The Card Apprentice

It was chaos in the building, with groups of card artisans fighting everywhere. It wasn’t a small number of card artisans participating in that evening’s attacks. If there weren’t 10,000, there were at least 800 who had died by Caesar’s hands that year, and innumerable people felt enmity toward him. If the White Commander were completely whole, many wouldn’t have dared to be so blatantly open about it. But the White Commander had been seriously injured, which had created a rare opportunity in the eyes of many! Some were coming for revenge, some were taking advantage of the mess, and some had plans…

The card artisans in the building were constantly being attacked from unknown sources. Still, it was fortunate that Tai-shu Yong had sent his elite forces. Although the situation wasn’t good, they could at least hold them off.

In the chaotic battle scene, no one was paying attention to the figure of a tall and large stalwart who took advantage of the melee to quietly enter the building! With his curly hair and sinister gaze, he was none other than Si Dongkou, who had been sent to Dongrui only a short time before. As far as the others were concerned, Caesar was mostly a legend. For anyone who came from the Federation Comprehensive Academy, however, Caesar represented something far beyond that.

After finding out the White Commander was Caesar’s student, he had reported it to Tang Hanpei in the first instant. That had also been the first time he had reported to Tang Hanpei since entering the Heavenly Drum Village District. He had been reviewing what the great Tang Hanpei had said when he reported that news for the past few days.

“Oh, Caesar’s student?” On the screen, Tang Hanpei closed his eyes, and his expression turned serious. “Caesar took a student? Where did you get this news?”

“I just got it. During the birthday banquet for the daughter of the chief of the Dongrui Guards Division, Rong Ming, a card artisan from Faya suddenly showed up. She brought a six-star card, the Eternal Night, as a reward for the woman who had gone missing during that period. At the same time, she suspected that the White Commander wearing the mask could be Qiao Yuan and demanded that he take off his mask. Afterward, it was Miss Tan Yumin who revealed the identity of the White Commander, calling him Caesar’s student!”

Tang Hanpei suddenly sat up straight. “Tan Yumin said that?”

Not quite understanding why Tang Hanpei would be at such a loss, he still respectfully nodded. “Indeed. Miss Tan Yumin said it herself.”

Tang Hanpei looked thoughtful and serious. He then raised his head after a while to ask, “And, then?”

“The card artisan from Faya shrank back a little when the White Commander proposed a pact for ten moves. Within ten moves, the White Commander killed her. In addition, she was using the Floating Wings of Blue Ice, and the White Commander was using what should have been an ordinary four-star card. But the White Commander was also heavily wounded.”

Tang Hanpei nodded. “Under State Zero, Caesar could freely use any card, so that isn’t so strange.”

“State Zero?” It was the first time Si Dongkou had heard that term, and he asked without thinking, “Wasn’t Caesar good at the Materials Refinement Code, Master?”

“State Zero was born from the Materials Refinement Code, and Caesar certainly had brilliant talent. Not only was he able to find out how to drill the Materials Refinement Code, but he was also able to create such a magical battle skill as State Zero. He is a top-notch figure in the history of the federation!” Tang Hanpei didn’t hide his admiration in the least.

Si Dongkou opened his mouth to speak. “But Caesar…”

Tang Hanpei waved his hand to cut him off. “Although he is our enemy, he is truly worthy of our respect.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Put down what you are doing, and put all of your energy into this matter! Have Yi Rou and Fang Han come immediately to your assistance. In addition, you may allocate all of the powers in the Heavenly Drum Village District,” Tang Hanpei said in a low voice.

“Yes, sir!” Si Dongkou responded in awe.

Tang Hanpei was speaking slowly. “Caesar is the mortal enemy of the Federation Comprehensive Academy, and I don’t need to say any more about that. But, apart from that, you should pay attention to the White Commander; he might have something on him.”

Si Dongkou was jolted to hear that. Something? Could it be how to drill the Materials Refinement Code? Or, could it be something about that State Zero?

Taking a look at Si Dongkou, Tang Hanpei seemed to detect something and shook his head. “I’m not talking about the Materials Refinement Code. We have countless legacies at the Federation Comprehensive Academy. While the Materials Refinement Code is certainly amazing, there are several legacies on the same level. What I’m talking about is a notebook.”

“Notebook?” Si Dongkou was taken aback.

“It could also be a card. On it are recorded all sorts of card appliances. Tan Yumin has some of it, and Caesar could possibly also have some. Caesar’s violent nature meant he couldn’t have many successors. This White Commander is probably his only successor. If that’s the case, part of the thing is quite possibly in the hands of the White Commander. We need to find a way to get it!” There was a cold flash in Tang Hanpei’s eyes, which were as deep as the Milky Way.

Si Dongkou hesitated before saying, “Since Tan Yumin has part of it, we…”

Tang Hanpei shook his head. “Don’t touch Tan Yumin. The powers behind her aren’t as simple as you might imagine. It’s not only Mei Ji. Moreover, Faya stole a volume from her hands that year, and what she has is incomplete by now.”

“Faya stole it from her hands…” Si Dongkou’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Tang Hanpei’s gaze deepened. “Right. The battle shuttle car is what they learned from that volume of the notebook.”

