The Card Apprentice

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Chen Mu really wanted that move of Wei-ah's. As he was by then, if Chen Mu really liked some toy he wanted to get, he wouldn't put it down until he was having fun with it.

He practiced the move for three days in a row. But he had never imagined that no matter how hard he worked at it, he could never completely realize the move. He wasn't discouraged by that but only felt it a little strange and surprising. He had previously always been able to do the things Wei-ah taught him as soon as he learned them. That time, though, he never did make any substantial progress.

There was a light popping sound in front of Chen Mu, followed by his muffled grunt as a sharp pain came from his elbow. By the time he pulled back his elbow, he saw that his joint was a little swollen.

After three days of refining it, he was pretty familiar with the principles of the move. But he knew where the problem was. Even given his physical strength, he didn't have enough power in his muscles and tendons, which had led to his not being able to complete the move.

He was clear about his physical condition just the same. His physical strength and muscle power had developed to a rather stunning degree. If he still wanted to make any further breakthroughs, it would be beyond difficult. It would only be possible to progress if he really did utterly abandon his current path to follow Wei-ah's path. But that was impossible!

By comparison, Chen Mu had far more interest in perception and energy than he did in the pursuit of strength; never mind pure bodily strength. He didn't expect to ever give up on cards or energy composition or the study of perception. Moreover, Sue Lochiro had always said that improving the strength of his perception could contain the green thread in his body to a certain extent.

That trick of Wei-ah's surely attracted him, but the attraction was still not sufficient to drag him onto a different path.

Chen Mu felt some regret. That play was the finest bare-handed skill he had ever seen. It incorporated highly complex transformations and accurate control, and it could make a person dizzy and disoriented. The body was the most precise apparatus within the move. Even Chen Mu—who was so familiar with the fine control of perception—was bowled over by the splendid move.

By then, however, he finally understood that as far as the cardless sect aces were concerned, their bodies were like card artisans' perception—so fine as to make one's hair stand on end.

The decline of the cardless sects had various causes. The true cardless sect aces like Wei-ah weren't at all inferior to top card artisans. But the cardless sects placed higher demands on the body and on talent. Moreover, without climbing to the very top level, it would be difficult for the cardless sects to contend with card artisans.

Card artisans and the cardless sects didn't really have any essential differences, though, apart from one of them controlling perception and the composition of energy and the other controlling their own bodies.

Full of regret, once Chen Mu decided the issue of which road to take, he focused on his own path with no further hesitation. That trick of Wei-ah's had given him a lot of inspiration, however. He was inspired that he could get to such a point by the simple use of muscle strength. What if he were to use energy to simulate the body's muscles? What if his surroundings weren't just pure air but an atmosphere rich with energy?

Chen Mu had no way to accomplish such fine control with his body, but if he were to use perception, he could certainly do it easily. He would even be able to make it still more refined. What kind of scene might that create?

That thinking made him excited! Wouldn't it be something to look forward to if he could design a card according to that principle?

But he quickly calmed down and lost his excitement, which was replaced by endless sneering. He had so many cards on his hands just then. He could freely deploy both the Hundred Changes and the Patterned Shuttle. But he still needed to grope his way through the Golden Word Shackle, the Bipolar Thunderball, and the Snake Lens. Apart from those three cards, there were a lot of tactics he still needed to learn and copy from the Sectional Succession.

That was his short-term plan: to put battle power up front during that period of time.

Even if he were to plan for the long term, there was a pile of things in the mysterious card he still hadn't figured out. And, he couldn't relax with his perceptual training for even a day. Just having made his breakthrough, his perception was in a state of rapid progress. He needed to practice continually during that time to be able to further consolidate the fruits of his breakthrough.

Thinking ahead, he needed to do a terrifying amount of training. Chen Mu wasn't just grateful to Wei-ah; if he hadn't been practicing with Wei-ah, his body would absolutely never have been as healthy and strong as it was. Without a strong and healthy body, wanting to complete such heavy training would be a fool's dream.

He would have to put his idea aside for the time being. Just then, he needed to use every bit of his time on card artisan training.

In his estimation, the Golden Word Shackle and the Bipolar Thunderball would be his main attack cards for a while. On the one hand, they were very powerful. On the other, he could hide his identity to a certain extent.

Still, whether it was the Golden Word Shackle or the Bipolar Thunderball, neither had a legacy, which meant Chen Mu needed to grope along on his own. Between the two, he had made more progress with the Golden Word Shackle. The entire process was like decrypting a password. That required a lot of planning, which was Chen Mu's forte.

The decrypted key corresponded to a syllable change, which then formed the word of command. That wasn't so hard for him. He had previously taught Lu Xiaoru how to use the Sound Beam, so he had already researched a little about changes in syllables.

