Wait, there's a reward for this too?
The thought popped up in Russell's mind almost instantly.
Principal Xie smiled and picked up a booklet from his desk."Russell, you can choose any one of these materials. We'll have it delivered to your home after school."
Russell took the booklet and began flipping through it carefully.
[Steelblade Sword] (Blue)[Bloodstained Jade Pendant] (Purple)[Corpse Hound – Enhanced Muscle Type] (Purple)
Inside the booklet were pages of materials—all Black Iron-grade and Blue-tier or higher.
Suddenly, Russell's eyes narrowed."Principal Xie, I'll take this one."
Everyone turned to look at the material he was pointing to:
[Elite Ghoul] (Purple)
Ma Liang looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated. Finally, he spoke up:"Russell, I'd suggest picking a material for an item card instead—something to enhance your current creature card."
It was standard practice for beginner cardmakers to make an item card as their second creation.On one hand, it could strengthen the creature card they already had; on the other, the first card was often a lucky fluke.Jumping into making a second creature card too soon could easily waste materials.
Russell shook his head and replied respectfully,"Uncle Ma, thank you for your advice, but I'd still like to go with this one."
Seeing his determination, the others didn't try to talk him out of it.After all, interfering with a cardmaker's creative direction was a serious taboo.
"I'll take Russell to report to the Honors Class, then," Wang Ming said.
The others nodded slightly.
As the two left the office, Ma Liang chuckled."Old Xie, looks like your school really got a good one this year. You're probably feeling more confident about the four-school regional exam next month, huh?"
Principal Xie, however, looked somewhat worried."I've heard the other schools have some strong talents too. There are even rumors that a student from Ning'an First High made a Gold-tier card on their very first try."
Ma Liang didn't seem to agree with that.A cardmaker's true strength was never just about card rarity or level.
And in his view, the fact that Russell had stood up in a real crisis already made him leagues above the so-called prodigies from the other schools.
"Old Ma, I want to ask you for something. I've never asked for a favor before in all these years…"
While Ma Liang was lost in thought, Principal Xie's voice sounded from beside him.
"Want to go say goodbye to your old classmates?" Wang Ming asked as they walked.
Russell thought about it, then shook his head."It's not like I'm graduating. I'm still here at First High. If I want to see them, I can."
"Fair point."
They soon arrived at the entrance to the Honors Class.
Shanghai First High rarely produced cardmakers in their junior year, so the school only had a single Honors Class.
"Ms. Song, could you come out for a second?" Wang Ming called from the doorway.
Soon, a middle-aged woman walked out of the classroom.
"This is Russell. Starting today, he'll be one of your students," Wang Ming introduced.
Then he turned to Russell."This is Ms. Song Qian, a senior faculty member. She'll be your new homeroom teacher."
Russell nodded politely."Good morning, Ms. Song."
"Good morning, Russell. Go on in and introduce yourself to your classmates," she said, pushing up her glasses. Then she glanced at Wang Ming with curiosity."He's the one, isn't he…"
Inside the classroom, Russell walked up to the podium and said,"Hi everyone, I'm Russell. Please take care of me from now on."
He scanned the classroom.
Including himself, there were only twelve students—just one of them female.
Upon hearing Russell's introduction, the girl exclaimed,"So you're Russell?"
Russell raised an eyebrow."You know me?"
"Of course! You're our role model, aren't you? I'm Jiang Nanxi," she said with a cheerful grin.
Jiang Nanxi's father was a Gold-rank cardmaker.She had learned about Russell's heroic act from her dad just last night.
Hearing that, Russell gave a dry chuckle.He felt like this girl was being a bit sarcastic."Eh, the Association's just hyping me up."
"Alright, quiet down for now."Ms. Song entered the classroom.
"I'm sure you've all heard about Russell by now," she said.
"Yesterday, he stepped up during the [Demon Nest] riot and saved a neighborhood of residents. Let's give him a round of applause!"
She clapped first.
As the others joined in, Russell gave a modest smile."Anyone here could've done the same."
Flattering words cost nothing—and sometimes, they were necessary.
"Ahem," Ms. Song cleared her throat."Let's start with some introductions."
Russell stepped down from the podium and gave the floor to the other students.
After the self-introductions were over, Russell made mental notes about two students in particular.
The first was the girl from earlier—Jiang Nanxi.Her card was a Purple-tier Black Iron card: [Three-Tailed Fox].
Russell recalled from his memory that the fox spirit card line could go all the way up to a Diamond-tier Red card: [Nine-Tailed – Daji].
The second was a short ponytailed boy named Du Heng, whose card was also Purple-tier: [Green Zombie].
The zombie series had great potential—and unlike fox spirit cards, zombies scaled up more smoothly.
But Russell already knew Du Heng.They used to be classmates.
And because Russell was an orphan, Du Heng had once led a group to isolate and bully him—until Wang Ming intervened.
Tch. Bully mutt, Russell thought coldly, his eyes sharpening.
"Alright," Ms. Song clapped her hands."I have an announcement to make."
"One month from now, the Ning'an District Four-School Joint Exam will be held. The winning school will be granted access to a training session in the dungeon realm."
Dungeon realm!
Upon hearing that, everyone's hearts skipped a beat.
Being allowed into a dungeon realm meant access to rare resources—whether to sell or craft, it was an incredible opportunity.
Seeing she had their full attention, Ms. Song smiled triumphantly."However, each school can only send three students to the joint exam. And only those three will be allowed into the dungeon."
"So, our Honors Class will now be following a…"
"Ranking System."
She paused for effect, then continued:"Tomorrow, we'll conduct our first ranking trial."
"The format will be a Cardmaker Duel."
Cardmaker Duels allowed all strategies—except for directly attacking the opponent.Typically, once a cardmaker's available cards were exhausted, they'd surrender.
It was worth noting: when a creature card dies, it enters cooldown for a full day.
After announcing the news, Ms. Song left the room.
Du Heng casually walked over to Russell, a mocking tone in his voice:"Well, well—look who went from gutter rat to golden phoenix in just a few days."
Du Heng had always considered himself a prodigy.Seeing the orphan he used to look down on suddenly become the school's shining star filled him with bitter jealousy.
Russell rolled his eyes."Yeah, yeah, you're clearly way better than me. Congrats."
Du Heng was instantly offended by the sarcastic brush-off."You little orphan... how dare you talk to me like that!"
His face twisted into a nasty smirk."Tomorrow, I'll crush your card right in front of everyone. Tear it to shreds."
Russell didn't bother arguing.He simply shot Du Heng a look of pure exasperation.
—
Back in the classroom, Wang Ming returned and found the place in chaos.
Mo Fang looked heartbroken as he ran over."Mr. Wang, is it true? Is Russell dropping out to get a job?"
Wang Ming blinked."Where did you hear that?"
"Russell got accepted into the Honors Class as a full-fledged cardmaker."
The room fell silent.
Then—
"...WHAT?!"
A deafening roar of disbelief shook the class.