Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu and Lei Zi remained in the classroom as Zuo Tingyi confronted Alagon and Hong Tao clashed with Alagon’s bodyguard. Alagon turned his anger toward Chen Mu and Lei Zi, signaling two underlings to deal with them.

• Zuo Tingyi cited school regulations and ordered Alagon and his group to accompany him to the Discipline Office.
• Chen Mu stayed when Lei Zi urged him to leave, and Lei Zi chose to stand with him.
• Hong Tao confronted Alagon’s bodyguard, and their Card Adept attacks collided in a powerful shock wave before they stopped fighting.
• Alagon tried to learn which department Chen Mu and Lei Zi belonged to, but they ignored him.
• Alagon grew furious and signaled two of his underlings toward Chen Mu and Lei Zi.

Alagon confronted Zuo Tingyi while Hong Tao was held in check by a powerful Card Adept, but Chen Mu and Lei Zi turned the classroom fight around by ruthlessly attacking Alagon’s companions. The chapter ended with Alagon’s group frightened and Chen Mu preparing to fight with a broken chair back.

• Alagon refused to back down from Zuo Tingyi, while Hong Tao focused on the dangerous Card Adept beside him.
• Chen Mu stepped in front of Man Siying, and he and Lei Zi picked up chairs to prepare for a fight.
• Chen Mu struck one of Alagon’s men in the head with a chair, and Lei Zi smashed another man in the face.
• Alagon’s group recoiled in fear as Chen Mu and Lei Zi calmly picked up more chairs, while the Card Adept kept his attention on Hong Tao.
• Chen Mu broke the backrest off a chair and tested it as Alagon’s companions began trembling.

Chen Mu and Lei Zi fought Alagon’s group after Chen Mu stepped in to repay a woman who had once helped him with cardmaking, and Alagon agreed to go to the Discipline Office. The two left the academy conflict behind and focused on making card film, unaware that Alagon and Zuo Tingyi were searching for them.

• Chen Mu briefly perceived his opponent’s movements in slow motion and struck him with a wooden chair, while Alagon grew afraid of Chen Mu and Lei Zi.
• Alagon chose to go to the Discipline Office rather than risk being beaten, and Chen Mu and Lei Zi left without speaking to Zuo Tingyi or Hong Tao.
• Lei Zi asked Chen Mu why he had intervened, and Chen Mu explained that the woman had helped him with cardmaking.
• Chen Mu and Lei Zi reflected that they had acted to repay her kindness, then returned to producing card film for Lei Zi’s dream and Chen Mu’s livelihood.
• Alagon and Zuo Tingyi searched the academy for Chen Mu and Lei Zi but failed to find them.

Lei Zi finished the Card Film script, and he and Chen Mu spent two weeks planning its images and effects before sleeping for two days. Meanwhile, Star Academy’s delegation arrived at East Guard Academy, where Zuo Tingyi warned Wang Ze that visiting students had joined a field training with few teachers assigned to protect them.

• Lei Zi completed the Card Film script on the day the Star Academy delegation arrived in Dongshang Guard City.
• Chen Mu and Lei Zi discussed the script’s details for two weeks, planning the images and effects to reduce costly production mistakes.
• Chen Mu and Lei Zi slept for two days and nights after finishing their discussions.
• Star Academy student representative Wang Ze settled in at East Guard Academy with the visiting delegation for a two-month stay.
• Zuo Tingyi told Wang Ze that several Star Academy students had joined a third-year Class F field training and might not have enough teachers to protect them.
• The chapter described the dangers and resources of the wilderness and the Federation’s push to explore Path Windows and discover New Domains.

Chen Mu bought materials and began making an Illusion Card based on the story “Encounter,” using a technique he learned from the mysterious card. As his weak perception faltered, the card’s glowing pattern began to dim before he could finish.

• Zuo Tingyi asked Wang Ze to keep the Star Academy students safe during East Guard Academy’s wilderness training, and Wang Ze assured him they could protect themselves.
• Chen Mu and Lei Zi went to buy card-making materials, leaving Lei Zi upset at how much they cost.
• Chen Mu sent Lei Zi out so he could work in silence and carefully reviewed the card’s structure before beginning.
• Chen Mu mixed card ink and started drawing the Illusion Card while the ink was still warm.
• Chen Mu’s perception began to fail during the drawing, and the card’s glowing pattern started to fade.

