Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu made a living by producing one-star Energy Cards and working weekends at a used-card collection station, while studying card making on his own. At the station, he found a one-star Energy Card with a structure he had never seen before.

• Chen Mu completed his daily quota of twenty-five one-star Energy Cards and used one to restore power to his room.
• Chen Mu sold the cards to Uncle Hua, who gave him an attendance pass for a card-making course.
• Chen Mu recalled how he had learned to make Energy Cards from a dying card maker, built a steady livelihood, and lowered his production costs.
• Chen Mu went to Xiao Hei’s collection station for his weekend shift and sorted discarded cards, finding one with a new structure.
• Chen Mu’s fingers stopped on another card as he sorted through the pile.

Chen Mu examined two unusual One-Star Energy Cards, uncovering useful structural ideas in one and peeling back the surface of the other to reveal an intricate, disguised card. He was left staring at a card whose purpose and identity he could not understand.

• Chen Mu noticed that an old, masterfully drawn One-Star Energy Card was unusually heavy and felt its shallow pattern was strange.
• Chen Mu took the unusual card and another One-Star Energy Card with a novel structure from Xiao Hei.
• At home, Chen Mu studied the novel structure and identified a loop compression design he might adapt to his own cards.
• Chen Mu tested the old card in his power unit, found it supplied no energy, and discovered that three different materials were bonded together.
• Chen Mu peeled away the card’s outer film and found thousands of fine silver lines covering a black surface.
• Chen Mu realized the apparent energy card had been disguised, but he could not identify the complex card underneath.

Chen Mu tested a mysterious card but put it aside after learning it required an expensive Three-Star Energy Card. He attended a training class at East Guard Academy, where he grew suspicious of the instructor before focusing on the basics of card theory.

• Chen Mu tried to activate the mysterious card, but his device required a Three-Star Energy Card, which he could not justify buying.
• Chen Mu stored the card and its thin films, then continued making One-Star Energy Cards with a modified design that raised his daily income by fifty Odi.
• Chen Mu used Uncle Hua’s class pass to attend a training class near East Guard Academy and watched the academy’s students with envy.
• Jia Ming introduced himself as a direct disciple of Professor Jia Ziling and promised the students easy job prospects after the course.
• Chen Mu doubted Jia Ming’s claims and grew disappointed when the instructor spent the morning reading from a textbook he had already studied, but he soon focused on the lecture.

Chen Mu made rapid progress on the One-Star Energy Card by attending Jia Ming’s classes, then submitted one for East Guard Academy’s Continuing Education Exam. Zuo Tingyi found Chen Mu’s card to be the only acceptable entry and reacted with surprise as he inspected it.

• Chen Mu attended every one of Jia Ming’s classes and improved his understanding of the One-Star Energy Card.
• Jia Ming told his students to make cards for the Continuing Education Exam, and Chen Mu submitted a One-Star Energy Card.
• Jia Ming brought three bags of student cards to Jia Ziling’s office, and Jia Ziling assigned Zuo Tingyi to sort them.
• Zuo Tingyi rejected the flawed cards and found Chen Mu’s One-Star Energy Card to be the only one worth keeping.
• Zuo Tingyi inspected the surviving card more carefully and exclaimed in surprise.

Zuo Tingyi and Jia Ziling examined a strange One-Star Energy Card and confirmed that its structure was unusual but its performance matched a standard card. They failed to recognize that its advantage was lower cost, while Chen Mu continued making cards and improved his drawing efficiency.

• Zuo Tingyi showed Jia Ziling a One-Star Energy Card whose structure seemed strange.
• Jia Ziling analyzed the card and found that it used a new structure but performed no better than a standard card.
• Jia Ziling dismissed the card without realizing that its modifications reduced its cost.
• Zuo Tingyi could not identify the card's maker, so his plan to help the maker take the advancement exam fell through.
• Chen Mu continued making One-Star Energy Cards and estimated that his smoother strokes improved their energy efficiency by three percent.

