Chapter 2530: Hidden Mountain

The watching audience also started to grow Impatient as they waited. Watching nothing happen for so long was mentally taxing, and many of them started questioning their own ability to reach the school’s required threshold within the one year time limit. Time was already an exceedingly precious commodity for them.

Some people had left earlier, believing that the competition’s outcome had already been determined. No matter how talented Xuan Qi might be, what were his chances of finding the sole six-star Ancient card? If he could manage to find even an Ancient card, it would be rather impressive.

"What a waste of time."

"He's just deliberately stalling. Xuan Qi was praised so highly in the Voidforce School. Even Senior Zhi Bing remarked on his skill after he passed the third Card Tap area. He no longer understands his place. Now that he knows that he’s about to be defeated, he’s dragging things out until we all lose patience. After we’re gone, he can avoid losing face despite losing the competition.”

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"True, I didn't consider that. He’s really cunning. Let's make sure to stay and watch until the end."

"Yes, let him keep dragging things out. We’ll see just how long he can stall fpr."

"Brothers, we'll wait here with you."

…

Jiang Xiaodao heard the various conversations, and he also seemed to have figured something out, and it caused him to smirk. "Grandpa Dao won't rush you. Let's see how long you can keep going. You definitely want Grandpa Dao to rush so that you can later accuse me of disturbing you in your process of searching for cards. Then, you’ll invalidate the results of the contest. Hmph! How devious."

Zhi Xiao was caught off guard. Was this what was happening? It made sense.

The people who had already left came back after learning that Lu Yin was intentionally stalling for time. They decided to wait around to see how long he would drag things out for.

Further away, Zhi Bing commented, "This competition will be a blow for him."

Xu Xiangyin replied, "It's just a small setback. Those children are right. I praised him to the heavens while he was in the Voidforce School, especially after he brought the village down and created a miracle. He’s already become arrogant and overconfident. This defeat will wake him up."

"Aren't you afraid that his confidence might be shattered?"

"Hmph, if he can't come back from even a tiny setback like this, how can he hope to bear the responsibility of facing Aeternus on the battlefield? Talent is just one aspect of a person, but oftentimes, character is even more important."

Zhi Bing glanced over. "I don't think he's actually stalling."

Xu Xiangyin frowned, as he actually felt the same. "He's been releasing voidforce energy. The kid wants to find a card by using voidforce energy. After Xu Ji and Xu Yue, he’s now the third person to try this. Unfortunately, neither Xu Ji nor Xu Yue found any decent cards."

"There are no good or bad cards—it simply depends on the person using them. Believe me, I can make you suffer even with a Seasonal card." Zhi Bing felt irritated when his universe’s cards were being disparaged.

Xu Xiangyin rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. I didn't mean to insult your cards."

"Hmph."

…

At this moment, Lu Yin suddenly took action. He leaped upwards and snatched a card from the void before slowly descending back to the ground.

Jiang Xiaodao’s eyes went wide. What a cool way to grab a card! If he had known about it beforehand, he would have made sure to draw his cards in the same manner. That thought made him unconsciously glance over at Little Lian, only to see that she was staring at Lu Yin with open admiration. Jiang Xiaodao instantly felt a pang of jealousy.

"Zhi Xiao, hurry up and check what card he grabbed. It’s meaningless to try to look cool. True men should rely on their inner virtues," Jiang Xiaodao contemptuously spat out.

Lu Yin was caught off guard. Cool? Aside from the time that he had disguised himself as Yu Hao, he had never received a compliment like that before. "Thank you."

Jiang Xiaodao gritted his teeth. "I’m not complimenting you!"

The moment Zhi Xiao laid his eyes on the card in Lu Yin’s hand, his gaze grew sharp, and he quickly reached out to take the card. He repeatedly examined both sides of the card.

Jiang Xiaodao impatiently demanded, "Zhi Xiao, hurry up and announce the results!"

The onlookers let out sighs of relief, feeling lucky that the contest had not been dragged out too long. They had thought that Xuan Qi would shamelessly delay things for several days.

Zhi Xiao looked up at Lu Yin, his gaze heavy and his expression solemn. "How did you find it?"

Lu Yin casually answered, "Luck."

Zhi Xiao frowned. "You’re insulting my intelligence."

