Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu committed to crafting a three-star card for Bo Wen in exchange for the Weak Water pen set while continuing his demanding training under Marco Witt. After praising Chen Mu’s progress, Marco Witt began teaching him specific close-combat techniques and demonstrated his Coiling Bramble card.

• Chen Mu agreed to design a three-star card for Bo Wen and learned that Weak Water had been crafted by Kuo Haofeng at the peak of his career.
• Chen Mu resolved to pursue Weak Water without giving up Marco Witt’s training, despite the time and effort both demands required.
• News spread that Su Wei and Su Hu had passed the Desert Camp’s nightmare prison trial in the same year.
• Marco Witt praised Chen Mu’s discipline and progress, then decided to begin teaching him specific close-combat techniques.
• Marco Witt demonstrated his Coiling Bramble card, which formed a pale golden, python-like energy bramble around him.

Marco Witt demonstrated the defensive and offensive techniques of his Coiling Bramble Card, showing Chen Mu the power of expert control and sharing battle-tested tactical lessons. After the lesson, Chen Mu struggled to recall a fleeting insight sparked by Marco Witt's demonstration.

• Marco Witt explained that combat centered on attack and defense, then demonstrated the Coiling Bramble's impenetrable defense as Chen Mu studied it with Perception.
• Marco Witt showed how the rotating bramble dart delivered a lightning-fast attack and explained the fleeting opening close-combat Card Adepts had to exploit.
• Marco Witt drilled his bramble dart into a test target, destroying it with a strike that dealt roughly 1,500 damage despite the card's standard damage output of 423.
• Marco Witt demonstrated more techniques and tactics, and Chen Mu listened closely and realized how crude his own past tactics had been.
• Marco Witt ended the lesson and told Chen Mu to prepare for actual combat the next day, while Chen Mu sat in the corridor trying to recover a forgotten insight.

Chen Mu discovered that the rhythmic motion of Marco Witt’s Coiling Bramble could provide the spiral structure needed to advance the Breath-Concealing Method. After reshaping his perception and successfully activating the method for twelve seconds, he woke with severe nausea and a new understanding of its effects.

• Chen Mu recalled Marco Witt’s Coiling Bramble breathing rhythmically and connected its motion to vibration frequency and the spiral structure he needed.
• Chen Mu decided to modify his spindle-shaped perception vortex into a spiral spring so he could practice the Breath-Concealing Method and improve his chances of escaping the base.
• Chen Mu spent two hours carefully replacing his perception vortex with the spiral spring structure, which began rotating and vibrating on its own.
• Chen Mu matched his perception’s vibration to the required frequency and entered a cold, emotionless state in which his senses and control over his body sharpened.
• Chen Mu remained in that state for twelve seconds before collapsing into darkness, then woke and vomited repeatedly from the method’s powerful side effects.

Chen Mu endured the Breath-Concealing Method’s severe side effects and used the strange state it created to investigate how the technique worked. He learned how to extend and enter the state more effectively, but found no way to eliminate the vomiting that followed.

• Chen Mu decided to keep practicing the Breath-Concealing Method despite fearing that its emotionless state might change him, because he needed it to escape the base and Amey City.
• Marco Witt canceled Chen Mu’s combat training after seeing how ill he looked, and Chen Mu took a nutritional pill before sleeping for six hours.
• After waking, Chen Mu noticed his night vision had improved and practiced adjusting his Perception until he entered the breath-concealing state on his sixty-seventh attempt.
• Chen Mu used the state’s heightened insight to analyze the method and discovered that lowering his body temperature extended his time in it to thirty-three seconds.
• Chen Mu vomited for ten minutes after leaving the state, then recalled that greater Perception control and familiarity would help him enter it faster and remain in it longer, while its side effects could only be slightly reduced.

After mastering the Breath-Concealing Method and spending three days crafting Bo Wen’s card, Chen Mu began sparring with Marco Witt and rapidly improved his close-combat skills. Marco Witt was astonished by Chen Mu’s talent and Dual-Polarity Thunderball Card, while Chen Mu prepared to leave the base soon.

• Chen Mu endured a week of the Breath-Concealing Method’s severe side effects and learned to enter the concealed state in under three minutes.
• Chen Mu rested for three days, worked on Bo Wen’s card, and planned to leave the base after sparring with Marco Witt.
• Marco Witt returned from his commission and began sparring with Chen Mu, who studied each day’s failures and gradually learned to keep pace with him.
• As Marco Witt intensified his attacks, Chen Mu used the Big Loach’s maneuverability and improved his dodging, though Marco Witt’s Coiling Bramble still overwhelmed him.
• Marco Witt tested Chen Mu’s Dual-Polarity Thunderball Card and was surprised when its five thunderballs formed shields that blocked his attacks.
• Marco Witt recognized Chen Mu’s exceptional potential and looked forward to his future battles.

