Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu entered the breath-concealing state and used precise control of his perception to disrupt the spiral perception column draining him and Su Liu Cherou. Su Liu Cherou recognized his extraordinary abilities, and the suction began to weaken as she noticed something unusual about his sallow face.

• Chen Mu entered the breath-concealing state, and Su Liu Cherou sensed his demeanor and bodily rhythms transform completely.
• Chen Mu analyzed their mingled perceptions and made thousands of perception-filament tips tremble in unison, sending waves against the spiral perception column.
• Su Liu Cherou watched Chen Mu's precise control in shock and relied on his composure as the suction weakened.
• Su Liu Cherou studied Chen Mu's open, unfocused eyes and sallow face, then frowned as a thought stirred in her mind.

Chen Mu broke free of the perception vortex, studied the dangerous Green Line inside his body, and cut into his arm to search for it before collapsing in pain. Meanwhile, Xiao Man learned that a mysterious signal in Luoyou City came from someone whose communication technology surpassed the Central Continent Group’s.

• Chen Mu used the breath-concealing state to slow the perception vortex until Su Liu Cherou regained control of her perception.
• Chen Mu examined the Green Line clinging to his periosteum and recognized how dangerous it was.
• Chen Mu cut open his left arm and reached into the wound while Su Liu Cherou watched in horror and warned him about infection.
• Chen Mu fell from his chair and began trembling in pain, prompting Su Liu Cherou to rush over and examine him.
• Beard told Xiao Man that the Central Continent Group had discovered someone in Luoyou City using more advanced jungle communication technology, and that the mysterious signal had appeared twice.

Xiao Man learned that Cao Dong led Skywing and impressed the Federation with his card-crafting talent, while Chen Mu woke after surviving the Green Line and recovered under Su Liu Cherou’s care. The chapter ended with Chen Mu leaving the treatment room and finding Lu Xiaoru playing with the little girl.

• Beard explained how the Communication Card could call the signal’s source and display its approximate location, but Xiao Man found that the other person’s Wrist Device was off.
• Beard told Xiao Man that Cao Dong had rescued Clio, taken over Skywing, forced the Raven Family’s spoiled recruits to resign, and created a celebrated Illusion Card advertisement.
• After Xiao Man described the Flame Dragon Card and her visit to Skywing, she said Cao Dong might be a better Card Crafter than Peanut Head, and Yu Guo agreed that Beard should investigate him.
• Chen Mu woke in a glass tank after failing to remove the living Green Line and passing out from pain when his Breath-Concealing State ended.
• Su Liu Cherou confirmed Chen Mu’s wound had healed, and he climbed out of the tank, dressed, and thanked her.
• Chen Mu opened the door and saw Lu Xiaoru playing with the little girl.

After leaving the hospital, Chen Mu returned to Skywing, delegated the company’s mounting problems, and went out to buy materials and training equipment. Meanwhile, Xiao Man and Beard activated a special Communication Card, and repeated calls from an unknown number finally led Chen Mu to answer.

• Lu Xiaoru waited for Chen Mu to finish treatment, and he left the hospital with her after Su Liu Cherou declined payment.
• Chen Mu returned to Skywing, dismissed Bu Qiangdong’s report of incoming commissions, then assigned him to address the unsafe building.
• Chen Mu took Lu Xiaoru shopping and bought card-making materials before arranging custom training equipment.
• Xiao Man confronted Beard about a Communication Card that had failed to connect, and Beard activated it on his first try.
• Chen Mu dismissed repeated calls from an unfamiliar number, then answered when the same number called again.

Beard contacted Chen Mu through the [Thousand Miles] card and offered vast compensation for his communication technology. Chen Mu realized the call was a stall to locate him, fled with Lu Xiaoru, and escaped before Yu Guo and Xiao Man reached the area.

• Beard connected to Chen Mu through the [Thousand Miles] card and asked whether he would sell his communication technology.
• Beard offered money, materials, and other rewards while Yu Guo and Xiao Man used the call to search for Chen Mu’s location.
• Chen Mu considered the offer but realized Beard might be stalling so others could find him.
• Chen Mu snapped off his Wrist Device, ordered Lu Xiaoru to go, and carried her through the crowded streets to escape.
• Yu Guo and Xiao Man arrived at the busy commercial street but found Chen Mu gone.

Skywing moved into a new office building, and Chen Mu reflected on the danger posed by the [Thousand Miles] card after nearly yielding to a lucrative offer. When the Central Continent Group invited him to a reception, Lu Xiaoru advised him that building ties with Luoyou City's powerful figures could help protect and expand Skywing.

