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Tang Muzhou smiled faintly. "Since you guessed my identity, why did you still refuse when I wanted to take you as my disciple? With a master like me guiding you, whether you become a professional designer in the future or take the path of a professional player, things will be much easier for you than for others."

Xie Mingzhe said frankly, "Thank you for the offer, Tang God. Actually, I've met Nie Yuandao from the Judgment Club before."

Tang Muzhou narrowed his eyes slightly. "Old Nie approached you? Why?"

Xie Mingzhe said, "He wanted to invite me to join the Judgment Club, but I declined. If Tang God takes me as your disciple, you naturally want me to join the Fenghua Club, right? My refusal doesn't mean I think you aren't qualified to be my master. On the contrary, I'm deeply honored that a great player like you thinks highly of me and is willing to personally guide me. It's just that I don't want to be tied to any club, so I can't acknowledge you as my master for now."

Tang Muzhou: "..."

Xie Mingzhe continued, "I'm very sorry, Tang God. I appreciate your kindness. You taught me a great deal today, and I'll remember this favor. But I'm used to being free, and I don't really like being constrained by all sorts of club rules."

Tang Muzhou narrowed his eyes at Fat Uncle. "Constrained by rules? Are you worried about copyright issues?"

Xie Mingzhe nodded. "Tang God can think I don't know how to appreciate kindness, but I truly don't want to join any club. Every card I make in the future must have its copyright remain in my own hands."

Although Fat Uncle's in-game appearance was chubby, with a kind smile that made him look rather simple and approachable, Tang Muzhou sensed the sharp edge of a young man who feared nothing from him.

This person was clearly farsighted. If someone truly possessed outstanding talent, who would willingly tie himself to a club and hand over all the copyrights to the cards he created? When Tang Muzhou signed with Fenghua Guild, there had been a supplementary agreement: the copyrights to all original cards bearing the "Tang" logo belonged to him. Great players such as Old Nie, Fang Yu, and Ling Jingtang had likewise reached copyright agreements with their clubs. Even if they switched teams someday, they could take all their own cards with them.

But that had been before the fifth season.

During the fifth season, something very unpleasant had happened in the league, and it had begun with a copyright dispute.

A great player had taken his club to court. The lawsuit dragged on for a long time and caused a huge uproar. Because of that incident, contracts separating original card copyrights became increasingly rare. Newcomers who signed after the sixth season rarely received such treatment—every club controlled copyrights tightly, afraid that the copyright dispute from back then would happen again.

In recent years, rising newcomers had all signed contracts assigning card copyrights to their clubs. Newcomers capable of creating original cards were already few and far between, while most players directly used cards made by the club's designers, so they did not care much about "card copyrights."

But Fat Uncle clearly cared deeply about them.

He was undoubtedly wise. In the long run, he could earn more as a freelance designer than by binding himself to any club. Without club restrictions, he could fully unleash his imagination and design all kinds of different cards.

Rather than relying on any club, he wanted to strike out on his own. Did he really have that kind of courage?

Seeing that Fat Uncle's attitude was firm, Tang Muzhou had no choice but to change his wording. "Since you refuse to become my disciple, let's be friends first. If you run into any problems with card design in the future, you can send me a private message through the friends list. If I see it, I'll reply."

The other man had no airs at all and had even offered to guide him. Xie Mingzhe could not have asked for a "great-player friend" like this, and he immediately nodded. "No problem! As long as Tang God doesn't mind that I'm just an unknown nobody, then let's be friends!"

"You won't be an unknown nobody for much longer... Oh, right. Do you not have a habit of checking your mail? Remember to check your inbox when you have time." Tang Muzhou stood up with a smile. "There's still something to handle at the club, so I'll log off first."

"Alright. Goodbye, Tang God."

The man before him vanished directly, logging off with remarkable decisiveness.

Xie Mingzhe was still somewhat unaccustomed to seeing someone suddenly disappear before his eyes. He froze for a moment before turning and heading downstairs, intending to take a stroll around this entertainment planet.

When he reached the restaurant entrance, he discovered that the doors were closed and a "Closed" sign hung outside.

No wonder no one had disturbed him despite his long conversation with Tang God.

The waiter at the entrance smiled and said, "Fat Uncle, the boss said you can come sit at our restaurant anytime you're free. Our restaurant only receives special guests, and you've been added to the VIP list with unrestricted access."

Xie Mingzhe was flattered. "Thank you."

After leaving the restaurant, he turned back for another look at Thousand Woods Restaurant. The words "Thousand Woods" were entwined with green vines, surrounded by little pale-blue flowers. The fresh, understated style was quite distinctive.

Since the waiter had called Tang Muzhou the boss, this restaurant was clearly a place Tang Muzhou had rented and operated. Surely no one would be bored enough to spend money eating in a game, right? It could not fill their stomachs. Renting a shop to sell things could still make money, but wouldn't renting a restaurant lead to losses?

With that question in mind, Xie Mingzhe headed toward another street lined with bars.

The bar street was extremely lively at night. Some singers were performing, and neon lights shimmered all along the road. It was difficult to connect the scene before him with the world of a game.

As Xie Mingzhe marveled at it all, he found a spot beside the bar street and sat down, lowering his head in thought.

The Daiyu Card had been bought by Tang God for the staggering price of 660,000, already causing a sensation at the auction. Many people at the venue had been livestreaming at the time, so he guessed that Yueban's name as a card maker had become somewhat known. Players' first impression of him was probably that he was the creator of Instant-Death Cards.

His earliest cards should not be too scattered. As the saying went, one should specialize in one's craft. It would be better to first establish a foothold in the original-card scene through Instant-Death Cards. Once he had made a name for himself, he could create other kinds of cards later.

For Instant-Death Cards, he had currently made Wu Song and Daiyu.

The copyright to Wu Song had been sold to God Nie, so he could not continue making it. Daiyu could be made without limit. But his card shop could not possibly sell only Daiyu, could it? That would make people think he had run out of ideas and could only make this one card.