"What's going on, Zhi Xiao? Hurry up and announce the results already!" Jiang Xiaodao anxiously urged. He had noticed that Little Lian's eyes shone brighter when she looked at his opponent. No, I have to keep an eye on him in the future.

Zhi Xiao looked at Jiang Xiaodao. "You lost."

Jiang Xiaodao felt triumphant. "See? I told you that he would lose. Arrogant and ignorant! Little Lian, look, your big brother taught the arrogant guy a lesson!"

Suddenly, Jiang Xiaodao froze, and he turned to face Zhi Xiao, blinking several times. "What did you just say? Who lost?"

Zhi Xiao raised the card that Lu Yin found. "Hidden Mountain."

Jiang Xiaodao's pupils shrank. "Hidden Mountain?"

Many people around were shocked. "Hidden Mountain? A named card? That means that it’s a seven-star card!"

"Impossible! How could someone who just entered this school find a seven-star card? Senior Brother Jiang has been in the Lost Clan School this whole time, and even he can only find a seven-star card. How long has Xuan Qi been here? How could he have found it?"

"It's absolutely impossible."

Jiang Xiaodao rushed over to Zhi Xiao and snatched the card from his hand to personally examine it carefully. After a while, he stared over at Lu Yin in disbelief. "How did you find it?"

Lu Yin shrugged. "Like I said, luck."

"Do I look like an idiot? How can luck help you find a seven-star card?" Jiang Xiaodao shouted.

He could have left the Lost Clan School long ago, but he had stayed just for this seven-star card.

Regardless of their class, only seven-star cards were named, and the seven-star Ancient card that Lu Yin had found was called "Hidden Mountain." Coincidentally, it was also the entire reason why Jiang Xiaodao had remained in the Lost Clan School.

He understood just how rare a seven-star card was, and even his father had told him to do his best to find one. Jiang Xiaodao had endured Xu Ji, He Shu, and Shao Qingfeng, all for the sake of this card. And yet, in the end, it had been taken by Xuan Qi.

"You must've been sent here by my father to screw with me!," Jiang Xiaodao exclaimed.

In the distance, Zhi Bing's expression grew serious. He took a step forward and instantly appeared next to Lu Yin. He snatched the card from Jiang Xiaodao's hand and gave Lu Yin an appraising stare.

"You…" The old man also wanted to ask “Xuan Qi” how he had found the card, but the two young men had already asked that question.

Xu Xiangyin also appeared, and he stared at Lu Yin in astonishment.

Lu Yin quickly offered a bow. "This junior greets seniors."

Despite wanting to say something, Zhi Bing ultimately kept his thoughts to himself. Instead, he patted Lu Yin's shoulder and said, "A true prodigy."

With that, he placed the card in Lu Yin's hand and left.

Xu Xiangyin also wanted to say something, but then he suddenly thought of something. His expression instantly transformed, and he disappeared without a single word.

The crowd of students blankly stared on as things played out. The shocking appearance of the seven-star card made the victor perfectly clear.

"Xuan Qi, of everyone from foreign universes who’s attempted to learn our methods, your talent ranks first," Zhi Xiao exclaimed in astonishment.

Little Lian arrived and curiously stared at the card in Lu Yin's hand. She softly asked, "May I take a look?"

Lu Yin smiled and handed the card over.

As she looked at it, she exclaimed, "This is the seven-star card Hidden Mountain! I heard about it the day I joined the Lost Clan School. It looks so powerful! I heard that it contains the Hidden Mountain ability. Is it true?"

Lu Yin was astonished. Was there a battle technique within the card?

Zhi Xiao spoke up to reply. "Yes. All seven-star cards contain unique abilities. Once an enemy is dragged into this Hidden Mountain card, it can then suppress them with its special ability. Depending on the user’s cultivation level, the power of the Hidden Mountain’s ability can vary, but it doesn't affect the setup placed within the card itself."

Exclamations rose from the crowd as they stared at Xuan Qi enviously.

"I refuse to accept this!" Jiang Xiaodao suddenly roared. He glared at Lu Yin so hard that his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "How could you possibly find the Hidden Mountain card during your first search? It's impossible!"

Little Lian frowned. "Brother Xiaodao, you lost. Accept your defeat."

Jiang Xiaodao ground his teeth as he stared at Lu Yin. "I want another contest with you!"