Si Dongkou remembered. He was unable to move, as though he had been struck by lightning. He still couldn’t quite believe it. Still, he didn’t ask for more detail. He couldn’t ask the great Tang Hanpei how he had found out about it. He had complete confidence in what Tang Hanpei had to say. It wasn’t only him; in the current Federation Comprehensive Academy, no one would question a decision from Tang Hanpei.

He had originally planned to await the arrival of Yi Rou and Fang Han. Fang Han was the best at planning among the three of them, but he hadn’t realized there would have been such a turn of events at the banquet. After thinking about it, he decided to take advantage of the mess. Of course, he couldn’t let such a one-in-a-thousand opportunity go by. He had plenty of confidence in his own abilities, and the only one he was afraid of in that building was the White Commander. But the White Commander was then seriously injured, and it was a golden opportunity with so many people attacking.

The incident had been so sudden that he hadn’t had time to buy nighttime gear, leaving him no choice but to sneak in. Huge explosions shook the building from time to time, making people constantly afraid it would come crashing down. Such fierce attacks made Si Dongkou feel abruptly worried that if someone were faster than he was, things would get bad.

The energy system in the building had long since become paralyzed, and it was pitch-black everywhere. All sorts and colors of energy bodies could be seen occasionally whistling past the windows. Sometimes, energy bodies would shoot through the outer walls, creating some trouble for Si Dongkou.

Carefully avoiding where the fiercest explosions were happening, he was still muttering to himself that he didn’t know which card artisan would be using such violent firepower. It was absolutely up to military standards for heavy fire! Having been mixed up with the military for so long, he was clear about how scary that heavy artillery was. He really didn’t want to deal with that sort of card artisan.

It was completely empty in the building, with nearly all of the card artisans having been drawn by fire from outside. That was extremely convenient for Si Dongkou. He only had to pass through that corridor, and he would be at the White Commander’s training room! He had earlier heard where that training room was. It was strangely smooth moving along that way, which filled him with secret pleasure.

“Who goes there?”

Si Dongkou was suddenly startled by a light call. A small figure calmly stood at the other end of the long corridor like a stone. By virtue of the occasional glare from one of the energy bodies flashing by, he could vaguely make out the enemy in front of him. It was a child!

The child was not quite as tall as Si Dongkou’s chest and was wearing a monkey mask—a cute, cartoonish monkey! The child was standing his ground calmly. If it hadn’t been for the energy bodies flitting by, he doubted he could have even discovered his adversary.

A child? According to the intelligence he had gotten about the White Commander, there were always five people by his side. One was called the Hit Man, one was called the Black Ghost, and one was called the Little Monkey. Those three were the ones who’d shown up earliest at the side of the White Commander. Two others had followed. The Sunflower was a woman, and the Chrysanthemum was a man, the two having appeared at about the same time.

According to the current intelligence, among those five, the most capable was likely the Hit Man since he was responsible for training the card artisans. The other four were reclusive and seldom seen.

The Little Monkey was obviously a child, and Si Dongkou determined that he probably wasn’t even 15. He had a skinny, weak figure and gave off no feeling of strength. He reckoned it was because of his age that he still hadn’t developed all of his hair. Could he really be thinking of stopping me? Si Dongkou sneered. A 14- or 15-year-old was in front of him. Given his skinny figure, he was such a weakling that Si Dongkou felt he would collapse with a pop with just a flick of his hand. It was really too cruel!

He unconsciously licked his lips, and his expression turned hideous. The two of them were about 15 meters apart in the long corridor.

Then, Si Dongkou suddenly felt like something was a little off.

Little Bu Mo was calmly watching him. Unlike Si Dongkou, who had to use the glow from the passing energy bodies to be able to see clearly, he could see everything in front of him effortlessly. Even in the aspect of eyesight, card artisans couldn’t compare with the cardless sects.

He also saw the evil grin on Si Dongkou’s face clearly, but the strange thing was that he wasn’t the least bit afraid. His gaze was serious. That bastard in front of him was intending to attack Blockhead! No one had told him that, but that didn’t prevent him from making such a determination!

Every time Blockhead and Wei-ah would go out for some activity, he would have to stay behind in the training room since he was told he didn’t have enough strength. So, he would desperately train. Wei-ah had developed each of the trainings, and he would complete them all. He would actually complete extras, never slacking off in the least. He was never afraid of being wounded when he was sparring with Wei-ah.

It had all been for something just like that day, when he could help Blockhead and Wei-ah instead of looking on from the sidelines. He didn’t like to talk, but he couldn’t take being unable to help. He wanted to prove to Blockhead and Wei-ah that he could be useful! In his mind, Blockhead and Wei-ah were both truly good people. Wei-ah would teach him to fight, and Blockhead would discuss a lot of things with him that he had never heard.

He suddenly clenched his small fists and relaxed his upper body, taking a light swing back with his left foot. With his body tilted slightly forward, his whole person was like a slowly stretched-open bow.

Bu Mo raised his little head and tightly pursed his lips, his black eyes burning like two balls of black fire. They were burning with a simple conviction—to defeat him!