"Du Heng versus Jiang Nanxi!"
With Song Qian's announcement, both Du Heng and Jiang Nanxi stood up at once.
Du Heng turned to her and said,"Don't expect me to go easy just because you're a girl."
Even though Jiang Nanxi's fox spirit was strong, he was confident he wouldn't lose to her—or anyone.
Jiang Nanxi smiled gracefully and didn't bother replying.
The two took their positions at the edge of the battlefield. In an instant, the Green Zombie and the Three-Tailed Fox appeared in front of them.
The Three-Tailed Fox was the first to act, casting an illusion—
But it didn't work.
The Green Zombie remained completely unaffected.
The sudden twist wiped the smile off Jiang Nanxi's face.
Du Heng smirked smugly."Zombies at the Green Zombie stage have no intellect—only instinct. Your fox can't create high-tier illusions, can it?"
Honestly, he was a bit arrogant—but Jiang Nanxi wasn't exactly innocent of that either.
She admitted it to herself: aside from Russell and Du Heng, none of the other advanced class students had been a real challenge. That had made her overconfident.
But regardless of her thoughts, the Three-Tailed Fox launched its assault.
On all fours, it sprinted toward the Green Zombie, claws flashing with a cold gleam, leaving shimmering trails through the air.
Du Heng didn't flinch.
Illusions were the fox's strongest suit—but in close combat? No one in the advanced class could beat the Green Zombie. Not even Russell's card, in his opinion.
Sure enough, even though the fox's claws landed, they only left shallow wounds on the Green Zombie's body.
Then, as the fox's momentum waned, the Green Zombie grabbed its tail and—like a rag doll—smashed it into the ground.
The fox let out a pained whimper.
Watching from the sidelines, Russell winced."This feels way too familiar… Hulk vs. Loki, huh?"
Even the fighting style was similar.
Finally, after a crushing blow, the Three-Tailed Fox dissolved into glowing particles.
"You're too weak, Jiang Nanxi!" Du Heng laughed loudly from the arena."You're no different from those other losers!"
Jiang Nanxi ignored the taunt. She wasn't especially frustrated.The Green Zombie countered her fox in nearly every way—and finding counters was a cardmaker's job.
Whether that meant crafting support cards to strengthen existing ones or creating entirely new monsters to adapt to specific threats, that was all part of the work.
She exhaled and stepped down from the stage, walking over to Russell with a smile.
"Good luck, Russell."
Russell returned a soft smile."You've got it backward—he's the challenger."
With that, he didn't wait for her reply and calmly walked toward the arena.
Jiang Nanxi stared at his back in a daze.
Russell… was kinda cocky.
Unaware of what she was thinking, Russell stood across from Du Heng and summoned Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
The moment Yoriichi laid eyes on the Green Zombie, his expression darkened.
Bad memories.
Before the zombie could react, Yoriichi was already charging forward with his blade in hand. As he ran, the blade slowly turned crimson.
From the sidelines, Jiang Nanxi's expression grew serious."A new ability… I've never seen that before."
In the blink of an eye, Yoriichi closed the gap and slashed at the zombie's neck from right to left, the wind howling around his katana.
"ROAR!"
The Green Zombie howled and raised its right arm to block the blade—
Slice!
Like a hot knife through butter, its long, green-furred arm was sliced clean off and flung aside.
One clash. One arm gone.
The zombie howled in agony but didn't back down. It lunged toward Yoriichi, jaws wide.
Yoriichi narrowed his eyes and spun, blade flashing.
Before Du Heng could even react, Yoriichi's sword cut clean through the zombie's neck.
With one blow, it was decapitated and faded into nothing.
"Wh-What?!"
Du Heng stared in disbelief."I… lost?"
He'd known Russell might be tricky—but he had never once considered that he might actually lose.
And yet, the Green Zombie hadn't even lasted two rounds before being cut down. And Russell's card didn't even seem to be going all out.
Du Heng simply couldn't accept it.
The specialized battle arena of Hu City First High fell into stunned silence.
Some students had expected Russell to win. Others had thought Du Heng would take the match.
But no one had expected Russell to win so effortlessly.
Against Russell, Du Heng's Green Zombie had performed no better than that Bull-Headed monster from the first round.
Whispers and murmurs began to spread.
"Russell's that strong?"
"Pop the champagne, folks."
"No wonder he saved a whole apartment complex."
"Tch. Du Heng acts like a big shot, but he didn't even last two minutes. That's hilarious."
"Shhh, keep your voice down. Sure, Du Heng can't beat Russell, but he can still beat you."
"What's he gonna do, pick on the rest of us to feel better? Pathetic."
Ignoring the noise around him, Russell walked over to Du Heng.
"You okay?"
Du Heng, still collapsed on the floor, thought Russell was offering comfort—until Russell leaned in and whispered:
"I'm just giving your own words back to you."
"Pathetic. You're too weak to even amuse me.""You got into the advanced class?"
Du Heng kept his head down—his expression unreadable.
Russell almost thought he'd gone too far. But really, he'd just quoted Du Heng word for word.
And honestly, Russell had zero patience for bully dogs like this.
Shaking his head, he turned to leave.
Just then, a venomous voice came from behind him.
"You only won because your card had the advantage. Don't think you're so great."
"Next time… next time I'll craft something stronger. And I swear, I'll make you beg me for mercy on your knees!"
Russell paused for a moment, then kept walking.
Some people were just born bad.
He'd read enough news stories in his previous life about teenage bullying to know that.
If Russell hadn't been strong, and Du Heng had won, the next step would've been isolating him—intimidating classmates into turning against him.
And trash talk? Please.Anyone could talk big.
He once said that when he finally created [Goddess of Rabbit – Otsutsuki Kaguya], he'd make the Spirit Seekers Guild kneel and sing "Conquest."
Back at the sidelines, the students swarmed Russell in excitement.
Their chatter buzzed like bees in his ears, giving him a headache.
Thankfully, Song Qian stepped in to rescue him.
"Alright, everyone, give Russell some space," she said, clapping to get their attention."Here's the final class ranking. If anyone thinks their current rank doesn't reflect their true ability, you can challenge someone ranked higher—once a week."
"Only once a week though," she reminded, smiling."Also—I've got some good news to share."
She paused dramatically, letting the tension build as students eagerly waited for the reveal.
Finally, she said:
"Principal Xie pulled some strings and got our advanced class a spot for practical training inside a secret realm. I hope you'll all make the most of it."