Chapter 3

When the bell rang throughout Spirit Card Academy, Li Leyang was studying her new card.

The commotion was too large and startled all the preparatory students.

Li Leyang didn’t even have time to continue researching her card and quickly asked the classmate beside her: “What’s going on?”

The classmate was also somewhat confused. It was the supervising teacher next to them who said in an unbelievable tone: “The Star God Card has chosen its master.”

The moment those six words were spoken, the entire class collectively inhaled in shock.

It was still summer vacation. Those who remained at Spirit Card Academy were either senior students or preparatory students from aristocratic families.

Li Leyang was a collateral branch of the collateral branch of the Li family.

Because her mother worked at Spirit Card Academy, she was able to obtain a preparatory admission slot.

A proud girl asked: “Is it Li Jin?”

Li Leyang corrected her: “You should call him Senior Li Jin!”

The girl glared at Li Leyang in anger, but after noticing the supervising teacher’s gaze, she still obediently added: “Professor Sun, did Senior Li Jin obtain the Star God Card?”

Everyone present was extremely curious.

One by one, they perked up their ears.

Sun Mingran actually wasn’t sure what was going on, but he couldn’t show weakness in front of these brats, so he said: “It should be.”

Li Jin was the most talented student Spirit Card Academy had produced in nearly a hundred years.

Although only a second-year student, he had already completely outclassed a group of advanced card masters.

When the Star God Card appeared in the world, it would choose its rightful master.

And Li Jin was undoubtedly the most likely to be chosen.

The proud girl let out a cold snort.

Li Leyang said happily: “So amazing!”

Someone beside her mocked Li Leyang: “Same Li family, how is the gap so big?”

Li Jin was outstanding beyond compare.

Li Leyang, on the other hand, had average talent.

Put them together, and the contrast was painfully stark.

But Li Leyang didn’t take it lying down. He immediately retorted: “None of your business.”

“You…”

“So what? Picking on me—what kind of skill is that? If you’ve got guts, take me on in the arena!”

“Damn it, I’m going to break your crappy cards today.”

“I’m different. I’m going to break your dog legs!”

Sun Mingran waved his wrist, and a “Binding Card” fell, forcing the two red-faced boys to settle down. He pinched the bridge of his nose and said: “First-years are not allowed to fight privately. Stand for punishment for half an hour.”

The two boys still glared fiercely at each other, but neither could move at all.

Sun Mingran glanced outside at the bronze bell again, his mind clearly elsewhere.

The Star God Card was destined to appear.

But now that it had truly appeared, it also made people uneasy.

The bloody massacre from a hundred years ago still made people shudder.

And the Star God Card had been a key trigger.

A student couldn’t hold back and asked curiously: “Professor, why must it be the Star God Card that chooses a master?”

Even among noble families, not everyone understood these things.

Li Leyang, although immobilized by the binding card, could still move his mouth. He immediately rushed to answer: “When the Fate Bell rings, it means someone has activated a ‘divine technique’.”

Sun Mingran nodded: “Correct.”

Another student asked: “But don’t the Twelve Constellation Cards also have ‘divine techniques’?”

Li Leyang quickly added again: “This ‘divine technique’ is not that ‘divine technique’. No matter how ‘godlike’ the constellation cards are, they can’t defy fate and rewrite destiny!”

Sun Mingran looked at the group of confused newcomers and simply explained in detail: “To be precise, the Fate Bell detects god-tier abilities related to ‘time’, ‘space’, ‘fate’, and ‘causality’.”

The students listened with fascination: “There really are such abilities…”

Li Leyang said: “Of course! The Mystic Card Academy’s 【Foreseeing the Future】, the Illusion Card Academy’s 【Dreams Become Reality】, and our Spirit Card Academy’s 【Fate Shift】—all of them are god-tier abilities!”

Sun Mingran nodded again, then asked Li Leyang: “Then do you know how these god-tier abilities are activated?”

