The Card Apprentice

The initial speed of the large energy saw-wheel was quite slow but increased in the blink of an eye. The wailing sound changed from its initial thrumming into the sound of a tempest with overwhelming power! Giving off an eye-piercingly white glow, the saw-wheel was like a continuously burning and incredibly powerful small sun falling from the sky.

All the blood drained from the faces of the guards from the Chichi Trading Firm, and they started to shake. By then, Duan Fu’s gaze had gotten back a little of its spirit as he watched that appallingly strong energy saw-wheel coming from the sky in terror. Up until then, his brain still hadn’t reacted. Having been in Zargan for so long, he’d heard a little about Ji Ming’s skills. Ordinarily, Ji Ming would seldom make any moves; there were pitifully few challengers worth his doing anything about. He thought again about the lively atmosphere of the training camp, with everyone brave and the thugs forming groups.

Their offending the Linghai Training Camp shook him. Even thinking on his toes, he knew the following days would be tough.

“What is going on there, anyway?” Duan Fu mumbled dispiritedly.

There was a thunderous noise! It shook everyone in the training camp, and all of the students came pouring out of the training field. The power of the energy fluctuations even alarmed some of the card artisans in Zargan, who flew into the air and toward the Linghai Training Camp.

Quite a few people saw something they wouldn’t forget for their whole lives.

The huge energy saw-wheel had the power to destroy everything, and the air was cut apart into pieces where it passed by. The shredded air made the glowing lines twisted and distorted.

Everyone was stupefied as the energy saw-wheel smashed hard into the energy cloak that looked like a thin piece of golden glass!

Hong!

A powerful, circular blast of air spread in every direction with Chen Mu and his group at its center. Dust flew everywhere, enshrouding them.

Poor guy! Many of them kept shaking their heads. No one could survive such a violent blow! Having seen the best part, most of them were planning to leave.

“I’ve lost!” Ji Ming spoke slowly and with no expression on his face.

The surrounding onlookers were stunned and looked at Ji Ming in midair, puzzled.

“The one named Ji is slacking off!” There was a youth in the distance with a furious expression who showed no respect at all in what he said to Ji Ming.

The middle-aged man beside the youth shook his head. “Ji Ming is spent. The Meteor Chopper is his strongest attack, and he must have used up all his power.”

Just as he finished talking, the raging jet stream finally calmed, and the dust dispersed.

A transparent, glass-like piece of golden energy cloak remained calmly floating above Chen Mu and his group’s heads. The energy saw-wheel had already disappeared without a trace.

The shock on the onlookers’ faces quickly turned dull, and it took several whole seconds before they reacted with a sudden cry of awe! Some of them were staring at Chen Mu under the golden glass block. His ugly face had become inscrutable in the eyes of the crowd.

The expressions on the faces of the students from the Linghai Training Camp changed dramatically, now showing looks of disbelief. They couldn’t believe anyone in Zargan could resist that play of Director Ji Ming’s.

The Meteor Chopper! It was none other than the Meteor Chopper! Ji Ming had used up all of the power of his perception on that one blow, only to have it blocked!

The middle-aged man’s gaze was ferocious as he charged the youth beside him in a low voice. “This man is powerful. Remember what I’m about to say.”

The youth was biting his lips and nodding hard. “Mmmm.”

“Hurry home, now. Take away everything in the safe there. The password is your birthday. Then, leave Zargan, and don’t try to avenge me. I don’t think this man has a simple background. I have more enemies than I can remember. Ai, you are in the prime of your youth, just like I once was. I’m afraid you’ll have plenty of enemies when the time comes. I also know you won’t listen to what I have to say, but I still have to say it. Don’t get into trouble out there. Once you feud with someone, don’t linger. You look like a rough bully, kid, but you have a good heart. I worry that you’ll suffer.”

The middle-aged man lightly rubbed the youth’s head with a somewhat helpless expression, and his malicious gaze also softened.

On the brink of tears, the youth’s nose turned sour, and his eyes turned blurry. His ordinarily taciturn father had turned into a chattering old man, and he couldn’t help but cry out.

The middle-aged man said nothing else, just patting the youth on the shoulder. His gaze returned to being malicious and cold as he arranged his clothes and flew straight into the air.

The students looking on then grew excited. Yuan Linghai’s position in the training camp was paramount; he was the goal everyone pursued. The card artisans who had gathered there from all directions also became immediately excited. Ever since Yuan Linghai had left his position as general manager of the Southern Star Firm, he had seldom undertaken any actions. To be able to see him make a move was a rare opportunity.

They were all opening their communications cards and spreading the word.