Chen Mu decided not to buy a Three-Star Energy Card and focused instead on strengthening his poor foundation as he prepared to make a one-star Illusion Card. He reviewed the history of Illusion Cards, perception training, and the distinct roles of card makers and Card Adepts before the chapter ended without showing his attempt.

• Chen Mu restrained his curiosity about the black card and decided against spending fifteen thousand Odi on a Three-Star Energy Card.
• Chen Mu judged that his weak foundation made it too risky to focus on the black card and concluded that he was ready to try making a one-star Illusion Card.
• Chen Mu considered how Illusion Cards ranged from elementary phantom images to advanced Illusion Skill Cards that simulated physical objects.
• Chen Mu reviewed how perception training shaped card makers' ability to sense energy and Card Adepts' ability to control it.
• Chen Mu recalled how card makers and Card Adepts became distinct professions, with Hainer Vincent remembered as the last Card Master.

Chen Mu attempted to make his first one-star illusion card but exhausted himself through repeated failures. While he slept, the mysterious card transformed, leaving him baffled when he woke and saw its new surface.

• Chen Mu reflected on the limits of his perception training and continued practicing with the One-Star Energy Card he had made.
• Chen Mu began making a one-star illusion card, but his first attempts failed and left him mentally exhausted.
• Chen Mu fell asleep at his desk as the mysterious card began changing in the starlight.
• The card’s silver threads faded away over ten minutes, leaving countless bright silver points on its black surface.
• Chen Mu woke five hours later, saw the transformed card, and stared at it in disbelief.

Chen Mu restrained himself from buying a Three-Star Energy Card so he could focus on learning to make illusion cards, but after seven days of failed attempts and mounting expenses, he took a break at East Guard Academy. There, he relaxed on the grass and heard someone speaking nearby.

• Chen Mu put the mysterious card away and recommitted himself to learning to make illusion cards before investigating its secrets.
• Chen Mu spent seven days attempting to make one-star illusion cards, but failed each time and used nearly ten thousand Odi in materials.
• Chen Mu left home for a walk, and his spirits gradually improved in the sunny weather.
• Chen Mu wandered into East Guard Academy and lay on the grass, ignoring visitors who mistook him for a beggar.
• Chen Mu heard someone speaking nearby as he rested on the grass.

Chen Mu overheard a girl’s sister explain that Perception induces material bonding rather than controlling it, which revealed why his attempts at making Illusion Cards had failed. He successfully made a One-Star Illusion Card, then woke from a two-day sleep and turned his attention back to the mysterious card.

• Chen Mu heard Yan'er describe her difficulty making a Blue-Skinned Rabbit Illusion Card, and her sister explained how Perception induced the materials to bond.
• Chen Mu realized the explanation solved his problem and rushed home to make a One-Star Illusion Card.
• Chen Mu completed the card and activated it, producing a fist-sized ball of light.
• Chen Mu slept for two days and nights, then woke and considered what to work on next.
• Chen Mu remembered the mysterious card, examined its silver dots, and felt that it suggested boundless vastness.

Chen Mu bought a Three-Star Energy Card so he could investigate the mysterious card, then activated it in his Wrist Device. The card transported him into a lifelike illusion, where an aged voice instructed him to complete eighteen movements.

• Chen Mu decided to spend fifteen thousand Odi on a Three-Star Energy Card and bought one at an upscale card shop.
• Chen Mu hurried home, eager to uncover why the mysterious card had been disguised and why its structural pattern had changed overnight.
• Chen Mu inserted the mysterious card and the Three-Star Energy Card into his Wrist Device and activated them.
• Chen Mu found himself in a boundless black void as eighteen figures appeared and demonstrated different movements.
• Chen Mu read the instructions beside one figure and began trying to imitate the movements.

Chen Mu escaped the mysterious Illusion Card by activating his Wrist Device, then studied the card again after waking from exhaustion. He concluded that its eighteen movements resembled fitness exercises, but their purpose remained unknown.