Li Leyang immediately replied: “They are constellation combination techniques. Only when two constellation cards are used at the same time is there a chance to activate them.”

Sun Mingran praised: “Correct.”

The same boy who had earlier mocked Li Leyang muttered again under his breath: “What’s so impressive about that? It’s just that his mom works as a librarian.”

Li Leyang glared at him.

The boy glared back, refusing to back down.

Just as the two were about to explode again, Sun Mingran threw out another “Silence Card.”

The students were still curious and asked: “Professor, how does the Star God Card activate this super god-tier ability?”

Sun Mingran let out a soft sigh, somewhat worried: “That is exactly what makes the Star God Card special. The god-tier abilities that require combination activation from the Twelve Constellation Cards can be directly activated by the holder of the Star God Card.” As long as the holder’s conviction is strong enough.

The Twelve Constellation Cards were already extremely rare divine cards.

Each academy only possessed two of them.

But in front of the Star God Card, the Twelve Constellation Cards were nothing.

Boom—

The Fate Bell rang again throughout the academy!

Sun Mingran abruptly looked up, shock clearly visible in his eyes.

Li Leyang, who was immobilized and silenced, had his eyes wide open, looking like he was about to suffocate from not being able to speak.

Sun Mingran murmured: “This is… another activation of a ‘divine technique’?”

The Fate Bell, which had not rung even once in over ten years—

had rung twice in a single day!

Ning Zhu held Ning Quanren with her left hand and the snow-white card in her right.

After walking out of the airport and stepping into the sunlight, she felt a wave of dizziness crash over her.

She was so exhausted that even breathing felt tiring.

But she still forced herself to stay alert and walked straight toward the parking lot.

Ning Quanren increasingly sensed that something was wrong with his daughter. He said: “Xiao Zhu, your face looks very bad. If you’re not feeling well, you have to tell Dad. I won’t go to the meeting—we’ll go to the hospital…”

Ning Zhu said nothing, stubbornly pulling him along. Under the forty-degree heat, nearly collapsing from exhaustion, she forced herself step by step toward the parking lot.

She no longer even had the strength to speak, but her mind was extremely clear.

—Threads of cause and effect, shatter and reconnect.

That thread was tied to Ning Quanren. Only by finding the “cause” could she cut it, and only by cutting it could the “effect” be changed.

Ning Zhu knew very clearly what the “effect” was—her father’s car accident.

Ning Zhu also saw this line. What she had to do now was find the “cause.”

What was the “cause”?

Was there something wrong with her father’s car?

Or was it something else entirely?

Ning Zhu, dizzy and lightheaded, walked into the parking lot and saw her father’s car.

It was a black Mercedes S-Class sedan. Its exterior design was imposing, its body lines smooth. Under the sunlight, even the understated black color looked strikingly bright.

Ning Zhu’s condition was too strange. Ning Quanren didn’t even dare to say much anymore. Ning Zhu stared at his chest, following that faint black thread.

The black thread passed through the car—but did not stop.

The “cause” wasn’t in the car?

Ning Zhu still wasn’t reassured and asked: “Dad, have you serviced the car recently?”

Ning Quanren said: “It was just serviced last week.”

Ning Zhu asked again: “How’s the condition?”

Ning Quanren said: “Very good. No problems at all.”

Ning Zhu thought for a moment and asked again: “Dad, I don’t really understand cars. If something like the brakes had a problem, would the car notify you?”

Ning Quanren said: “Of course. Even if the tire pressure is unstable, the dashboard would alert you.”

Ning Zhu fell silent.

Ning Quanren cautiously asked: “Xiao Zhu, what are you worried about?”

Ning Zhu was truly exhausted. The feeling of her strength being completely drained was unbearable. The only reason she could hold on until now was because of what she had seen in the hospital.

“Dad, let’s get in the car,” Ning Zhu said. She felt the car should be fine. The black line was still extending forward, so she could only continue forward as well.

