“Then it’s settled. Dragon Maiden, Wenqing, Great-Aunt, Supreme—please step back. I need to give this asshole a beating.”
Yu Shizun gave Yan Zhen a deep look before waving her sleeve lightly. Space shifted, carrying the three women to the edge of the arena and clearing the center for them.
The fake smile on Gu Yan’s face vanished at the words “asshole.” His eyes darkened with malice as he glared at Yan Zhen, vowing silently to at least cripple one of the boy’s arms to sate his hatred.
“Ready to begin, Student Yan Zhen? This general is in a hurry.”
Yan Zhen ignored him and murmured, “System-chan, Duel Disk Mode.”
【……】
The still-upgrading System-chan didn’t respond vocally, but a duel disk materialized on Yan Zhen’s wrist.
Unlike a standard duel disk, this one lacked separate zones for monsters, spells, or traps. Its two layers featured eleven slots total—including one for environmental spells—that could be used freely.
Special trump cards in cooldown went into the “graveyard” zone, while usable ones stacked in the deck area.
Where the graveyard and deck intersected vertically sat a display showing current power points: starting at 100, deducting 10 per special trump card. That allowed up to ten at once. Summon cards cost double.
Whether the Overdrive Deck or the Social Death Deck, they never exceeded ten cards.
Yan Zhen hadn’t used any special trump cards since advancing to the Mystic General Realm, so all were available in the deck zone, leaving the graveyard empty.
Gu Yan was a Mystic Venerable expert shrouded in spatial defenses, clad in at least sixth-order golden armor. Even with the Overdrive Deck, Yan Zhen could only burst up to nine-star Mystic Ancestor—not guaranteed to injure him.
To make him suffer, Yan Zhen needed equivalent Mystic Venerable-level power.
For instance, summoning the Special Trump Card: 87 Million Gilded White Dragon. Though its base realm was merely Mystic Ancestor, each additional summon shadow boosted it a major realm. Pair it with the Special Trump Card: Fire-Erupting Three Treasures or Stick Pilgrim, and it was done.
But summon cards made a huge racket, so Yan Zhen preferred not to.
He remembered one card brimming with infinite potential—a true divine card. Perfect time to test it.
“…”
Gu Yan narrowed his eyes at the odd Mystic artifact on Yan Zhen’s left wrist. Was that the thing he thought could harm a Mystic Venerable? Its shape was unfamiliar, but its aura was utterly unremarkable—nothing to fear.
Yan Zhen’s two fingers hovered over the deck, executing God’s Draw to pull exactly the special trump card he wanted. He slotted it into the central slot.
“Activating Special Trump Card: Accelerated Synchronization! My consciousness transcends light in this instant, summoning my retainers from the past, present, and future to unleash the ultimate strike!”
【Accelerated Synchronization, activated.】
System-chan’s mechanical broadcast rang out as power points dropped by 10. Yan Zhen felt his consciousness become a beam of light, tracing back through the past, sweeping the present, and hurtling toward the future.
Past sixteen years, this very moment, distant future—choose one.
Yan Zhen picked the future without hesitation.
In his future, he would possess the Dragon Maiden as a retainer, and her future power went without saying. She was the one and only dragon-phoenix of the era.
Blinding radiance erupted from the duel disk. Time seemed to freeze—then a red spell array bloomed before Yan Zhen.
From it emerged a familiar silhouette—not flesh and blood, but a Mystic Force Incarnation wholly condensed from Mystic force.
Pink outline, petite frame, cute face, but with mature, ample breasts—at least 36D by eye.
This seemed like… Meng’er?
Before Yan Zhen could scrutinize her, another array appeared. A red-outlined, tall, curvaceous Mystic Force Incarnation with voluptuous hips stepped out—clearly Cousin Ruyu!
Not just them. Array after array bloomed: Senior Sister Xue’er’s Mystic Force Incarnation, Senior Sister Xinyan’s, joining Meng’er and Cousin Ruyu.
