Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Li Suwen led Ning Zhu through the crowd. Occasionally, a few students who saw the department head greeted her enthusiastically, and Li Suwen responded to each of them with a smile.

A bold freshman asked, “Professor, are you going to give our department’s seed candidate special training already?”

Li Suwen smiled sweetly, “You’re also a seed. I’ll assign you a bit more homework later.”

The freshman stuck out her tongue and ran off dejectedly.

Ning Zhu followed behind Li Suwen, the corners of her mouth slightly raised.

She really liked the White Yang system.

After leaving the auditorium, there was a long corridor.

The corridor connected to a staircase. Going upward, one could glimpse the interior style of the entire building.

Unique traditional Chinese elements combined with a strong technological feel gave the impression of walking along the boundary between history and the future.

When Ning Zhu looked up, she saw a plaque. On it, written with bold brushstrokes, were two powerful characters: “The Present.”

Li Suwen said, “Go on. The principal is waiting for you.”

Ning Zhu: “Okay!”

The door was wooden, emitting a faint sandalwood scent. In the center was a small card slot with a line of text displayed: “Please insert student card.”

Ning Zhu had already received her student card. She quickly took it out of her card pouch and placed it into the slot.

With a ding, a gentle mechanical voice sounded: “Good afternoon, Ning Zhu student.”

Ning Zhu politely replied, “Hello!”

After saying it, she felt a bit embarrassed. This was probably just a “doorbell”—was she really greeting a doorbell?

With a click, the wooden door slid open with surprisingly high-tech precision.

Ning Zhu took a deep breath and stepped inside.

The principal’s office was much smaller than she had imagined, and also unusually complicated in layout, even slightly messy.

Ahead, a wooden desk occupied most of the room. Behind the desk was a dark red high-backed chair. On the back wall was a whiteboard covering the entire wall. It was filled with countless cards. Each card was exquisitely designed, yet also mysterious and extraordinary, making people unable to resist staring at them.

“Ordinary students can’t see these.”

Yang Huai Zhou stood up from his chair. He lightly tapped the whiteboard behind him, and all the exquisite, mysterious cards disappeared.

Ning Zhu paused and quickly greeted him, “Hello, Principal Yang.”

Yang Huai Zhou returned the greeting, then explained, “The star levels of these cards are too high. If you look at them for too long, they will damage your spirit, so I’ve hidden them.”

Ning Zhu nodded. She still understood too little about cards.

Yang Huai Zhou gestured, “Sit.”

Ning Zhu sat down on the dark red sofa opposite him. The sofa was softer than she expected, giving a feeling of sinking into clouds.

“What would you like to drink?”

“Uh… anything is fine.”

Yang Huai Zhou handed her a card. The image was a swirl of mist, but the text was enough to make one smile.

Card Name: Anything Is Fine

Card Type: Beverage Card

Card Star Level: One Star

Note: In addition to “Anything Is Fine,” there’s also “Whatever,” “No Problem,” and “Up to You”~

Producer: Old Yang

Ning Zhu smiled, the tension in her mind instantly dispersing. “Did you make this?”

Yang Huai Zhou said, “Of course. There’s probably no one in this world older than me, Old Yang.”

He had the face of a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy, so saying such things only made him seem a bit mischievous.

Mm…

This was a man who was one hundred and fifty years old.

Ning Zhu had to keep reminding herself of that.

She placed the “Anything Is Fine” beverage card onto her card ring. After a faint flash of light, a dazzling, glass-like starry galaxy milk tea appeared in her hand.

Ning Zhu’s eyes lit up with surprise.

Yang Huai Zhou smiled and asked back, “Anything is fine?”

Ning Zhu’s smile grew even brighter. “Thank you, Principal.”

This was no “anything is fine” beverage card at all.

It was clearly a drink card perfectly tailored to her taste.

Ning Zhu did want this, she had just been too embarrassed to say it.

Seeing her relax, Yang Huai Zhou shifted his gaze slightly toward the snow-white floating mass: “Is this the Star God Card spirit?”

Bai Ze: “Hmph!”

It crossed its front paws over its chest. In order to appear slightly taller than the little principal, it flapped its wings hard while hovering in the air.

Ning Zhu said, “Its name is Bai Ze.”

Yang Huai Zhou clearly paused for a moment. “An ancient divine beast…”

Bai Ze said, “Bai Ze says there are no divine beasts, only card spirits.”

Yang Huai Zhou narrowed his eyes slightly, as if trying to see Bai Ze more clearly. “What form is it in?”

Bai Ze was already shouting, “Tell him my true form! The mighty and cool one! The one you’ve seen!”

Ning Zhu said, “Mm… it’s completely snow-white, with horns and wings.” Just… it was only palm-sized, and a bit chubby.

Bai Ze proudly straightened its little chest and very seriously struck a powerful, imposing pose.

Yang Huai Zhou listened with a solemn expression and said, “You must already know that not all Star God Card holders can see their Star God Card spirits.”

“Mm, Bai Ze told me.”

“Even the Star Demon cannot see it clearly.”

“Huh? He can’t see it either?”

“But he can hear its voice.”

Bai Ze also perked up its ears. Clearly, this was something it didn’t know either.

Yang Huai Zhou paused, then did not continue on that topic. Instead, he began introducing the Star God Card:

“A century ago, the Star God Card was something like a myth to card users.”

“A myth?”

“Yes. Most card users believed it was something imagined by predecessors—there was no such card capable of shaking ‘fate’, ‘time’, or ‘space’.”

