The Card Apprentice

After sitting for not very long, Chen Mu saw Rong Ming leading in his daughter, who looked to be 12 or 13 and had a tender, young face. She didn’t appear to be thrilled with the scene, although she maintained a polite appearance.

She glanced at Tan Yumin, who was surrounded by a crowd of guests. That allowed Chen Mu to breathe a sigh of relief. He would always involuntarily perceive a breath of danger when he was in front of that woman. Fortunately for him, Tan Yumin was the most dazzling personality that evening. There were countless people after her wherever she went. Jiang Yu went right along with the crowd to stay beside her, acting as her escort.

Even among the crowd, Tan Yumin seemed to have detected Chen Mu watching her, making him quickly avert his gaze.

“It must be Rong Ming’s poor hospitality for the White Commander to remain all alone here,” Rong Ming’s booming voice said. By the time Chen Mu raised his head, Rong Ming had already led his daughter over.

The rest of the guests’ gazes then swept toward Chen Mu. The name White Commander didn’t bring just any old person to mind. As the person most in the limelight in Dongrui, he was quite qualified to draw the VIPs’ attention. Still, Rong Ming saw him a little differently, adding something on top of how important he was in their minds.

“Master Rong has been very polite,” Chen Mu said with a slight smile as he stood.

“This is my precious daughter.” Rong Ming first introduced his daughter and then smiled at her tenderly. “This is the White Commander I told you about, sweetheart.”

“You’re the White Commander?” The little girl was sizing Chen Mu up, full of curiosity. “But why would you want to wear a mask?”

Rong Ming frowned and was about to reprimand his daughter.

“Since I look like a clown.” For some reason, when he’d heard the little girl’s innocent, pure question, Chen Mu’s gloomy mood immediately cleared up. He couldn’t keep the corner of his mouth from curling into a smile.

“I’m so, so sorry,” the little girl rushed to say as a look of apology flashed through her eyes.

Just at that time, a servant came quickly walking over to Rong Ming and whispered into his ear. His smile immediately turned stern and his eyes sharp. After the servant finished, he stood to the side with his hands folded, awaiting the host’s instructions.

“Allow her to enter,” Rong Ming said lightly. The noise in the room gradually quieted until it was silent. Anyone who could come there would have to be someone sophisticated.

“Someone from Faya has come,” Rong Ming said to Chen Mu in a low voice. When that gesture fell onto everyone else’s eyes, it made them still more incapable of not giving Chen Mu another look.

Faya? Would Faya actually send someone? That was what came immediately into Chen Mu’s mind, though what calmed him down a bit was that Faya hadn’t been invited. Otherwise, Rong Ming would never have been able to maintain his composure.

Tap, tap, tap! The sound of her boots pounding on the floor was strangely sharp in the huge hall. A young woman wearing a tight black jacket, leggings, and black boots appeared in everyone’s sight. Her purple hair had been tied into a ponytail, and her whole person was neat and orderly. She raised her face with an indifferent expression.

Butchie! Chen Mu’s pupils immediately constricted. He knew that woman. They had fought once in Pomelo. The last memory he had of her was of the battle between her and Hugo against Qiao Yuan. Had she actually lived through it? He remembered the situation that day clearly; Qiao Yuan had had the absolute advantage. Moreover, he thought Qiao Yuan would never have had any reason to let her off. But she was certainly still alive! She was standing right there in front of him!

At about the same time, Butchie’s gaze swept in his direction. Chen Mu felt abruptly chilled again. It looked like Butchie had not only survived under Qiao Yuan’s hands but that her power had greatly surged. Her wits about auras had gotten to a surprisingly sensitive place! Chen Mu could perceive her gaze lingering on him a little before it moved on and finally settled on Rong Ming.

“I’ve heard it is Master Rong’s esteemed daughter’s birthday. As a lowly representative of Faya, I would like to give Miss Rong my best wishes!” Butchie made a slight bow and then said in a voice neither proud nor servile, “I sincerely wish Miss Rong all the happiness in the world! I would ask Miss Rong to accept this trifling demonstration of my feelings, which cannot show the depth of my respect.” She presented her with a small, unassuming box with both hands.

“There were to be no gifts. Please be my guest to eat and drink. For your esteemed self to have been able to come has been quite a surprise.” Rong Ming had already resumed his slight smile, though everyone noticed the indifference in his voice. Rong Ming would have no good feelings toward Faya, of course. He had been present at the scene of the sneak kidnapping attack that day. As the chief of the guards division, he had extreme dislike for such a group that disregarded the rules so much.

Butchie kept her hands outstretched and continued, “With perception at the seventh level, Master Rong is listed 63rd on the Heavenly Drum Rolls! That kind of power is something I cannot help but admire from my lowly position.”

There was a rising buzz in the hall, as it was everyone’s first time finding out Rong Ming was actually 63rd on the Heavenly Drum Rolls! While the Heavenly Drum Rolls weren’t as authoritative as the Black-Line Star Listing, they were still seen as an important indicator! Being 63rd on the Heavenly Drum Rolls was a rather amazing ranking, and they had never heard it before.

