National destiny: Global tower climbing skills have decreased by 10,000 times.

Lin Xi forced herself to calm down and quickly analyzed the current situation.

If you continue along the original route, there are still three monsters to fight before you reach the next campfire, and they are all strong monsters.

Given his current health and deck situation, a single careless mistake could be enough to end his life. His match will be cut short in the second round.

There's only one chance. Since we've already gambled for so long, why not just go all in?

If not now, when?

He opened the map, resolutely changed the route, and chose another branch full of question marks.

Back to the present, Du Feiyang and Jin Ying have finished fighting the second level boss and have arrived at the third level.

Not long after, Lü Si also finished fighting the boss. His deck was basically complete. With just a few rounds of activation, he could accumulate six charge balls to work at the same time.

After passing through four question marks, Lin Xi's health actually recovered slightly. The last question mark was a shop. After thinking for a moment, Lin Xi used his last gold coins to buy two potions.

"We'll know the result soon," one coach said.

"Two more have been eliminated. It seems that the outcome is pretty much predictable after this level is cleared," another coach said.

"I think Jin Ying is a shoo-in for first place this time. Look at what he drew!"

A coach opened Jin Ying's personal card deck page and found that he had just drawn a "Current Generation" card after the second boss.

"Now he can roll the electric ball without the potion."

"Yeah, this guy listened to the entire game of Electric Ball, and he actually guessed right, as if he knew it in advance."

"His move is so good it could be recorded and used as teaching material for other students," Coach Zhou said.

After obtaining the "Electricity Generation" device, Jin Ying simply leaned back in her chair and operated it with ease, seemingly without any pressure.

Du Feiyang looked up at the big screen. Jin Ying's speed in clearing the level was already a whole level faster. Not long after entering the map, she had already taken a big lead over him.

"Hey shorty, what are you so smug about? So what if you're a gambler? You got lucky this once!"

Jin Ying merely glanced at Du Feiyang, a smirk playing on her lips, and thought to herself with a mocking smile:

"Go for it! Keep going for it! Weren't you so cocky in the first game? You said you were going to beat someone to the ground, weren't you?"

The two cursed at each other in their hearts, and then fought another three hundred rounds.

Upon reaching the third level, the coaches turned on the large screen and began analyzing the ancient inhabitants of this level.

The three options presented by the ancient people, the "Waku," this time left everyone speechless:

"Primal Claw" - Add two random cursed cards and three "Wish" cards to your deck.

"Cloak of Excellence" - Lose 9 maximum life points and add three "Spirits" to your deck.

"Pickled Mist" - Remove 5 cards from your deck and add "Foolishness" to your deck.

"It's all negative effects!" a coach exclaimed.

"Yes, it's less about choosing rewards and more about minimizing the negative effects," another coach said.

"This looks like it's going to be very dangerous. The trainees have a lot to think about," Coach Zhou said.

Ye Fei sat in the spectator room, looking at the large screen on the wall that displayed three options, and couldn't help but think: Is there any need to hesitate about this?

Looking at the chef again, he also saw three options, suddenly slapped his thigh, and shouted in the room:

"Oh dear! What a coincidence! I just happened to pick these three good-for-nothings. Aren't they all trash?"

"That Da Kun is really something, not even choosing an easier seed. Isn't this just undermining the trainees' confidence..."

Ye Fei smiled.

Lin Xi defeated the second boss with the help of two bottles of medicine. Now, he had nowhere to retreat but to fight.

He then remembered what his teacher, Ye Fei, had told him:

"Actually, whether it's a 'state machine,' a 'power machine,' or an 'electric ball flow'—"

"—It's all about numbers at its core. As long as you can reach enough numbers in one turn, it doesn't matter what you play."

"The strength of the 'state machine' lies not in how powerful the cards themselves are, but in its operation; the entire deck operates like flowing water."

"You don't need every card to be strong. Just have one or two strong cards, and then use them repeatedly to maximize the value of each card."

He repeated the sentence to himself several times.

Yes, it's not just about 'state machines'; as long as the deck itself has all the necessary components, can't it all function?

He glanced at his deck again: 'Overclock', 'Supercritical State', 'Echo Form'...

Isn't this just "drawing cards", "adding fees", and "capping"?

There are also some other attack and defense cards, such as "Leap" and "Lightning Strike". Although there aren't many, I've played several of them and the values ​​are sufficient.

Lin Xi seemed to suddenly realize something, opened the Ancient People's Rewards, directly selected "Pickled Living Mist", and deleted five defense cards.

"If we just remove the low-value cards, won't the average value of the entire deck increase?"

At this point, Lin Xi finally realized the truth and stopped blindly pursuing the "state machine," and his speed in clearing stages began to improve rapidly.

……

Coach Wang, the instructor of the faulty robot, had just finished dealing with personal matters and was now arriving at Neo Academy.

Upon entering the room, I saw the coaches discussing animatedly.

"How did it go?" Coach Wang asked as he walked over.

"Hey, Brother Wang! You've just arrived, come and see!" Coach Lu pulled him over.

"What's wrong?"

"Come on, let's bet on who will win this round. I bet Du Feiyang three rounds of 'Longhua,' Brother Wang, you should bet with Du Feiyang too!" This was Coach Zhang.

"Don't believe him. Look at Jin Ying's deck. It's obvious he's in first place this game. Don't be fooled by Lao Zhang." This was Coach Zhou.

"You guys are playing games? Let me see." Coach Wang grabbed a seat and checked the screens of several students.

However, upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the original three leading indicators had become four.

"Who is this?" Coach Wang asked.

"This must be Lü Si, right? He's our biggest dark horse today. Let me tell you, the top three spots are basically reserved for those three..." a coach replied.

"Wait a minute! You mean number 27 is Lü Si?" Coach Wang interrupted him.

Upon hearing this, the coaches gathered around again, and only then did they notice that the previously unknown number belonged neither to Lü Si nor Du Feiyang.

Unbeknownst to them, they had already surpassed Du Feiyang and moved into second place in the progress rankings.

"Let me check, his name seems to be... Lin Xi?" Coach Lu flipped through the student register.

"Lin Xi?" Several coaches called out the name almost simultaneously.

Coach Wang whirled around: "You mean, that kid who sleeps in my class and has been expelled several times, has now surpassed Du Feiyang?"

"Yes, and it seems he just selected... 'Pickled Mist'."

The exciting chapter "Chapter 36 'Pickling Live Mist'" is now available online. Click to read it first!