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Xu Changfeng put away his unserious smile and said sternly, "Old Nie wanted to recruit him into Judgment, didn't he?"

"Yeah. Since Old Nie personally made a move, the terms Judgment offered must have been quite generous, yet Fat Uncle turned them down. My approach was more tactful. I originally wanted to take him on as a disciple first, guide him gradually, then recruit him into Fenghua Club. But he quickly guessed my identity and politely declined my request." Tang Muzhou spoke with some regret. "Judging by his attitude, he probably wants to be a freelance designer."

"A freelance designer?" Zhen Man's delicate brows knit slightly. "Are you sure there isn't a club or major guild backing him?"

"I'm sure. He should be a newcomer who hasn't been in contact with the game for long and doesn't understand many arena rules very well." Tang Muzhou analyzed, "He doesn't want to be tied to a club. On one hand, he's farsighted and already recognizes his own unique talent. Developing freely is the better choice for him. On the other hand, he's highly wary of strangers and prefers to work alone."

Xue Linxiang stared in disbelief. Tang Muzhou had merely met the other party once on an alt account, yet he had already analyzed so much information about him. She had never seen Tang God take such an interest in anyone before.

"What should we do next?" Red Candle asked uneasily.

"Should we offer him better terms than Judgment and try to recruit him?" Xue Linxiang suggested. "For example, let him become an official designer right away and double his bonuses. If he meets the age requirements for competition, we could even put him directly on the first team as an official professional player?"

"I'm afraid that won't work." Tang Muzhou shook his head. "In my judgment, he's a very cautious person who won't casually accept an invitation from any club. After recognizing me, he politely refused my request to become his master. That shows he isn't merely looking at immediate benefits; he's thinking far ahead—truly talented designers are more sought after developing freely than signing with any club."

"That makes sense. Without club restrictions, he can design cards more freely, and the copyrights will remain in his own hands." Xue Linxiang frowned. "But most freelance designers create pet cards. Nearly all battle card designers have been signed by major clubs. Judgment and Fenghua Club, the two most famous clubs in the industry, both approached him and were rejected. It seems he's extremely confident in his own abilities?"

"I'm guessing he must have a great many card-making ideas in his head and will soon create more cards." Tang Muzhou turned to Xue Linxiang, his expression serious. "Sister Xue, don't get involved in this matter. Leave it to me."

"What are you planning to do?" Xue Linxiang asked curiously.

"Right now, he's like a piece of uncut jade." Tang Muzhou's gaze was deep as he spoke with a smile at the corner of his lips. "I want to carve him myself."

Xue Linxiang and Red Candle exchanged glances.

Carve him himself? Did Tang God mean he was personally going to cultivate a top-tier Star Card designer? But the problem was that the other party had no intention of signing with Fenghua Club. Would nurturing him benefit them at all? Xue Linxiang couldn't understand Tang Muzhou's train of thought.

"Enough. Let's stop discussing him and continue with the competition." Tang Muzhou steered the topic back. "Who among you wants to enter this year's individual event?"

Star Card Storm held many competitions every year. Aside from the official professional league, which required all professional players to participate, there were also numerous privately organized tournaments sponsored by companies, as well as celebrity invitationals, bounty tournaments, and more.

Tang Muzhou had won the individual event in last season's official professional league. Since his debut, he had claimed individual championships twice, in Season Five and Season Nine. Now that it was Season Ten, he no longer wanted to compete in the individual event. In his estimation, top players who had won championships, such as Nie Yuandao, Zheng Feng, Fang Yu, and Ling Jingtang, probably would not enter the individual event this year either. The various clubs would send more newcomers instead.

Xu Changfeng said, "Little An is definitely going, right? I want to join in the fun too. Is Man-jie going?"

Zhen Man said calmly, "I won't be entering the individual event. I'll focus on preparing for the team event."

Xue Linxiang respected the players' decisions. She showed everyone the schedule and said, "Registration information must be submitted within three days. The first round of the individual event begins on the tenth. Since Little Tang and Manman aren't participating, we'll have to rely on you two this year."

Shen An confidently raised his hand. "Don't worry, Sister Xue. Reaching the finals won't be a problem for me. I'll try to bring back an award!"

Xu Changfeng smiled. "Same here. I can't guarantee the championship, but I'll do my best to win an award."

Xue Linxiang said readily, "All right! Tomorrow, I'll hold a meeting with the second team and have them actively register for various events to gain more experience. But for the final club team competition, we'll definitely still need you four aces."

All four nodded to show they understood.

After the meeting, everyone returned to their dorms.

On the way back, Xu Changfeng suddenly lowered his voice and asked, "Muzhou, when you said earlier that Fat Uncle definitely wouldn't sell the copyright, were you actually the one who didn't want to buy the Daiyu Card copyright at all?"

Tang Muzhou smiled. "You really do know me."

Xu Changfeng rubbed his forehead helplessly. "Have you gone crazy? If this card is released in bulk, every major club will have one. What good does that do you?"

Tang Muzhou remained composed. "Since I was the first to propose Instant-Death Judgment, I'm not afraid of being targeted by Instant Death cards. My more important goal is to let this Fat Uncle fully unleash his talent and imagination, creating more Instant Death cards. Ideally, he'll sell all of them and let them circulate widely. That way, next season's matches will be more interesting and more challenging, won't they?"

Xu Changfeng was speechless.

Rather than being targeted alone, everyone might as well be targeted together.

Tang Muzhou's idea was truly devious.

So that was why he wouldn't buy the Daiyu Card copyright and was even going to personally guide Fat Uncle!

Xu Changfeng lowered his head in thought for a moment, then immediately asked, "By the way, since you're not entering the individual event, don't tell me you plan to use your free time to open an alt account and specifically guide this Fat Uncle, making him create a huge number of Instant Death cards aimed at all the major clubs?"