He suddenly thought, Why not make a token card especially for doing those calculations? That way, he could greatly reduce the time used for calculation. Decrypting the key was the most critical thing, and his current style was rather inefficient and random. Not only could a token card be combined with other compositions in the card, but it was an extremely powerful tool in itself.

Why hadn't he thought of that before? Chen Mu slapped himself upside the head in his annoyance.

It wasn't too late if he wanted to do it. It wasn't hard for him to make a token card, the most important hindrance being materials. The materials to make a token card, such as the black and white chrysanthemum rock, weren't commonly seen. But he had already used up the black and white chrysanthemum rock and many of the other materials.

Perhaps he should go ask Ah Sang about it. She ran a trading firm, after all. She had a lot more resources at her disposal than ordinary people did.

Just as he was turning that over in his mind, the intercom in the training room sounded. A screen popped out when he picked it up, on which Ah Sang appeared.

"I am sorry to disturb your training, Mr. Qiao. So, as I brought up with you before, an elder from the family will soon arrive in Zargan to assist Ah Sang. The one coming is Ah Sang's great uncle. He heard of your prestige and hopes he can pay you a visit. I wonder when you might have some free time." Ah Sang was cautious about asking.

Great uncle? He would be a lot older than Chen Mu. Once he thought about an old man past his 60-year cycle paying him a visit, Chen Mu felt a little uncomfortable. He thought for a moment before saying, "I was just sort of getting ready to look for you, so why not ask him to come along to meet?"

That made Ah Sang happy, and she hurried to say, "Ok. Will you be coming out right away? I'll get ready."

By the time Chen Mu came out, there were already two lines of servants with respectful expressions lined up along the sides of the door to the training room. Ah Sang and an older man were waiting at the other end of the lines.

"Gu Anqi has met Mr. Qiao." The old man's voice was as clear as a bell, and he had a ruddy face. He respectfully saluted to Chen Mu.

Chen Mu rushed to return the salute. "Mr. Gu is really too polite!"

Gu Anqi heartily thanked him. "Ah Sang has told me that if Mr. Qiao weren't here, things would have already gone bad by the time I got here. I've only got this one niece. How could I allow her to be wronged like that? No matter how it happened, I really appreciate Mr. Qiao extending his hand in assistance!"

Chen Mu waved his hand and said with an ordinary expression, "I am employed by Miss Ah Sang, and that is my obligation. Now that Mr. Gu has arrived, I should be leaving in a couple of days."

"Is Mr. Qiao going to leave?" Gu Anqi and Ah Sang looked at one another, not having thought Chen Mu would be so blunt.

"Mmmm." Chen Mu didn't really want to get tangled up in the issue. How could he not know anything about what the old man and Ah Sang had in mind? Before the two of them could open their mouths, he added, "It just so happens that there is something I need Miss Ah Sang's help with."

Ah Sang rushed to say, "Whatever Mr. Qiao needs, simply say it. So long as Ah Sang has the means, I would never refuse."

Chen Mu nodded. "I would like to buy some materials."

Ah Sang breathed a sigh of relief, though she looked a little cautious. "I wonder what materials Mr. Qiao might require. If Ah Sang may have a list, someone will get it ready."

"That would be such a bother for Miss Ah Sang. However much it costs, the market rate would be fine." Chen Mu pulled out a list of materials that he had prepared earlier and gave it to Ah Sang. Ah Sang received it with both hands and carefully looked it over. She then showed a little embarrassment on her face.

"Is something wrong?" Chen Mu asked, having noticed something about Ah Sang's expression.

Ah Sang told him truthfully, "I don't want to keep it from Mr. Qiao that while our humble firm has most of these materials, there are two of them, mo-ah stone and speckled grass shellac, that aren't among the goods we have." Seeing that Chen Mu's gaze had fallen onto her, her voice became a bit pained. "Those two materials are extremely rare. In all of Zargan—apart from under the banner of the Southern Star Firm, which includes the biggest trading firm in Zargan, the Southern Star Trading Company—no one has the channels to buy those two. Moreover, they would never sell them to us."

"The Southern Star Trading Company?" Chen Mu said thoughtfully, "I'll just go to them to buy it."

That was just as well. Chen Mu planned to hit the road after buying the materials since he had to get to the Dongrui District soon. He then said, "May I trouble your honorable firm for the rest of the materials for me to pick up in a little while? If it would please Miss Ah Sang, could you calculate the fee?"

Ah Sang shook her head. "Apart from those two, the rest of the materials are common and aren't worth anything. Please consider it a small favor. I would be pleased if Mr. Qiao didn't refuse."

"Then, I will thank you very much, Miss Ah Sang." Chen Mu got up and said, "Might I ask Miss Ah Sang to send someone to take me to the Southern Star Firm?"

Ah Sang smiled. "There's no need for someone else; I will take Mr. Qiao there."

Inadvertently, her hand swiped the veil on her face. The black veil, which was always hanging over her face, fell like a leaf from a tree.