The World of Card Masters

On September 1, 2018, a terrifying giant beast abruptly appeared in the sky above the western part of Guya on Earth. It caused panic in many countries in Guya at the time, and the ferocious beast quickly unleashed a massacre, causing severe disaster to many coastal nations.

On September 18, Guxia deployed weapons of mass destruction to eliminate the beast, which countless countries had failed to destroy despite pooling all their firepower. However, this also razed several of Guxia's surrounding islands. Yet, it was on this very day that Guxia discovered a golden card at the center of where the beast was destroyed.

On September 25, Guxia was the first to discover the source of the giant beast: Celestial Pit No. 1, located thirteen thousand meters above the western part of Guya.

For several years thereafter, giant beasts would appear out of nowhere almost every year.

After these beasts were killed, new mysterious cards would also emerge. But more often, Celestial Pits began appearing in various regions across Earth.

The locations where the Celestial Pits appeared were erratic; some were in the sky, others deep underground.

Countries were in a state of panic, and Earth faced a crisis. This period was dubbed the Cataclysmic Era.

In 2023, a new dawn arrived for the despairing Earth.

Guxia deciphered the function of the first golden card.

It was also this year that Earth's nations received letters of friendship from cosmic humanity, gaining a wealth of new technological information related to card civilization.

In 2024, pressured by the Celestial Pits, countries banded together, abolishing old national systems and establishing the Human Federation. The Federal Calendar was officially adopted across Earth.

A new era, accompanied by a new technological civilization, had officially arrived!

"Physical health is the foundation of revolution, and only with excellent physical fitness can one condense Card Energy. Card Energy is the key to becoming a Card Master."

"Even if you can't become a Card Master in the future, as long as your Card Energy reaches a certain standard, you can still become a Card Maker, and you can still have a good future."

In Jiangbei City, at Xicheng No. 1 High School, Card User instructor Sun Yiying emphasized these points from the podium.

Her gaze suddenly darted and locked onto a young man with a buzz cut, clearly distracted, sitting in the fourth row on the right.

"Tang Jian!"

She called out softly.

Immediately, many eyes in the classroom shifted to where Tang Jian was sitting.

"Hey! Jerk! Hey!"

His deskmate, Yang Mao, quickly nudged the still-distracted Tang Jian with his elbow.

Tang Jian snapped back to attention, looked blankly at his deskmate, and then realized what was happening. He turned his eyes to the front, where Sun Yiying stood on the podium, her expression already quite displeased.

The next moment.

He quickly stood up with a swish and bowed, saying, "Teacher, I stayed up too late reviewing last night and didn't get enough rest. I was a bit distracted just now."

As soon as he said this, it immediately drew surprised glances from many students.

To be called out by the teacher and then proactively admit fault and apologize—such an instance was truly rare. Was student Tang Jian's ideological awareness really that high?

Sun Yiying had originally intended to criticize him, but upon hearing Tang Jian's explanation, she immediately found it hard to say anything more.

The college entrance exam was approaching, and these were all seventeen or eighteen-year-olds. Since he had already admitted his mistake, criticizing him further might hurt their self-esteem.

Thinking this, Sun Yiying's tone softened a bit, but she still said, "It's good that you admit your mistake, but don't put too much pressure on yourself. Since you're studying so diligently at night, you must have learned something. Teacher will ask you, how are card types classified?"

This information about card categories was something students had basically already memorized. By asking this, Sun Yiying could both reinforce the knowledge for all students and give Tang Jian a way out.

When Sun Yiying asked him this, Tang Jian's memories were stirred. His eyes seemed a little distant, and after a pause, he said, "Card categories include: Support, Combat, Pet, and Equipment.

Each category is further divided into many detailed sub-branches.

For example, Support types are subdivided into—Scouting, Healing, Movement, Enhancement, etc.

Combat types are subdivided into—Attack and Defense, and further subdivided into Mental, Physical, Ability, Magic, Immortal Cultivation, Divine, and Primordial types.

Pet types are subdivided into—"

This was all very basic information, taught during the nine-year compulsory education in junior high. Not to mention, he was now a high school student, so he naturally remembered it clearly.

After Sun Yiying nodded in satisfaction and told him to sit down.

Tang Jian subtly observed the surrounding students and the inspirational quotes by famous people hanging on the classroom wall.

"A Card User who doesn't want to become a Card Master is not a good Card User. —Sealed Card God Li Zhong."

"It's also not good to only study Card Energy books. Young card learners in the past often disliked math, physics, chemistry, history, geography, and biology, thinking they were insignificant, and later became lacking even in common sense. —Card God Mentor Lu Xu."

It's still the classroom from my memories, and these lovely classmates from my memories, Tang Jian thought, looking at his surroundings with emotion.

"Hey, jerk, you were really a jerk just now, admitting your mistake and apologizing the moment you stood up. Your jerk moves are endless."

Yang Mao's teasing voice came from beside him.

Tang Jian instantly discarded the thought that these classmates were lovely. He turned to look at Yang Mao beside him and asked in a low voice, "What's the date today?"

