The Card Apprentice

There was dead silence in the venue. Everyone held their breaths in anticipation. The reporters were close to hyperventilating from excitement. They knew this would be a big scoop. Indeed, it was already sensational news. The elite competition had just started, but already something surprising had happened, and Jia Yingxia had personally come forward.

Things were not as simple as they seemed. The experts quickly realized that this was an unusual situation. If Chen Mu were merely a troublemaker, Jia Yingxia would not have to personally come forward. All these years, Jia Yingxia had never come forward but had always remained hidden backstage, and left the front stage work to her protege Baiyue.

This time, however, she personally came forward, bringing Baiyue with her!

Cang Lan, who ranked second in the Black Line Star Listing, came out with them. The three of them together was truly an imposing and intimidating force.

The remaining four were unknown to the public. Chen Mu and Qing Qing were contestants, but there was also an ugly and sinister-looking lady, and an expressionless man, who were both unfamiliar to the public.

The serious and silent atmosphere was stifling as if set for a showdown. The crowd tensed in anticipation.

The seven of them remained at a stalemate. After three minutes, there was still no sign of change. Jia Yingxia was furious, but her expression remained placid as she asked, “Did Moon Frost Island treat you poorly? May I ask the reason for your dissatisfaction?”

Qing Qing’s unusual behavior had put her on guard, making her decide to personally come forward.

Nobody took notice of her, but the tense atmosphere relaxed slightly after her words.

Chen Mu stared at the Demonic Woman and enunciated carefully, “I’ve been looking for you for a very long time.”

The Demonic Woman spoke more fluently than before, but her voice still sounded piercing to the ears. Looking at Chen Mu, she commented, “You’ve become more powerful.”

She stared at Mu Chen, and suddenly remarked coldly, “How did you know how to use the Green Mark?”

As expected, the Green Mark was significant to the Demonic Woman.

The usage method of the Green Mark? Chen Mu was caught off guard, but later barely managed to suppress his glee upon realizing that the gold-mottled liquid-soft fungus was indeed the right way to absorb the Green Mark.

As if she could read Chen Mu’s mind, the Demonic Lady smirked, “The gold-mottled liquid-soft fungus could indeed absorb the Green Mark, but unfortunately, you are missing an ingredient.”

“What is that?” Chen Mu burst out.

The demonic woman refused to answer.

Not having heard of the Green Mark before, Jia Yingxia, Cang Lan and Baiyue were puzzled. On the other hand, Qing Qing’s placid expression turned into one of shock.

The Green Mark! She knew what that was! The Green Mark was planted into Chen Mu’s body? Her expression changed slightly.

While the rest did not know what the Green Mark was, they realized from Qing Qing’s expression that it was something extraordinary. After all, they had all heard of the famous gold-mottled liquid-soft fungus

Cang Lan suddenly asked, “Are you from the House of a Hundred Depths?”

The Demonic Woman threw him a cold glance, then ignored him completely.

Undeterred, he turned to Qing Qing with a smile, and asked, “Miss Qing Qing, may I ask your reason for coming here?”

Cang Lan’s gentle smile seemed cruel and cold to Qing Qing. She suppressed her fury, and said neutrally, “There is nothing odd about me being here. After all, Mr. Chen Mu and I are old friends.”

“Old friends?” Chen Mu’s heart skipped a beat. This confirmed his suspicions that the Star Academy had investigated him on the sly.

Cang Lan was clearly dissatisfied with this answer, but decided not to pursue the matter further, and subsided with a smile.

Jia Yingxia looked coldly at Qing Qing, and said, the underlying warning clear, “Moon Frost Island has always had a good relationship with the Star Academy, and I would not wish to damage our relations over this matter. I would not be able to account for my old friends if the only student to graduate from the Star Academy in 50 years was injured in some way here. I would strongly suggest Miss Qing Qing leave.”

The rapt audience suddenly broke out into murmurs. They had not known that this placid girl was the legendary person who was the only one to graduate from the Star Academy in a mere 50 years.

Mobley was struck dumb. He had guessed at Qing Qing’s position, but he never expected it to be so high. He looked at the light green figure, scared out of his wits.

The reporters were in an uproar.

Qing Qing’s position at the Star Academy was akin to Baiyue’s in Moon Frost Island. They were both dignified representatives of their respective organizations. The Star Academy’s star student attending a competition organized by Moon Frost Island was a public slight to the Moon Frost Island. The students of Moon Frost Island all bristled with anger.

Some reporters had already thought of their headline: The Star Academy and Moon Frost Island’s Irreparable Split!

Jia Yingxia’s underlying warning went unheeded. Qing Qing shook her head, “Thank you for your concern, but I cannot just leave Mr. Chen here.”

Cang Lan’s androgynous voice interrupted, “Oh? I’m surprised the Star Academy is interested in Mr. Chen.” While speaking, his sinister gaze was fixed on Qing Qing’s eyes.

