The Card Apprentice

Chen Mu did not stumble into any trouble as he was entering the city.

Qianhu was now flooded with foreign card artisans. Be it Moon Frost Island, or local influences like the House of Luo, none of them were able to carry out inspections on the foreign card artisans. Chen Mu predicted that approximately half of the elite card artisans from the Heavenly Drum Village District had gathered in this ancient city. It felt particularly odd as any card artisan one passes by could very well be a Grade Seven card artisan.

The only person unfazed by the situation was Wei-ah.

Chen Mu had noticed that Qiu Shanyu was somewhat agitated, but she tried to suppress her emotions. From what Qiu Shanyu had said last time, he knew that Qiu Shanyu and the Demonic Woman might have had a special kind of relationship. That being said, he was still unsure of the nature of their relationship. Qiu Shanyu had applied camouflage potion on her face so on the surface, she looked like an ordinary woman.

Perhaps it was due to the countless changes that he had experienced, Chen Mu felt at peace, or in other words, calm. He was even interested to explore the buildings whose architecture bore the charms of the land.

The streets were filled with people. It felt as if there was a grand festival being held here. Cultural performances showcasing the tradition of the land could be seen everywhere. Foreign card artisans huddled in groups and watched the performances with great interest. Everyone was aware of the tensions in Qianhu, thus, no one dared to act wilfully or arrogantly.

“You mean she can perceive my presence?” asked Chen Mu softly as he scanned his surroundings.

Qiu Shanyu replied coldly, “That is, if that person was being honest with me.” Her gaze was ice-cold, but she looked rather conflicted.

“That person…” Chen Mu realized the subtlety in Qiu Shanyu’s reply, but he did not point that out. Instead, he quipped, “Does that mean that we will have to loiter around Qianhu instead?”

Qiu Shanyu contemplated and shook her head. “That is not a good idea. Qianhu is way too large, we need to let her know our location more clearly.”

“Then, what other better options do you have in mind?”

“I think the Qianhu Elite Competition is about to start. Let’s see if we can still register. I believe she will not miss out on such a significant event.” Qiu Shanyu came up with a rather brilliant idea.

Chen Mu muttered to himself and agreed that it was a good idea. Since they did not have enough power to find the Demonic Woman, it might be better to put themselves in the spotlight.

He did not have any camouflage on his face currently. His appearance was that of his original self, but he believed that no one would be able to recognize that he was the White Commander. The Demonic Woman, however, would certainly recognize him, and that was all they needed.

When the trio arrived at the registration venue of the Qianhu Elite Competition, they were notified that the registration deadline had passed. Even the initial screening round had ended. The competition would formally begin tomorrow.

However, the staff pointed out a possible solution for them. Every participant who passed the initial round would have a certificate as proof that they were eligible to join the competition. Moreover, one of the rules of the competition was that anyone could obtain the certificate by challenging the certificate holder. This was to encourage more capable participants to be able to take part in the competition. Of course, to prevent people from using this rule to harass the participants, the participants were given permission to kill their challengers in their attacks without any liability.

It was said that there were already 15 participants who had their certificates snatched away in the past few days, but at least 50 card artisans were killed.

An underlying force was moving within the walls of Qianhu.

Qiu Shanyu, on the other hand, spent ten thousand Oudi to obtain a detailed name list from the staff. The list had names of card artisans who hold the certificates and the location of their lodgings. It was obvious that this was not the first time the staff had made money from such an exchange.

“It seems like we would have to challenge someone then,” said Chen Mu. He did not want to waste time. He knew about Moon Frost Island’s real intentions in organizing this competition from Tai-shu Yong a long time ago. However, it had nothing to do with him. He believed that even if he was standing right before Tai-Shu Yong right now, the cunning fox would not be able to recognize him. But, he was curious about Moon Frost Island instead. This rule which was set by Moon Frost Island would undoubtedly subject Qianhu to various underlying danger and turmoil. At this point in time, they should prioritize the stability and safety of Qianhu instead.

Qiu Shanyu scanned the name list carefully and pointed at a name.

“Let’s challenge him. Gong Liang, a Grade Seven card artisan with average ability. He specializes in cards called ‘wings.’ His powers of evasions are his forte. He is agile and flexible. However, this does not mean that his powers are top-notch.” Qiu Shanyu had a certain level of understanding about Gong Liang.

Chen Mu asked, “Why don’t other card artisans challenge him?”

Qiu Shanyu replied, “He has some strong supporters in the background. You know the insiders of this elite competition. Normal card artisans come here for the sake of achieving fame. No one would be silly enough to challenge a card artisan with strong supporters.”

“So we are challenging him? Would it not bring trouble on ourselves?” Chen Mu furrowed his brows.

Qiu Shanyu said nonchalantly, “Ordinary card artisans will obviously be afraid of his supporters. But they are just the Xiong Family, there is no need for us to worry.”

“The Xiong Family?”

“An ancient family lineage in the Heavenly Drum Village District.” Qiu Shanyu spoke aloofly. “They are a group of overconfident people who are full of themselves, they had always thought they should be the ruler of this whole world.”

