Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu expanded his card-making skills by studying household cards, then received a membership card for the Low-Level Illusion Card Club and visited its headquarters. He entered a spectacular star illusion and learned it had been created by Master Che Moxihe.

• Chen Mu adapted to Simple Water World, improved his deep meditation, and continued working to extend his perception beyond four and a half meters.
• Chen Mu made a refined One-Star Heating Card and installed it in his Heat Cooker, impressing Lei Zi.
• Chen Mu modified other household appliances with cards and explored the potential of a One-Star Airflow Card.
• Chen Mu received a Low-Level Illusion Card Club membership card with a contribution score of zero, and Lei Zi explained the score system.
• Chen Mu visited the club and was astonished by its lifelike exterior illusions and the Star Evolution Illusion Card inside.
• A short-haired woman told Chen Mu that Master Che Moxihe had created the Star Evolution Illusion Card and that the Club President had placed it at the entrance.

Chen Mu toured the Astral Evolution Hall and learned how its points system, projects, and facilities worked. He spotted a problem with an illusion-based disguise proposal and submitted a solution using the Wrist Device.

• The short-haired young woman explained the club's membership cards, points, projects, and exchange meetings to Chen Mu.
• She showed Chen Mu the hall's information screens, display area, and trading area.
• Chen Mu read a proposal about using illusions to alter facial features and learned that movement made the illusions shift.
• Chen Mu submitted the suggestion to attach the Wrist Device to glasses or a hat.

After reaching a bottleneck in his Perception training, Chen Mu discovered that the Simple Water World contained an Untangling Game and reasoned that it might offer other games and rewards. Meanwhile, the Low-Level Illusion Card Club director learned of Chen Mu’s success and ordered him invited to the advanced group’s Two-Way Meeting.

• Chen Mu reflected on his first exchange of ideas with other card makers, then entered the Simple Water World to train his Perception.
• Chen Mu found his Perception stuck at four and a half meters, calmed his frustration, and explored the underwater world.
• Aquatic plants coiled around Chen Mu’s legs, triggering the level-one Untangling Game, and he realized the world might contain other games with rewards.
• A short-haired woman reported that Chen Mu had earned at least 402 points by answering requests for help at the Low-Level Illusion Card Club.
• The director ordered the short-haired woman to invite Chen Mu to the advanced group’s Two-Way Meeting and observe him.

Chen Mu struggled through the Untangling Game, learning to use Perception to read underwater currents and improving his explosive force. Meanwhile, he ignored an invitation to the advanced group Two-Way Meeting, leaving Lan Feng and An Xiaoyou waiting for him.

• After three days of practice, Chen Mu escaped two water plants by wriggling like a fish and using Perception to sense the currents.
• Chen Mu found that four water plants still held him fast, so he continued experimenting with movements and building his strength.
• Chen Mu received an invitation to the club's advanced group Two-Way Meeting, but Lei Zi convinced him it was a mistake, and Chen Mu threw it away.
• Lan Feng waited at the meeting for Chen Mu while An Xiaoyou eagerly hoped to meet the man who had earned four hundred contribution points in one day.
• Chen Mu discovered that the game’s Perception training had slightly increased his stagnant Perception, renewing his determination to continue.

Chen Mu improved his card-making and movement skills while Star Academy’s plans brought East Guard Academy into the spotlight. He finally broke free of the aquatic weeds in Simple Water World, then heard the aged voice speak as he lay headfirst in the sand.

• Chen Mu finished three hundred Card Films, and Lei Zi sold them through the open consignment market to raise their price and protect their identities.
• Chen Mu continued the Untangling Game, breaking free of eight strands and expanding his perception range to 4.9 meters.
• Wang Ze received a call from Star Academy’s principal and shared news that made the exchange students cheer.
• Star Academy announced that someone had emerged from its Inner Academy for the first time in ten years, prompting the other great academies to act and bringing East Guard Academy widespread attention.
• Chen Mu broke free of the aquatic weeds on his three hundred and fifty-third attempt, shot into the sand, and heard the aged voice beside his ear.

