Character Card Usage

Suddenly, Ah Huang began to bark frantically, his entire body tensed in a state of rage as he stared unblinkingly toward the dense forest.

Following Ah Huang's line of sight, a massive figure loomed in the woods, and the ground began to tremble slightly, causing pebbles on the path to leap into the air.

Aguda hurriedly pulled Avril and Linley to his side. Although he was only an ordinary man and felt terror at the sight of this unknown beast, his instincts as a father drove him to stand his ground.

"Linley, in a moment I will hold this beast back, and you two must run!"

Aguda gave his instructions anxiously, his usually hunched back straightened as he stood like a city wall to shield his children from the storm.

Before Linley could retort, the figure in the woods finally emerged: it was an Earth Demon Bear, a Silver-rank Magic Beast.

It stood two stories tall, covered in thick, jet-black fur that shimmered in the light. Its four paws were as large as palm-leaf fans, and its purple pupils radiated a brutal, savage intent; this was a Magic Beast devoid of intelligence, existing only to kill.

Seeing this sudden threat, Linley could no longer worry about exposing his abilities to his family, nor did he have time to ponder how he would explain the use of a character card.

He silently recited to the system.

"Use character card Yang Jian."

"Ding, character card successfully activated. This character card will last for two hours. Please be mindful of the duration."

"Two hours, that's enough."

After the transformation, Linley thought to himself. He now looked exactly like the classic Yang Jian from Honor of Kings, not only clad in an overly ornate suit of armor but also wielding a Three-Pointed Double-Edged Glaive, with a strange eye appearing on his forehead.

Possessing this Heavenly Eye, Linley could clearly sense the powerful force of good and evil contained within it, allowing him to easily discern right from wrong and to fire energy from the eye to strike down the wicked.

Having completed his magnificent transformation, Linley felt his entire body surging with power, a world of difference from his formerly thin and weak self, Linley mused to himself.

"I should have Silver-rank strength now, right? After all, it was only a Bronze-rank draw."

Linley took a moment to check his rank, only to find it was still Bronze, which left him puzzled. He asked the system internally.

"System, why is my rank still Bronze? Is this the rank of a complete Yang Jian?"

"Host, please note that the strength of a character card is not calculated into the host's own rank. This means the host can use character cards to kill enemies above his level and earn draw opportunities."

Linley suddenly understood. Just as he was about to say something more, the Earth Demon Bear could no longer restrain itself and charged over.

A foul wind blew, and the blood-stained maw, reeking of rot, appeared right before Linley's eyes. Behind him, Avril was so terrified that her face turned pale, and she couldn't help but scream.

"ROAR!"

The sound arrived before the beast itself, a heaven-shaking roar that startled away flocks of birds and beasts, leaving Linley's ears in agonizing pain.

"What a wretched beast."

Linley cursed under his breath, gripped his Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear, and charged forward alongside Ah Huang.

Because of Linley's transformation into Yang Jian, Ah Huang had inherited the power of the Howling Celestial Dog. He shared a telepathic bond with Linley and now possessed the strength to battle the Earth Demon Bear.

Glancing back at Aguda and Avril, who were still ordinary humans, Linley knew they could not withstand a battle of Silver-rank intensity; even the shockwaves alone could injure them.

Linley communicated with Ah Huang through their mental link, deciding to shift the battlefield and lure this mindless Magic Beast away.

Linley unleashed Divine Sense Erosion, using his powerful mental energy to assault the beast's underdeveloped mind, causing the Earth Demon Bear nearby to burn with rage and pursue Linley even more ferociously.

Seeing that he had successfully drawn the Earth Demon Bear's aggro, Linley didn't bother to bid farewell to the two behind him and took off toward the forest.

The Earth Demon Bear followed behind him like a heavy bulldozer, crashing through every obstacle in its path.

It ignored the occasional bites from Ah Huang, intent only on killing the man who had just used mental attacks against it.

After weaving through the woods for a while, Linley felt he was far enough from his father and sister, so he stopped to wait for the behemoth behind him.

Linley was now filled with his own rage; anyone chased by a Magic Beast for so long, scurrying through the woods like a stray dog, would be furious—especially with Linley now influenced by the personality of Yang Jian.

As the Judicial God of Heaven, when had he ever been chased by a monster of the mortal realm?

Watching the Earth Demon Bear approach, he flashed in front of it and swung his Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear toward its thick chest.

A bowl-sized wound appeared instantly, with bright red blood gushing out continuously, revealing the ghastly white bone beneath.