“But…”

“Yes. Until a hundred years ago, the Star Demon found the Star God Card. Only then did card users realize it wasn’t a myth—it was a real card that existed.”

Bai Ze said proudly, “Ignorant humans!”

Ning Zhu hadn’t expected it to be like this. She asked again, “Then before the Star Demon, wasn’t there a single named Star God Card holder left behind?”

“There were many great card users, but whether they ever held the Star God Card is unknown. Also, there’s something you may not know: before the Twelve Zodiac Cards appeared, card users’ abilities were very limited. Occasionally, a genius would appear, but they would only be regarded as mere street mystics, not people with extraordinary powers like today.”

Ning Zhu understood. “So that’s why the three major academies use the Zodiac Cards as their training sequence…”

Yang Huai Zhou continued, “It was precisely the birth of the Zodiac Sequences that caused the number of card users to surge, reaching the scale we have today.”

“Isn’t Lingka Academy already very old?”

“Indeed, it was established as early as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period. But throughout the entire feudal era, the number of admissions at Lingka Academy never exceeded a hundred people, and it didn’t even recruit disciples every year.”

But this year’s freshmen alone were nearly ten thousand. Although, due to the first lesson, fewer than four thousand remained, this scale was still incomparable to that of a century ago.

Ning Zhu paused. “So… Star Demon expanded the card user group.”

Yang Huai Zhou looked at her. “More precisely, it is the Star God Card.”

The Star Demon used the Star God Card to create the Twelve Zodiac Cards, and the Twelve Zodiac Cards gave card users a cultivation path. That was how the three major academies came into existence…

The relationships involved were truly tangled and hard to untie.

Yang Huai Zhou continued, “Over the past hundred years, we have continuously collected data on the Star God Card, attempting to study it more deeply…”

“And?” Ning Zhu asked curiously.

“The data is scarce, but there is one thing I must remind you.” Yang Huai Zhou looked at her solemnly. “You must be strong enough, otherwise the card spirit will devour you.”

Ning Zhu: “……”

She couldn’t help but glance to the side.

The little white cat’s wings were already tired from flapping. At this moment it was gasping for breath as it slumped onto her shoulder, head drooping as it said, “Milk… I want milk…”

The Bai Ze will devour her?

Ning Zhu couldn’t imagine that scene at all.

“Ahem…” Ning Zhu said, “It… um…”

Yang Huai Zhou said, “It is very weak right now, but it won’t always be this weak, right?”

Ning Zhu’s heart tightened. After a pause, she said, “Even without that threat, I still need to become stronger… The people from the Zodiac Society want to kill me.”

Yang Huai Zhou said, “Regarding that, I have a method that can temporarily help you escape their pursuit.”

Ning Zhu’s eyes lit up. “What method?”

Yang Huai Zhou said, “Fate Transposition.”

Ning Zhu froze slightly. “How do you transpose it?”

Yang Huai Zhou said, “You’ve probably already met Li Jin. He is your senior and the new Libra Card Holder. With him, I can activate Fate Transposition. The effect of this divine technique is to, to a certain extent, alter your ‘fate’.”

A guess formed in Ning Zhu’s mind. “Can Fate Transposition make me no longer the Star God Card holder?”

Yang Huai Zhou said, “It cannot reach that level.”

“Then…”

“Fate Transposition can make you become another card holder.”

“Huh?” Ning Zhu blinked. “A zodiac card holder?”

“That also won’t work. Zodiac Cards are far inferior to the Star God Card. Such a level of ‘fate’ transformation is too strong. It must be a card of the same level as the Star God Card.”

“Same level? There are cards like that?”

“There are. They are called Ancient God Cards.”

“Ancient… God Ba…” Ning Zhu’s thoughts short-circuited for a moment. Blame it on her father Ning always rambling—she immediately thought of “God Buffett.”

Yang Huai Zhou explained, “The ‘ancient’ in Ancient God refers to history.”

Ning Zhu finally understood.

Yang Huai Zhou continued, “To be honest, I’m not certain this ‘transposition’ can be completed. But it is undoubtedly the safest method. The Zodiac Society only targets Star God Card holders, and as long as you are not one, you can temporarily escape them.”

“There is no thief who steals every day without getting caught; likewise, there is no one who can defend against thieves every day. And you still have your parents and family.”

“Although I placed confusion cards in your home and arranged people to protect you at all times, none of this is foolproof. They have many methods, and they are impossible to guard against. If they were to kidnap your parents, then you—”

Ning Zhu took a light breath. “Thank you for your trouble, Principal Yang. Please use Fate Transposition on me!”

She was already bound to the Star God Card for life.

And it was impossible for her to immediately raise her abilities to the level needed to wipe out the Zodiac Society.

Then…

Fate Transposition was the best option available right now.

Yang Huai Zhou said, “As long as you agree, I will give it my full effort.”

Ning Zhu said sincerely, “Thank you.”

Bai Ze had recovered a bit. It lay on Ning Zhu’s shoulder, speaking in a faint voice, “Typical humans… treating Fate Transposition like a mere smoke-and-mirror trick.”

Ning Zhu couldn’t help but ask it, “Does it work?”

Bai Ze: “Tricking equally foolish humans should be no problem.”

“Mm…” Ning Zhu asked again, “Will it hurt you?”

Bai Ze tilted its head away and didn’t look at her. “I’m the one who’s supposed to devour you, and you’re worrying about me?”