Both Advance

Su Li first took the Lost Little Fox into his hands.

His pupils glowed as the scene projected: in a frozen, snow-covered wasteland, a small white fox shivered beneath a rock.

This card could be strengthened, with the following option:

① The little fox's family was driven out of the forest by the Mantis Tyrant and forced into the snowfields. The blizzard was too severe, causing the little fox to be separated from its parents. Only by finding its parents could it survive in such a harsh environment.

Like the Destitute Girl, this white card had only one strengthening option.

Although a card master's physique was robust, braving such extreme weather head-on was certainly not the right choice. Su Li immediately placed an order, purchasing a set of cold-weather gear.

Balance: 198.

Su Li felt a headache coming on. It seemed that after strengthening the little fox, he would have to find a way to make money and simultaneously begin delving into the advanced fields of card strengthening.

The Messenger Bird soon delivered the cold-weather clothing. Su Li put on the thick military coat and snow boots, then entered the card world of the Lost Little Fox.

The weather was freezing. Even with a card master's physique, Su Li felt the chill. He wrapped the military coat tightly around himself and spotted the little fox under a rock not far away.

The snow-white fox also noticed Su Li's arrival. It was timid, but its limbs were stiff from the cold. It wanted to flee from under the rock, but as the cold wind blew against its head, it shrank back.

"Hiss." The little fox bared its teeth at Su Li.

The little thing was quite fierce.

Su Li smiled, grabbed the little white fox by the scruff of its neck, and tucked it into his thick military coat.

The little white fox's fur stood on end instantly. It opened its mouth and lunged from Su Li's embrace, biting at the hand he used to pull the coat shut.

Su Li was quick-witted; with his other hand, he packed some snow into a hard ball and shoved it into the little white fox's mouth, jamming it shut.

"Hiss!" The little fox was thwarted. With its mouth firmly blocked by the snowball, its wild instincts were triggered, and it kicked its four legs wildly inside his coat.

Su Li was speechless. The little fox in this world was different from the one he summoned; it was a completely independent individual. Was this some kind of parallel dimension?

Su Li did not know much about his own abilities; much of the information simply surfaced on its own.

He held the little white fox's body tightly, using his other hand to gently stroke its chin.

The little fox slowly stopped struggling, squinting its eyes in comfort as it felt the warmth in his embrace and sensed the kindness radiating from Su Li.

Su Li smiled, pinched the snowball in the little fox's mouth until it broke, and flicked the pieces away.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here to help you find your parents." Su Li patted the little white fox's head, his tone gentle.

The little white fox was still a bit wary, but it stopped resisting and snuggled deeper into Su Li's chest.

Su Li pulled out Su Miaohan's card and summoned her.

Card characters shared a mental connection with their master. Shadows spread from beneath Su Miaohan's feet, and she vanished from sight.

Su Li did not remain idle either, holding the little white fox as he searched areas Su Miaohan had not yet covered.

This was destined to be a long search. The snowfield was vast, the blizzard was relentless, and everything was a vast expanse of white; the difficulty of the search was immense.

For a full day and night, Su Li was exhausted. The snacks he had brought were shared with the little white fox and eventually ran out.

At the same time, the Spirit Jade in his mind grew dim. He had summoned Su Miaohan for too long, and even without high-intensity combat, he had nearly depleted his mental energy.

His temples throbbed with a dull ache.

Su Li breathed heavily, exhaling white mist, and collapsed beneath a giant boulder.

"Iya." The little white fox crawled out of Su Li's embrace, hopped onto his shoulder, and gently licked the ice crystals on his face.

"Awoo!" Suddenly, a long howl echoed from the distance.

The little white fox's snow-white fur shivered, joy appearing in its eyes as it mimicked the "awoo" call.

The morning light spilled down like crushed gold. Two white foxes ran across the snowfield, their bodies covered in a crystalline glow, creating a brilliant sight.

Su Miaohan returned silently, transforming into a card that fell into Su Li's hand.

The little white fox shook the snow off its body and ran excitedly toward the two white foxes. It rubbed affectionately against their feet, making "iya, iya" sounds.

The white foxes licked the little fox's fur, emitting soft whimpers.

They communicated in beast language. The little white fox hopped and skipped, very excited, and eventually led the two white foxes back to the rock, only to find that Su Li had already disappeared.

"Iya! Iya!" The little white fox let out anxious cries, jumping up and down, but Su Li was nowhere to be found.

The two white foxes looked into the distance, seemingly lost in thought.

Su Li had exited the card world, nearly fainting from total exhaustion of his mental energy. Fortunately, Su Miaohan had found the white foxes and brought them over; otherwise, this strengthening would have failed.

He barely managed to steady himself, picking up the Lost Little Fox card.

The card world began to evolve. The little white fox insisted on searching for Su Li in the vicinity for three days before finally leaving in disappointment. However, with the protection of its parents, it made it out of the snowfield and arrived at a forest filled with birds and flowers, where it grew up healthily.

But one day, the Mantis Tyrant invaded again. To protect the mother fox and the little white fox, the father fox fought to the death against the Mantis Tyrant.

The little white fox and its mother were forced to hide and flee, pursued by the Mantis Tyrant's minions.

