Carlotta's Daily Report

The trading wouldn't last long. At the celebrity gathering, after a certain period, all intended deals were completed. The remaining unsold items found no buyers, and the items people couldn't acquire remained unavailable.

Soon, an indescribable atmosphere began to emerge among many of the scenarios.

The Bass Conference had established the Celebrity Rankings, and the stir it caused throughout the Bass Archipelago was significant, especially among the celebrities themselves, where a thick scent of gunpowder now lingered. Nobody believes themselves inferior to others, yet their rankings were lower. Why? On what basis?

Unsurprisingly, challenge after challenge began to arise.

"Many people's rankings are indeed too low, because past battles didn't necessarily force them to reveal their full potential."

"The rankings mainly reflect performance within the Bass Archipelago. Even if someone achieved amazing feats on the Northern Continent, it wouldn't count, so some are underestimated."

"How absurd. I'm ranked beyond the top twenty? It's time I proved myself."

People spoke, and soon began to take action.

Carlotta was completely cultivating, while Amelia watched with mild interest as one person after another stepped forward to challenge others.

Yet after a while, she couldn't help but feel somewhat disinterested.

Because they were too weak.

To Amelia, their performances were truly underwhelming. It wasn't that these people weren't strong, rather, Amelia instinctively compared them to Carlotta, and that comparison was disastrous. She realized no one could even be mentioned in the same breath as Carlotta.

'Indeed, the most outstanding one is still my Carlotta.'

Amelia turned her head to glance at Carlotta beside her.

Although Carlotta sat quietly now, her face hidden beneath the Illusory Mask, Amelia could still envision Carlotta's sweet, true features. Just thinking about that face made her smile faintly.

Inside the hall, battle after battle rages intensely.

Sandra sat in an unobtrusive spot. Even as the host of this gathering, she deliberately kept a low profile, avoiding confrontation.

Yet she had come here for a reason, because someone worth paying attention to was present.

"What do you think of their performances? Compared to you, how much of a gap is there?"

Sandra asked with a smile.

The person being addressed was a man approaching middle age. Dressed in a black tuxedo, he appeared very gentlemanly, his every movement radiating an elegant air that suggested a distinguished background.

With a calm smile, he replied unhurriedly, "I never compare myself to others. It's an entirely unnecessary thing. Comparing back and forth, who wins, who loses, what's the point?"

"Is that so? Unexpected words from the second-ranked celebrity."

Sandra sighed lightly.

She gazed at the man before her, her expression somewhat serious.

This man was Ronan Jefferson, mysteriously famous. In the rankings designated by the Bass Conference, he stood at second place, towering over nearly all other celebrities. Only the recent emergence of Moon had dethroned Ronan from the top spot.

Ronan gasped. "I've never liked fighting. It's completely unnecessary. But you, don't you mind being ranked third? Why not challenge me and claim second place?"

"No interest."

Sandra rejected outright.

It wasn't that she lacked confidence in herself. Rather, this man named Ronan was simply too monstrous, his combat strength absurdly powerful. She didn't even understand by what means he had cultivated; it completely defied logic. Naturally, she had no desire to cross paths with someone like him.

Besides, was there really that much difference between third and second?

"Actually, I originally didn't even want to attend this gathering. I was worried it might cause some disputes. In the end, I thought skipping it would be too disrespectful to you, so I came."

Ronan sighed, stretched lazily.

Sandra gave him a sidelong glance. "Spare me. Saying that might fool others, but although you hide deeply, I've sensed something. Your connection with the Bass Conference is quite profound... Hmm, to be precise, you're a member of the Bass Conference, aren't you?"

The members of the Bass Conference weren't all publicly known. A small portion remained deeply mysterious, and even now, no one knew the full roster.

But Sandra believed Ronan was one of them.

Ronan stretched again. "What are you talking about? I don't know what you mean."

Seeing this, Sandra curled her lips and decided not to press further.

But she understood Ronan had come here because he'd predicted disputes would arise among the celebrities. Fights were inevitable, and as a representative of the Bass Conference, he had come specifically to observe. Perhaps, after this gathering concludes, the rankings on the Celebrity List will change once more.

...

"Layla Shirley, I challenge you."

Carlotta stopped her process of magical transformation, opened her eyes, and looked ahead, seeing a familiar face.

The challenger was Melissa Harris.

Carlotta wasn't particularly surprised to see her. Intelligence had already informed her that Melissa would come to challenge her today. Both were card magic practitioners, and Carlotta's sudden rise had sparked various rumors, people claimed Melissa couldn't truly be called the top card magic user, suggesting Carlotta posed a significant threat.

But that was before.

Prior to this celebrity gathering, Melissa had already proven her strength. Everyone understood now that Melissa was no fraud, she possessed abilities matching her ranking.

Even so, Melissa still chose to challenge Carlotta, wanting to prove herself once again.

In other cases, perhaps it was debatable. But at least in the realm of card magic, Melissa truly had absolute confidence in herself.

Carlotta looked up into Melissa's determined eyes and sighed inwardly.

Honestly, she didn't want to accept this fight. To her, it was rather meaningless. She was already a celebrity, she didn't need to further boost her fame.

"Don't you want to improve your ranking?"

Melissa, observing Carlotta's expression, seemed to perceive her reluctance and asked pointedly.

Improve her ranking?

Carlotta truly had no interest. After all, her other identity, Moon, was already ranked first on the Celebrity List.

Yet suddenly, Carlotta's thoughts stirred.

She had become a celebrity not only to attend this gathering, but also to attend the mermaid princess's birthday banquet. To her, that event was even more important, as it involved an elf.

Would her current ranking be enough to earn an invitation to the birthday banquet?