Based on Sun Teacher's mention of the college entrance exam, this year should be Federal Calendar 203, a period 205 years after the Earth Federation made contact with interstellar forces. But Tang Jian didn't know the exact date.

"You're asking me? How should I know? I've been so busy studying cards lately that I've forgotten the time." Yang Mao said, then immediately lowered his head and started flipping through a book.

Tang Jian glanced at the book he was reading and knew that what he said was true.

His deskmate, Yang Mao, had a lot of potential. He didn't want to be a Card Master, but rather preferred to be a Card Maker.

As he'd put it, becoming a Card Master could mean constantly fighting monsters, risking life and limb.

But as a Card Maker, he'd only need to craft cards and sell them to Card Masters. That way, he could make money while watching others fight monsters, living a relaxed and carefree life.

Monsters did indeed exist in this world.

"Monsters" was just the name given to them by the Federal people. In reality, throughout the universe, they were called interstellar monsters, alien races, and so on. Some of these beings might even be lurking within human society.

When the Old Nation first made contact with interstellar forces, interstellar monsters and certain special alien races began invading Earth, causing immense devastation at the time.

Even to this day, some regions of Earth still harbor terrifying radiation zones left behind after the destruction of those interstellar monsters.

That painful period was known as the Cataclysmic Era, a transitional time between the Old Nation and the Federal system.

During this period, the emergence of cards, these miraculous items, gradually changed Earth's dire situation.

Earthlings also discovered cards, a new tool more suitable than nuclear bombs for dealing with monsters. The profession of Card Master began to emerge and develop during that time.

The reason everyone wanted to become a Card Master was because Card Masters held an extremely high social status.

Human society needed powerful Card Masters to maintain social order, preserve world peace, and ensure stable development.

In his previous life, Tang Jian was a three-star Card Master who had graduated from a tier-two university in an elite base city on Earth. He was considered a pillar of Earth's strength.

However, Tang Jian had now confirmed that, absurdly, he had been reborn.

The surrounding environment didn't seem fake.

Nor did it seem like a high-level mental Card Master had used some hypnotic card on him to bring back past memories.

He remembered that after obtaining a peculiar Red Card, he began to encounter danger.

That Red Card had originally been sandwiched inside a very ordinary, plain three-star Energy Card, and that Energy Card was installed in his newly purchased meter.

Tang Jian recalled that when he was inspecting the Energy Card in the meter, he noticed that the Energy Card's thickness was unusual. Through a broken corner of the Energy Card, he discovered the Red Card's existence.

When he took the Red Card out from inside the Energy Card, its ancient, rustic design and the incredibly complex and mysterious lines on its surface immediately piqued his interest.

However, less than two days after he obtained that Red Card, he was ambushed.

The assassin at the time was also a three-star Card Master. Tang Jian narrowly escaped, sustaining severe injuries, but he also lost his most valuable blue three-star magic card, "Hundred-Mile Shift," in the process.

After losing that most precious card, Tang Jian was then targeted by the Federal Apprehension Bureau.

At that time, with his mere three-star Card Master strength, he had no way to escape. He even almost faced a fate worse than death, enduring inhuman torture.

However, at the most critical moment, the Red Card hidden on him unleashed a powerful, destructive Card Energy, resulting in the deaths of all Apprehension Bureau members and the destruction of everything around them.

Tang Jian had originally thought he had died too.

Now it seemed he had been reborn after death.

"I've been reborn now… but what about that Red Card?"

Tang Jian frowned.

"Ring ring ring—"

Just then, the dismissal bell rang.

Yang Mao, who was next to him, began tidying up the card he had just outlined, putting it into his pencil case. He turned to Tang Jian, who was rummaging through his belongings, and said, "Hey, let's go, school's out."

"Yang Mao, did you see a… a Red Card?"

Tang Jian searched everywhere on himself but couldn't find the Red Card. He hesitated before asking Yang Mao beside him.

If the Red Card were lost, given Yang Mao's obsessive dedication to card research, he would definitely not have overlooked it if he had seen it.

"What Red Card? Are there even red cards? You're kidding, right? Tang Jian, have your studies gone completely to your head? Card levels, from lowest to highest, are only white, green, blue, purple, orange, gold, and black." Yang Mao said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and smiling.

This was basic common knowledge.

Seeing that Yang Mao's expression didn't seem fake, Tang Jian felt both puzzled and disappointed. Still, he picked up his backpack and walked out of the classroom with Yang Mao.

Perhaps the Red Card's function was rebirth? So if I've been reborn, will those Apprehension Bureau people also be reborn?

Tang Jian pondered as he walked, feeling a sense of crisis again.

If those Apprehension Bureau members were also reborn, that would be bad.

Those people were all at least three-star Card Masters, and in his previous life, he could only barely contend with them.

Now that he had been reborn, given his family's circumstances and his current strength, it would be even harder to deal with that group.

Even if that group might also have had their strength reset after rebirth, the fact that they could join the Apprehension Bureau proved that their starting background was likely much better than his, a high school student from an ordinary small county.

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