The card's image froze at the moment of the little white fox's escape.

[One-Tailed White Fox]

Tier: Bronze Tier Three

Type: Animal

Skills:

① Bewitchment: Fox clan talent; lures the enemy, trapping them deep within.

② Windstep: Treads on the breeze, significantly increasing self-speed.

③ Needle Barrage: Fires the fur from its tail, each strand like a needle.

④ Tail Drop: The tail is the white fox's best weapon; infuse it with energy to unleash the strongest strike!

Overview: Mantis Tyrant, enemy for life.

"Poor little fox." Su Li fell silent. After all, he had held it for a day; the little thing was very cute and likable.

"Can I interfere with the evolving card world?" A thought occurred to Su Li. If he entered the card world to kill the Mantis Tyrant before it could kill the father fox, wouldn't that prevent the tragedy?

In the depths of his mind, Su Li received the answer: he could.

But his condition at the time was too poor, and the Mantis Tyrant was very powerful. Relying solely on Su Miaohan and Black Mist, he would likely be killed instantly.

During the card world's evolution, Su Li had also gained an understanding of the father fox's power—at least Bronze Tier Eight—yet it was still no match for the Mantis Tyrant.

He had no time to dwell on it; the feedback from the card strengthening arrived, and Mystery Energy surged into his brain.

His depleted Spirit Jade gradually began to glow until, when Su Li finally opened his eyes, a portion of it had turned silver.

Nine percent.

His powerful mental energy allowed Su Li to calculate the progress instantly. This card strengthening had caused nine percent of his Spirit Jade to turn silver.

Converted, he was now at the peak of Bronze Tier One.

Su Li had suddenly stepped to the very forefront of all card masters at Liang City No. 3 High School.

After more than a decade of meditation, once card apprentices became card masters, their mental energy would undergo a period of rapid growth. But only half a month had passed; reaching five or six percent was already considered quite good.

Su Li could feel that his Spirit Jade was facing its first minor qualitative change—the transition from Bronze Tier One to Bronze Tier Two. It also formed a small threshold; only by crossing this could he reach ten percent.

"There is still Mystery Energy overflowing. I can strike while the iron is hot and cross this small threshold directly." Su Li made his decision immediately and continued his meditation.

Finally, three hours later, he succeeded in his breakthrough. The silver coverage reached ten percent, and he leaped to become a Bronze Tier Two card master.

At this moment, Su Li's fatigue was swept away.

Continue strengthening!

He gazed at [Shadow Sting-Su Miaohan] and discovered that this card had gained an additional strengthening option.

This card can be strengthened, with the following options:

① Killing intent in the shadows; a natural assassin. After receiving support from the Ability School, Su Miaohan needs a sufficiently sharp dagger.

② An assassin walks alone, but who could refuse a suitable helper?

③ Merge with [Black Mist] to gain new power.

④ If you possess enough cards, perhaps a miracle will be born.

Just as option four stated, now that Su Li possessed [Black Mist], the option had appeared.

Card fusion was a standard method for card strengtheners; even ordinary card masters could fuse two cards.

But this fusion was not blind; it required the guidance of a card strengthener. Even cards with similar compatibility might not fuse successfully.

Once a fusion failed, the strengthening materials were wasted, and the cards themselves could be damaged.

His ability made this fusion different from a normal one. On the wall appeared the black-haired girl training hard with her abilities. Su Li flicked his finger, and [Black Mist] flew out, merging into the card world.

At this moment, the card world continued to evolve.

Possessing a B-rank ability, Su Miaohan never slacked off. Her strength advanced by leaps and bounds, and she eventually earned the title of the first genius of that city.

At the same time, the kind black-haired girl caught the attention of a big shot at the Ability School. The latter appreciated her greatly and, after taking her as a disciple, taught Su Miaohan the dark-type ability Shadow Gate.

Su Miaohan remained true to her heart, training diligently, and slowly mastered Shadow Gate while her own strength steadily improved.

With this, the card world's evolution was complete.

[Shadow Sting-Su Miaohan]

Tier: Bronze Tier Five

Type: Character

Skills:

① Dark Affinity: Awakened dark-type ability; possesses powerful control over dark-type energy.

② Shadow Gate: Consumes dark-type energy to open a shadow gate in any area within fifty meters of herself, creating black mist and shadows to form a dark domain.

③ Shadow Sneak: Able to merge into shadows, silent and traceless.

④ Shadow Assassination: Enhances strength with dark-type energy to deliver a fatal blow.

Overview: Genius girl! Setting off toward greater strength!

Awesome! Su Li was dumbfounded. A character card could actually create its own domain.

Although it was only Bronze Tier Five, if this card were placed in the hands of any card strengthener, it would be judged as having extremely high growth potential!

The Shadow Cover skill had disappeared, but Shadow Gate possessed its characteristics directly.

The fused card allowed Su Miaohan to gain new abilities through a fortuitous encounter, which also surprised Su Li.

But even though she had been strengthened from Bronze Tier Three to Bronze Tier Five, the Mystery Energy feedback this time was very little, only two percent.

Regarding this, Su Li had a vague guess in his heart.