Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu crafted a batch of high-grade Three-Star Energy Cards while Ash used Chen Mu’s Rain Shuttle Card to kill twelve enemy Card Adepts. The front lines requested more Rain Shuttle Cards, and investigators began tracing the card’s maker as Chen Mu heard someone pounding on his door.

• Chen Mu carefully prepared card ink and crafted sixty-two Three-Star Energy Cards over three days.
• Ash received a reward for ambushing three enemy Card Adepts and refused offers to buy his Rain Shuttle Card.
• Ning Peng and Ning Yan investigated the front-line request for Rain Shuttle Cards and traced Ash’s card to the consignment office.
• Chen Mu tested one of his Three-Star Energy Cards and found it held 12,156 units of energy.
• Someone rapidly pounded on Chen Mu’s door as he was about to remove the tested card.

Chen Mu impressed Ning Peng and Ning Yan with his high-quality Three-Star Energy Cards and negotiated commissions for Rain Shuttle Cards, including a bonus for making them powerful enough to pierce a Standard Three-Star Energy Shield. Using premium materials supplied by the Ning Family, he created an upgraded Rain Shuttle Card II.

• Ning Peng and Ning Yan discovered that Chen Mu's testing results exceeded 12,000 and learned he had made sixty-two high-quality Three-Star Energy Cards.
• Ning Peng paid Chen Mu 620 contribution points for the cards and commissioned twenty Rain Shuttle Cards at 200 contribution points each.
• Ning Peng offered 500 contribution points per card if Chen Mu could increase the Rain Shuttle Card's power enough to pierce a Standard Three-Star Energy Shield.
• Ning Peng authorized Chen Mu to take any materials he needed from the Self-Service Materials Supermarket, and Chen Mu selected premium substitutes for the card's components.
• Chen Mu adjusted the material proportions and completed an upgraded Rain Shuttle Illusion Card called Rain Shuttle Card II.

Chen Mu demonstrated Rain Shuttle Card II’s exceptional firing speed to Ning Peng, then agreed to produce twenty cards within three days. Ning Peng’s attempt to recruit expert Card Crafters to reproduce the card failed, while Chen Mu continued crafting and began planning an upgraded Airflow Card.

• Chen Mu showed Ning Peng and Ning Yan Rain Shuttle Card II, and Ning Peng demonstrated that he could fire nearly six shuttles per second with it.
• Ning Peng asked Chen Mu to make twenty Rain Shuttle Card IIs in three days and offered extra contribution points for finishing sooner, but Chen Mu refused to rush the work and risk defects.
• Ning Peng and Ning Yan gave five prominent Card Crafters Rain Shuttle Cards to examine, but all five said they could not reproduce their unfamiliar structures.
• Grandpa Yu warned Ning Peng and Ning Yan that probing a Card Crafter’s methods violated an iron rule, then returned his card when he learned it was headed to the front.
• Chen Mu filled his room with free materials, delivered his Rain Shuttle Card II quota on time, and began using chip theory to plan an improved three-star Airflow Card based on the Loach Airflow Card.

Ning Peng worried that the battle for Dongshang Guard City would drag on and pressed for more Rain Shuttle Cards, while Chen Mu tested his new Big Loach Airflow Card in flight training. After repeated crashes and practice, Chen Mu began to improve but remained committed to mastering the difficult card.

• Ning Peng watched transport shuttles depart for the front and decided to ask Chen Mu to make more Rain Shuttle Cards.
• Chen Mu entered a flight training room and tried to fly with his newly crafted Big Loach Airflow Card.
• Chen Mu lost control of Big Loach, crashed into the padded wall, and fell onto the soft floor.
• Ning Peng and Ning Yan discussed Chen Mu's flight training and doubted that he could excel as both a Card Crafter and a Card Adept.
• Chen Mu practiced until he learned a few flight techniques, but he chose to keep using Big Loach despite its difficult controls.

The Ning Family used two hundred Rain Shuttle Cards II to win its decisive battle against the Zuo Family, then commissioned Chen Mu to make two hundred more. While browsing battlefield spoils at the consignment office, Chen Mu bought a white chrysanthemum blackstone that the Mysterious Card identified as a material for powerful Planning Cards.

• The Ning Family commander led two hundred trained Card Adepts into battle with Rain Shuttle Cards II, and the Ning Family won the decisive clash.
• Ning Yan told Chen Mu of the victory and placed an order for two hundred Rain Shuttle Cards II, giving him three months to complete it.
• Chen Mu continued improving his flying and browsed the consignment office's daily catalog of battlefield spoils.
• Chen Mu recognized a black stone marked with white patterns as white chrysanthemum blackstone and bought it for one thousand Contribution Points.
• The stone's former owner regretted selling it after Chen Mu's purchase made him suspect it was valuable.