Chen Mu decided to spend nearly all his savings crafting the Tail-Shedding Shuttle Card after Lei Zi urged him to pursue his dream. When he could not find several materials in Dongshang Guard City, he went to the Low-Level Illusion Card Club’s trading area, where Lan Feng greeted him and explained his advanced-group membership.

• Chen Mu learned the Tail-Shedding Shuttle Card’s crafting techniques and struggled with whether to risk almost all his money making it.
• Lei Zi encouraged Chen Mu to pursue his dream, reminding him that they could endure starting over.
• Chen Mu bought most of the required materials but could not find several items in Dongshang Guard City.
• Chen Mu went to the Low-Level Illusion Card Club, where Lan Feng told him that he had already qualified for advanced-group membership.
• Chen Mu hurried into the trading area to buy materials, leaving Lan Feng to catch her breath behind him.

Chen Mu returned to the card maker club to buy rare materials, but he lacked the points required, so he began solving members’ help requests. As his solutions drew a huge crowd and earned points rapidly, An Xiaoyou arrived and Lan Feng sent him to fetch water and steamed buns for Chen Mu.

• Lan Feng told Chen Mu the materials cost eight hundred points and he was three hundred and forty-seven points short, so Chen Mu went to earn points by answering help requests.
• Chen Mu solved twelve problems in two hours, earning eighty-five points, and a member recognized him as the Score Sweeper who had previously earned over four hundred points in a day.
• News of Chen Mu’s return spread through the club, drawing a crowd of card makers who watched him solve requests and transferred points to him.
• Lan Feng called the Club President to report that Chen Mu was earning points too quickly for the plan to work.
• An Xiaoyou arrived and squeezed through the crowd with Lan Feng to reach Chen Mu.
• Lan Feng asked An Xiaoyou to fetch water and steamed buns, promising to introduce him to Chen Mu, and An Xiaoyou charged off to do it.

Chen Mu worked through obscure one-star illusion card questions to earn points, while Bai Zheyuan came to the club to assess him. Bai Zheyuan watched Chen Mu answer and realized the young card maker had an extraordinary grasp of low-level illusion cards.

• Chen Mu accepted food from An Xiaoyou and Lan Feng, then resolved to earn enough points that day to obtain the materials he needed.
• Bai Zheyuan visited the Low-Level Illusion Card Club to see whether Chen Mu lived up to Lan Feng's praise and to consider the club's need for a technical director.
• Bai Zheyuan entered a silent hall where hundreds of people watched Chen Mu's answers appear on a large screen.
• Bai Zheyuan recognized Chen Mu's answers as correct and was astonished by how deeply the young card maker understood low-level illusion cards.

Chen Mu discovered that he had earned enough points to buy the materials he needed, and the crowd at the club watched him emerge from his absorbed state. After collecting the materials, he was offered the position of Technical Director by Bai Zheyuan, who waited for his answer.

• Chen Mu checked his points, found he had thirteen hundred, and asked Lan Feng to buy the materials.
• Chen Mu pulled Lan Feng through the crowd and met Bai Zheyuan, who praised Chen Mu's card-making skills.
• Lan Feng brought Chen Mu the refrigerated case of materials, and Chen Mu confirmed that nothing was missing.
• Bai Zheyuan asked whether Chen Mu had a job, and Chen Mu said he did not.
• Bai Zheyuan offered Chen Mu the Technical Director position, and Chen Mu asked what the job involved.

Chen Mu declined Bai Zheyuan’s offer to become Technical Director until he finished his other work, but accepted his business card as a possible source of future income. After studying the Tail-Shedding Shuttle Card for two weeks, Chen Mu successfully made it.

• Chen Mu told Bai Zheyuan he could not take the Technical Director position for about half a year, and Bai Zheyuan gave him his business card and urged Lan Feng to stay in touch with him.
• Bai Zheyuan promoted Lan Feng to deputy to Wang Hao.
• Chen Mu studied the Tail-Shedding Shuttle Card’s steps, structure, and principles for two weeks before beginning to make it.
• Chen Mu prepared three types of card ink from the costly materials and carefully drew the card’s patterns onto an Intermediate Blank Card.
• Chen Mu completed the Tail-Shedding Shuttle Card, whose dark golden light pulsed three times before fading.

