Two Cards

This came as far too great a shock to Old White.

Learning a four-star combat skill in just one day was simply unheard of!

If word got out, probably no one would believe it.

Old White had once thought Fan Lang was a monster, but now he had changed his mind. This went far beyond being a monster—he was practically the King of All Monsters!

That night, Fan Lang treated Butcher Girl to a lavish meal, having the chefs at the City Lord's Mansion prepare more than a dozen dishes of Delicious Cuisine.

While they ate, Butcher Girl removed her vicious ghost mask, revealing her true face. Her features possessed a sharp kind of beauty, carrying an aloofness that warned strangers to stay away.

Fan Lang poured Butcher Girl a cup of wine and said with a smile, "You must have had a hard time these past years as a gladiator in the Underground Arena. Things won't be much easier after following me, either. I'm not the peaceful sort. I'm fighting and killing almost every day. If you follow me, you'll have to fight alongside me."

"That's good. Fighting and killing are the only things I know how to do. I can't do anything else." Butcher Girl took the cup and drained it in one gulp.

"Straightforward enough. I like that." Fan Lang moved to refill her cup.

"Stop pouring. That's about all I can drink."

"..."

Fan Lang was speechless. If you couldn't drink, why the hell had you downed it so boldly?

After returning to his private courtyard residence, Fan Lang met Monkey and introduced Butcher Girl to him.

"She's my follower. She's at the Mystic Spirit realm and kills without batting an eye. Don't provoke her for no reason," Fan Lang warned.

Hearing that introduction, then looking at the mask on Butcher Girl's face, Monkey nearly broke out in a cold sweat. He forced a smile and said, "I wouldn't dare provoke someone like that even if there was a reason..."

After settling Butcher Girl in, Fan Lang lay down on his bed, opened the system, and began studying how to modify those two four-star random cards.

He had previously been screwed over by the one-star trash card "Holy Light Be With You," so he no longer trusted his own luck. It was safer to modify them directly.

"If I can change random cards into fixed ones, that would be perfect. The effects of some four-star cards are absolutely insane—more practical than even five-star cards."

Filled with anticipation, Fan Lang began operating on the system.

This type of modification involved a great deal of data. The random cards' own data had to be changed, the rule settings had to be altered, and he also had to search for the data of the target cards.

The process took several hours. Only deep into the quiet night did Fan Lang finally succeed, turning the two random cards into fixed cards.

Fan Lang had carefully selected both cards. They were both among the finest four-star cards.

"Draw!"

Fan Lang issued the command to the system.

Player obtained 1 four-star Weapon Card: Absolute Poison Flying Dagger.

Player obtained 1 four-star Skill Card: Water Spirit Clone.

The modification had worked! He had drawn the two four-star cards Fan Lang wanted most!

"Awesome!"

Fan Lang could not help jumping up, nearly smashing his head against the ceiling beam. He immediately took the two cards from his inventory and held them in his hands.

The Absolute Poison Flying Dagger card was jade green, bearing the image of a flying dagger along with several bubbles. The Water Spirit Clone card depicted a humanoid creature condensed from water.

The data for the two cards appeared before Fan Lang's eyes.

Absolute Poison Flying Dagger:

Category: Weapon Card.

Star Rating: ★★★★

Attribute: Poison.

Sharpness: 760.

Durability: 300.

Effects: First, after striking an enemy, inflicts a strange poison with no cure. The enemy loses 30 HP per second for 5 minutes. Second, after 5 minutes, the strange poison on the victim automatically dissipates, and the victim gains immunity to the strange poison for 5 minutes.

Mystic Power Cost: 100 points.

Water Spirit Clone:

Category: Skill Card.

Star Rating: ★★★★

Attribute: Water.

Effect: After activation, creates 1 water spirit creature (Attack Power 3500, HP 6000). Every 1 minute, this water spirit creature splits off an identical clone. Each water spirit creature must be maintained using the player's own Mystic Power. When the player's Mystic Power is depleted, the water spirit creatures automatically collapse.

Mystic Power Cost: 800 points.

Those were the effects of the two cards.

The Absolute Poison Flying Dagger was a Poisoned Weapon. Once it hit someone, they would be poisoned, and there was no way to cure it. They could only watch helplessly as their HP drained away.

Although the poison would automatically dissipate after its duration ended, that would only happen five minutes later.

If everything went smoothly, five continuous minutes of poison damage would deal a total of nine thousand damage!

Clashes between people rarely lasted this long. The Absolute Poison Flying Dagger was mainly used to torment bosses. Many of those bosses were huge targets—every throw hit the mark.

This effect was downright sneaky!

The Water Spirit Clone essentially kept creating clones to fight alongside its user. Once one clone was created, it could split into even more, giving enemies endless headaches. If an enemy ignored the Water Spirit Clones, they could just wait to be drowned beneath an army of water spirits.

This effect was downright sneaky!

Fan Lang loved cards with such sneaky effects.

He himself was responsible for being overwhelmingly powerful, while his cards handled all the underhanded tricks. Weren't they a perfect match?

He tucked away the two cards and went to sleep with a sly grin on his face.

The sun and moon turned, and the next day arrived.

Over the course of the night, the Progress Bars for the other two new skills had both finished. Fan Lang now possessed two more skills, meaning his combat methods had become even more varied.

The secret manuals of the world could roughly be divided into three types. One was cultivation arts, used for cultivation and capable of raising one's realm. One was combat techniques, used purely for battle, with effects that were often simple and brutal. The last was secret arts, whose effects were more diverse, such as healing, control, enhancement, and so on.

Of the three new skills he had learned this time, the Heaven and Earth Seal and Water Cloud Palm were combat techniques, while the Spider Web Hand was a secret art.

Fan Lang planned to go to the Underground Arena again today to level up. At the very least, he wanted to gain another two levels before considering a different grinding spot.

Before he could even leave, someone came early to notify him that he absolutely had to attend the City Lord's Mansion's Retainer Banquet today.

What were retainers?

Put simply, they were a group of thugs kept by the City Lord's Mansion. In order to win people's loyalty, City Lord Luo Jiuxiao regularly held Retainer Banquets, dining with the many retainers to strengthen their relationship.

The way of commanding people was nothing more than trading heart for heart.

This Retainer Banquet could not be declined.

Fan Lang temporarily gave up on going to the Underground Arena and could only wait until after the meal to head out.

As noon approached, the Retainer Banquet was about to begin, and numerous retainers gradually made their way to the banquet hall.

Fan Lang arrived fairly early and brought Butcher Girl with him. He had not brought Monkey because Monkey was too weak and unsuitable for an occasion like this.

The banquet hall was enormous, easily large enough to seat several hundred people. Long dining tables lined both sides, while the largest table at the far end had been prepared for the city lord. The city lord had not arrived yet, so that seat remained empty.

Around thirty retainers had arrived in scattered groups of three or five, chatting away with voices louder than the next.

Fan Lang did not have the slightest acquaintance with any of them, so he simply found an empty table and sat down, with Butcher Girl beside him.

After he sat down, some of the retainers looked over, their expressions somewhat strange.

After hesitating for a moment, a bearded retainer approached with a wine cup in hand and lowered his voice. "You're the newly appointed retainer, right? Let me give you some brotherly advice. The seats at the Retainer Banquet aren't chosen casually—they're assigned according to status. Only the powerful retainers can sit on the right side of the main seat. The seat you're in now is dangerous. I advise you to switch places and sit farther back. Otherwise, you'll stir up trouble!"