• Bu Qiangdong moved Skywing into a five-story building and arranged its exhibition hall, warehouse, offices, and Chen Mu's top-floor office.
• Chen Mu praised Bu Qiangdong, authorized him to accept orders under three million, and raised staff salaries while deciding to stop using the [Thousand Miles] card for now.
• Lu Xiaoru admired Chen Mu for resisting the dangerous offer and privately wondered whether he had lost interest in her.
• Mr. Fei delivered Chen Mu an invitation from Ren Wenzhou of the Central Continent Group to attend a reception in three days.
• Lu Xiaoru told Chen Mu that Ren Wenzhou's reception could help Skywing enter Luoyou City's influential circles and that greater connections could improve Chen Mu's safety.

Chen Mu attended a Central Continent Group banquet as Mr. Cao, where Ren Wenzhou welcomed him and Xiao Man revealed his skill as a card crafter. The chapter ended with Su Liu Cherou arriving with the respected Elder Kong and drawing his attention to Chen Mu.

• Fei Zheng brought Chen Mu to the banquet, where Ren Wenzhou warmly welcomed him and introduced him to the guests.
• Xiao Man greeted Chen Mu and told Ren Wenzhou that his card-making ability had impressed her, revealing her ties to the Faya Foundation.
• The guests learned that Chen Mu was a talented card crafter and began seeking ways to approach him.
• Su Liu Cherou arrived with Elder Kong, greeted Chen Mu, and whispered about him to the elder, prompting Elder Kong and the guests to study Chen Mu.

At Ren Wenzhou’s banquet, Zu Ning and Xie Yanbai arrived as representatives of rival academies, while Chen Mu stayed out of the political maneuvering. Chen Mu agreed to a card-crafting partnership with Yang An, and the chapter ended as a young man approached them.

• Ren Wenzhou introduced Zu Ning of the Federation Comprehensive Academy, then announced that Xie Yanbai of Zhongda Academy had arrived; Zu Ning reacted with displeasure when he saw him.
• Chen Mu watched the gathering from a corner and considered the roles of Zhongda Academy, the Federation Comprehensive Academy, and Faya in the Central Continent Group’s affairs.
• Yang An introduced himself to Chen Mu and offered materials, including five-star blank cards, for Chen Mu to craft cards that Yang An’s auction house would sell.
• Chen Mu accepted Yang An’s terms for a six-month partnership, with profits split forty-sixty in Chen Mu’s favor after material costs.
• Yang An and Chen Mu dismissed the academy rivalry as irrelevant to them and focused on making money, until a young man in a tailcoat approached them.

Chen Mu attended a banquet where Clio invited him to his coming-of-age ceremony, then returned home to find Wei'a back with a plump brown animal he had taken from Amedal City. Wei'a explained that he had killed six people while breaking the animal out of its cage, leaving Chen Mu relieved he was home but worried about his lack of worldly sense.

• Clio invited Chen Mu and the fat man to his coming-of-age ceremony, but both declined.
• The fat man explained the Raven Family's decline and advised Chen Mu that long-term business depended on reliable partners and connections.
• Chen Mu left the banquet without approaching Zu Ning, Xie Yanbai, or Xiao Man and returned to his residence.
• Chen Mu found Wei'a back from Amedal City with a plump brown animal he had taken because it looked familiar.
• Wei'a told Chen Mu he had ridden the long-shuttle train without a ticket, taken food along the way, and killed six people while freeing the animal from its cage.
• Wei'a ate with Chen Mu and Lu Xiaoru, then returned to watching his Viewing Illusion Card with the animal beside him.

Chen Mu learned that Elder Kong and Su Liu Cherou could not yet diagnose or treat his unusual condition, so he resolved to finish the things that mattered to him while he still had time. He went to Yang An’s auction house to assess its rare materials and demonstrate his skills.

• Elder Kong and Su Liu Cherou examined Chen Mu and told him his condition was unusually difficult to understand, leaving him worried about how little time he might have.
• After leaving the Medical Card Adept Association, Chen Mu thought of his unfinished work and decided to pursue the things he cared about rather than give in to fear.
• Yang An invited Chen Mu to his auction house, where he introduced him to Manager Xi Ping and showed him the business’s extensive collection of materials.
• Chen Mu examined the cat’s-eye sandalwood and rare snowwater iron, then readily agreed to show Yang An what he could do.
• Xi Ping doubted Chen Mu’s abilities as an Advanced Card Maker and worried about risking the costly materials as Chen Mu prepared to demonstrate his skill.