Ning Quanren hurriedly opened the back door.

Ning Zhu shook her head: “I’ll sit in the front passenger seat.”

Ning Quanren was really worried about her condition and didn’t dare say anything else. He opened the front door instead and said: “I’ll turn on the air conditioning. There’s water in the car. Get some rest—you might have heatstroke.”

After both father and daughter got into the car, Ning Zhu remained extremely exhausted.

She stared fixedly at that black thread. It extended from her father’s chest, passed through the car window, and stretched forward like a navigation line into the distance.

It wasn’t a problem with the car, so then it was…

Was he going to be hit?

Ning Zhu took a sip of mineral water and forced herself to stay alert: “Dad, drive carefully. Pay attention to safety.”

Ning Quanren swallowed hard and said: “O-okay.”

How could Ning Quanren possibly still have the mood to go to the company?

He only wanted to rush to the hospital immediately.

What exactly was wrong with this child?

He was anxious beyond measure!

But Ning Zhu, sitting in the car, was tense like she was riding a horse.

She didn’t even dare to blink, staring dead at that black thread.

The car left the parking lot.

The car got onto the elevated road.

The car drove onto the main road.

The car headed toward the highway.

The highway had very few vehicles, and they were moving smoothly.

“Dad!” Ning Zhu suddenly called out to Ning Quanren.

Ning Quanren immediately came back to his senses and responded: “Ah, what is it?”

Ning Zhu asked: “How long did you sleep last night?”

Ning Quanren: “……”

Ning Zhu said anxiously: “Did you stay up late again?”

Ning Quanren gave a wry smile and said: “There was some work I had to finish, so I slept a bit late. I caught up on sleep on the plane…”

Ning Zhu’s heart sank further and further.

She understood.

The “cause” was on Ning Quanren himself.

It wasn’t a car malfunction, it wasn’t being hit by someone else—it was a car accident caused by fatigue driving.

So how could this kind of “cause” be avoided?

How could this “thread” be cut?

Ning Zhu closed her eyes. An overwhelming wave of exhaustion surged over her, and even she herself was barely able to hold on.

The white cat lay sprawled in front of the passenger seat like a fluffy ornament.

It looked at Ning Zhu and thought: “What a pity.”

First came 【Foreseeing the Future】, and then 【Causal Reshaping】.

With two god-tier abilities like these, not to mention a sixteen-year-old girl—even the principal of Spirit Card Academy would struggle to maintain such spiritual energy reserves.

Ning Zhu suddenly spoke: “Dad, I had a dream. I dreamed that on your way from the airport to the company, you got into a car accident because of fatigue driving.”

Ning Quanren’s grip on the steering wheel tightened abruptly. He quickly said: “So that’s what this is about. No wonder you’ve been so strange… Don’t worry, Dad will be fine. I slept four hours last night and also caught up on sleep on the plane. It’s not like—”

Before he could finish, Ning Zhu continued: “In the dream, I wasn’t in the car. I saw you in the hospital. You had already stopped breathing. Mom was crying very sadly. I couldn’t believe what I saw, and I cried until I woke up.”

Ning Quanren opened his mouth, but didn’t know what to say.

Ning Zhu’s voice carried a hint of a sob. Just imagining that scene made his heart feel as if it were being stabbed with a knife.

Ning Zhu took a deep breath. Her suppressed voice strangely became calm and almost light as she said: “Dad, I’m in the car right now. This is different from the dream, so… we won’t have a car accident, right?”

She emphasized the word “we” heavily.

Ning Quanren was suddenly shocked, cold sweat actually seeping from his forehead. He said: “Don’t talk nonsense! Dad’s driving is very steady!”

At that moment, the exhausted Ning Quanren suddenly became fully alert.

His daughter was in the car—he had to drive properly!

The originally lazy white cat suddenly narrowed its eyes and looked again at this sixteen-year-old girl.

The “thread” had been cut.

She had changed the “effect.”