Lu Yin raised an eyebrow. "Another round of card searching?"

Zhi Xiao shouted in a stern voice, "Stop fooling around! Every member of the Lost Clan is only allowed to have one card for life, and they can only change it if their card is damaged. Jiang Xiaodao, you have already found a five-star card, and you cannot change it without a special reason, nor can you search for another one. These are the rules!"

Jiang Xiaodao shouted back, "I don’t want to compete in card searching! I want a decisive battle!"

The crowd was surprised. A decisive battle?

Lu Yin felt puzzled. "A decisive battle?"

Jiang Xiaodao clenched his fists. "I cannot lose to you, so let's have a decisive battle."

"Like the one that you had with Mu Mu?"

Jiang Xiaodao raised his head arrogantly. "Are you afraid?"

Lu Yin chuckled. "My cultivation level isn’t as high as yours, which means that a fight with you would be asking to die."

Jiang Xiaodao sneered. "Are you afraid of a fight? Fine, as long as you admit that I, Jiang Xiaodao, am stronger than you, I won't force you."

"Brother Xiaodao, you're being despicable," Little Lian reprimanded angrily.

Jiang Xiaodao's face fell. "Little Lian, I…”

He had no idea how to even explain himself. The only way he could express his frustration was by fiercely glaring at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin met the man’s eyes. "We can have a match, if you want."

The crowd stared at “Xuan Qi” like he was a complete idiot. Did he really intend to fight Jiang Xiaodao? It was clear to all of them that Jiang Xiaodao’s cultivation was much stronger than his.

By the Fifth Mainland’s standards, this was no different from an Enlighter challenging an Envoy. Could that even be considered a fight? Everyone watching was thinking the same thing.

"You don't have to fight. He won't do anything to you," Zhi Xiao said.

The talent that Lu Yin had revealed was enough to earn Zhi Xiao’s respect.

Little Lian also spoke up. "That's right, you don't need to pay attention to Brother Xiaodao. He's not a bad person—he just hates losing, the same as anyone else."

Jiang Xiaodao snorted but did not argue. He already regretted suggesting a fight. Winning would only embarrass him further, but losing would be absolutely humiliating. It would be better to just quickly take a step back.

Lu Yin smiled. "Thank you for that reminder, but since he has challenged me, we’ll consider it a lesson. Besides, losing won't be shameful for me at all."

Jiang Xiaodao’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Lu Yin. "You really dare to fight me? Alright, I'll teach you a lesson!"

Lu Yin said, "I don't mind fighting, but there need to be stakes."

Jiang Xiaodao sneered. "Do you really think that you can beat me?"

"You said the same thing before we started searching for cards," Lu Yin replied.

Lu Yin’s words only annoyed Jiang Xiaodao even more. "Alright, what sort of reward do you want? If I win, you’ll have to call me Brother Dao and follow me from now on."

Little Lian became upset. "Brother Xiaodao, you're sure to win! This isn't fair."

Jiang Xiaodao had a pained expression on his face. "Little Lian, why are you helping some outsider? Brother Xiaodao grew up with you!"

Little Lian turned to glare at him. "If you’re being unfair, it's not acceptable! This match is too unfair to Brother Xuan Qi, so you’re not allowed to get any prize for winning!"

She then turned to Lu Yin and smiled at him. "Brother Xuan Qi, what kind of reward would you like? Little Lian will be the referee."

Jiang Xiaodao's jaw dropped. He felt like the cabbage in his own backyard was being stolen by some stranger. He started to become increasingly annoyed by Lu Yin.

Lu Yin laughed. "Thank you, Little Lian."

Little Lian giggled happily.

Jiang Xiaodao clenched his jaw. "Xuan Qi, you're not allowed to call her that!"

Lu Yin rolled his eyes and said, "For my prize, I want the calligraphy scroll that you bought at the auction."

Out of anything that Lu Yin could possibly get from Jiang Xiaodao, the scroll was one of the things that he wanted the most. However, its value made it improper to be the stakes for their first competition, but it was just right for this second match.

Jiang Xiaodao was left puzzled. "Calligraphy scroll? What calligraphy scroll?"

He finally had an epiphany. "Oh, right! I bought a calligraphy scroll. No wonder I don’t have any money left… That foolish woman, Mu Mu."