Chen Mu began crafting the powerful Folded Swallow Wave Card to demonstrate his abilities, using rare materials from the warehouse. He finished the first card under the watch of the fat man, Xi Ping, and the Card Maker Bilsen, then prepared to craft a second.

• Chen Mu selected valuable materials for the Folded Swallow Wave Card and followed the fat man and Xi Ping to Bilsen’s Card-Making Room.
• Bilsen protested at being asked to assist Chen Mu, but agreed after Xi Ping reminded him of his costly, unsuccessful experiments.
• Chen Mu processed the rare ingredients into hot, shimmering black card ink while Bilsen watched and tried to learn from his technique.
• Chen Mu prepared two Three-Star cards and used the [Weak Water] pen set to draw the Folded Swallow Wave Card before the ink cooled.
• Chen Mu completed the first Folded Swallow Wave Card, while the second prepared portion of card ink remained for another attempt.

Chen Mu sold one Folded Swallow Wave Card and let the fat man’s group appraise the other. Jin Yu began testing it, and the chapter ended as vivid red energy formed beneath her fingers.

• Chen Mu handed over one Folded Swallow Wave Card and asked to keep the other, agreeing to deduct its cost from the proceeds.
• The fat man accepted Chen Mu’s terms and learned that the card was a three-star Folded Swallow Wave Card, alarming Xi Ping.
• The fat man led Chen Mu, Xi Ping, and Bilsen to a training room to have Jin Yu test the card.
• Chen Mu warned that the card required exceptional Perception control, and Jin Yu took the warning as a slight.
• Jin Yu activated the card and formed bright-red energy beneath her fingers.

The fat man warned Chen Mu that powerful groups might pursue him and urged him to recruit more people, while Chen Mu threw himself into card crafting after seeing rare materials. He finished twenty-two new cards in one frenzy-fueled day, and the group prepared to test them.

• The fat man advised Chen Mu to prepare for people seeking him out and to recruit more helpers, then joined Xi Ping to watch the Folded Swallow Wave Card tests.
• The fat man planned to auction the Folded Swallow Wave Card in a month, while Chen Mu learned he lacked the rare silver-gray-stranded harewhisker crystal needed to make more.
• Inspired by the valuable materials, Chen Mu crafted continuously for eight hours as the fat man, Xi Ping, and Bilsen watched from the doorway.
• Chen Mu finished twenty-two cards, including twenty-one three-star cards and two four-star cards, bringing his day's total to twenty-three with the earlier Folded Swallow Wave Card.
• Chen Mu ate six people's portions, then agreed to test the cards with the fat man.

Chen Mu tested cards 001 through 022, revealing several powerful designs that thrilled the auction-house staff and promised a sensation in Luoyou City. He and Xi Ping agreed to sell half the cards and trade the rest for rare materials, and Chen Mu returned to rest and absorb his burst of inspiration.

• Chen Mu explained that the first card, 001, fired volleys of energy shuttles, and Jin Yu demonstrated its tremendous area damage and heavy energy consumption.
• Chen Mu named the card 001, beginning the Number Series Cards, and then introduced 002 as a support card that disrupted energy configurations.
• Jin Yu and the staff tested cards 001 through 022, recording their results and packing them in labeled cases.
• Xi Ping proposed selling half the cards and exchanging the rest for materials, and Chen Mu agreed to the plan.
• Chen Mu headed back to rest and digest the inspiration that had improved his card-crafting success.

After recovering from his card-crafting breakthrough, Chen Mu weighed how to protect himself, accepted a government subsidy for Skywing, and chose to strengthen himself by entering the Mysterious Card. Meanwhile, the Digital Series Cards became a Federation-wide sensation, and Zu Ning, Bei Dong, and Xie Yanbai gathered for the auction of the next card.

• Chen Mu asked Wei'a whether he should hire fighters, but he set aside recruitment and decided to focus on improving his own strength.
• A Luoyou City official gave Skywing a twenty-million-Odi subsidy after Chen Mu's appearance at Ren Wenzhou's banquet raised the organization's standing.
• Chen Mu chose to enter the Mysterious Card rather than immediately train with the Folded Swallow Wave Card.
• The Digital Series Cards drew Federation-wide attention as auctions for 001 through 006 brought increasingly high prices, with 006 selling for sixty-one million Odi.
• Zu Ning and Bei Dong arrived for the next auction, where Bei Dong insisted they had to win the card, and Xie Yanbai joined them with a dignified woman.

At the auction, Zu Ning and Bei Dong encountered Madam Zhi Lian, whose presence showed Zhongda Academy’s determination to pursue the numbered cards. As the auction for card 007 began, the auctioneer read its specifications and flushed with shock, leaving the card’s identity unrevealed.