At this thought, Carlotta no longer felt much resistance toward this challenge, and immediately stood up.

"Alright, I accept your challenge."

Smiling, Carlotta stepped into the arena.

Seeing this, Melissa also became spirited. She had thought Carlotta would refuse, after all, Carlotta's ranking was outside the top thirty, while hers was within the top twenty, placing 18th.

'Many people believe Layla hasn't fully unleashed her strength in previous battles. Her ranking still has plenty of room to rise, some even consider her the strongest Card Magic practitioner among the Listeners. But I will prove them all wrong.'

Melissa thought to herself.

The events of today had deeply impacted her. Although she'd defeated Host and proved she wasn't a fraud, she could still sense a few strange gazes directed at her.

She needed further proof. She needed to vindicate herself.

Although the gathering hall was spacious, it couldn't support multiple battles simultaneously.

Thus, Carlotta and Melissa had to wait a while, only entering the arena after the others' battles concluded.

As the two stepped in, many eyes turned toward them, more attention than any previous duel had drawn.

"It's actually them!"

Someone whined, eyes filled with curiosity.

Melissa had just stirred up a major topic before the gathering began, so naturally she drew much interest.

Carlotta, as one of the recently emerged famous sisters, also attracted significant attention.

Most importantly, both were Card Magic practitioners. A clash between them would undoubtedly be interesting.

In the arena, Melissa took a deep breath and activated her battle card art. Rings of blue light instantly emerge around her, displaying numerous cards.

Carlotta also activated her battle card art, blue rings circling her body. However, the number of cards she possessed was extremely small, less than half of Melissa's.

Yet no one dared underestimate her.

Outside the arena, Sienna murmured, "Layla possesses a High-rank card, unfortunately I don't know what that card is. It's impossible to force her to use it."

This wasn't a secret. When Carlotta fought Sienna, numerous spectators had witnessed Carlotta's High-rank card.

Now, many in the audience couldn't help but show interested expressions, growing increasingly excited for this battle.

Melissa quickly drew a card, infused it with magic power, and the card instantly radiated golden light, soaring upward and transforming into a golden scroll.

This made Carlotta's expression shift slightly, for what the opponent had just used was clearly the Judgment Card.

She also possessed a Judgment Card, and it was even a High-rank one. However, the opponent's Judgment Card appears to be merely an ordinary card.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"

In midair, golden lights danced wildly. Numerous golden slashes rapidly advanced, weaving together a dazzling display.

At the same time, Melissa continued drawing card after card, common cards, mid-rank cards, fusing them together, mutually amplifying their power.

Clearly, Melissa was extremely proficient in Card Magic usage. With just this opening move, she had already demonstrated techniques far beyond what other Card Magic practitioners could hope to match.

Carlotta, likewise, calmly launched her attack.

Tornado Cards, she drew five at once and activated them simultaneously, instantly creating five tornadoes in the arena that howled forward.

This stunned the onlookers, for Carlotta's Tornado Cards were all mid-rank cards.

Even Melissa felt momentarily dazed. Mid-rank cards weren't so easily obtained. With sufficient materials, why hadn't the opponent made more varied cards, instead focusing solely on producing Tornado Cards?

The gathering hall was extremely spacious and reinforced with alchemical methods, so even with five tornadoes appearing, the venue itself wouldn't suffer major damage.

"Boom!"

The five tornadoes swept through violently and straightforwardly, immediately dismantling all of Melissa's attacks. No matter how skillfully Melissa wielded her cards, against such brute force, they inevitably seemed fragile.

Facing the surging tornadoes, Melissa could only continue using other cards in an attempt to block the assault.

But Carlotta didn't idle. After the five tornadoes, she drew several more cards.

Wind Cannon Cards, Wind Blade Cards, and various Wind-element cards, all were sequentially unleashed.

In an instant, howled throughout the hall, ceaselessly blowing.

In almost a single exchange, Carlotta completely suppressed Melissa, demonstrating overwhelming control.

"Her ranking is too low."

Someone in the crowd immediately said.

Someone ranked outside the top thirty was dominating a person ranked eighteenth, her ranking was clearly too low.

As for Melissa's ranking, no one thought it was too high, since she'd already proven herself and deserved that position.

In a corner of the crowd, Ronan Jefferson, ranked second, intentionally observed Carlotta's performance, calculating something in his mind.

"What ranking would you give her?"

Sandra asked with a smile.

She knew Ronan was from the Bass Conference. The reason he had come to this gathering today was to closely observe the abilities of various celebrities, to make the ranking list more accurate.

Ronan didn't acknowledge his identity, shaking his head. "I have no say in how rankings are determined."

Even as he said this, his eyes remained fixed on Carlotta.

"By the way, she has a High-rank card, right?"

Ronan asked.

"I'm not sure, but that's what the rumors say."

Sandra replied.

Hearing this, Ronan frowned. A High-rank card had enormous influence on a Card Magic practitioner. The only question was whether the opponent's High-rank card was for combat or daily use.

If it was for daily use, it wasn't worth much concern. But if it was combat-oriented, that would be significant.

And normally, when a Card Magic practitioner has enough materials to make a High-rank card, they'd naturally prioritize combat cards first. Who in their right mind would choose to make daily-use cards first?

"We need to force her to use that High-rank card. But who could do it? Melissa seems unable."

Ronan asserted to himself, then couldn't help glancing at Sandra.

Sandra gave Ronan a sidelong glance. "Still saying you're not from the Bass Conference? You want me to step in and force Layla to use her High-rank card, testing her true strength? Let me make this clear, I don't want to fight. I have no reason to work for you for free. If someone's going to act, you do it yourself."