Chen Mu decided to trade Rain Shuttle Card II for unusual three-star cards or rare materials, igniting a frenzy among the base’s Card Adepts. By the end of the first day, more than twenty people had obtained the improved cards, and none had put one up for sale.

• Demand for the Rain Shuttle Card surged after the Rain Shuttle Squad’s battlefield performance, and its price climbed to fifteen hundred contribution points.
• Chen Mu chose to make Rain Shuttle Card II and posted a commission offering trades for distinctive three-star cards or rare and unidentified materials.
• Agulidiqi spotted Chen Mu’s commission, recognized the opportunity, and helped fuel a rush of Card Adepts seeking eligible cards to trade.
• Chen Mu bought a Shared Terminal and reviewed the many responses, including Agulidiqi’s detailed offers for which he traded for seven Rain Shuttle Cards II.
• More than twenty people obtained Rain Shuttle Cards II on the first day, but none offered theirs for sale or traded them away.

Chen Mu profited from trading Rain Shuttle Card IIs and continued training his perception sensitivity, while Ning Peng learned the cards had spread beyond his control. The chapter ended with Chen Mu reaching a perception sensitivity index of 45 and being prompted to proceed to the next round.

• Chen Mu withdrew his trading commission after collecting more than a hundred three-star illusion cards and various materials.
• Chen Mu chose to keep using the Tail-Shedding Shuttle Card and continued training his perception sensitivity, which had reached 40.
• Ning Peng returned to the base, learned Chen Mu had traded Rain Shuttle Card IIs widely, and ordered his secretary to identify every buyer.
• Chen Mu trained his perception vortex until he counted 1,367 points of light, reaching a perception sensitivity index of 45.

Chen Mu’s perception training improved his card crafting, while the Ning Family discussed protecting the Rain Shuttle Card II and consolidating control of Dongshang Guard City. Bo Wen examined the card and arranged to meet its maker, Chen Mu.

• Chen Mu declined to continue perception training and reflected on how improved sensitivity helped him craft fifteen Rain Shuttle Card IIs a day.
• Ning Peng reported to the Clan Leader, who ordered the Ning Family to stabilize Dongshang Guard City and leave Zuo Tingyi and Zuo Tang alone.
• The Clan Leader learned that three Rain Shuttle Card IIs and their Card Adept carriers remained missing, then instructed Ning Peng to protect Chen Mu and investigate his background.
• Bo Wen examined a Rain Shuttle Card II through his Wrist Device, identified its capabilities, and praised its potential to strengthen the Amey Ning Family.
• The Clan Leader offered half the Rain Shuttle Card IIs as a birthday gift to Bo Wen’s father, and Bo Wen asked to meet Chen Mu.
• The Clan Leader agreed, and Ning Peng was ordered to take Bo Wen to meet Chen Mu and probe his background.

Chen Mu trained his perception in darkness and studied techniques for evading Detection Cards, hoping to escape the Ning Family base. After reaching the required Perception Sensitivity Index, he began practicing the Breath-Concealing Method but found that his perception vortex seemed incapable of vibrating.

• The Ning Family recruited many Card Adepts after its victory, while Chen Mu continued to stay mostly in his room.
• Chen Mu trained himself to move through a dark room without touching the labels on its walls and ceiling, using perception to sense his surroundings.
• Chen Mu studied an unfinished report on techniques for evading Detection Card scans because he wanted to leave the base and preserve his freedom.
• Chen Mu recalled that the Breath-Concealing Method required a Perception Sensitivity Index of 50, which he had just reached.
• Chen Mu tried to understand how to vibrate his perception, but his spindle-shaped perception vortex appeared to be designed for rotation instead.

Chen Mu struggled to modify his perception vortex so he could learn the Breath-Concealing Method, then cleared his frustration through flight training. After Cheng Ying encountered him at the training rooms, his expensive room rental made her suspect that the unremarkable man was a powerful card adept.

• Chen Mu realized his spindle-shaped perception vortex needed a structural change to vibrate, but he set the problem aside when he could not find a safe adjustment.
• Bo Wen stayed at the Ning Family base, while Ning Peng accommodated him and worried about Ning Yan's interest in him.
• Chen Mu flew at top speed, crashed into a safety cushion, and relaxed before continuing his training.
• Chen Mu completed two hours of flight practice and left the training room sweaty.
• Cheng Ying met Chen Mu outside the room, entered it afterward, and wondered whether he was a wealthy and exceptionally skilled card adept.