Chen Mu gave Marco Witt the Big Loach card, then delivered the Bloodedge Card to Bo Wen in exchange for the Weak Water pen set. After noticing a dark change in Chen Mu’s eyes, Bo Wen recalled a warning from Eastern Ning’s records and ordered Ning Jia to search the Library Pavilion immediately.

• Chen Mu gave Marco Witt the Big Loach airflow card after combat training.
• Chen Mu showed Bo Wen the Bloodedge Card, whose overlapping red wave blades reached a damage value of 611, and Bo Wen named it.
• Bo Wen handed Chen Mu the Weak Water pen set, and Chen Mu tested and accepted the seven specialized card-crafting pens.
• Chen Mu’s eyes briefly darkened when he worried that something had gone wrong, alarming Bo Wen, who recognized the phenomenon as familiar.
• Bo Wen searched his memory for the source of the darkened eyes, then called Ning Jia and ordered her to go to the Library Pavilion at once.

Ning Jia found and read Family Head Ning Yi’s notebook, which revealed the Ning Family’s long search for the mysterious Cross Night school and its role in Ning Xuan’s death. Meanwhile, Chen Mu prepared to leave the base and waited near an exit for a chance to slip out.

• Bo Wen urgently had Ning Jia retrieve Ning Yi’s notebook and read its account of the Cross Night assassin who killed Ning Xuan with a cross-shaped wound.
• Ning Jia learned that Cross Night was a secretive school of Card Adepts whose known techniques were Cross and the Breath-Concealing Method, and she worried about Bo Wen’s investigation.
• Chen Mu gathered cards, equipment, and money, then set out to leave the base.
• Chen Mu hid on the fifteenth floor and watched the exits, waiting for Card Adepts to leave so he could take his opportunity.

Chen Mu stole Cheng Ying’s Room Card and escaped the Ning Family base, but Bo Wen pursued him through the air. Chen Mu evaded Bo Wen’s attack with an advanced aerial maneuver, leaving Bo Wen questioning whether Cross Night’s fighters had adopted close-combat techniques.

• Chen Mu ambushed Cheng Ying in passage five, took her Room Card, and used it to open the exit despite the detection system.
• Bo Wen arrived as Chen Mu escaped and pursued him with a four-star Airflow Card while Cheng Ying followed behind.
• Chen Mu switched to the Big Loach Airflow Card and dove toward the homes below to exploit the ground’s complex terrain.
• Bo Wen aimed a Bloodedge Wave Blade at Chen Mu, but Chen Mu’s spiraling roll and drift disrupted his aim and perception.
• Bo Wen recognized Chen Mu’s aerial maneuver as a technique associated with Close-Combat Card Adepts and wondered whether Cross Night had changed its methods.

Chen Mu used a deceptive three-tier aerial tactic to evade Bo Wen's attack, leaving Bo Wen humiliated and newly determined to land a decisive blow. With Ning Family reinforcements likely on the way, Chen Mu had two minutes to escape or kill Bo Wen.

• Chen Mu combined Spiral-Roll Drift, Fish-Belly Rebound, and a basic Angular Shift to fool Bo Wen and evade his Wave Blade.
• Bo Wen realized Chen Mu's sequence was a three-tier tactic and grew furious at being outmaneuvered.
• Cheng Ying watched the fight and judged Chen Mu's tactical skill to be extraordinary.
• Chen Mu remained calm as he flew less than twenty meters above the rooftops, with two minutes left to escape or kill Bo Wen.
• Bo Wen switched from the Bloodedge Card in 0.9 seconds and prepared what he believed would be the strongest strike of his life.

Bo Wen’s Thousand-Swallow Wave Blades devastated the area, but Chen Mu survived behind his five thunderballs and attacked when both fighters ran out of energy. Cheng Ying stopped the fight, and as Ning Family Card Adepts approached, Chen Mu suddenly moved.

• Bo Wen unleashed his four-star Thousand-Swallow Wave Blades for fifteen seconds, wrecking the surrounding homes and ground.
• Chen Mu survived the barrage behind five thunderballs, though the final wave blades left him bleeding from several wounds.
• When both men reached for Energy Cards, Chen Mu abandoned his slower card case and lunged at Bo Wen.
• Cheng Ying fired a warning shot that halted Chen Mu, leaving him and Bo Wen in a standoff.
• Ning Family Card Adepts appeared in the distance, and Chen Mu suddenly moved.

