Chapter 7: Transcendence

"That's how it is!"

Upon hearing Yan Youhuan's words, the head steward seated at the main seat smiled.

He slowly closed his eyes, only to open them in the next second. Then, he left his seat and stood before Yan Youhuan.

From him, Yan Youhuan felt a mental pressure he had never experienced before, a familiar taste, and a power he had never felt.

"This mental power is definitely at the 5-star level!" Yan Youhuan was stunned, "The head steward has actually become extraordinary, reaching the same strength as the patriarch."

In the realm of mental power, anything below 4 stars is ordinary, while reaching 5 stars is extraordinary.

During mental power card duels, generally, monsters below 4 stars can be summoned directly by placing the card on the duel disk.

But for 5-star monsters or special cards, like the [no.59-Backlash Chef] Yan Youhuan obtained, special methods are required for summoning.

However, this only affects mental power duels.

A 5-star mental power duelist is called extraordinary and has other unique traits!

"Indeed, it's 4-star mental power, and it's both earth and fire attributes!" The head steward deeply observed Yan Youhuan, his smile becoming even kinder. "Well done, this matter will be discussed at the elders' meeting next week."

"As for your parents' inheritance..." He paused, thinking for a moment before speaking slowly, "Since the inheritance is with Yan Xiaohua, you must have been raised by her, correct?"

"Yes!" Yan Youhuan nodded, looking straight at the head steward, "Family rules clearly state that the inheritance should go to direct relatives."

"I was too young back then, so the finance steward decided to have Yan Xiaohua and her husband raise me. I'm very grateful for their care over the past ten years. After reclaiming the inheritance, I will repay them for their upbringing!"

Thinking of this, Yan Youhuan coldly hummed in his heart, recalling the hardships of the past ten years, clenching his fists slightly.

As a child in Yan Xiaohua's home, he was often beaten and scolded.

The finance steward controlled the family's wealth and resource distribution. When Yan Youhuan graduated top of his class from the family school, the mental power techniques he received were personally selected by the finance steward!

His peers, who were not as good as him, had better techniques.

Yan Youhuan couldn't understand why the family would suppress and trouble him, but the answer no longer mattered now.

"This matter is sensitive, and it may be hard to get the inheritance directly." The head steward saw through everything, seeming to hear the unusual tone in Yan Youhuan's voice, and spoke solemnly, "I will look into it and handle it properly."

"Alright, you can leave now."

"Remember to attend next week's elders' meeting, in the family's small council hall."

The head steward returned to his main seat, his tone turning indifferent.

Yan Youhuan bowed slightly again and then left the room.

...

The way he spoke just now was intentional.

In fact, Yan Youhuan had already approached the head steward about his parents' inheritance six years ago, when his mental power had just reached 3 stars, thinking he already had some say in the family.

The result was that he didn't even get to see the head steward.

This time, if he hadn't shown his 4-star mental power strength to the guards, the outcome would likely have been the same.

As the head steward, he was the most loyal to the Yan family and naturally placed the family's stability first.

In his view, Yan Youhuan demanding his inheritance from his foster parents showed a lack of family values and emotional resonance, which was detrimental to the family's unity and harmony.

But Yan Youhuan's current status made it impossible for the head steward to ignore this matter, and he would surely investigate it privately.

Yan Youhuan didn't believe the family would neglect a 16-year-old 4-star mental power member for a middle-aged woman with 2-star mental power and no hope of advancement.

Moreover, he had the rightful claim!

Leaving the grand buildings, Yan Youhuan walked back to the street. It was nearing nightfall, yet the streets were still bustling, and the streetlights cast dappled shadows around him.

After walking for a while, the crowd thinned out. Yan Youhuan turned a corner by a sculpture and arrived at a row of single-story houses.

This was where he lived now.

After his mental power reached 2 stars, he gained the ability to make cards. He found a job in the Yan family's card shop, saving enough money to move to this civilian area of Diya Town.

Yan Youhuan entered his small home, locked the door behind him, and looked around the small space.

A bed, a cabinet, a table, and a chair, that was all there was in the room.

The wash area was in a public space outside, but it wasn't crowded if he went at the right time.

Leaning on the bed, Yan Youhuan closed his eyes, feeling the fluctuation of his mental power and planning his next steps.

If everything went well, next week he would become an elder candidate and reclaim his parents' inheritance.

Then, his only task in Diya Town would be to gather resources to prepare for advancing to 5-star mental power.

According to the teachings at the family school, advancing mental power levels simply required making cards of the corresponding level.

This condition seemed simple but was extremely difficult in Diya Town.

"I spent a whole week at the [Rock Camp], dueling with [Female Warrior] monsters every day. I saved up dozens of materials and finally succeeded in making a card on the last try, advancing to 4 stars."

"4-star monster cards are regulated and only available to family members in the card shops of the three main families in Diya Town, and they're expensive. For now, I can only use 3-star earth attribute monster cards."

"Once I'm familiar with 4-star mental power, I should be able to increase my card-making success rate."

"As for 5-star card formulas, I've only heard of them twice in Diya Town..."

Every five years, a trade caravan from Hope City in the South Region comes to the three towns. That's the most bustling time in Diya Town, with countless rare materials, cards, and card formulas for sale.

At that time, the caravan would auction off 5-star card formulas with locally obtainable materials, and that was how the 5-star mental power experts in the three towns came to be.

Thinking of this, Yan Youhuan opened his eyes, a gleam in them.

"If I don't become a member of [Dream Garden], my only hope of becoming extraordinary in Diya Town is through the auction..."

With this in mind, Yan Youhuan activated his duel disk, taking out the black card from his card space and inserting it into the disk.

A blue screen appeared before him again, with a list of tasks jumping around.

"The exchange module in [Dream Garden] has 5-star card formulas, but I don't know where the main materials are."

"Perhaps I can post a task to reward a 5-star card formula that can be sourced from nearby monster areas... Hmm, at least 5000 contributions."

Since he couldn't complete the task of investigating Yan Songlin for now, the only way to earn contributions was by completing tasks related to card effects in [Dream Garden].

But tasks on card effects weren't always available.

As he browsed the task list, he noticed the friends module blinking.

He opened the friends module and saw a new friend request.

[29 wants to add you as a friend:]

[Wow, all those effects are correct! You must be a card-making master. I have some questions to ask you.]