• Zu Ning questioned Xie Yanbai about the numbered cards, then learned his companion was Madam Zhi Lian and reacted with surprise.
• Madam Zhi Lian praised Bei Dong’s Wedge Structure Theory, exciting him and prompting Zu Ning to consider reporting his situation to his superiors.
• Zu Ning and Bei Dong discussed the threat posed by Madam Zhi Lian’s arrival and the legacy she had created with [Smoke Bind].
• Yu Guo and Xiao Man considered attacking Madam Zhi Lian, but Yu Guo chose to focus on their business after Night Eight reported that she had two strong hidden guards.
• The auctioneer opened the box containing card 007’s specifications, read the slip, and flushed as the hall waited to learn what the card was.

At the auction, Jiao Si appeared to demonstrate the mysterious card, drawing awe from the attendees with his reputation and formidable presence. He summoned a precise sphere of black and white energy beads, and Madam Zhi Lian was startled when Xie Yanbai counted sixty.

• The auctioneer promised that the final card would reveal a miracle and ushered the attendees into the demonstration arena.
• Jiao Si entered the arena, and the crowd recognized the famous High-Level Card Adept and former Siyuan Academy principal.
• Madam Zhi Lian told Xie Yanbai she would take him to Siyuan Academy to seek Jiao Si’s guidance, then said the card must be extraordinary to have persuaded Jiao Si to demonstrate it.
• Jiao Si activated his Wrist Device and raised his aura before revealing an orderly sphere of black and white energy beads around himself.
• Madam Zhi Lian asked Xie Yanbai to count the beads; when he reported sixty, she stood up in shock.

Chen Mu trained his perception sensitivity so he could eventually use the Folded Swallow Wave Card, while auctioneer Jiao Si demonstrated the extraordinary four-star card 007. Madam Zhi Lian won 007 for 350 million Odi, and the card’s spectacular debut made the Digital Series famous as the hunt for its maker began.

• Chen Mu continued intermediate level-two perception training, aiming to raise his sensitivity above 70 so he could use the Folded Swallow Wave Card.
• Jiao Si demonstrated 007’s ability to absorb an energy attack and fire it back, astonishing the auction hall.
• The bidding for 007 escalated as Bei Dong, Xie Yanbai, and Xiao Man competed, with Yu Guo bidding on Xiao Man’s behalf.
• Yu Guo stopped bidding at 260 million Odi, but Xie Yanbai raised the price to 350 million and secured 007 for Madam Zhi Lian.
• News spread that Madam Zhi Lian had bought 007, which became known as Super 007, while people wondered who had made the Digital Series Cards.

Chen Mu struggled through perception training while learning that the green thread inside his body was likely a living organism with no known removal method. Su Liu Cherou’s mention of Hundred Abyss Prefecture led Chen Mu to suspect the Devil Woman might be connected to Star Academy’s exchange visit.

• Chen Mu spent seven days training his perception, eventually learning to locate energy blocks but retrieving only two after five hundred failures.
• Su Liu Cherou told Chen Mu that the green thread inside him was likely a living organism and could not be safely removed with current medical techniques.
• Su Liu Cherou proposed that stronger perception might reduce the thread’s attacks but could also pressure it to grow, and that the Golden-Spotted Soft Jelly Fungus might neutralize it.
• Chen Mu recognized that the Golden-Spotted Soft Jelly Fungus came from Hundred Abyss Prefecture, strengthening his suspicion that the Devil Woman came from there.
• Chen Mu wondered whether the Devil Woman’s presence and Star Academy’s exchange visit to East Guard Academy were connected.

Chen Mu learned that his Digital Series Cards had become a sensation and received 360 million Odi from the fat man. Worried that stronger cards would attract dangerous attention, the fat man returned the Folded Swallow Wave Card to Chen Mu and brought a silent companion to introduce a business opportunity.

• Chen Mu reflected on the dangers of the Gray Layer, the Federation's defeat in the Mohadi Domain, and why he had no realistic prospect of visiting Hundred Abyss Prefecture.
• The fat man visited Chen Mu with another man and gave him a Money Card containing 360 million Odi for his share of eleven sold cards.
• The fat man told Chen Mu that 007 had sold for 350 million Odi, bought by Lady Zhi Lian, and warned that people were secretly investigating the Digital Series Cards.
• The fat man returned the Folded Swallow Wave Card, advising Chen Mu not to release it because its power could attract dangerous attention.
• The fat man said they would continue selling the remaining Digital Series Cards under their original plan and offered to introduce Chen Mu to a business opportunity.