Chapter 1 The Sky's Edge

The morning sun rose higher and higher.

Light spilled through the gaps in the wooden balcony railing, landing on Lan Qi's face and causing his eyelashes to flutter.

"Time to get up."

A gentle voice sounded.

"Great Poet… go to school yourself, I'll sleep a little longer…"

Lan Qi shielded his eyes with the back of his hand, reluctant to get up.

"Are you still dreaming?"

The other person spoke in a questioning tone that wasn't really a question.

"Huh!"

Lan Qi sat up with a start, discovering the gray-haired beauty sitting in a chair beside the bed.

Her figure was silhouetted against the rising sun, the morning light gilding her long hair with a faint glow.

To some extent, she seemed to have moved the chair to shield Lan Qi's face from much of the sunlight, so he wouldn't be awakened too early by the glaring sunrise.

"Thank you, Tata."

Lan Qi threw back the covers, sat on the edge of the bed, and rubbed his eyes, his consciousness gradually clearing.

Recently, his trump card, Great Poet, was gone, and temporarily replaced by Talia.

In any case, living with Talia still felt unfamiliar to him.

"Then tell me, how can I make you feel more used to it?"

Talia looked at Lan Qi getting out of bed, remaining seated in her chair as she asked.

"First of all, Great Poet didn't consume much energy, so I basically didn't have trouble getting up. Secondly, usually in the morning when I was feeding the small animals on the balcony, she would come over and kick me, making me give up my spot so she could water the flowers."

Lan Qi muttered to himself, a little nostalgic.

"I have been helping Lan Fu take care of the flowers she grows on the balcony as well."

Talia replied.

It was just that when she was staying in Lan Qi's dormitory, she had already watered them before Lan Qi woke up.

Now that they had both left the Yikelite Academy, they had entrusted the Student Service Center to regularly clean and care for the potted plants.

"..."

Lan Qi always felt that Talia and Great Poet had somewhat different ways of caring for flowers.

Great Poet enjoyed the process of growing beautiful flowers, full of a young girl's vitality.

"If you want, I can also give you a kick like she did, but I'm not good at controlling the force."

Talia said, closing her eyes as she heard Lan Qi's thoughts.

"No, no!"

Lan Qi immediately stopped his thoughts and scurried off to wash up and change.

In the hotel room, a comfortable cotton sofa was placed next to the bedroom, and a map guide with a printed bookmark lay on the round glass coffee table next to it.

Talia sat down on the sofa, opened the atlas, and waited for Lan Qi.

"Meow, meow."

Cat Boss came over and sat down on the carpet.

"This map isn't very simple, is it? Why does Lan Qi think someone could get lost?"

She flipped through the book and asked the little black cat on the floor.

"Don't even mention it, I'm worried that one day that person will come to Yikelite and get lost near the Cat Boss Restaurant."

Cat Boss shook its head.

According to Sigrid's letter, she would probably arrive in Yikelite around October or November, around autumn and winter.

But thankfully, everyone around the restaurant was an old acquaintance, and anyone could guide her.

Talia and Cat Boss didn't have to wait long.

Lan Qi was already ready to go.

"Tata, let's go, to the Card Creator Association."

Lan Qi said, standing at the door.

Today, they would first go to District 3 on the South Bank to find Countess Rosalinda, the president of the Card Creator Association's Paliuer branch.

The city of Flower Capital Paliuer was divided into the North Bank and the South Bank by the Selena River. The North Bank was traditionally regarded as the center of academia and art, while the South Bank was more commercialized. The Flower Capital Palace and the Senate were located in the south. The district code division was quite symmetrical, with smaller district numbers closer to the river and larger numbers closer to the edge.

District 3 on the South Bank was also a very popular area for tourists.

The two set off.

First, they went to the restaurant on the side of the hotel's first floor lobby for breakfast, and then left the Platinumson Palace Spiritual Hotel, passing through the twilight of the old North Bank district, and walking leisurely on the road.

