Zhang Yang was no longer surprised by Zhou Ke's ignorance of the Divine Card ranking system. He patiently explained:
"J, Q, K, A—these four ranks of Divine Cards are commonly called the 'Letter Cards.' Compared to the numbered Divine Cards, their abilities are exceptionally powerful."
"And it's said that those who obtain these four ranks receive direct guidance from the gods themselves."
"I get it now!" Zhang Yang suddenly pointed mysteriously at the girl wearing a mask. "She must be the one who caused the citywide blackout yesterday! Only a Letter Card could have such a strong ability!"
"Look, she’s even hiding her face—afraid of being recognized!"
Zhou Ke chuckled. "Didn’t you say that person had a 'Club' Card?"
"I heard the detection gate announce that her suit was 'Spade.'"
Zhang Yang scratched his long hair. "Oh right, I forgot."
Soon, the two reached the front of the line.
"Our turn."
Zhang Yang looked slightly nervous as he stepped forward under the detection gate.
[Beep—Magic Level: 3. Divine Card: Heart 5. Qualified.]
"Whew, thank goodness."
Grinning, Zhang Yang took his uniform and freshman handbook from the senior student.
Whispers spread among the surrounding students.
"Only a Magic Level of 3?"
"That’s the bare minimum for admission, right?"
"Look at his outfit—another minor noble."
Zhang Yang, however, paid no attention to the murmurs, waving his arms excitedly.
"Divine Card Academy, here I come!!"
Zhou Ke took a deep breath and stepped forward.
"Hello, I’m the senior overseeing this round of testing. Please pass through the detection gate," said the dark-skinned senior.
Standing under the gate, Zhou Ke closed his eyes silently.
Enrolling in the Divine Card Academy was the crucial step to climbing the social ladder, making a fortune, and rising above his station.
The gate beeped.
[Beep—Magic Level: 43. Divine Card: Club K. Qualified!]
For a moment, the world seemed to freeze.
Then, the crowd erupted.
"Wha—what did it say?"
"43? A freshman?"
"Which family is he from?"
"Judging by his clothes, probably a minor noble."
"A minor noble with 43? And a Club? A K?"
Zhou Ke himself showed little surprise.
He already knew his Divine Card was "special" and had braced himself for this.
However, the detector didn’t seem to register his true Divine Card—the JOKER. Instead, it displayed the altered form.
Zhang Yang, who had already passed through, spun around, mouth agape, stammering:
"Cl-Club? So you’re…?"
Zhou Ke calmly accepted his uniform and handbook, giving the senior a slight bow.
Then, he approached the stunned Zhang Yang and said plainly:
"Let me introduce myself. I’m Zhou Ke, born a commoner."
"I was the one who blacked out the city yesterday."
……
In one of the academy’s towers, two professors quietly observed the entrance examinations.
"Director Chen, you truly have an eye for talent," a middle-aged man murmured, watching Zhou Ke from afar. "I heard you contacted him in advance and offered him financial support?"
Chen Yun chuckled. "Just luck. I happened to pass by East Street when he showed me a magic trick popular among commoners."
"Coincidentally, he turned out to be a genius with an extraordinary Magic Level."
"Meanwhile, Professor Yuan Xing, your class only admits students from mid-tier noble families or higher. Doesn’t that mean you miss out on many promising talents?"
The man called Yuan Xing neither confirmed nor denied it, merely frowning.
"I still believe talent and bloodline are paramount. A commoner with a Magic Level of 43 is an extreme rarity."
"Besides, Magic Level isn’t everything. His future performance remains to be seen."
"Still…" Yuan Xing hesitated.
Chen Yun glanced at him. "I know what you’re thinking. You noticed his Divine Card too."
Yuan Xing gave a quiet hum. "Club K… It’s been a long time since Dragon Country has seen a Divine Card of the Club suit."
……
"Hey, join our student society!" The dark-skinned senior who had overseen the entrance exams excitedly stopped Zhou Ke.
"I’m Li Hanfeng, president of the Black Blade Society—the best and most elite student group in the academy!"
"A genius like you absolutely has to join us!"
Li Hanfeng vigorously shook Zhou Ke’s hand.
So this was the enthusiasm of university clubs…
Before Zhou Ke could think of a response—
"All freshmen who passed the first round, gather here!" Another senior called from a distance. "The second round of testing is about to begin!"
Zhou Ke offered an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, Senior. I still need to complete the entrance exams."
"Oh, right, my bad." Li Hanfeng scratched his head. "Later, other seniors might try recruiting you. Don’t agree to anything!"
……
Only a handful of applicants failed to meet the minimum Magic Level of 3 in the first round.
Zhou Ke now stood at the end of the line for the second round.
"No way, you’re that mysterious commoner genius?!"
Zhang Yang, still ahead of him in line, looked utterly shocked.
"Hey, did Senior Li just try to recruit you?"
"Seems like it."
"Did you say yes?"
"No."
Zhang Yang looked as if he’d seen a ghost.
"Why not?! Countless people dream of joining the Black Blade Society!"
"Li Hanfeng is a legend here! Top scorer in the entrance exams, achieved a Divine Card Ascension in his second year, and he’s drowning in scholarships…"
Zhou Ke’s head spun from the barrage of achievements.
"Though, rumor has it the Black Blade Society only accepts students with Spade Cards." Zhang Yang’s eyes gleamed mischievously.
"So… your Divine Card really is Club K?"
"Yeah. Why?"
Zhang Yang looked like he was about to kneel.
"Your Majesty, I bow before you!"
"Ah, rise, my loyal subject! This king cannot accept such reverence!" Zhou Ke, unsure of Zhang Yang’s meaning, played along.
Zhang Yang grinned. "Remember what I said earlier? Letter Card holders are said to receive divine guidance."
"And each letter carries its own meaning."
"J stands for Jack, Q for Queen, K for King, A for Ace."
"Your Card is K—maybe you’ll become a real king someday!"
"Hey, keep it down!" Zhou Ke quickly covered his mouth. "Even in modern society, loose lips invite trouble."
"At the end of the day, isn’t this just superstition? Wasn’t there a girl before who had the Queen Divine Card? Did she become a queen later?"
"Well, I wouldn’t know about that. But that’s what my mom told me—that those with the King Divine Card are destined for royalty." Zhang Yang scratched his head.
Zhou Ke didn’t pay much attention to Zhang Yang’s words.
After all, his own Divine Card was the JOKER.
He had only activated his special ability to temporarily make it appear as the King of Clubs.
If Zhang Yang’s theory held any weight, did that mean holding a joker card would doom him to become a clown in the future?
g Yu was preparing for retirement when her organization decided to eliminate her. She transmigrated to a zombie apocalypse world. However, a tiny unexpected situation occurred: She somehow transformed into an adorable little girl?!
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
