The Card Apprentice

Chen Mu’s mind was full of agitation. It was his first battle card, and up until then, his first three-star card. The whole composition process had gone so unexpectedly smoothly that it had made him wonder whether this wasn’t really the unreal feeling of a dream.

The demands on a card master’s perception to make a three-star card were very steep, and according to the current uniform rating system, the minimum required perceptual rating was four or above.

Had he already exceeded level four? Chen Mu didn’t quite dare to believe it. Four stars was a threshold; no matter if it was a card master or a card artisan, it was the first threshold. To have gotten past level four meant that you were no longer a novice.

Chen Mu himself felt that he hadn’t been held back at all because of problems with perception, throughout the process of composition.

Perceptual issues were then quickly tossed aside by him, while he was entirely entranced to look at the tailless shuttle card in his hand. Precise and complex textures had come from Chen Mu’s delicate smooth pen strokes, like an exquisite brush painting, rigorous and vivid.

It was his most successful work up until then.

After fondling it for ten full minutes, he finally put the tailless shuttle card into his apparatus, where he had earlier placed a three-star power card.

This was certainly not that fiery dragon fantasy card. This was a genuine three-star battle card.

He had mentally gone through the introduction and usage tips for the tailless shuttle card inside that mysterious card, and had fully memorized everything. Chen Mu took a deep breath, and then immediately pushed the activation button.

He had finally gotten to that point!

Without any misgivings, he latched his perception onto the apparatus.

No matter what kind of battle card, once it was put into an active state, its native composition would cause it to emit some energy shape. The power of the energy form was predetermined, but still those card artisans with exceptional strength could transform it, making its composition still more perfect and powerful.

Different card artisans had different interpretations of power, and so the transformations they made were all different, which also then formed the different schools of card artisanship.

Chen Mu raised his right hand, and a light white glow slowly flowed from the apparatus, until it nearly covered his entire palm.

As his heart paused, Chen Mu turned off the lights in the room. The white rays of light were more distinct in the darkened room, looking like a kind of viscous fluid as they slowly flowed in his hand.

He could sense the fluid motion, whose energy was warm and without any destructive power. He didn’t feel any discomfort from this power now enveloping his hand.

After a moment of careful internalization, Chen Mu very carefully nudged the tailless shuttle card in the apparatus.

With a light buzz, the power which had been diffused evenly across his whole palm started to concentrate on his index finger! With so much power now concentrated on his fore-finger, the light rays took on the qualities of a substance. The power that was under the control of the tailless shuttle card started to undergo some changes, becoming gradually transparent while even more substantial, making it look as though Chen Mu’s index finger was wearing a transparent crystalline shuttle tube.

It looked more and more beautiful, which usually meant more lethal, a thought which came unbidden to Chen Mu. The crystalline-looking power tube was spinning at a very high speed, to an extent that his perception had no way to even guess its speed.

It spun faster and faster, which according to the introduction to the tailless shuttle card in that mysterious card meant that it was getting more and more powerful. But at the same time, it would be getting more dangerous. If it spun beyond the limits of what you could control by your perception, then it would blow off the top of your finger.

And then congratulations, there wouldn’t even be any bones left to your entire palm. This was certainly no calm harmless game.

Chen Mu wouldn’t dare to let it go any faster, which would be too dangerous.

He pointed his right index finger to an empty spot on the wall, and that crystalline power tube darted out like an arrow from a bow.

Wuwuwu, the tailless shuttle card whizzing through midair made a strange sort of whistle, with a low vibration underneath.

Pow, it left a finger-sized hole in the wall, which penetrated all the way through! Chen Mu raced over to the hole, and got up close to look, but he had no idea where that tailless shuttle had flown off to. Closely examining the small hole that it had left, he was trembling to discover that the sides of the hole were as smooth as if they had been polished.

Poking in his finger, it fit like a kiss.

Holy cow, if it had hit a person, wouldn’t it shoot right through? Chen Mu had already secretly determined never to use it in a fight until he had gotten to the point of being able to manipulate it to accord perfectly with his mind.

Thinking back on the process just then, Chen Mu realized that his own perception hadn’t played a very big role. That must have been an issue with proficiency level. The process of the power concentrating from his whole palm to his index finger, and then becoming a clear power tube had been too quick, to the point that he couldn’t make any response, not even talking about deploying his perception to modify the composition.

Chen Mu thought to himself that it looked like he would have to practice a lot more. But he was confused about where to practice. It certainly wouldn’t work at home, and it would be too dangerous to go to the outer reaches. Although he had a battle card in his hands, he still wasn’t so bold as to consider himself able to carry on any activities by himself in the outer reaches.

So where could he go to practice? Chen Mu had a sudden flash, and had gotten an idea.

* * *

Zuo Tingyi had just come out from his father’s library. His father was very concerned with the whereabouts of Wang Ze and his group. Although he still wasn’t clear about what their goal was, Zuo Tingyi had already determined that their objective was in the outer reaches.

Given that a powerful dragon can’t crush a snake in its own precincts – and compared to the Star Academy, the Zuo Household could only be considered an unqualified power – they were still the greatest power in Eastern Shang-Wei City. They’d been operating there for hundreds of years, and had a web of connections that was interconnected and complex, which could be said to be very deeply rooted.

Zuo Tianlin immediately assembled a large group of people to pretend to be ordinary card-artisan adventurers, and formed them into small groups to start searching in all the areas of the outer reaches around Eastern Shang-Wei City.

The Zuo household had never thought that the tiger should get all the food, and even while they could never contend against the great Star Academy, they still expected to divide out a bowl of soup.

As Zuo Tingyi was getting ready to return to his own rooms, he ran into Mei Da.

Zuo Tingyi promptly saluted, “Teacher, why have you come?” Mei Da was a high-level card master, and he was also Zuo Tingyi’s private instructor, and highly esteemed by him.