Chen Mu succeeded in making a difficult Illusion Card, then discovered that Planning Cards might help him manage its demanding movement requirements. Meanwhile, Hong Tao’s group traveled with Star Academy students and stopped near a dangerous area, where one student attacked a distant clump of bushes.

• Chen Mu completed his most complex Illusion Card but realized his chances of reproducing it were only fifty percent.
• Chen Mu recalled the Planning Card’s principle of dynamic calculation and entered the mysterious card’s illusory realm to study it.
• After spending two days and a night in the illusory realm, Chen Mu rested and then devoted three days to developing his new idea.
• Hong Tao observed that Star Academy students flew effortlessly with high-grade Airflow Cards while East Guard Academy students traveled mostly on foot.
• As the group stopped to rest near a dangerous area, a glasses-wearing Star Academy student fired a Moon-White Wave Blade toward distant bushes.

Chen Mu and Lei Zi produced and sold their Card Film, Encounter, earning a large profit. After two months of sales, Lei Zi announced that he planned to go traveling.

• A Star Academy student killed a python with a crescent-shaped wave blade, astonishing Hong Tao and the East Guard Academy students.
• Chen Mu completed ten cards for Encounter and impressed Lei Zi with the Card Film’s quality.
• Chen Mu made more Card Films while Lei Zi ordered sound cards and sold the sets for ten thousand Odi each.
• Encounter sold more than 150 sets in two months, earning Chen Mu and Lei Zi about five hundred thousand Odi each.
• Lei Zi told Chen Mu that he planned to go traveling.

Chen Mu continued studying and practicing card making while East Guard Academy’s students launched an ambitious effort to copy Encounter. The cracking campaign drew campus attention, and the chapter ended with Hong Tao and Wang Ze discussing its progress with Zuo Tingyi.

• Lei Zi invited Chen Mu to go out with him, but Chen Mu stayed home to study the mysterious card.
• Encounter became so popular among East Guard Academy’s female students that they could no longer find copies to buy.
• The card-making department’s strongest students organized a campus-wide campaign to crack Encounter after repeated attempts to copy it failed.
• Chen Mu improved his card-making skills and physical fitness, then successfully made a Two-Star Energy Card on his first try.
• Hong Tao asked Zuo Tingyi why he had not joined the cracking campaign, and Wang Ze wondered how the effort was going.

Zuo Tingyi recognized the unusual skill behind the Card Film’s Illusion Cards, while Chen Mu finished studying Planning Cards and discovered a new set of twelve difficult cards he was expected to make. Intrigued by their potential but worried about the cost, Chen Mu decided to attempt them.

• Zuo Tingyi told Hong Tao and Wang Ze that the Card Film’s creator had altered its Illusion Card structures and was extremely skilled.
• Wang Ze explained that a Card Master’s ability depended on understanding card rules and energy, and encouraged Hong Tao to experiment more.
• Chen Mu found that Planning Card structures made dynamic Illusion Cards more efficient and used less perception.
• After Chen Mu finished the foundational Planning Card knowledge, twelve gray cards appeared in the illusion, each listing a demanding card design.
• Chen Mu realized that eleven cards were Illusion Cards and one was a Planning Card, and worried that making them would cost him nearly all his money.
• Chen Mu resolved to make all twelve cards despite their difficulty and expense.

Zuo Tingyi used an advanced analyzer to investigate the unusual structures in his sister’s One-Star Illusion Card, but the card and the analyzer were damaged before he could uncover their secrets. Meanwhile, Chen Mu spent his recent earnings on materials for twelve difficult cards and began work despite doubting he could complete them.

• Zuo Tingyi studied the Illusion Card for two weeks without making progress and decided to analyze it with instruments.
• Zuo Tingyi activated his advanced Illusion Card analyzer, which began probing the card’s structures.
• The analyzer sounded an alarm, and the Illusion Card began smoking as the analyzer itself started to burn.
• Chen Mu spent five hundred thousand Odi on materials, investing most of it in supplies he had never expected to afford.
• Chen Mu began making twelve challenging cards, hoping to advance his card-making skills by overcoming their difficulties.

Chen Mu continued making the twelve cards while Lei Zi returned from his trip and shared news about the world beyond Dongshang Guard City. Chen Mu’s shortage of materials left him eager to earn more money by selling their Card Film.

