You're a card created by Su Qi Why are you helping him so much

Does Su Qi know he’s already been ‘noticed’ by someone?

Of course, he doesn’t.

He sits cross-legged on his bed, surrounded by nine dense, swirling points of starlight.

Seven years ago, Su Qi had already reached the peak of the fifth tier, the Candle Shadow Realm.

But ever since then, he’d been obsessing over how to take that final step into the ‘Radiant’ stage, hoping to awaken his unique twelve-star talent and become ‘invincible in this world.’ Ironically, this fixation had backfired.

If not for that, given his talent, he might’ve already reached the seventh tier by now—though he wouldn’t dare claim anything higher.

It might sound foolish, but if those who mocked him were in his shoes, they might not have done any better.

This was a breakthrough seven years overdue.

The nine stars around him suddenly erupted with countless silver rays—this was the so-called ‘Source Essence.’

It could transform into psychic energy, spiritual energy, or even temper the body.

Normally invisible to the naked eye, Source Essence only manifests when one’s ‘qi’ resonates with it through special means.

The methods to achieve this resonance vary wildly, but the most common is the Primer of Source Essence.

However, Su Qi’s current method clearly had nothing to do with that.

The Source Essence flowed like tiny streams merging into a vast ocean, pouring ceaselessly into his body.

For hours, the silver light continued to emerge and be absorbed, as if his body were an endless black hole.

Finally, at a certain moment, the barrier of his realm cracked.

The nine silver points of light around him stopped rotating, gradually revealing their original pale golden glow.

Amidst the interplay of gold and silver radiance, Su Qi suddenly opened his eyes, his aura skyrocketing in an instant.

Sixth-tier Candle Shadow Realm!

Of course…

That was just a fancy-sounding title.

Originally, there were only seven major realms in cultivation.

‘Spark’ was just ‘Spark,’ and ‘Candle Shadow’ was just ‘Candle Shadow’—no tiers, just major breakthroughs.

But later, some felt this was too demoralizing for the younger generation.

Imagine someone still being at the late-stage ‘Spark’ realm at eighteen?

Not even past the first major realm?

It made it seem like these kids had wasted their youth, slacking off instead of cultivating.

This wasn’t some novel—why keep the realms so low?

Just to pad the word count later?

Thus, the current tier system was born.

Fourth-tier Spark Realm.

This way, whether it was students or parents, they could hear:

‘The strongest people are only at the twelfth tier. My kid’s already at the fourth tier by eighteen—not bad at all!’

See? Instant confidence boost.

So, Su Qi’s sixth-tier Candle Shadow Realm was really just the late stage of the second major realm.

Fresh out of the beginner’s zone.

…

Before he knew it, morning had arrived.

Su Qi stretched his stiff limbs.

Despite staying up all night, his mental state was unusually refreshed.

After breaking through to the sixth-tier Candle Shadow Realm, his psychic energy had vastly improved, leaving him feeling completely renewed.

Just then, his phone buzzed.

Su Qi picked it up—a message from Little Yuan.

No surprise there; she was always clingy.

[Little Yuan: Good morning, big bro~]

Su Qi sometimes wondered if she’d report him missing if he didn’t reply within twenty-four hours.

He chuckled helplessly and typed back:

[I Want Sleep: Morning, Little Yuan. Do your best today too.]

…

Liu Yuan was in high spirits today.

After a night of accumulation, she could feel her Soul Sea nearly brimming to its limit.

Every time it filled up, it meant she’d reached the maximum capacity for her current stage.

The next step was to refine her soul energy to improve its ‘quality’—success meant advancing to the next tier.

If she failed, some of her soul energy would dissipate, forcing her to start over until she succeeded.

At this rate, she’d complete her third refinement in two days, reaching the fourth-tier Spark Realm.

Once her Soul Sea filled a fourth time and she refined it again, her soul energy would undergo a qualitative transformation—the ‘Candle Shadow Realm.’

Dressed in white stockings and brimming with confidence, she was practically radiating ‘girlboss’ energy.

She was 90% sure she could break through to the fifth tier before the martial exams!

And with her brother’s encouragement fresh in her mind, she hummed a little tune as she got ready for school.

Then…

Her expression darkened instantly.

Because right at that moment, Su Qi happened to step out of his room at the same time.

Their eyes met.

Liu Yuan’s pink lips parted slightly as she let out a soft, disdainful huff:

“Hmph. 16.12.”

Su Qi: ???

Yesterday it was ‘good morning,’ today it’s ‘16.12’?

What did that even mean?

He didn’t get it at all.

Weird.

[Card attributes have refreshed.]

[Card Name: Little Sister’s Grudge]

[Type: Exclusive Equipment · Illusion]

[Rarity: Rare]

[Energy Level: ???? (Tier 4)]

[Attributes]

[Strength +9]

[Agility +9]

[Magic +8]

[Special Passive ①: Talent and Effort]

[Special Passive ②: Infinite Potential]

[The wielder was ogled by her pervy older brother for a full 16.12 seconds. He must be taught a lesson!]

[Ascension Adventure! Gloriously relaunched!]

[Difficulty upgraded! Up↑]

[Super Ascension Adventure: Acquire the skill ‘Oh, So You Like Peeking at White…’ Use it on target ‘Su Qi’ and complete the skill’s condition (0/1)]

[Temporary Skill: Oh, So You Like Peeking at White… (Expires in 24 hours. Failure to use counts as ascension failure.)]

[Skill Effect: Forces the target’s gaze onto this equipment. The target must stare for 16.12 seconds before looking away to fulfill the condition. Looking away too soon or too late counts as failure. The penalty for failure is the wielder stomping the target’s face into the ground, teaching him the consequences of peeking!]

[Can be voluntarily abandoned.]

[Think carefully before abandoning!]

[Think carefully before abandoning!]

[Otherwise, the next mission’s difficulty will increase again!]

Honestly…

Liu Yuan really did want to kick Su Qi in the face.

Her perfectly good ascension mission had been ruined.

But… what if he enjoyed it?

This ‘adventure’ was ridiculous—whether he succeeded or failed, wasn’t it just rewarding him?

Hey! Hey! Are you some kind of card Su Qi made himself? Why are you helping him?!

“Abandon.”

She’d rather face a harder mission than let Su Qi get his kicks.

16.12 seconds—this grudge, she would remember.