Did he run?"

From his memories, he did not seem to have seen anyone leave the Secret Realm.

But if Chris, as a Master Card Master, possessed a method to forcibly leave the Secret Realm, that was not impossible.

Of course, there was another possibility—that he had been killed by the young man before them—

"He’s dead."

Lu Su casually stated the boy’s current whereabouts.

"?"

Upon hearing this, the three figures standing at the pinnacle of Great Ming’s Card Masters could not help becoming dazed.

Ye Zhou was ultimately the first to react. He let out a soft breath, then said solemnly, "You’ve worked hard, Xiao Luo. We were right to allocate resources to you."

Hearing this, the other two Master Card Masters nodded in agreement.

Knowing Lu Su’s personality well, the three naturally would not put on some farce of doubting him before being proven wrong.

Though they were extremely curious about how the young man had accomplished it, what they felt more than anything was relief.

"In that case, Jin Ping and the others have lost one combatant."

"And Great Ming has gained another Card Master equivalent to a Master Card Master."

The same thought flashed through all three of their minds.

Even if Chris’s death had resulted from various factors, it did not change the fact that Lu Su had indeed killed him.

No matter what, the young man could now be regarded as half a Master Card Master.

Thinking of this, Ye Zhou could not help joking with Bai Yueming, "Looks like Xiao Luo will soon inherit Elder Bai’s mantle."

Though it was a joke, there was also a measure of sincerity in it.

If he remembered correctly, many of Lu Su’s cards were death-type cards. Even inheriting Yama’s title seemed perfectly fitting.

At that, Bai Yueming couldn’t help but smile with relief.

But Lu Su had no intention of walking the Soul Reaper path all the way to the bitter end.

After all, the cards in his current system were already close to reaching their limit.

As it happened, he had obtained material today that suited a character from another story.

But before that, he still needed to settle Shanghai City’s affairs.

At that moment, Lu Su swept his gaze over the Shanghai City that had been reduced to ruins and couldn’t help sighing.