* * *

A party of people showed up outside of Zargan. There were older and younger men and women among them—seven altogether. The party of card artisans attracted a lot of attention, with four among them actually being female card artisans. Moreover, the faces of those four were elegant and refined. What was more surprising was that the seven were flying like lightning; any card artisan could tell how powerful they were! Their demeanor was natural and with no hint of anything to hide. Not only did they have outstanding power, but they certainly didn’t have simple backgrounds.

Awesome female card artisans without simple backgrounds—when those two points were combined, people couldn’t help but think of just one place.

Moon Frost Island!

That was undoubtedly the most likely place to accord with those two points. Thus, even though there were a lot of pretty women among the group of card artisans, no one was about to molest them. If they were truly unfortunate enough not to have guessed right, even dying would be hard! The reputation of Moon Frost Island in the Heavenly Drum Village District was daunting.

The female card artisans were having a great time chatting along the way, there never being a shortage of things to chat about among women. The three male card artisans could only helplessly look at one another. But they couldn’t keep their mouths closed about their own topic, so the men got together in low conversation.

A handsome card artisan of about 20 spoke with a grin. “What exactly are we doing coming to Zargan this time, senior classmate? Look; all of Zargan is slowly showing up around here. It would be a good thing to mentally prepare ourselves.”

What he said immediately focused everyone’s attention. The women stopped their chatting and pulled in their lively discussion. “Yes, yes! Why don’t you reveal your plan, senior classmate? Then, we can be a little more mentally prepared.”

The lead card artisan was about 35 or 36 and had a calm demeanor. He nodded after a moment of pondering. “Ok. I’ll explain. We came to Zargan on assignment from Master Jia.”

“Master Jia? Which Master Jia?” Someone almost unconsciously took over the conversation.

“Ah!” One of the women suddenly screamed and covered her mouth, saying in disbelief, “Master Jia? Do you mean Master Jia Yingxia? Good lord! What an honor!”

Once that came out, the others were struck dumb. A few seconds passed before they all cheered!

The classmates were so excited they didn’t know north from south, and the lead card artisan couldn’t help but smile. By the time they finally started to calm down, he said, “Right. None other than Master Jia Yingxia. It will be our great honor, and I’m hoping we will all work together in completing the mission.”

“No problem!”

“Of course!”

“Ha! If anyone does a bad job, this old lady sure won’t let them off!”

The group was all shouting at once.

The lead card artisan then said with a smile, “The mission wasn’t originally meant for us. But the academy has recently been planning something big, which has made manpower very tight, so it fell to us. I’ll give you an outline of the situation.”

Saying that, his expression became abruptly serious. The rest of them likewise became serious and listened attentively.

“Does everyone remember the previous director of the library, Master Xu Bailun? He is Master Jia Yingxia’s younger classmate. He has a daughter…”

Everyone suddenly looked up and set their gazes in the same direction. There was an energy fluctuation. A powerful energy fluctuation!

“When the time comes, I’ll give you more details about the situation. Let’s see what’s going on first.” The lead card artisan spoke in a low voice, and he was the first to fly in the direction of the energy fluctuation. Seeing that, the rest of the card artisans followed.

* * *

When Ji Ming saw the middle-aged man, he breathed a sigh of relief and slightly bowed. “Ji Ming is incompetent, Headmaster!”

Yuan Linghai waved his hand and said unconcernedly, “It isn’t your fault. Take a rest.”

“Yes, sir!” A stone fell from Ji Ming’s heart as he bowed and departed.

Yuan Linghai was sizing up Chen Mu just as Chen Mu was sizing him up.

Yuan Linghai was nearly two meters tall and had a burly, powerful build. He looked to be just a bit more insolent than Happy Padding. He wore a tight black coat, making his bald head unusually striking in the air. He had powerful rigid lines on his face and deep-set eyes. His gloomy gaze had quite a bit of ferocity.

Chen Mu wagged his head to signal Ah Sang, who understood and immediately led the other guards away from Chen Mu’s side. Those guards looked ready to face a big enemy, surrounded as they were by students from the Linghai Training Camp. If they were the least bit careless, they could be ripped to shreds. Unexpectedly, however, those students weren’t paying any attention to them, all of their gazes drawn by Yuan Linghai and Chen Mu.

Seeing Ah Sang and the rest leave, Chen Mu breathed a sigh of relief. With a slight flick of his fingers, the sheen of the glass-like energy blocks quickly dimmed, changing back into an energy chain swinging around his body.

“The Golden Word Shackle?” Yuan Linghai stared at the energy chain with a soaring gaze.