Universe Infinite Canteen-Chapter 368: The Hard-shelled Turtle

"Wait a minute, why do I only have 12 health points, not even one fifth of yours?"

In the card games Ma Lu had played before, although the strength of the players’ decks varied, at least the starting conditions were fairly equal, with everyone having the same number of cards and health points.

However, Gu Qingyi’s words left him speechless, "Because I’ve cultivated Internal Cultivation Methods."

"..."

Ma Lu actually felt she made sense. It seemed Internal Cultivation Methods could not only be used as cards to provide True Qi but could also increase the initial health points.

Perhaps some Divine Technique Manuals even had additional, incredible effects.

This did fit the depiction of Divine Techniques in wuxia novels; no wonder everyone in Jianghu desired to cultivate them.

Since Ma Lu had just arrived in this world, he didn’t know what level of proficiency Gu Qingyi’s Hold Yuan Secret was considered.

After playing two cards, Gu Qingyi didn’t continue her turn, but instead said, "As the one going first, I can’t attack you during the first round, so I choose to end my turn."

"Now I have three cards left in my hand, which is below the hand limit of five, so I don’t need to discard any cards. It’s your turn to play now."

Mimicking Gu Qingyi, Ma Lu gestured and immediately two streaks of green light flew from the deck into his hand.

Ma Lu looked down to see one card was Basic Boxing and the other was Basic Blocking.

Good grief, were these the only two types of cards in his deck?

Since Ma Lu had the second turn, he could attack immediately, but looking at the pitiful power of 1 for Basic Boxing and then at Gu Qingyi’s 14 parry value…

Ma Lu decided not to disgrace himself, so he played two Basic Blocking cards and ended his action.

This round, neither one launched an attack, so nothing happened.

By now Ma Lu knew he was doomed to lose, but he still wanted to see what kind of attacks Gu Qingyi had.

Gu Qingyi didn’t disappoint him, "It’s my turn again, I’ll draw two cards first."

After saying this, two more cards flew from her deck into her hand.

Then Gu Qingyi played another Hold Yuan Secret, adding 4 points of True Qi and 4 parry to herself; it seemed her deck had quite a few Hold Yuan Secrets.

Following that, she flung out another Body Protection Card.

The name of this card was called Immovable as a Mountain.

It was the Sixth Form of the Iron Cloth Technique, an even more formidable maneuver. It required the expenditure of two points of True Qi to play, and its effect was strong, allowing one to block a single attack with a power of 25 or less after the parry value was depleted.

With this card, Gu Qingyi had managed to be as watertight in her defense.

To tell the truth, Ma Lu’s first impression of Gu Qingyi was only so-so, feeling like she lacked experience in Jianghu and was somewhat careless in her actions.

But this battle turned Ma Lu’s previous views around.

Even with an overwhelming advantage and facing a guaranteed victory, Gu Qingyi was still meticulously cautious and in no rush to be reckless for success.

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In this moment, she actually resembled a seasoned Jianghu veteran. Could it be that her previous behavior was just a disguise?

Ma Lu thought Gu Qingyi was ready to launch her attack, but unexpectedly, after playing two cards, she casually remarked, "Pass."

"Ah?"

"No need to be so cautious," Ma Lu volunteered with self-deprecation, "I don’t have any decent cards in hand right now, just some basic boxing and basic blocking. You can come at me directly."

However, upon hearing this, Gu Qingyi inexplicably fell into silence. After a moment, he coughed lightly and said, "Don’t rush, I’m helping you familiarize yourself with combat."

"Thanks, but I’ve pretty much got the hang of the basics and now I want to see Brother Gu’s swordsmanship," Ma Lu said sincerely.

"You young people have no patience. Just keep playing, and you’ll see it eventually, won’t you?"

"Alright then."

So, Ma Lu could only continue to draw cards, and this time he drew only a basic blocking card. He couldn’t even be bothered to play it and just skipped his turn.

But in the third round... Gu Qingyi still chose to defend, and not just in the third round. Two more rounds passed, and Ma Lu and Gu Qingyi basically just stared at each other.

You guard yours, I guard mine, until the sixth round when Gu Qingyi drew a card, his eyes finally lit up, and he exclaimed, "It’s over!"

Is it finally here? Ma Lu’s spirits lifted at the words; the game had made him nearly doze off.

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Mainly because on his side it was either basic boxing or basic blocking, and every draw felt the same, stuck in an infinite loop, barely chipping away at the opponent’s health, just waiting for Gu Qingyi to finish him off.

Yet Gu Qingyi was overly cautious, dragging it out like a poorly drawn play, always guarding until now. Thankfully, he seemed ready to make a move, and Ma Lu could be relieved.

But then Gu Qingyi opened with an Iron Chain Crossing the River, and spent a bit of True Qi to activate its additional effect, adding 10 parry points to himself.

"Stop blocking," Ma Lu nearly cried, "Can’t you just hit me?"

Gu Qingyi was probably taken aback, having never heard such a plea before. After a pause, he then said, "Don’t rush, here I come!"

Despite his words, Gu Qingyi played another Body Protection Card—Turn Body into Shield. This was the eighth form of the Iron Cloth Technique, which required 3 True Qi to activate, and its effect was to double the parry value on oneself.

With this card, Gu Qingyi’s parry value jumped from 16 points straight to 32 points.

Ma Lu was starting to feel desperate.

He now understood that it wasn’t that Gu Qingyi didn’t want to finish him off; it was probably that his deck was stuffed full of Body Protection Cards.

A random draw was all Body Protection Cards; what kind of ironclad turtle strategy was this? Just as Ma Lu was reflecting on this,

Gu Qingyi had already played the third card.

And this was finally an Attack Card, also the first Attack Card that Gu Qingyi had played all game—Peerless Iron Sword.

Ma Lu looked down to check the effect of the card.

——Peerless Iron Sword, the martial art unique to the Iron Clothes Sect, consumes all True Qi to deliver a strike. The power of this strike equals 1.5 times one’s own parry value.

Ma Lu only felt a dark flash before his eyes, and something fiercely struck his chest. By the time he realized what had happened, his health bar had plummeted from a full 12 points to zero.

The card game in front of him vanished along with it.

Ma Lu returned to his normal standing position, and Gu Qingyi also sheathed his sword, exhaling a breath and with a clasped fist stated, "Thank you for the match."

Ma Lu subconsciously reached for his chest, to which Gu Qingyi hurriedly said, "Don’t worry, we chose the sparring mode just now, so you won’t get hurt."

"And what if it was the real combat mode?" Ma Lu checked his chest and indeed found no wounds.

"Then you would be dead by now."