Today wasn't an official work day, they only needed to go to the Paliuer branch of the Card Creator Association for a short while, and then they could rest for the entire afternoon.

Time flew by after coming to Paliuer.

As a warmhearted citizen, he had done a lot of good deeds these days.

"Are you saying that you spent your days like this when you went to the Northern Continent?"

Not far after leaving the Platinumson Palace Spiritual Hotel, Talia carefully sampled Lan Qi's thoughts and asked him.

"Not really, when I was in the Northern Continent, I had more leisurely days."

Lan Qi quickly noticed her, turned his head, and replied.

"Do-re-do-re-do."

Cat Boss made a series of incomprehensible sounds of grievance.

Whenever it recalled the Lan Cat Adventure, it felt that being alive was really good.

It didn't have the illness of an Eighth Order, but it got the fate of an Eighth Order.

The two strolled through the streets of Paliuer with the cat in their arms.

They passed the Platinumson Palace, which they hadn't had time to check out since arriving in Paliuer.

They crossed the Selena River from the River Port Bridge that connected the North and South Banks.

After a simple transfer in the South Bank for about half an hour.

The two arrived at the South Continent Card Creator Association near Paliuer Walking Plaza in District 3 on the South Bank.

Unlike the Card Creator Association they had seen in Hutton Royal Capital, Yikelite.

The Botson Kingdom's branch looked more like an art museum.

This building was originally a greenhouse built by the Botson King to protect the citrus trees in the Royal Garden from the winter cold, before the Holy War began over a hundred years ago. It was originally intended to store citrus trees for royal use, but later transformed into a place to display works of art, until it was planned as the highest branch of the South Continent Card Creator Association stationed in the Botson Kingdom.

The art museum was famous for its collection of Impressionist paintings. The first two floors were public areas popular with tourists, and the Card Creator Association area, which required registration to enter, began on the third floor.

After undergoing multiple renovations, the most recent renovation project was completed five years ago. The renovated art museum restored natural lighting and added underground exhibition rooms, temporary exhibition spaces, an auditorium, educational spaces, and a library.

After entering the building, the two quickly walked upstairs along the clear signs under a series of paintings.

"What time did Countess Rosalinda schedule the appointment?"

Talia looked at Lan Qi beside her and asked.

"Eight thirty, there's still plenty of time, we can take a look around first."

Lan Qi looked around, estimating that it should be not yet eight o'clock.

The building's design allowed many works to be displayed in natural light, providing visitors with an immersive viewing experience.

"Okay."

Before they even entered the area on the third floor, they saw many promotional posters about the Platinum-level Card Creator Exam.

Even though it was only morning, many people were visiting this branch of the South Continent Card Creator Association. In addition to card creation requests, business cooperation, material procurement, official consultations, etc., there were even individual registered card creators with high-level permissions, judging by their badges or chest tags, talking on the third floor.

It was said that several Gold-level card creators who were exceptionally famous in the eastern countries of the Southern Continent would participate this year, making them popular candidates for obtaining the title of Platinum-level card creator in the eastern region this year.

This international event, which only happened once every two or three years, naturally received great attention from the Botson Kingdom. On the day of the final test, some Senate Dukes would attend to watch, and the Senate Executive Force and Executioners would maintain order.

Paliuer Card Creator Association Branch, Third Floor.

A courtyard surrounded by floor-to-ceiling glass windows, with a large area of ​​transparent natural light making the entire floor as bright as day.

"Speaking of which, how long has it been since you created a new magic card?"

Talia and Lan Qi were strolling around in this area. She noticed that Lan Qi didn't pay much attention to the new materials in the display window either, glancing at them and then looking away. So she asked Lan Qi.

She felt that Lan Qi seemed to be losing interest in card creation.

Perhaps after a while, he wouldn't even ask her to be his teacher anymore.

"Speaking of new cards, it seems that I really haven't made any cards in the past six months."

