Five-Star Card Master

In the courtyard downstairs,

Lin Feng was sitting cross-legged beneath the old locust tree, cultivating.

The Wind-Breaking Saber lay across his knees, the Magic-Resistance Breastplate made his frame look broader than ever, and the Boots of Stealth were on his feet.

The equipment made him look tall and upright, with a sharp edge to his features. There was no trace left of his old greasy appearance, with its beer belly and bleary eyes.

Moreover, with the feedback from three three-star blue cards, the cultivation realm where he had long been stuck had finally broken through to five stars, and Source Power was still pushing him forward.

"Going by the look of things, is Dad going to push straight through to Grand Card Master in one go?!"

Just as Lin Qi was imagining Lin Feng breaking through to Grand Card Master in one stroke and taking Stone Iron City by storm, a steady voice came from behind him.

"Brother Feng may have spent ten years consolidating his foundation, but Source Power alone isn't enough to become a Grand Card Master. He has to transform his Natal Card to blue quality first."

Lin Qi turned around, looking puzzled. "Uncle Ruilian, what's that about?"

He knew next to nothing about the requirements for becoming a Grand Card Master.

At that, Ruilian's gaze dimmed, as though he had recalled something from the distant past, and his voice grew a little lower.

"The path of a Card Master seems to depend on the quality of one's Natal Card and one's Source Power cultivation, but in the end, it all comes down to the Card Master's fate."

"Fate?"

Lin Qi was completely baffled. "What does fate have to do with it?"

Ruilian didn't answer. He only patted Lin Qi on the shoulder. "Xiao Qi, don't get discouraged just because your Natal Card is a trash card."

"Some people are blessed by fate. Even if their Natal Card is the lowest-grade white trash card, they can break through bottlenecks one after another and have a smooth journey on the path of a Card Master. But if someone's fate is bad, even if the Natal Card they awakened was blue quality to begin with, they can be stuck at the Card Master realm for life."

Lin Qi was utterly confused and couldn't help grumbling inwardly. After all that, he still hasn't explained anything...

Seeing that Ruilian was unwilling to say more, he didn't press him.

"Uncle Ruilian, didn't your and Dad's Natal Cards both used to be white quality? How did you advance them to green quality? What materials do you need to advance them to blue quality now?"

Lin Qi knew he could help Lin Feng improve the quality and star ratings of his Secondary Cards, but a Natal Card was linked to a Card Master's life, and his Rule Card couldn't interfere with it at all.

Ruilian's gaze suddenly sharpened. He stared at Lin Qi for quite a while, as though weighing something.

After a moment, he slowly looked away and shook his head. "Brother Feng and I will find a way to handle it. You kids stay out of it and focus on cultivating.

"Also, Xinyao City's junior Card Master academy will be recruiting students in a while. You'd better hurry up and prepare, or you might not even pass the assessment."

From his attitude, Lin Qi knew that Ruilian clearly saw him as a little weakling who hadn't grown up and was afraid he would cause trouble if he learned about dangerous matters.

Sighing inwardly, he didn't press further. He just nodded. "All right, then. I'm going out to have some fun, and I won't be home for lunch."

Lin Qi already had a plan. Once Lin Feng finished cultivating that evening, he would ask him in secret.

Right now, the most important thing was to settle the score with Wang Meng and the others!

He still remembered being mocked at the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion last time.

Lin Qi clenched his fists and headed with light steps toward the abandoned mine north of Stone Iron City.

"Lackeys, your young master is here!"

Stone Iron City was only a third-tier town under the Iron Anvil Duchy. Its population had just passed ten thousand, and it covered less than one square kilometer.

But the land around the town was especially vast.

To the west lay Black Wind Forest, and to the north was the abandoned mine. Beyond the mine stretched an undulating range of iron mountains, which looked like a sleeping black dragon from afar.

The abandoned mine had once been Stone Iron City's lifeline. Later, when the ore ran out, it became a secret base for the town's older children.

Lin Qi had once been the king of this abandoned mine, with dozens of underlings and even five or six beauties in his harem.