• Chen Mu struggled to perform the eighteen movements and discovered that each correctly matched movement dimmed its corresponding Puppet.
• Chen Mu reasoned that the way out might involve himself, noticed his Wrist Device, and activated it to escape the illusion.
• Chen Mu collapsed in his room from exhaustion and fell asleep on the floor.
• After hunger woke him, Chen Mu ate hard bread and reflected on the history of everyday cards and Luo Qi's influence.
• Chen Mu examined the mysterious card and decided its eighteen movements looked like fitness exercises rather than fighting techniques.

Chen Mu resumed practicing the mysterious card’s eighteen movements and improving his Illusion Card skills while making Energy Cards for income. After visiting a sick Uncle Hua, he ran into Lei Zi, who told him he had found work at a Card Film company.

• Chen Mu made a schedule to practice the mysterious card’s movements, improve his Illusion Cards, and keep producing One-Star Energy Cards.
• Chen Mu found that his Energy Card production had become faster, but he could perform only half of the eighteen movements and made little progress on lifelike illusions.
• Chen Mu brought Energy Cards to Uncle Hua’s general store and learned that Uncle Hua was sick and hoped Chen Mu would make an Illusion Card signboard for him.
• Chen Mu left the store and met Lei Zi, who told him he had found a job doing scriptwriting odd jobs at a small Card Film company.

After mastering the eighteen movements in the mysterious card, Chen Mu unlocked tutorials for making One-Star Illusion Cards and an unfamiliar Planning Card. He emerged eager to discover the card’s ultimate purpose.

• Chen Mu reunited briefly with Lei Zi, who said he had found work at the Card Shadow Company.
• Chen Mu practiced the Body-Strengthening Exercise daily for three months, mastering all eighteen movements and gaining flexibility, strength, and steadier hands.
• Chen Mu activated the mysterious card again and performed the eighteen movements in its dark void until all the Puppets went dark.
• Two orange-yellow cards appeared, and Chen Mu accessed a detailed One-Star Illusion Card creation tutorial filled with techniques and demonstrations.
• Chen Mu learned that the pale blue card contained a tutorial for making a Planning Card, a type he had never heard of.
• Chen Mu wondered what purpose the mysterious card served and resolved to uncover its secrets.

Chen Mu studied the mysterious card’s tutorials and practiced making increasingly lifelike Illusion Cards, eventually learning to create moving images. Concerned about Uncle Hua’s declining health, he decided to make him an Illusion Card advertising sign and set out to inspect examples on the streets.

• Chen Mu immersed himself in the tutorials, practiced Illusion Card creation, and closely observed the world around him, sometimes becoming so absorbed that he stopped responding to people.
• Chen Mu’s Illusion Cards grew more lifelike, but he remained dissatisfied with them compared with the mysterious card’s illusions.
• Chen Mu resolved to make an advertising sign for Uncle Hua, whose health had been worsening.
• Chen Mu broke through the challenge of making smooth, natural moving illusions and found he could vividly depict scenes from his childhood.
• Chen Mu planned to walk through the streets to study other Illusion Card advertising signs before making his first one for Uncle Hua.

Chen Mu visited Gold Street for the first time and became absorbed in a spectacular Illusion Card billboard outside the Twin Ring Card Shop. After studying its techniques for half an hour, he left when a saleswoman asked whether he wanted to buy anything.

• Chen Mu entered Gold Street and was surprised by its crowds and advertisements featuring projected beautiful women.
• Chen Mu stopped to watch the Twin Ring Card Shop’s two-story Illusion Card billboard, which depicted heroes battling a beast horde.
• Chen Mu recognized the billboard’s intricate effects and seamless transitions as the work of an exceptionally skilled card maker.
• A saleswoman noticed Chen Mu had watched the billboard for half an hour and asked whether he wanted to buy something.
• Chen Mu said he did not and left the shop entrance.