“And?”

“Haha, they are dwindling in numbers by a great degree and their territories have been increasingly suppressed. However, they are stubbornly continuing their so-called glory from the bygone days, hiding behind fortress walls as they bask in their daydreams.” Qiu Shanyu added a harsh remark, “In comparison to the old man,Tai-shu Yong, they are truly foolish, just like their family name.”

She glanced at Chen Mu. “Don’t worry, it is impossible for them to bring a large group of people here. This place is not within their territory. Moreover, they are enemies with Moon Frost Island. Moon Frost Island is the true ruler of this city. Attacking him would not bring us much trouble. To let her find you, the best way is to let the crowds publicize our presence.” Her speeches revealed her confidence. The cautiousness which shrouded her these few days disappeared. This was the area that she was most familiar with.

Chen Mu did not object. Even though he was suspicious of Qiu Shanyu’s idea to use him to scare the Xiong Family, he was not too bothered by it. To him, this was just a battle. By now, he had gained tons of battling experience and could look at battles indifferently. He was already strategizing on which cards he would use as different cards meant different modes of battle.

Cards used in the past were obviously out of the question. Fortunately, he still had a number of cards at hand. In particular, he still owned a Six Star Card The Eternal Night.

He had only briefly tested out the card but had never used it in a battle before. According to Qiu Shanyu, since the production of The Eternal Night, it had never been used in a battle before, thus, no one would be able to identify it. Besides, The Eternal Night was a rare imaginary card, spectators would have a hard time recognizing it.

A Six Star Card. Chen Mu was beginning to get excited. He was not passionate about battling, but this was the first time he would be using a Six Star Card.

The name list had the location of Gong Liang’s lodging. This was very convenient for them. Victoria Hotel was one of the high-end hotels in Qianhu. All 300 floors were fully booked with guests. The hotel was bustling with people.

“Looks pretty good,” Chen Mu commented as he lifted his head up. He squinted his eyes as he examined the tall building. At least in comparison to the hotel in the Eastern Shang-Wei City, this hotel was way grander. He had never stayed in a hotel; he was more comfortable camping in the wild.

He quickly noticed a problem. “Which room is he staying in?”

“It is not written here.” Qiu Shanyu was annoyed. “To think that they would actually sell this trashy information for ten thousand Oudi!”

“What do we do?” Chen Mu turned around.

“Don’t ask me. This is not my area of expertise,” Qiu Shanyu answered grouchily.

After a slight contemplation, Chen Mu inserted a card into his meter; his feet brushed on the ground as he flew into the sky. He kept going upwards and stopped at about the 150th floor of the hotel. The hotel staff noticed this person who did not seem as if he came with friendly intentions.

Stopping mid-air, Chen Mu took a deep breath.

Inside Victoria Hotel, Room 113-076.

Xiong Shen smiled. “It seems like everything is going smoothly. We shall await Mr. Gong’s exceptional performance tomorrow.”

In front of him sat a thin man. He was the guest of the Xiong Family, Gong Liang. Gong Liang gave an arrogant smile. “The Xiong Family is famed for its fighting prowess. Not even a single person came to challenge me these few days, what a pity.” He had barely finished his sentence when a booming voice was heard from the loudspeakers.

“Gong Liang! Hand over your certificate!” The sounds from the loudspeaker were like waves, spreading far and wide.

Gong Liang’s face turned bright red, his eyes filled with fury. Xiong Shen’s face darkened instantly as well; he was exceptionally angry. He could not believe that there were people out there who did not fear the reputation of the Xiong Family! As the challenge was struck up in front of so many spectators, their names would be scorned if they did not accept the battle.

In the room next door, Copper, who was sitting on the bed, laughed lightly. “Haha, someone actually came to challenge him, interesting.” However, he suddenly knitted his brows. “Darling, don’t you think this voice sounds kind of familiar?”

Lan Feng’s interest was long piqued. She walked quickly to the window and started giggling. “Familiar? Is it? Hey, lazybones, get up quickly! You will know once you see him.”

With some doubts in his mind, Copper got out of bed. He thought the voice sounded terribly familiar. He somewhat quickened his pace toward the window and looked at the card artisan who was floating in mid-air.

“Woody!” Staring at the familiar face, Copper felt as if a shock bomb was set off in his head, he was stunned. After two seconds, he regained consciousness. The blood in his whole body rushed to his head, he was excited beyond reason and opened the window in a hurry!

“Woody!” He cupped his mouth and shouted with all his strength towards the direction of Chen Mu.

Lan Feng was shocked. Woody, that person is Woody? She did not know Chen Mu long enough, but Chen Mu gave her a lasting impression. The main reason she and Copper left Eastern Shang-Wei City was that Copper could not accept how the low-grade fantasy card club did not give Chen Mu enough protection.

In mid-air, it was as if Chen Mu was struck by lightning!

At that moment, Xiong Shen’s menacing voice rang out, “The Xiong Family has treated Mr. Copper very well, but Mr. Copper, you have allied with outsiders to the harm of the Xiong Family! Your intentions are suspicious! Hmph, catch him!”