• Zuo Tingyi overheard students say the cracking team had wrecked seven instruments while trying to crack the Encounter Card Film.
• Lei Zi returned with bags of food, startled Chen Mu by opening the cluttered door, and came back that evening to find the room neatly arranged.
• Lei Zi told Chen Mu about Fan'a City, the Xixilio Great Waterfall, and the Bitter Solitude Monastery Cluster.
• Chen Mu said he had made only one of the twelve cards, faced many problems, and had already used a third of his materials.
• Lei Zi said he would check how their Card Film was selling, and Chen Mu eagerly agreed that they should sell more to fund his card-making.

Chen Mu and Lei Zi profited from the final batch of "Encounter" Card Films while Zuo Tingyi continued investigating their destructive Illusion Card. Zuo Tianlin summoned Zuo Tingyi to discuss Star Academy’s exchange students, and Zuo Tingyi suspected they had come looking for something.

• Lei Zi returned from the shops with a large order, and Chen Mu began making one hundred sets of "Encounter" Card Films.
• Lei Zi decided to stop producing "Encounter" after the final batch so demand would remain high for Chen Mu’s next Card Film.
• Zuo Tingyi bought an "Encounter" Illusion Card and continued testing it, despite the destruction of eleven machines and losses exceeding a hundred and fifty million Odi.
• Zuo Tingyi planned to ask Card Maker Meida for help, but a servant summoned him to Zuo Tianlin’s study.
• Zuo Tianlin asked Zuo Tingyi what he thought about Star Academy’s exchange students, and Zuo Tingyi wondered whether they were scheming to obtain something from East Guard Academy.

Zuo Tianlin revealed to Zuo Tingyi that the Six Great Academies were powerful political blocs, and suspected Star Academy had arrived to begin a resurgence. Meanwhile, Chen Mu and Lei Zi moved into a larger home and began planning their serialized Card Film, The Legend of the Mecha Master.

• Zuo Tianlin told Zuo Tingyi that the Six Great Academies were backed by vast, deeply rooted interest groups and were more than just schools.
• Zuo Tianlin suspected Star Academy’s sudden move signaled its resurgence, and Zuo Tingyi left the study shaken by what he had learned.
• Chen Mu and Lei Zi rented a large house in Polinton Town, giving Chen Mu a dedicated card-making room.
• Chen Mu continued making Illusion Cards, having completed three of twelve and gained confidence despite his slow progress in perception.
• Lei Zi gave Chen Mu the script for The Legend of the Mecha Master and explained that they would produce it in serialized episodes with cliffhangers.

Zuo Tingyi accompanied Wang Ze and the Star Academy exchange students on a suspicious trip into the wild, while Chen Mu helped Lei Zi prepare to sell their Mecha Master card films and went to buy cardmaking materials. When Chen Mu passed Uncle Hua’s shuttered shop, he noticed an advertisement for the first episode of Lei Zi’s new work.

• Zuo Tingyi agreed to guide Wang Ze and the Star Academy students into the wild, while privately suspecting their motives.
• The group flew deep into the wild, where Zuo Tingyi observed the students’ disciplined formation and Yin Jiuchen’s formidable combat skills.
• After resting, Wang Ze unexpectedly suggested that the group return, leaving Zuo Tingyi unsure whether his suspicions were justified.
• Chen Mu questioned whether the Light Armor in The Legend of the Mecha Master would appeal to audiences, and Lei Zi set out to sell the hundred finished card films.
• Chen Mu bought cardmaking materials in Dongshang Guard City, then went to Uncle Hua’s shuttered shop and saw an advertisement for the first episode of Lei Zi’s new work.

Chen Mu discovered that the Card Films he and Lei Zi made were selling quickly, then realized a man from his earlier clash was following him. The man attacked with a combat card, and Chen Mu charged through the light arrows to close the distance.

• Chen Mu saw a crowd of young women complain that the shop had sold out of Encounter Card Film sets, and learned that a buyer had taken ten sets at once.
• Chen Mu hurried home, pleased that the sales would bring more money for materials, but noticed a man following him.
• Chen Mu recognized the pursuer as the man he had struck with a chair at East Guard Academy and led him through secluded alleys.
• The pursuer activated his Wrist Device and fired a pale blue light arrow, cutting Chen Mu's arm.
• Chen Mu charged at the Card Adept through two more light arrows, and the man's third shot missed as he panicked.