He merely hazarded a guess, but somehow managed to hit the nail on the head. While Qing Qing tried valiantly to remain calm, Cang Lan and Jia Yingxia noticed her shift in expression.

Chen Mu’s gaze never left the Demonic Woman, ignoring all that happened around him.

Taking a deep breath, Chen Mu tried to clear his head so that he can think things through. The Green Mark’s importance to the Demonic Woman was evident, yet she did not seem alarmed or angry. He got to the point, “What do you need?”

The Demonic Woman looked approving, but her voice remained cold, with a tinge of pity, “You have grown a lot these two years. But you are still not qualified enough.”

“What qualifications?”

“I need power to help me complete a task,” she said evenly. “Extreme power!”

“Oh?” Cang Lan suddenly turned his head, and said gleefully, “Why don’t you cooperate with me then? While the North Facing District is not as strong as the Moon Frost Island, we still have a lot of resources.”

He had grasped the situation well. Jia Yingxia did not have enough resources to spare for anything but an alliance, so he did not have to worry about offending the Moon Frost Island.

The demonic woman spared him a glance, and with a terrifying ripple of her facial muscles, pointed at Wei-ah, “He will kill you.”

From the beginning, Wei-ah had stood unmoving like a person made of stone.

Cang Lan narrowed his eyes. Flint in his gaze, he said slowly, “Oh, I didn’t think there was someone present who could kill me.” His tone was extremely arrogant, but the people listening found his words matter of fact.

The surrounding debate grew.

“What a preposterous idea! Who does he think he is to be able to kill Cang Lan?”

“Hahaha. This is exciting. Lord Cang Lan is angry!”

“Isn’t he embarrassed to be boasting at his age?”

…

Chen Mu still stared silently at the demonic woman.

The Demonic Woman’s icy gaze turned steely, and her sharp voice became harsh as she bemoaned, “You should not have absorbed it. Only the King Tribe can use the Green Mark. Now we can’t have it back. You deserve to die!”

She curved her back, ready to pounce.

At the same time, Wei-ah took one step forward.

A strong murderous aura emanated from him as if there was a sudden change in the atmosphere. Jia Yingxia, Cang Lan, Baiyue, and Qing Qing’s expressions changed dramatically. They stared at the statue-like Wei-ah as if they had just seen a ghost. The bone-piercing murderous aura radiated past every inch of their flesh, giving rise to a strong sense of danger.

That simple move was like unsheathing a sword to reveal its piercingly sharp edge, causing people to avert their gazes in fear.

The smile on Cang Lan’s face froze and was immediately replaced with a battle glare.

Jia Yingxia hid her dismay, and stood straight up, both hands raised halfway.

Baiyue and Qing Qing’s faces paled, lingering dismay in their eyes.

The Demonic Woman’s curved body froze.

Wei-ah’s step created immediate silence.

The audience in front of the fantasy card receiver was watching this unexpected scene with their mouths agape. Who would have thought so many top card artisans of the federation would be stunned by a complete stranger. The intelligence divisions of many corporations were madly gathering information on the “stone man.”

The live audience similarly stood agape.

“Who… who is this fellow?”

Being his first target, the Demonic Woman almost reflexively counterattacked, but she forcefully suppressed her terror. The determination and dismay in her gaze strengthened, and her resoluteness was unmistakable.

Chen Mu never would have thought the Demonic Woman would make this choice; it was totally out of his expectations. He had intended to join forces with Wei-Ah to restrain the Demonic Woman, then force the solution out of her. But her attitude made Chen Mu change his mind: her determination was clearly like steel. The situation was also extremely delicate. Qing Qing’s presence was outside his plan, and the public appearance of Jia Yingxia and Cang Lan was also surprising. While he had planned early on to use Wei-ah to stun the experts, he never expected the grade of experts to be so high.

Wei-ah successfully stunned everybody present, but Chen Mu knew this was just momentary.

In the event of a real conflict…

Everybody present was immensely powerful. If a scuffle broke out, Chen Mu cannot predict who would survive.

“You need power?” Chen Mu took a deep breath and spoke.

“Yes,” the Demonic Woman answered without hesitation.

“For revenge?” Chen Mu asked again, hazarding a guess.

“That’s right!” The Demonic Woman’s eyes turned red, her gaze filled with hatred.

“If so, would you help me absorb The Green Mark? Didn’t you say those who use the Green Mark without being entitled to it must die?” Chen Mu asked seriously.

The Demonic Woman said loftily, “I am of the King Tribe! I have the right to absorb the Green Mark!”

He nodded and said calmly, “I understand.”

His attitude was puzzling; only Qing Qing looked contemplative.

Chen Mu bowed his head, took out a mask from his pocket, put it on, and raised his head.

On a pure white silver mask, two black lines curved downwards from its eyes.

“Have you heard of The White Commander?”