Chen Mu tested his newly made Tail-Shedding Shuttle Card and discovered its powerful, dangerous projectile. He decided he needed a place to practice, while Zuo Tingyi learned that his family was searching the wilderness for Wang Ze and his companions.

• Chen Mu made his first three-star combat card, the Tail-Shedding Shuttle Card, and activated it using his Wrist Device.
• Chen Mu fired a crystalline shuttle through a wall and resolved not to use the card in a fight until he could control it safely.
• Chen Mu realized he needed somewhere to practice and came up with an idea.
• Zuo Tingyi learned that Zuo Tianlin had sent disguised teams into the wilderness to search for Wang Ze and his companions.
• Zuo Tingyi encountered Meida and respectfully asked what had brought his tutor there.

Zuo Tingyi showed Meida the destructive One-Star Illusion Cards from the Card Film Encounter, and Meida examined the instruments they had damaged. Unable to determine how the cards worked, Zuo Tingyi decided to have the Zuo family identify their Card Maker.

• Meida arrived at Zuo Tingyi's home and agreed to inspect the unusual One-Star Illusion Cards.
• Zuo Tingyi told Meida how the cards had destroyed analyzers and caused his classmates to pay compensation.
• Meida dismantled a damaged analyzer and found that its Detection Card had been burned by excessive heat.
• Meida could not determine what had caused the Detection Card to overheat and said he would keep thinking about it.
• Zuo Tingyi decided to investigate the Card Maker behind the Card Film and assigned the search to his butler.

Chen Mu trained with the Tail-Shedding Shuttle Card and continued avoiding trouble at the Low-Level Illusion Card Club. Lei Zi revealed that he had been seeing Lan Feng and planned to join the club’s Commerce Department, and Chen Mu urged him to win her over.

• Chen Mu rented the basic training room and practiced controlling the Tail-Shedding Shuttle, firing it into the floor.
• Chen Mu continued visiting the Low-Level Illusion Card Club, where Lan Feng stayed close and Lei Zi handled commissions for him.
• Lei Zi insisted that Chen Mu attend the club’s biggest Two-Way Meeting, and Chen Mu pressed him to explain why.
• Lei Zi admitted that he had been seeing Lan Feng for almost two months and had promised her Chen Mu would attend the meeting.
• Lei Zi told Chen Mu that he had agreed to join the club’s Commerce Department after Club President Bai Zheyuan offered him a place.
• Chen Mu encouraged Lei Zi to win Lan Feng over.

Chen Mu returned to the Low-Level Illusion Card Club, answered card makers’ questions, and attended a commission presentation with Lei Zi. When Aminia Group offered five million Odi to card makers for its fashion-show opening, Chen Mu recognized the creative director’s Card Film and saw Lei Zi react tensely.

• Chen Mu visited the Low-Level Illusion Card Club, where An Xiaoyou eagerly asked him questions about card making.
• Chen Mu reflected on the costs of training with the Tail-Shedding Shuttle Card and on how his card-making knowledge had improved.
• Chen Mu and Lei Zi attended the Two-Way Meeting, where Lei Zi explained the rivalry between Aminia Group and Vico Group.
• Wu Tuan announced Aminia Group’s fashion-show opening and offered five million Odi each to one or two card makers to create special light and shadow effects.
• Chen Mu recognized Words of Summer, while Lei Zi clenched the chair back and twitched his cheeks.

At the Low-Level Illusion Card Club, Chen Mu rejected Wu Tuan’s five-million-Odi commission from the Aminia Group and accepted Pei Xing’s two-million-Odi offer from the Vico Group instead. Chen Mu began to state his condition, leaving the gathered representatives waiting to hear it.

• Wu Tuan announced that the Aminia Group wanted the best card maker for its project and offered five million Odi.
• The card makers’ silence identified Chen Mu as their acknowledged best, and Wu Tuan invited him to join the project.
• Chen Mu refused Wu Tuan’s offer and asked Pei Xing whether the Vico Group’s launch event was also in two months.
• Pei Xing confirmed the Vico Group’s event fell on the same day as Aminia’s and offered Chen Mu two million Odi.
• Chen Mu accepted the Vico Group’s commission on the condition that he had yet to name.