On the other side, Mentor Yu Xuan, Cousin Yudie, Yu Family Head Mother-in-Law, Elder Great-Aunt, Dean Little Aunt, Mentor Aunt, and even the Yu Shizun’s Mystic Force Incarnations emerged from arrays, grouping separately.
Next came Sister Ji Ya in her qipao noblewoman attire, Jin Tong and Yu Nu, Aunt Mu; then the solitary, baleful-qi-shrouded Xian’er; followed by the elegant sword immortals Yunxiu, Jiuyou, and Huangfu Wenqing; then the domineering Cailian Wife, the peerlessly noble Zi Ji Wife, and the royal-sister-form Dragon Maiden.
Finally… from an array wreathed in colorful flames, his beautiful female master’s Mystic Force Incarnation stepped forth, right in front of Yan Zhen. Beside her loomed an ice-cold silhouette of ultimate evil and malice—one Yan Zhen had never seen.
Twenty-three incarnations total, auras varying in strength but bottoming at Mystic Ancestor. The mightiest—his beautiful female master and that evil shadow—defied description.
Yan Zhen was dumbfounded.
Hadn’t Special Trump Card: Accelerated Synchronization summoned retainers? Why these women? Future versions of them? And who was that terrifying evil shadow?
—Wait, had he misunderstood what “retainers” meant?
The onlookers—Huangfu Wenqing, Dragon Maiden, Elder Yu Yan, Yu Shizun, and even Cousin Yudie from the spectator seats—were equally baffled.
What had Yan Zhen done? Summoned a horde of women’s Mystic Force Incarnations? Some looked like them!
Everyone else was stunned, but none more than Gu Yan. He was terrified.
Twenty-three in all. The eight weakest were Mystic Ancestor; the rest spanned Mystic Venerable, Supreme, half-Saint, even Mystic Saint. In Gu Yan’s senses, it was like a vast sea of Mystic force rearing up in ten-thousand-zhang waves to drown him.
Thud!
His knees buckled. He collapsed to the ground, trembling like a lowly dog.
Amid the gazes of tens of thousands in shock, the twenty-three Mystic Force Incarnations formed seals in unison. A terrifying fluctuation swept the entire Inner Academy.
The downpour halted. The heavens darkened as endless Mystic qi gathered like a storm.
“Yan Zhen, stop!”
Yu Shizun’s icy command rang directly in Yan Zhen’s ear. He snapped back to reality, paling at the apocalyptic lineup.
If they unleashed their Mystic techniques, the entire Holy Land Academy would be obliterated.
“Holy shit! System-chan, cancel the Special Trump Card: Accelerated Synchronization! Now!”
【Canceling a special trump card after activation will void it and trigger cooldown. Confirm?】
No cheery “Ding! Warm system reminder”—just cold procedural feedback. Yan Zhen felt off-put.
“Confirm, confirm—cancel it quick!”
【Canceled successfully.】
The moment the system interface popped up, the twenty-three peerlessly beautiful Mystic Force Incarnations halted their seals. Their glows faded, arrays reappeared, and whisked them away one by one.
“Zhen’er…”
His beautiful female master’s Mystic Force Incarnation turned suddenly, calling his name. Yan Zhen jumped, asking suspiciously, “Master?”
“Keep it up, Zhen’er. Your master has always loved you~”
“Eh? The real master? Mas—”
But she vanished into the array after those words, leaving only the supremely evil stranger.
She glanced at him expressionlessly, snorted coldly, and disappeared.
The arena emptied once more, as if the twenty-three incarnations had never been.
The Grand Duel Arena fell deathly silent, filled with bewilderment.
Gu Yan… sprawled on the ground, shuddering as if begging Yan Zhen for mercy.
Yan Zhen had no interest in him anymore. He walked to the four women at the arena’s edge, scratching his head. “I have no idea what just happened. You believe me?”
Dragon Maiden and Huangfu Wenqing shook their heads. Elder Yu Yan and the Yu Shizun eyed Yan Zhen appraisingly.
Yan Zhen twitched his lips, at a loss for words.