Chen Mu escaped Bo Wen by stealing his Four-Star Energy Card, then raced toward the wilderness while Bo Wen and Cheng Ying pursued him. With his breath-concealed state nearly over and his wounds untreated, he faced a dangerous flight out of Amey City.

• Chen Mu feigned a desperate attack on Bo Wen, stole the Four-Star Energy Card, and escaped using the Big Loach card.
• Bo Wen realized Chen Mu had engineered his escape and resolved to pursue and eliminate him.
• Chen Mu chose to flee into the wilderness because staying in the city would let the Ning Family find him by his blood trail.
• Chen Mu switched to the High-Speed Airflow Card and flew at full speed toward Amey City's outskirts.
• Bo Wen chased Chen Mu, and Cheng Ying reluctantly followed as they raced through the city at dangerous speed.

Chen Mu fled Bo Wen and Cheng Ying through Amey City’s buffer zone and deep into the forest, where the Breath-Concealing Method’s time limit expired and left him badly injured. Bo Wen and Cheng Ying entered the dangerous forest together to pursue him, and Cheng Ying spotted something as they advanced.

• Chen Mu raced through the Glowgrass Garden and into the forest, building enough distance to leave Bo Wen and Cheng Ying far behind.
• As the Breath-Concealing Method expired, Chen Mu collapsed in the mud, vomited, and forced himself toward a large tree to find shelter and tend his wounds.
• Bo Wen waited for Cheng Ying, insisted that they enter the forest together, and led her onward cautiously.
• Bo Wen used a Detection Card instead of a Lighting Card while he and Cheng Ying navigated the dark forest.
• Cheng Ying suddenly noticed something in the forest.

Bo Wen and Cheng Ying pursued the badly injured Chen Mu into a thorny thicket, while Bo Wen recruited her help by revealing his identity and promising her better opportunities. Chen Mu washed the blood from his wounds in a stream, but the blood drifting downstream attracted an unknown visitor.

• Bo Wen decided to follow Chen Mu through the thorn bushes rather than wait for reinforcements, and Cheng Ying hesitated over the danger.
• Bo Wen gave Cheng Ying a Three-Star Energy Shield Card, revealed that he was the next heir to the Dongxing Ning Family, and promised her better opportunities if she helped kill Chen Mu.
• Cheng Ying accepted Bo Wen's offer, and he gave her his former Energy Shield Card, [Green Ring].
• Bo Wen called the Ning Family for reinforcements, prompting elites led by Ning Dong to mobilize, while he and Cheng Ying entered the thicket.
• Chen Mu reached a stream, washed the blood from his body and clothes, and sent blood drifting downstream.
• The blood spreading through the stream attracted an uninvited visitor.

Chen Mu survived an attack by a vicious aquatic creature and realized he had to push deeper into the jungle to escape Bo Wen and the Ning Family. Bo Wen and Cheng Ying continued tracking him, unaware that he had flown far ahead, while a swarm of Iron Bees delayed the Card Adepts behind them.

• A small, fast aquatic creature attacked Chen Mu, but his Dual-Polarity Thunderball Card stopped it with a shield before it retreated into the stream.
• Chen Mu recognized the jungle’s dangers and decided to move deeper under cover of night rather than risk being captured by Bo Wen or the Ning Family.
• Bo Wen and Cheng Ying tracked Chen Mu on foot, not realizing that he had used the High-Speed Airflow Card to get far ahead.
• Bo Wen learned that a swarm of Iron Bees had trapped the Card Adepts following them, but he chose to continue the pursuit with Cheng Ying.
• Bo Wen remained determined to kill Chen Mu, whose escape had made him feel fear for the first time.

Chen Mu continued through the jungle while Bo Wen and Cheng Ying pursued him and the Ning Family struggled to find them. The chase was thrown into uncertainty when a flood washed away the pursuit markers, just as Chen Mu ran into trouble.

• Chen Mu recovered from his wounds and fled deeper into the jungle as Bo Wen and Cheng Ying reached the stream and resumed tracking him.
• Ning Dong’s force was ambushed by crouching frogs, losing more than eighty Card Adepts before defeating the pack and cautiously continuing the search for Bo Wen.
• The Amei Ning Family lost contact with both Bo Wen and Ning Dong and assembled a third force to enter the jungle.
• Over the next three days, Chen Mu kept moving and his Perception improved, while Bo Wen and Cheng Ying followed without catching up.
• Bo Wen chose to continue pursuing Chen Mu despite losing contact with the outside world, leaving markers for the Ning Family’s reinforcements.
• A torrential downpour washed away Bo Wen’s markers and the group’s tracks, and Chen Mu ran into trouble.

