The Card Apprentice

Indeed, Li Duhong knew about it. He came to an understanding after Chen Mu gave a brief description of the transit windows. He flashed a smile, “I know about the item you’re talking about, Sir. But, the beasts at that area are stronger, and we hardly visit that area,” He then asked cautiously, “Sir, are you heading there? Let me tag along with you.” Chen Mu smiled without saying a word.

He had no intention of bringing Li Duhong along. Li Duhong was the leader of the Moqi Clan, and no one would doubt the significance of his presence in his clan. Furthermore, it was very dangerous for Li Duhong to visit the House of a Hundred Depths, although his ability had improved tremendously.

Chen Mu had asked Zara, the Demonic Woman, about an incident in the House of a Hundred Depths. According to Zara, the House of a Hundred Depths was way more dangerous than the Heavenly Federation; and the living environment was terrible.

The Moqi Clan who had returned to Eastern Shang-Wei City alongside Chen Mu had attracted much attention since their equipment was extremely peculiar. The metal gloves which extended all the way to the elbow were especially fascinating. A wise person could quickly tell that the gloves were one of the card appliances. Qing Qing’s expression changed when she saw the arrival of the Moqi Clan. She was well-versed with all the books and records in Star Academy, and she knew that the metal gloves significantly resembled a legendary card appliance – the Power Gloves.

The creation method of the Power Gloves was supposedly jotted in the notebook that was lying in Chen Mu’s arms. It had not been long since Chen Mu acquired the notebook. He couldn’t recreate the item and equip the people with those gloves in such a short time. But a discerning person could tell that the Moqi Clan’s familiarity with the Power Gloves was not formed overnight. There was only one possibility: Chen Mu had been able to manufacture Power Gloves a long time ago.

Qing Qing felt the sense of chilliness running down her spine. No one had foreseen that Chen Mu had quietly mastered the technique while everyone else was fought for those notebooks. She was sure that Chen Mu’s proficiency in card appliance had completely surpassed Faya’s. There was no end to his secretly accumulated energy.

Qing Qing felt a hint of sorrow when she was reminded about this. Indeed, Star Academy had more resources than the rest of the Big Six. However, she never thought that Star Academy, which appeared to be so strong, would deteriorate in a blink of an eye. Star Academy did not obtain any particular benefit in any of the battles. Instead, they were defeated repeatedly. The two individuals who gained the most were Tang Hanpei and Chen Mu.

Tang Hanpei was a blessed child and the acknowledged genius in the Heavenly Federation. Qing Qing accepted her defeat to Tang Hanpei. How about Chen Mu? His name was never heard before, and he was born lowly, but yet, he caused great trouble to Qing Qing and the Star Academy.

Now, the Star Academy was in absolute despair and declining. Star Academy failed to hinder Tang Hanpei’s advancement, and, once again, Tang Hanpei proved his worthiness for the title of undefeatable genius. He, who had no experience in leading an army, was unstoppable. Star Academy was continued to lose since no one was able to slow Tang Hanpei down. Even the famous instructors were amazed by Tang Hanpei’s ability to lead his troops. For some reason, Bitter Solitude Temple which had initially planned to ambush Tang Hanpei stayed put without extending a hand. Everyone was witnessing the birth of a legend.

The sophisticated people from all parts of the Heavenly Federation flooded the Federation Comprehensive Academy. They believed that Tang Hanpei would possibly be the true king who rules the Heavenly Federation! From what had happened, it was highly convincing as he was the number-one card artisan in the Heavenly Federation, and was responsible for a huge company, the Federation Comprehensive Academy. Besides, he was outstanding in military functions and had profound insights regarding politics. His charisma was overflowing. Su Heiming was comparable to him. However, most people thought that he was too ruthless. As Tang Hanpei’s capability expanded rapidly, the situation of Star Academy became critical. Rossiji’s betrayal was one of the most important reasons that led to this.

Qing Qing understood that what Rossiji did was not exactly a rebellion. It was merely the statement released by Star Academy to the outsiders. Growing up in Star Academy System, she clearly understood Rossiji’s intention. Despite appearing gentle and lenient, there was no mercy when it came to Star Academy’s internal politics and competition. Rossiji had basically been put under house arrest during the past years. He could not even leave Star Academy. Although the fatty appeared to be indifferent, he held enormous grudges in his heart.

She was different from the fatty. Even though she felt the hatred too, but she would not opt to leave. She did not know where she could go if she left Star Academy. Right now, she was supposed to return to Star Academy to help them with Tang Hanpei’s invasion. Yet, she did not. She knew that her presence would not be helpful. The only person who could save Star Academy now was Rossiji. However, the management of Star Academy had to put in a lot of effort to summon the cunning fatty, which included power shifting, internal reshuffling and cleaning, and much more. The only thing she could do was to wait till the silent war against Star Academy ended or the day the Star Academy was demolished!

There was actually another candidate, Chen Mu. Even though his capability was not strong enough to fight against Tang Hanpei, but he owned great technologies and commanded the elite warrior, Bogner. Her expression was complicated as she stared at Chen Mu while he entered the Eastern Shang-Wei City, leading the group of warriors who were wearing the Power Gloves.

“What are those?” Yangshan Fei whispered to Sue. He was a smart person. He was confident that they were something incredible despite not being able to recognize the Power Gloves. With a slightly mesmerized gaze, Sue answered calmly, “Those are card appliances.””Card appliance? The White Commander has so many trickeries,” Yangshan Fei muttered before he turned and left. For a long time, Sue stared at the group from afar before she left the scene.