There had been a lot of unresolved speculation about where Rong Ming had come from. They had never thought he had such an exalted background, after all! Some were already searching their minds for the name of the 63rd on the Heavenly Drum Rolls.

Even Rong Ming’s daughter was covering her mouth with a look of disbelief. She had never thought her dad was actually that powerful!

The smile disappeared from Rong Ming’s face, and his look deepened as he said, “Your eminence must have great skill to have been able to so clearly check out my background!”

Knowing how angry the chief was, the card artisans under him were shaken. They were giving one another looks, having decided they would nab that woman immediately once the chief gave the word! Still, the chief was actually 63rd on the Heavenly Drum Rolls…

Butchie kept speaking eloquently as though she didn’t feel a thing. “Before coming, I had been thinking about what sort of gift would do for me to present, given Master Rong’s power and position.”

Everyone’s attention was immediately drawn by her words. It sounded like that woman had prepared some kind of fabulous gift!

Rong Ming smiled coldly. “I have no family wealth to speak of, and I haven’t seen much of the world.” His gaze was pegging Butchie as he continued, “I do have one advantage, though, which is to be content with my situation. Your eminence’s gift isn’t something I would like, and I have no interest to know what it is. Would someone please show the guest out?”

Before any of the servants could move, Butchie said in a cold voice, “What? Even if it contains a six-star card?”

The hall became abruptly still. Everyone, including Chen Mu, looked stuck in place as though they’d been struck by lightning. As a card master, he knew a lot more about cards than an ordinary person. A five-star card was the highest level he had seen by that time. Never mind seeing a six-star card; he had never even heard of one!

A six-star card… Everyone’s gazes were overheated and crazed in that instant as they stared at the unassuming box Butchie was presenting. The entire hall was full of the sound of heavy breathing, especially among the card artisans, who were itching to pounce on it. Even Chen Mu was excited. He really wanted to go take a look to see what a legendary six-star card actually looked like.

In reality, a five-star card was extremely rare on the market. In the ordinary residential districts, three-star cards were the mainstream deployments, and four-star cards were mainstream in the five flourishing districts. The price of any five-star card would be sky-high, so they were incredibly hard to buy. Five-star cards had extremely rigorous minimum standards. The Bomb Chen Mu had made for Sang Hanshui already had a pretty shocking damage value, though it only approached that of a five-star card.

But a six-star card? That would have already gone beyond the realm of ordinary cards, and there had never even been news of them on the market. Chen Mu had seen five-star cards and had even used them. Although he still didn’t have the ability to make them, at least he knew he would certainly realize that goal someday. But what could a six-star card be like? What would its pattern be like? Its power? Would it have any special places on it? He really wanted to look at it, even if it were only a glimpse.

Perhaps because they were so rare, or perhaps because their capabilities really couldn’t be measured by the star standard, cards above the five-star level would seldom be evaluated by star level. They would be directly designated by their names.

“This card is called the Eternal Night, and it is from the hand of the grand master illusion card master Lance Ryan!”

Chen Mu felt like his throat was so dry and his body so overheated that he couldn’t take his eyes off that little box in the least. An illusion card… It had become hard even to breathe. Good lord! It’s actually an illusion card! He was using all the power in his body to firmly close his eyes, only to find that his entire self had seemingly vanished. Within a short time, his whole body had actually become soaking wet.

The most famous illusion card in the entire federation was the Starry Changes from the hand of Lance Ryan. It was said that the Starry Changes was meant to be a salute to another card master who had stood at the top: Rosenberg. The Starry Changes was now in the hands of the president of Star Academy.

There was a difference between the official and unofficial title of grand master. Chen Mu was commonly referred to as a grand master, but only in the unofficial capacity. To be officially designated as a grand master required meeting very harsh conditions. Being able to make a five-star card was only the most basic condition. The most important condition that determined whether a card master could be designated a grand master was to be able to make a card that surpassed the five-star level! That was also why quite a few senior card masters in the industry would scoff at the one who had made the numbered series of cards.

Apart from requiring a lot of power, the difficulty of being promoted to a grand master consisted of the fact that it also required a lot of luck. The materials required to make a six-star card were extremely rare, and just to be able to gather a single set was a matter of luck. But there was still always the matter of success rate in making cards. The higher the level of the card, the higher the failure rate. Quite a few card masters failed in making cards because they didn’t have enough luck and ultimately had no way to earn the title of grand master.

Therefore, there were only nine grand masters in the entire federation at that time. Most grand masters would only make a single card above five-star in their entire lives. Every card beyond five-star required at least five grand master card masters to make a joint appraisal by tally before the card level could finally be determined.

“So, it’s the card that granted Lance Ryan his promotion to grand master?” Rong Ming’s voice was a bit shaky. Faya had only one grand master, which was Lance Ryan.

“Indeed,” Butchie said in a deep voice. “The Eternal Night is the only six-star card the grand master Lance Ryan has succeeded in making so far!”