Chen Mu fled a Twin-Hook Beast and collided with Bo Wen and Cheng Ying, turning their confrontation into a desperate twelve-hour chase through the jungle. The beast and all three fugitives collapsed from exhaustion, leaving Chen Mu and Bo Wen stranded and unable to move while Cheng Ying lay unconscious.

• Chen Mu escaped the Twin-Hook Beast by flying through the jungle, and Bo Wen and Cheng Ying encountered him while pursuing him.
• Bo Wen recognized the Twin-Hook Beast and fled with Cheng Ying and Chen Mu as it charged after them.
• Bo Wen suggested flying upward, but Cheng Ying warned that the sky held even more dangerous creatures, so they continued low through the trees.
• The three flew for twelve hours as the Twin-Hook Beast pursued them, until the beast finally collapsed and Cheng Ying passed out.
• Bo Wen crashed into bushes when he lost control of his Perception, and Chen Mu fell from the air; after five minutes, Bo Wen crawled out, and both men lay too exhausted to move.

Cheng Ying refused Bo Wen's demand to kill Chen Mu, explaining that the three needed to cooperate to survive deep in the jungle. After Bo Wen and Chen Mu agreed to move forward together, they rested, and Chen Mu discovered the Twin-Hook Beast had died from exhaustion.

• Cheng Ying woke and refused Bo Wen's request to kill Chen Mu, saying she wanted to stay alive.
• Cheng Ying explained that the trio were lost deep in the jungle and could not safely retrace their route or rely on reinforcements.
• Bo Wen and Chen Mu agreed to set aside their differences and continue forward, with Chen Mu insisting they not turn back.
• Bo Wen promised not to attack Chen Mu before they escaped the jungle, while Cheng Ying salvaged materials from the Twin-Hook Beast.
• Chen Mu examined the Twin-Hook Beast and realized it had died of exhaustion, then Bo Wen asked why he was not collecting materials.

Chen Mu, Cheng Ying, and Bo Wen dealt with the exhausted Twin-Hook Beast and continued through the jungle together. Their companions learned that Chen Mu was a highly accomplished Card Crafter who denied being a Card Adept, while he remained unaware of how unusual his abilities were; the group traveled on, relying on Cheng Ying’s experience.

• Cheng Ying gathered valuable materials from the Twin-Hook Beast, which had died of exhaustion while pursuing Chen Mu.
• Bo Wen mocked Chen Mu for not knowing Material Gathering, and Cheng Ying recognized him as the Card Crafter who had made [Hundred Blades] for Will.
• Cheng Mu denied being a Card Adept, leaving Cheng Ying and Bo Wen baffled by the combat skill he had demonstrated.
• Cheng Ying processed the beast’s hide, hooks, and blood, then gave Chen Mu a bottle of blood that could be used to make a Compatibility Agent.
• Chen Mu, Cheng Ying, and Bo Wen cautiously continued through the jungle, and Cheng Ying later made Chen Mu a crude garment from the beast’s hide.

Chen Mu and Bo Wen rescued Cheng Ying and a child named Liduhong from a Raging Iron Lizard, then learned that Liduhong claimed to come from a mountain village. The group agreed to follow him home, hoping his village could help them find their way out of the jungle, while Chen Mu remained suspicious of the boy.

• Cheng Ying defended Liduhong from a Raging Iron Lizard with her colored threads, and Bo Wen killed it with three precisely aligned Wave Blades after Chen Mu did not intervene.
• Cheng Ying brought Liduhong back to camp, where he said his home was in a mountain village and that he was lost.
• Chen Mu noticed Liduhong's wary, hostile gaze and doubted his story, but kept his suspicions to himself.
• Liduhong asked Cheng Ying to take him home, and Bo Wen and Chen Mu agreed to follow him.

Liduhong guided Chen Mu, Bo Wen, and Cheng Ying through the Jungle, while Bo Wen’s mention of Cross Night triggered a tense confrontation with Chen Mu. After seven days of travel, Chen Mu remained wary of Liduhong, and Bo Wen continued to watch Chen Mu with growing suspicion.

• Liduhong used his extensive Jungle knowledge to guide the group and help them find food, water, and useful materials.
• Bo Wen grew concerned that Liduhong’s village might contain powerful people who could pose a greater danger than the Jungle’s beasts.
• Bo Wen insulted Chen Mu by linking him to Cross Night, and Chen Mu suspected Bo Wen wanted to seize his Mysterious Card.
• Chen Mu and Bo Wen exchanged hostile stares but both backed down before Cheng Ying and Liduhong could intervene.
• After seven days of traveling with Liduhong, Chen Mu kept watching the boy while Bo Wen watched Chen Mu, unable to understand him.