"Tang Jian, what on earth are you up to? You'd better not be playing with fire."
Sun Yiying watched Tang Jian continue to mix ink on the big screen, her delicate brows slightly furrowed and her eyes flickering.
She truly had not expected Tang Jian to choose to make a Card Set.
Where did he get such confidence?
Or perhaps it was because of what she had said yesterday. Maybe he was now trying to outdo Wu Chun out of spite and was acting irrationally. Sun Yiying could not help feeling somewhat regretful.
"Making cards isn't like copying a drawing. It consumes mental energy and card energy. Teacher Sun, could it be that your student's vitality and card energy have already surpassed Wu Chun's? Ah, he really is aiming too high."
A teacher who was rather close to Jiang Zhendong smiled and shook his head, clearly having no faith in Tang Jian.
Three One-Star Blank Energy Cards were not so easy to make. They not only consumed card energy, but also mental strength.
If he failed even once midway through, there was absolutely no way he could finish this set within an hour. After all, a person's mental strength and card energy were limited.
Making cards within an hour was already difficult enough. Trying to recover his strength and continue after a failure would leave him with nowhere near enough time.
"Even if he can't complete the entire set, he may still have a chance at first place if he makes two of them," Sun Yiying snorted, speaking evenly.
Jiang Zhendong frowned slightly. "That depends on whether he can make them at all. And even if he does, we'll have to see how long it takes and how well they perform."
"Words are useless." Sun Yiying shook her head.
At that moment, Tang Jian carefully poured Wind Crystal Fluid and Energy Ink into the Heating Furnace at a one-to-five ratio. He adjusted the furnace's temperature and patiently mixed the ink.
Making cards, especially cards that required other substances to be blended into the Energy Ink, demanded even finer control over the card-making materials.
Preparing the Energy Ink was the most crucial step.
Time passed second by second.
While Tang Jian was still preparing his Energy Ink, quite a few students who had chosen the card-making test had already begun making their cards.
Most One-Star Blank Cards could be made with ordinary Energy Ink, but a very small number of more difficult One-Star Blank Cards required other substances to be added to the Energy Ink.
Once other substances had been added, making the Energy Ink harmonize with the card energy in the human body and fuse into the card surface became far more troublesome. It required finer perception and coordination. Each card naturally consumed much more mental energy and card energy than other cards of the same star level.
However, such a minor inconvenience was no problem at all for Tang Jian, who possessed the awareness of a Three-Star Card Crafter.
For him, a One-Star Blank Card that only required a single material to be blended into the Energy Ink was no more difficult than an ordinary One-Star Blank Energy Card—in other words, it posed no difficulty at all.
"59, 58, 57..."
Tang Jian silently counted down in his heart. He calmed his mind and held his nerve, not rushing in the slightest.
The great Card God Chen Mu had once said, "Thorough preparation, a calm heart, and precise, skilled hands—these are all essential requirements for a Card Maker."
For Tang Jian, only by preparing meticulously before making a card could he ensure that the process ahead went more smoothly. There was no rushing this.
The reason the school had set up this test, placed a candle before everyone, and imposed a supposed time limit—
was clearly to reinforce a psychological suggestion, constantly warning them that time was running out.
Those with weak willpower, those unable to calm themselves, would become increasingly prone to mistakes as the candle burned shorter and shorter.
Once they made a mistake, they would fail.
At that moment, Tang Jian even sensed the gravity around him beginning to intensify. It was gradually nearing the state of a onefold gravity environment, and it was still increasing.
This was clearly another form of interference.
He did not care, but outwardly, he still put on a somewhat nervous appearance. His brows were lightly furrowed, his lower lip gently bitten, and he stared fixedly at the Heating Furnace while tightly gripping the Sketching Pen, like a young girl anxiously waiting for a response after confessing to the one she secretly loved.
This performance, worthy of an award-winning actor, immediately made several teachers in the meeting room who were still watching him shake their heads inwardly in disappointment.
"He's already getting nervous, while Wu Chun has begun making his card. The difference is obvious," one teacher sighed.
At that moment.
Wu Chun was indeed performing much better than Tang Jian. He had already finished preparing his ink, drawn it up with his Sketching Pen, and begun sketching on the card surface.
His expression was focused, his gaze bright, and his demeanor calm. His strokes were steady, his wrist light, and his fingers moved flexibly as they braced and rotated the pen. Though he was not sketching quickly, every stroke was stable, showing his powerful confidence and exceptionally calm state of mind.
Compared with Wu Chun's performance, Tang Jian's nervousness, practically written all over his face, naturally seemed rather unsatisfactory.
Before long, aside from Sun Yiying and Jiang Zhendong, few teachers continued watching Tang Jian. They all shifted their attention to their own students.
Only then did Tang Jian let out a long breath, seemingly relieving his pressure, and slowly poured out the Energy Ink from the Heating Furnace.
The originally black Energy Ink had tiny blue specks scattered across its surface, like starlight. The Wind Crystal Fluid had fused perfectly with the Energy Ink.
Tang Jian immediately rinsed the Heating Furnace with clean water, poured in more Energy Ink, then added some Sword Qi Fruit jam according to the proper ratio and continued heating it.
Afterward, Tang Jian used his Sketching Pen to draw up the first batch of prepared Energy Ink and began sketching the card on a card surface made of Wind Cat Bone.
With one stroke, lines of black ink flecked with blue stars wound beneath his pen tip. Tang Jian focused his mind tightly on coordinating the fusion between the card surface and the Card Ink.
The card energy within his body served as the medium between the two, like a massive hammer ruthlessly forging an iron ingot placed over a furnace flame, hammering out its impurities.
Yet the delicate control required over his card energy during this process was even more intricate than wielding a great hammer, difficult to describe in words.
As Tang Jian made the card, every trace of nervousness vanished from his face. His every movement was incomparably precise, and his gaze became exceptionally focused.
And at that moment!
Wu Chun had already completed half of his first Pet Card, the Antelope Card.
A few students who were equally skilled at making cards had nearly reached the final stages of their first cards.
"Ah, student Liu Fei has already made a One-Star Blank Energy Card. What incredible speed—has it only been six minutes?"
One teacher praised him.
However, teachers also shook their heads one after another, because many people had failed during the initial stages due to excessive nervousness or an inability to adapt to the gravity environment. They had no choice but to immediately grind more ink and try again.
Five minutes later.
Jiang Zhendong laughed heartily and clapped in praise. "Wu Chun is quite good. He's finished his first Pet Card. Excluding the time he spent grinding ink, he only took a little over six minutes to make this card."
Several teachers looked toward the screen and found that Wu Chun had indeed completed his first card. He had begun closing his eyes to rest and recover a little strength. Amid their surprise, they all began praising him enthusiastically.
Some also turned their eyes toward Sun Yiying before looking Tang Jian over again.
Suddenly, Jiang Zhendong's eyes widened, and the smile vanished from his face.
Thanks to Gentle Brother, "Wang Zhi Hu Zhe Ye," "Big Meat Loves JianW," and "My Main Account Is Bound" for the rewards!
The recommendations are doing fairly well. We're still in second place right now. Mua~~~ Keep it up!
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