Chen Mu recommended Lei Zi as chief planner for the project, and Lei Zi agreed to submit a proposal within three days. After the meeting, Wang Hao told Pei Xing about Chen Mu and Lei Zi’s abilities and warned him to protect them from the Zuo Family, while Chen Mu and Lei Zi left knowing they had drawn the family’s hostility.

• Chen Mu nominated Lei Zi as chief planner, and Pei Xing gave Lei Zi three days to produce an outstanding proposal.
• Lei Zi accepted the deadline, while the Aminia Group struggled after Chen Mu refused its offer.
• Wang Hao told Pei Xing that Chen Mu had earned nearly eight hundred points in a day and that Bai Zheyuan had chosen Chen Mu and Lei Zi for important positions.
• Wang Hao warned Pei Xing to protect Chen Mu and Lei Zi from the Zuo Family, and Pei Xing promised to do so.
• Chen Mu and Lei Zi joked on their way out, then agreed that offending the Zuo Family meant they would need to be careful.

Chen Mu agreed to help Lei Zi carry out the demanding plan for Vico’s event, while Zuo Tingyi continued investigating the anonymous maker of The Legend of the Mecha Master. In the wilderness, Wang Ze’s group found two dead Star Academy students and decided to conceal the deaths while asking the academy for help.

• Lei Zi left Chen Mu to deliver his proposal, and Chen Mu completed his daily training at home.
• Zuo Tingyi learned that the Card Films were being sold on consignment and ordered the butler to continue investigating their maker.
• Two Star Academy students exploring the wilderness were killed, and their screams alerted no one in time to save them.
• Chen Mu reviewed Lei Zi’s proposal, agreed it should be possible, and began revising its details with him.
• Wang Ze and the other students found the two students’ bodies, then decided to send them back to the academy and keep the deaths secret.

Chen Mu explored the Simple Water World and discovered that the Triangle Arrowfish school was part of a dangerous challenge. After escaping its attack, he tried to understand what the challenge meant and why the fish were there.

• Chen Mu finished making the Illusion Cards for Lei Zi and learned that someone was secretly protecting both of them.
• With his work and training limited, Chen Mu returned to the Simple Water World to explore for other games.
• Chen Mu approached the Triangle Arrowfish school, and the fish formed ranks before attacking him one at a time.
• The Arrowfish stabbed Chen Mu repeatedly, causing intense pain, until he twisted free and escaped their encirclement.
• An aged voice announced, "Challenge failed. Seven Arrowfish," and Chen Mu wondered what the school and its challenge were for.

Chen Mu analyzed the dangerous Arrowfish challenge while Star Academy prepared to send a team into a growing conflict. Zuo Tingyi blamed an unknown cardmaker for Meida’s illness and launched a futile search, while Lei Zi remained too busy to write a new script.

• Chen Mu concluded that the Arrowfish challenge tested how long he could dodge its attacks and noted the painful red marks left on his body.
• At Star Academy, a young woman identified two bodies as victims of a skilled practitioner from Hundred Abyss Prefecture, and the headmaster ordered her to lead a team amid rising open conflict.
• Zuo Tingyi found Meida gravely ill and saw a scorched card and cards from the Card Film "Encounter," prompting him to order a search for the cardmaker.
• The Zuo Family failed to find evidence and stationed disguised men across the consignment market, but their target never appeared.
• Lei Zi remained occupied with preparations for Vico's event, while Chen Mu focused on his own project.

Chen Mu’s hidden Card Adept protector was killed by two masked Card Adepts, forcing Chen Mu to flee through the residential district. He escaped into a sewer and, as his pursuers searched overhead, decided to fight back.

• Chen Mu wondered whether the Arrowfish Challenge and earlier exercises could improve his Perception and dodging ability.
• Two masked Card Adepts attacked and killed the Card Adept secretly protecting Chen Mu, then destroyed the protector’s Communication Card.
• Chen Mu escaped through a second-floor window and ran through the alleys, but saw the pursuers flying overhead and searching for him.
• Chen Mu hid from the Card Adepts, spotted a sewer entrance, and slipped underground, replacing the cover above him.
• Chen Mu watched the Card Adepts pass overhead and activated his Wrist Device, deciding to strike back.