Cheng Ying discovered Chen Mu’s exceptional confined-space flying scores in the training room records, then cleared them and began her own training. Meanwhile, Chen Mu accepted Will’s commission for a close-combat Three-Star Illusion Card and arranged to meet him.

• Cheng Ying found Chen Mu’s uncleared records and was astonished by his consistently high scores in difficult confined-space aerial evasion exercises.
• Cheng Ying cleared the records and began training, mindful of the room’s contribution-point cost.
• Chen Mu set aside the Breath-Concealing Method, reviewed card-making commissions, and accepted Will’s request for a close-combat Illusion Card.
• Will doubted Chen Mu’s ability until Chen Mu showed him his rank-A room card.
• Chen Mu arranged to meet Will in Basic Training Room 28, and Will agreed to come immediately.

Chen Mu examined Will’s Dual-Polarity Thunderball Card and agreed to make him a powerful close-combat card in three days. Afterward, Will ran into Cheng Ying, who teased him about his training and mentioned another close-combat Card Adept’s impressive dodging score.

• Will hurried to meet Chen Mu in Basic Training Room 28 and asked him to design a three-star close-combat card.
• Will demonstrated the Dual-Polarity Thunderball Card, and Chen Mu studied how its two controllable thunderballs attacked and formed a shield.
• Chen Mu judged Will’s Perception control too weak and offered him a choice between slower, powerful attacks and faster, weaker ones; Will chose powerful attacks.
• Will gave Chen Mu the Dual-Polarity Thunderball Card, and Chen Mu agreed to make his new card free and deliver it in three days.
• Will encountered Cheng Ying, tried to flirt with her, and asked about the close-range dodging score of another Card Adept she had met.

Will told Cheng Ying and Bo Wen that a Card Crafter named Chen Mu had accepted his commission to make a close-combat Illusion Card, and Bo Wen confirmed Chen Mu held an A-rank contribution rating. Back home, Chen Mu studied the Dual-Polarity Thunderball Card and began to decipher its unfamiliar design.

• Cheng Ying described a close-combat Card Adept whose difficulty-eighty dodging scores were consistently above eighty, and Will and Bo Wen were impressed.
• Will revealed that a Card Crafter had accepted his commission to replace his Illusion Card, then explained that the crafter was the young Chen Mu with an A-rank contribution rating.
• Bo Wen reacted strangely to Chen Mu's name, then confirmed that Chen Mu was indeed an A-rank Card Crafter.
• Will said Chen Mu had asked to watch him practice, making Cheng Ying envious of his chance to receive a custom card.
• Chen Mu studied the Dual-Polarity Thunderball Card for about two hours, understanding roughly a quarter of its structural pattern and recognizing the card as a masterpiece.

Chen Mu activated Will’s Dual-Polarity Thunderball Card and discovered how to shape its energy into shields and a fast-moving half-sword. Further experimentation split the thunderballs into five uncontrollable lights that clung to his perception and persisted even after he switched off his Wrist Device, leaving him unsure how to get rid of them.

• Chen Mu activated the Dual-Polarity Thunderball Card and found he could easily control its two pale blue thunderballs within five meters.
• Chen Mu studied the thunderballs’ woven structure and discovered that connecting perception threads to their largest openings formed a shapeable Energy Shield.
• Chen Mu used a different pairing of the largest openings to create a half-sword that could strike with startling speed.
• Chen Mu methodically tested combinations of the secondary openings until the thunderballs split into five smaller ones.
• Chen Mu found that the five little thunderballs moved unpredictably, resisted his control, and would not release his perception threads.
• Chen Mu switched off his Wrist Device, but the five little thunderballs continued circling him.

Chen Mu discovered that the five thunderballs could automatically destroy fast-moving objects and shield him, then named the skill Little Five-Link and tested its limits. As he continued making Will’s card, Will trained in a basic flight room until a call from Chen Mu interrupted him.

• A falling cup triggered the five thunderballs to shatter it and form a pentagonal shield that protected Chen Mu from the fragments.
• Chen Mu tested his theory by throwing steel balls, confirming that Little Five-Link attacked fast-moving objects until its energy ran out and the thunderballs vanished.
• Chen Mu concluded that the Dual-Polarity Thunderball Card held many powerful skills, but stopped experimenting because he could not safely control its energy constructs.
• Over the next three days, Chen Mu worked on Will’s card and tested Little Five-Link, learning that it covered a three-meter radius and drew energy from his Wrist Device.
• Will practiced dodging in a rudimentary Flight Training Room while waiting for the expert Cheng Ying had mentioned, then answered a call from Chen Mu.