Lan Qi was slightly stunned when he heard this, and carefully recalled that after the Nuclear Fusion Wolf, all his card creations had been the same old things. He had basically given up on card creation.

The two walked on the dark brown carpet, straight through the inner side of the atrium. On both sides were display windows with many classified products, as well as counters for handling affairs and meeting areas.

"Are you still planning to continue learning card creation with me in the future?"

Talia looked at the products behind the glass display window and asked him.

"If you think it's troublesome... then forget it, I'll just learn some human language magic rune magic engineering from Professor Polao and make do with it."

Lan Qi hesitated for a while and replied.

"Didn't you beg me to teach you card creation in the beginning? Why are you like this now?"

Talia's words were emotionless, but the look in her eyes at Lan Qi seemed to carry some dissatisfaction with Lan Qi's lack of perseverance.

"Because, I feel like it's also quite tiring for you to teach me, and you're getting more and more fierce with me. You never used to scold me when you were teaching me."

Lan Qi looked away and mumbled.

"That's because it was you who made the mistake again in that step last night. You've made mistakes in almost the same place several times."

Talia frowned as she looked at Lan Qi's ever-green tea-like appearance.

The two of them were still practicing card creation, or rather, it was their daily lesson.

"I thought the problem wasn't that big at the time, and it could actually be remedied, but you didn't care about me at all."

Lan Qi said with his head lowered.

"If I'm influenced by you, I don't know if you can save your side, but my side will also be messed up by you."

Talia took a deep breath and patiently explained to him.

She didn't know if she was a little hypertensive because she thought of the card creation failure yesterday, or if she felt a little blocked in her heart because she heard that this guy didn't want to be her disciple anymore. Anyway, she was a little annoyed now.

"I think it's a normal range of error... When I was creating cards with Lan Fu before, she helped me fix it..."

Lan Qi grumbled.

"Why are you still arguing with me? Can't you accept even a single mistake?"

Talia was immediately unhappy when she heard this.

"Was I too gentle in the past, or are you going through puberty?"

She felt a surge of anger rising in her heart.

What do you mean Lan Fu can help you fix it? Do you think she's better than me?

"Meow, meow, don't argue, this is the Card Creator Association. Don't start arguing in the examination room."

Cat Boss jumped up in fear. It felt that Lan Qi was also rarely a bit unconvinced, so he made Tata even angrier.

"We won't argue!"

The two shouted at the little black cat.

The frightened Cat Boss shrank into a ball.

Although it was used to seeing Lan Qi and Tata arguing, they always argued the fiercest when it came to card creation and reviewing card creation.

It had now discovered that there was a game called Breakup Card Creation Room. Even if these two were really dating, they would argue about card creation until they broke up one day!

"Lovers are arguing."

"It's too normal, that's what love is like."

Cat Boss listened to the melon-eating sounds of the customers around who had briefly cast their eyes over, and made itself rounder.

If it continued to persuade them, it, as a peacemaker, would also be noticed.

"..."

Lan Qi and Talia's voices quickly stopped.

They also realized that it wasn't good to argue in this kind of situation.

More importantly, they were clearly not a couple, but they were mistaken for a couple.

It made them feel even more embarrassed.

"Tata, why don't we go to the restaurant upstairs for some lime cheesecake? We can sit down and chat slowly."

"Okay..."

When they both felt extremely uncomfortable from the occasional glances, they reached a consensus to leave this place first.

They were, at any rate, the examiners and examiner assistants specially invited for this Platinum-level Card Creator Exam. It would be embarrassing if Countess Rosalinda ran into them like this.

Just as Lan Qi and Talia were about to leave the atrium on the third floor and head towards the stairs on the fourth floor.

"Student Lan Qi?"

A slightly familiar voice stopped Lan Qi.

Lan Qi stopped hesitantly and looked back.

He saw a girl looking at him in surprise.

Her light-colored long hair rested gently on her shoulders. Her upper body was wearing a plain white chiffon shirt. Although her figure was petite and slender, her straight back and chest-up posture squeezed the pure white chiffon shirt upwards.