But as everyone grew older, especially after awakening their Natal Cards, fewer and fewer people came here. Only a few rash youngsters still clung to dreams of finding treasure, Wang Meng among them.

Lin Qi couldn't help laughing when he remembered what had happened back then.

He had casually fooled Wang Meng by telling him that Rock Fire Stone worth a hundred thousand Ka'en was hidden in the mine, and that he had helped his family buy the Wonderful Tales Shop with the money he made selling it.

No one else believed such a fool's tale, but Wang Meng did.

He not only came to the mine to dig for stones every day, but even spent all his savings on a Gold-Digging Rat Beast Taming Card, bringing the rat to dig in the mine every day.

Even now, Lin Qi couldn't tell whether Wang Meng was simple or simply stupid.

After wandering around the mine, Lin Qi found himself at a loss.

The mine might have been abandoned, but it was sizable. He had searched several hills where they used to spend time, yet there was no sign of Wang Meng.

He looked down at the Wind Chime Cat by his feet. The little fellow was swishing its tail and rubbing its head against his trouser leg.

"Wind Chime Cat, can you find Wang Meng? He's the guy whose face you scratched up last time."

The Wind Chime Cat looked up, hesitated suspiciously for a second, then let out a cry.

"Meow."

Its amber eyes were full of confidence, as though saying, Leave it to me.

It sprang lightly onto a piece of ore, and three transparent, bell-shaped phantoms suddenly appeared at the tip of its tail.

"Jingle~"

A soft chime rang out, as though a breeze were spreading from the bells.

This was the Wind Chime Cat's innate ability, Wind's Acuity. It could not only sense the sounds around it, but also smell its prey on the wind.

"Meow!"

A moment later, the Wind Chime Cat jumped down from the ore and ran over to Lin Qi. It curled its tail around his hand, then called twice toward a mine tunnel to the east.

"So he was hiding in a mine tunnel. No wonder I couldn't find him."

Lin Qi followed the Wind Chime Cat through the winding paths of the mine until they finally stopped in front of a pitch-black tunnel.

He was just about to step inside when he heard hurried footsteps from within, accompanied by heavy breathing.

"Huff... huff..."

A figure covered in blood rushed out of the tunnel. It was Wang Meng, whom he had been unable to find no matter where he looked.

Wang Meng was covered in blood, his face pale and his expression tense. He was also clutching a bulging object in his arms.

"Lin Qi!?"

The moment he saw Lin Qi, Wang Meng's pupils contracted sharply, as though he had been caught red-handed doing something wrong. Even his voice was trembling.

"Y-you, what are you doing here?"

He instinctively tried to hide the cloth bundle behind his back.

Lin Qi looked him up and down, frowning. "Did you get into a fight with a Card Beast? Why are you covered in blood? And what are you hiding behind your back?"

But before he could ask anything else, Wang Meng's gaze turned fierce. Without a word, he charged at Lin Qi, his dagger flashing coldly as he thrust it straight at his chest!

"You want to kill me?"

Lin Qi's gaze instantly turned cold.

"Summon, Hero's Remains!"

"Bang!"

A giant skeleton two meters tall suddenly appeared. Its large, bony hand seized the dagger, stopping it from advancing another inch.

"Skeleton Foot Soldier?"

Wang Meng stared in astonishment at the two-meter-tall giant skeleton before him.

"You broke through to One-Star Card Apprentice?"

Even now, Wang Meng still didn't think this unusual Skeleton Foot Soldier was Lin Qi's Natal Card.

Instead, he thought Lin Qi had gotten lucky and broken through to One-Star Card Apprentice, awakening a Space Card Slot.

"Wang Meng, oh, Wang Meng, your brain is as stupid as ever. If it weren't for your mother, I never would have taken you on as an underling."

Lin Qi hadn't expected Wang Meng to be so stupid that he wouldn't even think about how the Wind Chime Cat had taught him a lesson at the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion.

If he hadn't broken through to One-Star Card Apprentice then, how could he have unlocked his Card Slot Space and summoned the Wind Chime Cat?