How to Advance
"When I was little, Stone Iron City was still a village."
Ruilian gazed into the distance, his voice tinged with recollection. "There weren't many people back then, and everyone made a living by mining. Then one day, a miner dug up some Fire Crystal Ore in the mines and took it out to sell. It quickly caught the attention of someone with an interest in it."
At that, a bitter sigh escaped him.
"This stuff contains powerful fire-element energy. It's an indispensable material for refining high-level cards, and a single piece can sell for a hundred thousand Ka'en.
"The miners back then-my father's generation-had no idea what Fire Crystal Ore was worth, let alone an entire mine full of it."
Ruilian lowered his voice further. "A merchant came that very day and paid to buy the entire mine outright. He also set about building the village here into a town. Stone Iron City was gradually built up because of that Fire Crystal Ore mine."
Lin Qi nodded thoughtfully. "Isn't that just the same old story of a merchant exploiting villagers to work a mine?"
Ruilian smiled bitterly. "I suppose it is. But that merchant knew how to work his connections. After building the town, he ingratiated himself with the Iron Anvil Duchy. The royal capital granted him official papers, and he ended up becoming Stone Iron City's first city lord."
What?
Lin Qi stared in surprise.
"Don't tell me you're talking about Alicia's father?"
Ruilian shook his head. "No, her grandfather. Her father was the second city lord."
"Uh, that really is a tragic story..."
Lin Qi looked at the Fire Crystal Ore in the box, his eyes lighting up. "So I've stumbled across a treasure?"
Ruilian's expression turned serious. "That's right. The color and quality of this piece you found are both excellent. It could definitely fetch a good price. But it attracts too much attention, so we have to be careful."
Sell it?
Lin Qi rubbed his chin. "Uncle, who'd buy such an expensive high-level material in a little place like this?"
The question stumped Ruilian.
That was right. Who in their remote backwater would buy a high-level material like this?
"Well... the city lord's manor would probably buy it..."
Lin Qi gave him a skeptical look.
"Uncle, are you sure the city lord's manor would buy it instead of robbing us?"
That one question completely broke Ruilian.
They both knew all too well what the people at the city lord's manor were like.
If those people found out they had Fire Crystal Ore, having it stolen would be the least of their worries. They might even be killed to keep them quiet.
Lin Qi fell silent for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up. "Uncle, since Fire Crystal Ore is useful for refining high-level cards, could it help Dad advance his Natal Card?"
Ruilian frowned in thought. "Your father's Wind-Breaking Saber is a wind-attribute Implement Card. Normally, Facing the Wind Stone should be the best advancement material..."
"Facing the Wind Stone? If it's a stone, then Fire Crystal Ore should work too, right? Wind fans fire; maybe it'll even have a special effect."
The more Lin Qi thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. He pulled Ruilian toward the backyard.
As soon as they entered the backyard, they saw Lin Feng sitting cross-legged under a tree, cultivating with a faint aura of wind-element energy lingering around him. Lin Qi had rarely seen him look so focused in all his life.
"Dad, stop cultivating for a moment."
Lin Qi ran over and gave Lin Feng a gentle nudge.
Lin Feng opened his eyes and saw Ruilian and Lin Qi both staring at him. Startled, he asked, "What happened?"
"Dad, I have a piece of Fire Crystal Ore. Try using it to advance the Wind-Breaking Saber!"
Lin Qi held the crystal out to Lin Feng.
When Lin Feng saw the stone glowing orange-red, his pupils suddenly contracted. He hadn't seen one of these in twenty years.
"Did you go to the abandoned mine again?"
The next second, his brows knitted tightly, and his voice carried a clear note of reproach. "Did you go to the abandoned mine again?"
"How many times have I told you? That place could collapse at any moment. It's dangerous! You're already so grown up, so why do you keep going to places like that to hunt for treasure?"
"Uh..."
Lin Qi looked at the crystal in his hand and muttered inwardly, But didn't I find a treasure?
Ruilian hurried to smooth things over.
"Brother Feng, didn't the old captain say your Wind-Breaking Saber needed Facing the Wind Stone as its main material? But I've asked plenty of mercenary groups, and none of them have even seen a trace of it. Besides, there's more than one way to advance a Natal Card. Why not try this Fire Crystal Ore?"
Lin Feng hesitated. "But my Wind-Breaking Saber is wind-attribute. Can I really use Fire Crystal Ore?"
"It'll definitely work!" Lin Qi hurriedly chimed in. "Didn't you say there are all sorts of ways to advance a Natal Card? Wind fans fire, so as long as your Wind-Breaking Saber isn't water-attribute, I think it should work."
"Besides, even if advancing a Natal Card fails, there's no danger. At worst, we'll just waste this piece of Fire Crystal Ore. We can't sell it anyway."
"All right, then."
Lin Feng finally relented. He put the Fire Crystal Ore on the stone table, then went inside and came back with a stack of cards.
Lin Qi leaned over for a look and was instantly dumbfounded.
Iron Thorn vines, petals from a Calming Flower, ashes from burned Withered Bone Grass...
"Dad, are you sure these things are advancement materials?"
Although he knew nothing about card advancement, as someone from Blue Star, he at least knew the basics of how the five elements reinforced and countered one another. Surely forging a saber required iron, at the very least. Could these flowers and plants really work?
"Well..."
Lin Feng scratched his head sheepishly. "When I saw the old captain advance his card, these were the things he used."
"Dad, what was your old captain's Natal Card?" Lin Qi asked curiously.
"I know that one!"
Ruilian immediately raised his hand, sounding rather proud. "Our old captain's Natal Card was a Summoning Card, Human-Faced Vine! Back then, he used that blue-quality Human-Faced Vine to beat the other mercenary groups into submission. Everyone who saw him had to say, 'Mighty as ever, big brother!' The old captain was also the one who said Brother Feng needed Facing the Wind Stone as an advancement material."
"Human-Faced Vine, Iron Thorn, Calming Flower..."
Lin Qi instantly understood the problem.
"The old captain's Human-Faced Vine was plant-attribute, so there was no problem using those materials. But Dad's Wind-Breaking Saber is a wind-attribute Implement Card. Plant-attribute materials don't go with it at all. No wonder the old captain specifically told him to use Facing the Wind Stone."
Lin Qi abruptly raised his head. "Dad, none of these materials are right. Keep cultivating for now. I'll go to the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion and buy some new materials. Wait until I figure out an advancement path for the Wind-Breaking Saber before you try."
Before Lin Feng could respond, Lin Qi had already dashed out the back door.
"That boy, always in such a rush."
Lin Feng shook his head helplessly, but still gripped the Fire Crystal Ore tightly in his hand and sensed the fire-element energy inside it.
Lin Qi ran into the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion, panting for breath.
"Where's Kane? Help me find some material cards."
A clerk nearby clearly recognized this major customer and hurried over with tea to attend to him.
"Please wait a moment, sir. Deacon Kane will be here right away!"
Soon, Kane came running down from the second floor, holding an illustrated catalog.
"I want a Heat-Resistant Flame Lizard Leather Card, a Refined Iron Card, a Black Ore Card... and a wind-attribute Breeze Card!" Lin Qi rattled off a long list of card names in one breath.
"Oh, and get me some Dust Star Cards too. I want lots of different kinds, and plenty of them."
"Of course. Please wait a moment."
Before long, the cards were packed into a small parcel.
Lin Qi paid, grabbed the parcel, and ran home. He couldn't wait to try the new card-fusion method he had in mind.