It seemed that because Lan Qi and Talia were relatively conspicuous, they happened to attract her attention.

The light-haired, green-eyed girl stared in surprise at Lan Qi and Talia, who were heading towards the stairwell.

"I didn't expect to see you here."

Then she smiled and walked over briskly.

"Senior Karen?"

Lan Qi looked at Karen.

Every step she took seemed to have the rhythm of a dance, making the surrounding air light.

He had probably thought that he would see this senior from the Yarolan Royal Academy in the Botson Kingdom.

But he hadn't run into her for so many days before. He had only encountered her today when he came to the association. It seemed that she had been immersed in the Card Creator Association during this period before the exam started.

The last time he saw Karen was when he watched Dean Loren's 【Original Stone Tablet - Wind】.

At that time, Karen made a pink, Sacred-grade spell card 【Wind Phantom】, while he only made a white, ordinary shoddy work, which made him admire Karen very much.

"I didn't see you at the Yikelite Academy this month when I went with the academic visit team."

Karen came to them and stopped, looking at Lan Qi with interest.

"I'm sorry, I've been a little busy recently and couldn't take care of you."

Lan Qi sighed,

"Dean Loren really needs my help too much."

"I heard that you were able to pass through the Seventh Order Shadow World. As expected of a disciple valued by Archon Loren, the strongest in Hutton."

Karen nodded and said eloquently and elegantly, like a lady walking out of a classic, expressing her thoughts gently and politely.

"I really underestimated Junior Lan Qi at the beginning. You really are a man who makes me look at you with new eyes."

She smiled at Lan Qi, her eyes not hiding her favor.

In fact, she had just come from the Hutton Kingdom these past two days. Because she was going to participate in the Platinum-level Card Creator Exam, she first left the Yarolan academic visit team.

In a few days, when the academic visit team completed their work, they would return west from the Hutton Kingdom in the east to the Yarolan Kingdom, passing through the Botson Kingdom between the two countries to meet up with her.

"..."

Talia noticed Karen's approach without any sense of distance, watching the two of them with no change in expression.

Listening to Lan Qi and Karen's conversation just now, she also had a general understanding of the woman in front of her, who seemed to be an acquaintance of Lan Qi.

"Who is this?"

Karen shifted her curious gaze to Talia next to Lan Qi, as if she had suddenly realized.

"Miss Tata."

Lan Qi introduced her.

Talia looked at Karen and nodded slightly in greeting.

"Oh? Are you here to take the exam together this time?"

Karen asked again.

"No, she's my teacher."

Lan Qi shook his head.

"I can't tell at all, she's so young... I thought your relationship was bad when I heard you arguing just now."

Karen pondered for a while, as if she had an idea in her mind, and couldn't help but curl her lips into a relieved arc.

"..."

Cat Boss, who had just breathed a sigh of relief at the counter, suddenly realized that things were going bad again!

It had heard of this card creator named Karen.

Her personality was a bit problematic. She wanted to break up couples when she saw them, and she had a hunter-like interest in promising men.

She may have looked down on Lan Qi a bit in the past, but Lan Qi was no longer the same. By passing through the Seventh Order Shadow World, he had proven that he was the Archon's true successor!

Even if no one knew that Lan Qi was also a Platinum-level card creator at the same time, Lan Qi was already a very excellent strong person who could protect card creators just by being a Shadow World challenger.

"Our relationship is indeed not very good."

Talia did not deny Karen's statement, and she did not forget to look up at Lan Qi.

On the contrary, she would get angry with anyone who said that the two of them had a good relationship.

"Oh dear, I saw you arguing so fiercely just now... I really feel sorry for you."

Karen seemed unable to help but laugh when she heard this, but she restrained herself and looked at Lan Qi solemnly and said softly.

The look in her eyes as she looked at Talia was like she was laughing -

Aren't you just putting the man in my hands?

"What are you feeling sorry for him? It's his fault in the first place."