Chen Mu killed a man who attacked him after using the Red-Eyed Flame Dragon to turn the fight around, then returned home injured. Lei Zi treated his wound and agreed to handle the materials while Chen Mu recovered.

• At twenty-five meters, Chen Mu activated his Wrist Device and summoned the Red-Eyed Flame Dragon, then seized his attacker and struck him into a wall.
• Chen Mu discovered that the man had died, cleaned away evidence including his bloodstains, and left the alley without taking anything.
• Chen Mu bandaged his arm and took a roundabout route home before Lei Zi noticed his bloody clothes.
• Lei Zi cleaned and bandaged Chen Mu’s wound, burned the bloodstained clothing, and told him to rest while he bought materials.
• Chen Mu and Lei Zi discussed the success of The Legend of the Mecha Master, and Chen Mu reflected that his Body-Strengthening Exercise and Flame Dragon Illusion Card had helped him survive.

After an East Guard Academy student was murdered, Chen Mu escaped suspicion while he and Lei Zi earned a fortune selling The Legend of the Mecha Master. Lei Zi warned Chen Mu that powerful card-film companies would target them if they learned how advanced his technique was, and planned to stop production after the first episode.

• The Guard Bureau investigated the student's murder but found no clues, and its initial screening ruled out Chen Mu.
• The Legend of the Mecha Master became popular at East Guard Academy and among visiting Star Academy students, bringing Mu Lei widespread recognition.
• Chen Mu produced three hundred sets of the first episode, and he and Lei Zi decided to stop production after earning a large profit.
• Lei Zi urged Chen Mu to save money and explained that major card-film companies might force them to work for them or seek a powerful backer if they discovered Chen Mu's technique.
• Chen Mu rejected both options, and Lei Zi said he planned to stop making card films after Mecha Master so they could live on their earnings.

After completing the twelve Illusion Cards, including his first dedicated Planning Card, Chen Mu used them to unlock a new stage of the Mysterious Card. He entered the Simple Water World and watched a screen of light appear from a giant clam.

• Chen Mu completed the eight remaining One-Star Illusion Cards, then spent twenty days and nights studying Planning Cards to finish the final card.
• Chen Mu inserted all twelve cards into the Mysterious Card’s interface, causing them to glow and rotate.
• When the last card fell into place, Chen Mu was transported underwater and found himself surrounded by oddly triangular swordfish.
• The aged voice welcomed Chen Mu to the Simple Water World, where he recognized the aquatic scenery as the purpose of the cards.
• Chen Mu wondered what challenge awaited him, and a giant milky-white clam opened to reveal a beam of light that formed a screen.

Chen Mu discovered an advanced, nameless method for training perception underwater and began practicing it in the Simple Water World. After three days of failures, he learned to steady his perception against punishing currents and continued enduring the torment.

• Chen Mu found a perception training method far superior to the low-grade methods he could afford.
• Chen Mu read that the method used underwater pressure, water as a medium, and a special breathing technique to draw out potential.
• Chen Mu carefully reviewed the precautions and failed during his first attempt at the training.
• Chen Mu spent three days adapting to the Simple Water World and learning to remain still amid its currents.
• Chen Mu settled his mind and released his perception, then fought to maintain its connection as an undercurrent repeatedly disrupted it.

Chen Mu advanced his Perception through punishing training and applied to the Low-Level Illusion Card Club, while Zuo Tingyi investigated Wang Ze and his companions’ suspicious movements around Dongshang Guard City. Zuo Tingyi concluded they were plotting something after seeing how their scouting trips encircled the city.

• Chen Mu pushed his Perception training to its limit, enduring an hour of painful aftereffects after each session.
• Lei Zi told Chen Mu about the Low-Level Illusion Card Club and encouraged him to join to improve his cardmaking and industry connections.
• Chen Mu made a lifelike goldfish One-Star Illusion Card, and Lei Zi mailed it with his application.
• Zuo Tingyi focused on Wang Ze and his companions after the murder investigation stalled and the school’s troublemakers quieted down.
• Zuo Tingyi tracked Wang Ze and his companions’ outings through Hong Tao and saw that they had scouted nearly the entire area around Dongshang Guard City.