Having taken Linley's full-force strike, the Earth Demon Bear roared in agony, a high-pitched, miserable sound. Judging by the level of its rage, this injury was merely a stinging pain to it.

After taking the hit, the Earth Demon Bear retaliated, its two black paws slamming down toward Linley's crown, whipping up a gale in the surrounding area.

If that blow had landed, even with Linley's "copper head and iron arms," he would have been in for a world of hurt.

Fortunately, Linley was not greedy for damage. After landing a heavy blow, he wisely retreated five steps, causing the beast's full-force strike to hit nothing but air, which only caused its already clotting wound to burst open again.

While Linley attacked, Ah Huang did not stand by as a spectator. After struggling to adapt to his new power, he joined the fray.

Using a size-altering ability, Ah Huang's body grew to match the Earth Demon Bear's. Unlike the bear's fat and bloated frame, Ah Huang appeared heroic and spirited, moving with far greater speed and agility.

As the Earth Demon Bear raised its paws to strike Linley, Ah Huang opened his jaws—as large as a doorway—and bit down on the beast's undefended back.

With a violent tear, a massive chunk of hide and flesh was ripped away by Ah Huang. The Earth Demon Bear felt a chill on its back followed by excruciating pain; compared to Linley's slash, this act of being skinned alive was far more agonizing.

Under the dual assault of Linley and Ah Huang, the maddened Earth Demon Bear began to attack everything in its field of vision to vent its pain.

However, this behavior did not cause Linley a shred of fear. Instead, it allowed him to seize the beast's weakness. With a leap, Linley's Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear appeared right before the Earth Demon Bear's eyes.

With a thrust, a twist, and a slash, the purple, emotionless pupil was turned into mush by Linley. Unless it encountered a great miracle, this Earth Demon Bear would be a "blind bear" for the rest of its life.

Keeping the philosophy of "strike while the iron is hot" in mind, Linley activated his third eye and unleashed a barrage of Good and Evil Ray at the massive bear head.

The white lasers struck the blood-streaked face like water hitting rock. With the final beam, the seemingly intact bear head exploded, shattering even the hardest skull into fragments smaller than fingernails.

"Boom!"

With a violent crash, the massive corpse of the Earth Demon Bear slammed into the ground, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.

"Execute the will of the mortal realm and reverse the tide of battle."

As Yang Jian's arrogant voice echoed in Linley's mind, the duration of his character card expired without him realizing it, and he transformed once again from a dashing golden-armored war god back into that scrawny, dark-skinned, impoverished boy.

Even Ah Huang reverted from his giant state, turning back into an ordinary, plain-looking mutt.

System settlement initiated. Character card used: Yang Jian. Roleplay completion rate: 43%. Earth Demon Bear kill rank: Silver. As this is your first kill, level-gap rewards are doubled.

Congratulations to the host for obtaining 43% of Yang Jian's attributes, one Silver-tier weapon: Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear, and one divine ability: Three Eyes. Your pet Ah Huang has obtained 43% of Howling Celestial Dog's attributes and two Bronze-tier lottery chances.

"Swish~~"

Following the mechanical voice of the system, Linley's scrawny, impoverished frame began to expand. His loose, flabby flesh transformed into elastic, toned muscle, and his previously bony chest filled out with a set of eight-pack abs.

The weapon that had vanished from his hand reappeared, and Ah Huang, standing beside him, underwent a heaven-shaking transformation, becoming a match for even a standard Bronze Tier 5 Magic Beast.

Truly feeling the power bestowed upon him by the King Card System, Linley began to face the Scourge of the Azeroth Continent with newfound confidence.

After organizing the rewards from the system, Linley did not rush to use his lottery chances; he believed in bathing and changing clothes before every draw to ensure the best possible outcome.

Linley was determined to leave his bad luck behind and embrace fortune.

Looking at the corpse of the Earth Demon Bear before him, he estimated it weighed at least fifteen hundred pounds. The old Linley would have been completely helpless against it, but he was now a Linley with the strength of a Bronze Tier 5.

If another Earth Demon Bear were to appear, Linley would certainly run far away, but he was more than capable of hauling the carcass of this one.

Only the head and back of this Earth Demon Bear were damaged; dragging it to the Lord's Mansion to sell would fetch five or six hundred gold coins, enough for ten ordinary families to live on for fifty or sixty years.

Linley didn't bother cleaning it; he simply dragged the Earth Demon Bear behind him and headed toward his home.

From a distance, the massive Magic Beast corpse and the tiny Linley looked like a single, living Earth Demon Bear on the move.

Linley's dragging of the Earth Demon Bear ended up causing a panic in the village, a consequence he had not anticipated.