Chen Mu finished an illusion-card signboard for Uncle Hua, but found the store closed and learned Uncle Hua had died. Grief drove Chen Mu into relentless training and the study of planning cards, while a momentous event occurred in Dongshang Guard City.

• Chen Mu completed Uncle Hua's signboard and made a Flame Dragon Illusion Card inspired by an advertisement at the Twin Ring Card Shop.
• Chen Mu found Uncle Hua's store shut and learned from a neighboring shopkeeper that Uncle Hua had been absent for days.
• Chen Mu repeatedly visited the closed store and asked neighboring shopkeepers where Uncle Hua lived, but no one knew.
• Chen Mu grieved Uncle Hua's death and threw himself into intensive Body-Strengthening Exercise and illusion-card practice.
• Chen Mu began studying the basics of planning cards, struggling with the unfamiliar field.
• A momentous event occurred in Dongshang Guard City while Chen Mu trained at home.

After Uncle Hua's death, Chen Mu continued training and worried about finding a new buyer for his One-Star Energy Cards. Lei Zi visited and described how a director had stolen credit for his successful card-film script, then asked how Chen Mu's illusion card studies were going.

• Dongshang Guard City buzzed over the Star Academy's announced exchange program with East Guard Academy.
• Chen Mu trained and studied relentlessly, noticed his physical abilities had improved, and focused on making a living after Uncle Hua's death.
• Lei Zi arrived at Chen Mu's home, complained about how hard it was to make a living, and explained that his director had taken credit for his script.
• Lei Zi confronted the director, who gave him fifty thousand Odi and threatened to fire him; the film then became a sales hit and made the director famous.
• Lei Zi slumped onto Chen Mu's bed and asked how his illusion card studies were going.

Lei Zi saw Chen Mu's lifelike Flame Dragon illusion and proposed that they make Card Films together. Chen Mu considered the idea as a possible way to earn money after Uncle Hua's death.

• Lei Zi asked Chen Mu to show him an Illusion Card, and Chen Mu gave him one he had made earlier.
• Lei Zi activated the card, saw a Flame Dragon appear, and fainted from fright.
• After Lei Zi woke, Chen Mu explained that the Flame Dragon was an illusion and showed him that it was intangible.
• Lei Zi examined the illusion and excitedly suggested that he and Chen Mu make Card Films together.
• Chen Mu said he knew nothing about making Card Films, then considered the proposal as a possible source of income.

Chen Mu agreed to join Lei Zi in making a Card Film, and the two went to East Guard Academy to learn about the medium. After watching Lei Zi’s film and several classics, Chen Mu understood why Card Films used simplified illusions and considered how their production could be improved.

• Lei Zi persuaded Chen Mu to invest in making a Card Film, and they pooled a hundred thousand Odi as starting capital.
• Lei Zi and Chen Mu went to East Guard Academy to attend a lecture on Card Films, where they heard that Star Academy was coming to visit.
• Lei Zi introduced Chen Mu to his friend Lao Shu, also known as Mouse, and they found seats in a classroom screening.
• A female student announced the screening of Words of Summer, and Chen Mu realized that Lei Zi had made the film.
• Chen Mu watched Words of Summer and several classic Card Films, then concluded that more realistic illusions might improve them but would likely cost much more to produce.

Zuo Tingyi went to the card film with Hong Tao to watch Man Siying and monitor Alagon on the Discipline Office’s orders. When Alagon harassed a girl in the classroom, Chen Mu recognized his voice and froze.

• Hong Tao asked Zuo Tingyi why he was watching a card film, and Zuo Tingyi admitted he had come to see Man Siying.
• Zuo Tingyi told Hong Tao that Alagon had been targeting Man Siying and that he was handling the matter for the Discipline Office.
• Zuo Tingyi recruited Hong Tao as muscle while they monitored the classroom from behind Chen Mu and Lei Zi.
• Alagon taunted a girl until she called him and his companions creeps.
• Chen Mu recognized Alagon’s voice and froze.