Chen Mu demonstrated the Hundred Blades card he had made for Will, whose rapid area attacks and powerful charged strike far exceeded Will’s expectations. Will eagerly accepted the card after seeing its damage, while Chen Mu remained convinced its power was limited.

• Will arrived at Comprehensive Training Room 2 and decided not to invite Bo Wen and Cheng Ying to meet Chen Mu yet.
• Chen Mu showed Will the silver-gray Hundred Blades card and demonstrated its rapid, fan-shaped energy-blade attacks.
• Chen Mu explained that Hundred Blades covered a ten-meter radius and that each small blade dealt about 330 damage.
• Chen Mu combined dozens of blades into a crescent-shaped Wave Blade that struck the target for 450 damage.
• Will declared himself completely satisfied, thrilled by the card’s rare power, while Chen Mu thought the charged strike had limited practical value.

Chen Mu demonstrated the Hundred Blades Card’s Triple Moon skill to Will, who eagerly tested the card and was satisfied with it. Before leaving, Chen Mu asked Will about powerful close-combat Card Adepts and the maker of his Dual-Polarity Thunderball Card.

• Chen Mu showed Will how a crescent attack split into three, naming the technique Triple Moon.
• Will practiced with the Hundred Blades Card and used its attacks within a compact area, impressing Chen Mu with his close-combat approach.
• Will told Chen Mu that Marco Witt was among the base’s strongest close-combat Card Adepts and described an unnamed Adept with exceptional Close-Range Evasion Training scores.
• Chen Mu chose to seek out Marco Witt, and Will offered to introduce him to capable ranged Card Adepts if needed.
• Will asked Chen Mu for a way to contact him, and Chen Mu gave him his room card number.
• Chen Mu asked Will who had made his Dual-Polarity Thunderball Card.

Chen Mu decided to hire Marco Witt to train him in close combat so he could rapidly become strong enough to escape the Ning Family base. Meanwhile, Will demonstrated the Hundred Blades Card and Crescent Moon to Cheng Ying and Bo Wen, leaving them impressed by their power.

• Chen Mu abandoned hope of the Ning Family helping him leave and chose to master the Dual-Polarity Thunderball Card as part of an escape plan.
• Chen Mu contacted Marco Witt and offered him fifty Contribution Points per hour to serve as his private instructor; Marco Witt accepted with payment after each session.
• Cheng Ying and Bo Wen found Will locked in the training room after Chen Mu had accidentally shut the door behind him.
• Will showed Cheng Ying and Bo Wen the Hundred Blades Card, and Bo Wen praised it as an excellent card.
• Will demonstrated Crescent Moon, stunning Cheng Ying and Bo Wen, but kept Triple Moon undisclosed.

Chen Mu hired Marco Witt to teach him close-combat skills, and his exceptional training scores stunned the experienced Card Adept. Marco realized Chen Mu was a rare prodigy and saw the chance to shape him into a formidable close-combat fighter.

• Chen Mu told Marco Witt that he was a Card Crafter and a beginner who wanted to learn close combat, and Marco agreed to teach him under a training plan he could end if it proved unsuitable.
• Marco began Chen Mu with Close-Range Evasion Training and explained that evading attacks while closing distance was essential in actual combat.
• Bo Wen reconsidered the potential of Chen Mu’s Rain Shuttle Card II and Hundred Blades Card, recognizing that Chen Mu might excel at putting high-star capabilities into three-star cards.
• Chen Mu scored exceptionally well on difficult evasion exercises despite completing five sets without rest, leaving Marco incredulous that he was a beginner.
• Chen Mu revealed that he had taught himself advanced aerial skills using the training exercises, including three-move tactical chains, and Marco decided he was a freakishly talented prospect for close-combat training.

Chen Mu agreed to Marco Witt’s offer to teach him close-combat skills in exchange for a promise to help if Marco faced trouble, then endured his first grueling training session. After Bo Wen visited to request a custom Wave Blade card, he offered Chen Mu Master Kuo Haofeng’s prized “Weak Water” pen set as payment, leaving Chen Mu tempted by the rare tools.

• Marco Witt offered Chen Mu either paid instruction in essential close-combat skills or complete training in exchange for a promise of help when circumstances permitted.
• Chen Mu accepted the second option and asked Marco to conceal his training by claiming they were testing new Close-Combat Cards.
• Marco put Chen Mu through exhausting basic exercises, and Chen Mu returned to his room and fell asleep before washing up.
• Bo Wen introduced himself as a friend of the Ning Family and asked Chen Mu to make him a three-star Wave Blade card with a faster firing rate than his Stacked Wave Card.
• Bo Wen offered Master Kuo Haofeng’s “Weak Water” pen set as payment, and Chen Mu recognized its value to card crafting.