Talia asked without any fluctuations in her voice.

Although she rarely had this kind of attitude towards people she had just met, she felt that this girl named Karen had something very similar to Lan Qi, which made her particularly dislike her.

"Sister Tata, you have to be a little considerate of Lan Qi."

Karen still had a pure expression, answering in a gentle and refined tone,

"Lan Qi, if you feel like you have something to say, you can go to the rest area over there and have a good chat. I will slowly listen to you, and - I will definitely not be fierce to you."

She looked at Lan Qi again and tugged at his sleeve.

"..."

Lan Qi's heart suddenly started beating faster.

He felt that Talia was looking at him.

And Cat Boss watched Lan Qi's seemingly trembling hands, and it felt that things were getting even worse!

Previously, in the Yikelite Academy, Prince Einor might have been caught by Karen's schemes, but any male with a higher segment would firmly reject Karen at this time, express his position, and win back Tata's favor.

But Lan Qi.

His segment had duality.

His perfectly timed hesitation, on the contrary, gave Tata a sense of crisis, controlling her anger to the point where it was about to explode!

And in some ways, Lan Qi might not have thought that much.

He simply liked to provoke Tata to explode, to experience this extreme stimulation!

However.

Under a kind of extreme mental pressure, Lan Qi gradually changed from arrogant to well-behaved.

"I'm sorry, Senior Karen, although Tata is very fierce, I think that's also one of her charms."

Lan Qi said.

Talia, who was originally planning to stare at Lan Qi to death and warn him to think clearly, finally looked away.

Even so, she was still biting her lip, feeling a bit resentful.

This guy even dared to jump in her face and say that she was fierce.

But she couldn't refute his words.

"So that's how it is..."

Karen could only helplessly give Lan Qi standing opposite her a smile.

In this smile, there were seven parts apology and three parts regret.

It seemed that she sincerely wanted to help Lan Qi, but she really couldn't help Lan Qi.

"But I think if Student Lan Qi wants to find a teacher, he might be more suitable for someone gentle like me. I overheard what you were talking about at the beginning. It seems that your cooperation in card creation is not going well? If I cooperate with Lan Qi, it should be seamless."

Karen's voice was getting lower and lower, and she moved half a step closer to Lan Qi and said.

Her peach-like tender lips and her blurred eyes were like telling Lan Qi that maybe if he worked hard, he could also capture her, maybe?

Then she looked at Talia, her eyes just short of telling her "unlike you, who is only fierce to Student Lan Qi."

"..."

The atmosphere in the entire atrium on the third floor seemed to change quietly at this moment.

Under the silence, there was a trace of unspoken coldness.

Talia's golden eyes, which had been watching Karen, finally became serious.

This was a sign that the gunpowder was about to explode, making people feel suppressed and tense.

Cat Boss had already started to twitch its eyelids frantically.

"Can you stay away from him, you shameless bad woman."

Talia grabbed Lan Qi's wrist and pulled him away abruptly, preventing Karen from continuing to touch his sleeve.

Lan Qi was stunned.

It was the first time he had seen the grumpy old Tata confronting other girls.

However.

Karen did not feel angry at Talia's words and remained a lady.

"There is no such thing as a bad woman. You will only get angry and wait for him to coax you, and at this time, the girl who really cares about him will come to comfort him."

She looked directly at Talia, her expression also a bit focused, and said.

In just a few seconds, it attracted the attention of many people in the atrium on the third floor again.

The scene of women arguing, and arguing because of men, was a lively event that was popular and welcomed in any era.

"Isn't that girl Karen from the Yarolan Kingdom?"

"Is she interested in the black-haired, green-eyed noble son?"

"He looks so weak, why is he trembling in fear."

First of all, we can rule out that a psychopath can tremble with excitement in this situation.

Then the answer is obvious, this man is quite a scumbag, wanting to eat both sides.

Finally.

"Lan Qi, I've changed my mind. I won't be your assistant this time. I'm going to participate in this Platinum-level Card Creator Exam to show her why I'm your teacher."