Chen Mu was forced to delay his schedule upon Li Duhong’s arrival. He was inspired by the Power Gloves. Undeniably, this type of card appliance was a mature work and was highly useful. However, it was also very user-sensitive. Besides requiring the user to have a certain degree of perception, the card appliance emphasized the strength of the user, almost resembled the combination of cardless sects and card artisans. Moreover, it was flexible in nature and able to focus on any aspect. For instance, it focused more on body strength when Li Duhong was using it.

There was another thing that made Chen Mu deeply intrigued by the Power Gloves was the card insertion technology. According to Wei-ah, card insertion was able to spike the user’s strength for a brief period. It resembled a reduced version of the Green Mark, at the same time, caused fewer side effects. The card insertion would cause the perception of the user to remain stagnant. That was the reason Caesar thought card insertion led to a dead end.

Indeed, this middle path provided less room for future development. But did it really matter? Not everyone on earth was Tang Hanpei. The card artisans who worked under Chen Mu, especially the Snow Silkworms Card Artisan Team, could only recruit card artisans with minimal perception at the moment. Chen Mu tried to equip the card artisans with card sets to make up for their lack of power, but that caused another issue. The card artisans were now powerful, yet also considerably weaker.

The trip to House of a Hundred Depths was perilous, and Chen Mu could not proceed alone. While Bogner and Xi-Ping were occupied with the final preparations, the others agreed unanimously that Wood Word Camp and Snow Silkworms Card Artisan Team would head to the House of a Hundred Depths alongside Chen Mu. As expected, they came up with various excuses; for example, some said that the Heavenly Federation was no longer suitable as a living habitat.

Chen Mu was never a sentimental person. He knew that he could not accomplish this mission alone. He was touched as he understood that it required tremendous courage to make the decision to join this exceedingly dangerous trip. However, being pragmatic, he promptly shifted his attention to training the battling skills of the members of Wood Battalion and Snow Silkworms Card Artisan Team. Their lives depended on this.

He could easily recruit new card artisans with qualities way better than the Snow Silkworms Card Artisan Team with his current popularity. However, Chen Mu was unwilling to do that. Firstly, it was due to some sentimentality. Since the Snow Silkworms Card Artisan Team had followed him for a long time, he did not wish to dismiss them. Secondly, it would require a very long time to develop the combat skills of the new recruits.

Nonetheless, the card insertion technology and the Power Gloves significantly inspired Chen Mu. Based on Wei-ah’s words, card insertion technology was rather simple. It was a widespread technology in Mohadi Domain. The crucial point was the compatibility of the inserted card and the user’s body. The higher the compatibility, the greater the effect.

But a great number of beasts were required to make the cards. This weird requirement puzzled Chen Mu. Even though it was common to use animals’ blood during the card-making process, but, apparently, it was different from what Wei-ah had explained to him.

However, it should be feasible if Wei-ah said it could be done. Regarding the location of hunting the beasts that matched Wei-ah’s criteria, Zara, the Demonic Woman, suggested the House of a Hundred Depths as the place was full of wild beasts.

The only problem unsolved was the production of Power Gloves. There were a few thousand card artisans in Snow Silkworms Card Artisan Team. They had to manufacture a few thousand pairs of Energy Gloves if all the card artisans were to be equipped. Chen Mu thought he couldn’t finish this big project on his own.

Furthermore, he had to modify the Power Gloves that were made by Li Duhong and his counterparts. The perception of the card artisans in Snow Silkworms Card Artisan Team was way stronger than Li Duhong and the others. That indicated that they were able to handle a more complex card appliance.

As for the core item of the appliance- making the card was the simplest task for Chen Mu. He might be the only card master in Heavenly Federation who had the skill to manufacture cards in large scale as he could mass-produce the cards in a limited time. Moreover, since they were a large army, they owned a great variety of materials. There was also a group of experts in card appliance among Chen Mu’s team. They would also help Chen Mu to efficiently complete the ‘rebranding’ of the organization.

Thus, Chen Mu stayed in Easter Shang-Wei City temporarily. He either discussed the issues regarding Power Gloves with Alfonso every day via “Thousand-kilometer,” or talked about the mass production of Power Gloves with the card appliance experts.

Meanwhile, Li Duhong spent his days with Wei-ah and trained diligently with Little Bu Mo. The rest of the Moqi Clan, however, was not having an easy time like Li Duhong. They were occupied by coaching the Snow Silkworms Card Artisan Team. Once Bogner was informed about Chen Mu’s plan, he would start familiarizing the Snow Silkworms Card Artisan Team with the battle techniques. The members of Snow Silkworms Card Artisan Team were inquisitive about the new and creative battle techniques.

On the other hand, Sue Lochiro was busy preparing different types of medications. She was filled with excitement for the upcoming journey. Being a medical card artisan, she was born with a passion for a variety of unique medicinal properties. The other medical card artisans who worked together with her, too, were very excited. The experienced Xi Ping looked as though he had found the second love of his life. He was engrossed in preparing all sorts of necessities.

Chen Mu was bewildered for a long time as none of the team seemed to show a sense of fearfulness towards the trip to the House of a Hundred Depths. Instead, they were all exhilarated. Later, he found out that although the Heavenly Federation had formed an alliance with the House of a Hundred Depths long ago, there were strict regulations for people who wished to visit the House of a Hundred Depths. There were only a small number of people who had been there. The transit window that was out of the governance of Heavenly Federation resembled a smuggling channel. It was everyone’s dream! Everyone saw this as a chance for adventurous exploration even though Chen Mu could not comprehend such feelings.