"When crafting cards, I needed quiet. I preferred being alone, so I wouldn't be joining you." Tang Jian looked at the warmly approaching Xie Dong and politely declined with a smile.
Xie Dong froze. He had not expected Tang Jian to reject him so bluntly, leaving him unable to say anything else. Frowning, he nodded. "Fine."
With that, he brushed past Tang Jian. The smile on his face had turned cold.
Tang Jian was giving him no face at all, so he could not blame him for being ruthless tonight.
Tang Jian glanced at Xie Dong's departing back, the corners of his lips curling slightly. His gaze flickered as he touched the Sleeve Arrow Card in his pocket and continued toward the Card Crafting Room.
The moment he had refused Xie Dong, he had clearly sensed a flash of violent anger in the other man's eyes.
Although Xie Dong had quickly concealed it, the two words he had uttered afterward were enough to reveal his displeasure.
Tang Jian had been reborn, after all. He had once struggled through society and was naturally skilled at reading people. Xie Dong, at most, was merely a high school student. No matter how deep his scheming was, it was limited, and Tang Jian saw through some of it at a glance.
Although I can't be certain this guy approached me deliberately with ill intentions, he had a record of this in the past. Looking at him now, I really do need to be on guard.
Tang Jian shook his head and temporarily put the matter aside.
After all, he had been a Three-Star Card Master in his previous life. There was no need to treat a high school student like a formidable enemy. A little caution would be enough.
Soon, Tang Jian arrived at the Card Crafting Room with two classmates.
The Card Crafting Room was quite large, covering around five hundred square meters. It resembled a large laboratory, filled with rows of tables equipped with refined card-crafting devices.
For example, Sketching Pens, precision instruments, and so on.
Although the school provided the Card Crafting Room for all students to use, it did not supply unlimited resources. Materials such as Energy Ink and Blank Cards had to be prepared by the students themselves.
At that moment, more than half the card-crafting tables in the room were already occupied.
With the college entrance exam drawing near, many students had awakened to the urgency of the situation and were honing their card-crafting skills. There were more than half again as many students in the Card Crafting Room as usual.
"Tang Jian, hurry! Let's grab seats first," Shi Lei called from beside him.
"If you have any discarded cards, remember to save them for me. I need a lot of them."
Tang Jian reminded them, then found a spot and sat down.
Although every table in the Card Crafting Room was equipped with instruments, some were better than others, while some had been damaged from prolonged use. That was why Shi Lei and the others were scrambling for spots.
Tang Jian was not picky about where he sat.
At this stage, a Sketching Pen was all he needed.
Tang Jian took a Blank Card from his backpack and casually placed it on the table. The instant his consciousness focused—
The Attribute Template quickly appeared before his eyes.
Owner: Tang Jian Card Energy: 33/33+ Mental Strength: 2/4+ Physique: 6.2+ Special Effect Functions: 1, ???(???) 2, Dream.(???) Current Energy: 0+
His Card Energy had now recovered to its peak state, but his mental strength was still only at 2 points.
Those 2 points of mental strength were likely only enough to craft one One-Star Blank Energy Card.
Tang Jian had already formed a new plan.
There was also a "+" sign after mental strength.
This proved that mental strength could likewise be improved with sufficient energy.
He simply did not know how much energy it would take to raise mental strength by one point.
Logically, Tang Jian should have focused on improving his Card Energy.
Only by raising his Card Energy to a sufficiently high level could he join the Rocket Class sprint in a dozen or so days.
But in practical terms, if his mental strength was too weak, the number of cards he could craft each day would be limited. He could make at most two Blank One-Star Cards a day, which would slow his progress far too much.
One One-Star Blank Energy Card should increase my Card Energy by one point when my own Card Energy isn't depleted. As for how much it can increase my mental strength, I don't know.
To be safe, I could wait until I've accumulated enough Energy Cards before trying to improve my mental strength. But my top priority right now is raising my Card Energy to deal with the Rocket Class sprint eleven days from now.
Tang Jian sat at the table, rapidly analyzing the situation in his mind before finally making a plan.
Three Energy Cards. I'll prepare three Energy Cards. If three still can't improve my mental strength, I'll temporarily give up and focus entirely on raising my Card Energy.
Tang Jian made up his mind.
At a pace of crafting at least two Blank Energy Cards a day, three Energy Cards would cost him a day and a half.
With nine and a half days remaining, barring any accidents, he could craft at least eighteen Energy Cards. That would barely be enough to raise his Card Energy above 50 by the eleventh day.
Surpassing 49 points and reaching 50 points of Card Energy meant becoming a Two-Star Card Apprentice.
There were currently only twenty-four student Card Apprentices at that level in the school.
In theory, as long as Tang Jian reached the level of a Two-Star Card Apprentice eleven days later, he should qualify to join the Rocket Class sprint.
Tang Jian casually pressed his hand onto a card embedded in the metal instrument on the table and fed in a slight trace of Card Energy.
The embedded card immediately glowed faintly, and metal panels instantly sprang out from both sides of the instrument.
The two metal panels extended like flowing water, quickly wrapping around Tang Jian's entire table and concealing it. His upper body and the tabletop were hidden, leaving only his seated lower body exposed.
This was a mechanical-type card—a One-Star Blank Metal Hemisphere Card. Its function was extremely simple. It was mostly used in places such as Card Crafting Rooms, libraries, and phone booths. It could only form a semicircle around a person, creating a relatively quiet and private environment.
However, this card also had an advanced version: the mechanical-type Three-Star Blank Metal Sphere Card. It could form a complete metal sphere around a person, providing a layer of protection.
Inside the hemispherical metal enclosure, Tang Jian immediately felt the surrounding noise weaken by seventy to eighty percent. The environment became much better.
His gaze immediately fell on the Blank Card on the table. He picked up the Sketching Pen and began drawing.
At another table not far away in the Card Crafting Room, Xie Dong frowned as he watched Tang Jian hide himself within the Metal Hemisphere Card, then snorted coldly.
"This kid really is troublesome."
He had intended to secretly observe how many Blank Cards Tang Jian had brought, but Tang Jian had only taken out one card before hiding himself with the Metal Hemisphere Card, causing his plan to fall through.
No matter what, I'll make a move against this kid during dinner tonight.
Xie Dong harbored malicious intentions.
Tang Jian, meanwhile, was completely focused on drawing the Energy Card.
Elegant black lines rapidly gathered beneath his pen into rings of intricate patterns. A One-Star Blank Energy Card quickly took shape in his hands.
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