Talia took a deep breath, looked at Lan Qi, and said to him.

Of course, she was saying it to Karen.

She was already uncomfortable because she had just had a court review of yesterday's card creation with Lan Qi, and now there was an even more intolerable woman.

Lan Qi, whose expression had been calm, suddenly widened his eyes.

"Great-grandmother, please, don't mess with me!"

He almost knelt on the ground and hugged Talia's leg.

Not only are you not helping me invigilate, but you are also using my magic power to take the exam.

And how am I supposed to test you?

Sister, you're eight hundred years old, don't be so knowledgeable with a teenage girl!

Talia seemed even angrier when she heard Lan Qi's thoughts.

She grabbed Lan Qi's collar, brought him a little closer to herself, and looked at him sideways and said:

"It's settled then, okay?"

"No, no no, Tata, calm down!"

Lan Qi felt that she was really angry this time, and he was a little scared.

"Student Karen, you are also a little emotional at this time. Usually when you say one sentence and I say another, and you can't stop, it means that you shouldn't continue talking. If it continues like this, you will definitely quarrel. We should maintain the friendship between the Hutton Kingdom and the Yarolan Kingdom..."

His words were getting faster and faster, strongly calling on both sides to remain restrained.

"Oh, interesting."

Before Lan Qi could finish speaking, Talia forbade Lan Qi from continuing to speak, and Karen also nodded and muttered to herself.

"Then how about this, if your grades are not as good as mine, please stay away from Student Lan Qi in the future, or hand him over to me and let me be his teacher."

Karen's expression was particularly interested, as if she had found an opponent, and said to Talia.

She had learned about the card creators of the Hutton Kingdom. This year, there was not even one player who could participate in the Gold-level card creator's election, so she didn't think that this Tata was qualified to compete with her.

Only in card creation, she would not lose to her peers.

"Then what if I win?"

Talia asked, neither agreeing nor denying.

"I'll apologize to you."

Karen spread her hands and said lightly.

"Not enough, you change into a swimsuit of my choice, take a sign, write 'Tata, I'm sorry', and stand downstairs in the Card Creator Association for a day. That's an apology."

Talia sneered, and then waited quietly, with her arms crossed in front of her.

In an instant, Karen's eyebrows trembled obviously.

She clenched her fists tightly and felt her ears starting to burn.

"You think I would gamble with you so easily? What, now you don't dare?"

Talia's eyes were full of provocation.

She would not easily fall for the schemes of green tea.

Didn't you want to act pure?

Then let people see what kind of bitch you are.

"..."

Karen bit her lip, and the blood vessels on her forehead jumped.

This gray-haired, golden-eyed woman was more assertive and arrogant than she had imagined.

"Okay, let's try."

Karen narrowed her eyes and smiled, and said to Talia.

She couldn't wait to see the other party crying like a loser.

"What on earth are you doing..."

Lan Qi was loveless when he heard this and hugged the cat.

He leaned against the wall as if he had lost his strength.

He couldn't imagine what the exam days would be like.

To take a step back, why are the two of them, as candidates, using him as an examiner as a bet?

And if Talia is a candidate, he is a little worried that his safety as an examiner will not be guaranteed. There has never been an accident in the Platinum-level Card Creator Exam where the examiner was captured by the candidate, but he is afraid that there will be soon.

"Let's go, let's eat cake."

Talia grabbed Lan Qi's collar again and took the faded Lan Qi away like she was dragging a puppy.

Only Karen was left, the corners of her mouth gradually curling up into a cunning and angry smile.

"What a stupid woman."

Karen opened her lips slightly and moved her gaze away from the direction where Talia disappeared.

When she agreed to this bet, that gray-haired idiot lost.

She didn't even notice Lan Qi's embarrassed expression.

He would soon find out which girl was better to him, and who he would be more comfortable with.

There is no female protagonist in this world who can win by eating!

(End of this chapter)