Cards fell into four major categories: combat, support, pet, and mechanical.
Of the four, combat cards, whether focused on the physical body or the mind, were all related to battle. They did not come with additional attributes outside of combat.
Support cards, on the other hand, had many branches, though they were basically all used for assistance and enhancement.
Pet cards, as the name implied, could include ornamental pets, combat pets, or even auxiliary pets such as mounts.
Only the mechanical category was different.
This category of cards was extremely diverse and encompassed every type.
For example, there were weapons, firearms, shells, mecha vehicles, and the like suitable for combat; healing devices, mobile mechanical tools, detection tools, and the like suitable for support; as well as robots, mechanical dogs, and other machines that could serve as pets.
Thus, the mechanical category was exceptionally broad. Its cards covered combat, support, pets, daily life—everything.
However, mechanical cards had one distinct trait: regardless of what kind of mechanical card it was, what it summoned after activation was necessarily a machine. It could not be anything non-mechanical.
The Sleeve Arrow Card Tang Jian intended to make was one type of mechanical card.
In the world of card cultivators, all manner of cards were manifestations of the various laws of heaven and earth.
Perhaps many years ago, before card knowledge had become widespread, people found it difficult to understand why an ordinary card could summon a living pet or conjure a pistol or rocket launcher from thin air.
But after so many years of research and dissemination of card knowledge, even ordinary people had long since learned the most basic concepts and had grown accustomed to the extraordinary, miraculous power of cards.
This was also one of the reasons card masters held such lofty status.
Tang Jian swiftly sketched upon a White Card.
His hand was steady. Every drop of Energy Ink squeezed out by the Sketching Pen was quickly guided and extended by him, fully displaying the awareness and skill of a Three-Star Card Crafter.
Very quickly, the lines on the White Card gradually increased, and a series of arrow-like outlines began to take shape.
The pattern looked roughly like this:
←↑→↓↖↗↘↙
Of course, these arrows were completely intertwined into a single whole rather than neatly arranged in rows.
Without careful observation, it looked like a single line. But upon closer inspection, one could see the differences within it.
In truth, making a Sleeve Arrow Card was not simply a matter of drawing these patterns. One also had to properly regulate the energy in the Energy Ink and use one's own card energy to guide that energy into the card correctly.
Furthermore, as one drew, one had to visualize the fierce scene of a "sleeve arrow" being fired. Only then would the Sleeve Arrow Card possess both form and spirit, allowing it to connect with the shining Star of Machinery in the Starry Sky.
The Star of Machinery truly existed. It was an exceptionally brilliant star in the Starry Sky, symbolizing the Law of Machinery.
It was said that Dolan, the Federation's strongest Card God, had confirmed that the Star of Machinery was home to many card cultivators even more powerful than Card Gods. They had formed a superpower that nurtured talented card cultivators from across the universe and jointly resisted Starry Sky monsters.
All machines summoned by mechanical cards originated from the Star of Machinery and were manifested and transmitted through the Law of Machinery.
Oreo, the Federation's greatest card scholar—scientist—had once proposed a bold hypothesis: the Star of Machinery might itself be a card, a card representing the Law of Machinery, the progenitor of all Mechanical Cards. It completely surpassed the Federation's defined seven-star ranking and stood above seven stars.
And not only the Star of Machinery.
There was also the Star of Reverence, representing the pet category.
The Star of Kings, representing the combat category.
The Star of Glory, representing the support category.
These stars might all be formed from the most powerful and primordial cards. Only with these cards did other cards come into existence.
This hypothesis was almost like a beautiful legend. Whether there was any concrete evidence to prove it was something Tang Jian, who had only been a Three-Star Card Master in his previous life, could not possibly know.
He simply listened to it as a legend.
At that moment, after he finished sketching the entire Sleeve Arrow Card with the fierce, unstoppable mindset of an arrow piercing through all things, he immediately let out a breath of stale air. Sweat streamed down his face, and his gaze grew slightly unfocused.
The mental energy expenditure had been far too great, to the point that even his physical strength was beginning to fail.
But now—
The Sleeve Arrow Card had truly been created.
All the ink lines on its surface instantly solidified. The interconnected arrow-like patterns seemed to come alive, fierce and terrifying, as though they might drill out of the card and fly away.
Tang Jian's gaze fell on the card.
A faint smile could not help appearing in his weary eyes.
The Sleeve Arrow Card had been successfully made.
For a One-Star Card Apprentice like him, this card was already sufficient.
Depending on how much card energy was fed into it, the sleeve arrows fired after activation would inflict varying degrees of damage.
Tang Jian checked the Attribute Panel.
His mental strength had now fallen to 0. He was utterly exhausted and could no longer make cards.
He had only 2 points of card energy remaining.
Creating a single Sleeve Arrow Card had consumed a full 30 points of card energy.
That was only because his card-crafting skills were refined enough. Otherwise, he could never have made this Mechanical Card, which was more difficult than a One-Star Blank Energy Card.
Tang Jian picked up the thin Sleeve Arrow Card and tried to channel his last bit of card energy into it.
The Sleeve Arrow Card immediately grew heavier in his palm. The next moment, it twisted and transformed into a tiny snake-like arrow less than three inches long.
Tang Jian's gaze abruptly sharpened. Without any visible windup, he fiercely flicked his hand.
Whoosh—
The tiny arrow flashed out in an instant and struck the opposite wall with a thud, burying itself directly into the cement.
Tang Jian quickly walked over and saw that the entire snake-like arrow rapidly faded away. His gaze fell on the arrowhead embedded in the wall; it had not penetrated very deeply.
Its power was not great.
But that was only natural.
Summoning the sleeve arrow had consumed 1 point of card energy, and firing it had consumed another point.
A sleeve arrow that used only 2 points of card energy had killing power little different from an ordinary iron arrow hurled with force.
But a card was still a card. Tang Jian had used only some firing technique when he threw the sleeve arrow just now and had not put much force into it. If he increased the card energy input, the sleeve arrow's final destructive power would be quite considerable.
Tang Jian lowered his head and glanced at the unremarkable Sleeve Arrow Card.
A card like this could be used at most thirty times. After thirty uses, it would be scrapped.
After firing one sleeve arrow, the card would reappear in his hand, allowing him to continue activating and firing it with card energy.
Having such a mechanical defensive card already left Tang Jian quite satisfied.
If he had money to buy a Card Device, then using it to activate an Energy Card in tandem with the Sleeve Arrow Card would be like a rapid-fire repeating crossbow.
Fatigue now washed over him.
Tang Jian could not even be bothered to wash up. After simply putting away his tools, he returned to his room, climbed into bed, and gritted his teeth as he continued cultivating the Three-Point-One-Line Technique until he naturally fell asleep.
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