The Card Apprentice

“I heard that the Tai-shu family is massively recruiting card artisans?” Tan Yumin asked Ji Zhihao with a smile on her face.

With a faint smile, Ji Zhihao said as he sipped his tea, “Tai-shu Yong is going mad trying to relive the glory days of the Tai-shu Family. What he did is indeed reasonable. However, if it wasn’t for the interference from the Federation Comprehensive Academy, it would have been a great opportunity for the family.

Tan Yumin curled up her fair legs lazily on the big red couch, causing Ji Zhihao to have a hard time looking away. Ji Zhihao had no scruples as he wantonly admired her legs, casually drinking his tea.

“Such a waste,” Tan Yumin heaved a faint sigh.

A hint of jealousy flashed across Ji Zhihao’s eyes. But he immediately returned a wry smile, “I’m envious that he is in Yumin’s favor.”

“His power alone is quite small in this current situation,” Tan Yumin said after a brief pause.

“You’re right,” Ji Zhihao’s face was still pale, but his eyes appeared to be beaming. He said in a composed manner, “I reckon that the team under Tang Hanpei is merely looking for a chance to provoke the Moon Frost Island. If Moon Frost Island can successfully stop the team, it will be able to rightfully join the Heavenly Drum Village District. Everyone knows about the personal affair between Caesar and the Federation Comprehensive Academy. To be able to seize the opportunity and act upon it, Tang Hanpei made the right move!”

He changed his tone abruptly as he sneered, “However, Jia Yingxia is also an experienced person as he has been showing no concern to the intrusion. The abilities of the 20 people are quite strong, but it’s still not enough for them to create chaos in the Heavenly Drum Village District. However, with Tang Hanpei’s character, he will always choose to kill two birds with one stone. From that I suspect that there is a special relationship between Caesar and Moon Frost Island, and what Moon Frost Island did was exactly within his expectation. Without any help from the third party, the relationship between Moon Frost Island and Caesar will naturally worsen. Haha, of course, these are all my personal guesses. It’s hard to read people like Tang Hanpei.”

Ji Zhihao could easily analyze the situation with mere words. It was apparent that he was a knowledgeable person.

There was a brief silence before Tan Yumin nodded, “Indeed. Tang Hanpei is a very complicated person. Nonetheless, this is an opportunity for us.”

“Yes!” Ji Zhihao promptly agreed, “We are the only ones in Dongrui City who are capable of helping him! Tang Hanpei has done one good thing for us. The more he challenges them, the better the situation is for us, it’s as if we are getting an easy pass here.”

Tan Yumin stretched lazily and said flatly, “He’ll give in eventually. This is his fate, and also it is where the situation is naturally heading. There’s nowhere for him to hide.”

At this moment, the sound of hasty footsteps came from outside the door, immediately followed by knocking. Evidently, the person outside the door was very anxious.

“Come in,” Tan Yumin called out calmly, then she sat upright and returned to her usual elegant self.

You Yin entered the room. The moment he stepped foot, he presented a deep bow to Tan Yumin, “Miss.” Then he bowed again at Ji Zhihao, “Mister Ji.”

“Captain You,” Tan Yumin greeted with a pleased countenance. She always favoured You Yin, the loyal captain. Ji Zhihao, too, quickly return You Yin with a greeting.

“Miss, please switch on the fantasy card platform,” Captain You Yin said in a solemn tone, “All the considerably decent platforms are broadcasting about this issue right now.”

Tan Yumin and Ji Zhihao exchanged confused glances.

“Switch on the Elemental Fantasy Platform then,” Tan Yumin ordered. The Elemental Fantasy Platform had the second highest viewer rating after the Heavenly Federation Official Platform. They were very au fait with the latest news and provided relatively objective comments.

“Yes,” You Yin walked to the wall and switched on the fantasy card receiver. A screen surfaced before them immediately.

Tan Yumin’s body stiffened abruptly and her alluring eyes were now filled with horror!

It was a scene of the military base outside Kyoto.

It had been quite sometime since Tang Hanpei’s arrival at the military base. He had been mixing well and building a good relationship with the primary card artisans.

However, the leaders were slightly annoyed by the situation. The announcement of the rewards was delayed. They were unable to return home and had no choice but to continue staying at the military base. They were not pleased with that. The lower-ranked card artisan warriors have all received their rewards. On the other hand, the leading captains have yet to receive.

When their annoyance reached its peak, Tang Hanpei came up with a solution.

All the leaders were shocked by his suggestion.

According to his plan, all of the teams needed to be reshuffled. More than half of the leaders have to be removed from their positions. His suggestion left all the leaders stunned!

They were all private armies and belonged to distinctive private groups.

Some rebellious and willful leaders were yelling at Tang Hanpei for his ridiculous plan. Some short-tempered leaders were trying to stir up trouble, hoping to halt the plan. However, Tang Hanpei proved his determination and domination by blood. He had shed the blood of more than 20 leaders and this ceased the noise of the others. When Tang Hanpei took out the personal consent of each chairman, all of them understood that there was nothing they could do to stop the reassignment.

A few of the sophisticated leaders made a reckless decision to tender their resignation. They understood clearly the shortage of leaders in the Federation Comprehensive Academy at the moment. If Tang Hanpei insisted on his plan, they would lose all their leaders. They contempted Tang Hanpei’s action and was ready to see him turn himself into a laughing stock.

Out of their expectation, Tang Hanpei did not show any hint of detaining the resigned leaders. He was quite cool with their departure. On the second day, the leaders realized in shock that all the vacancies were filled with new names none other than their own capable subordinates.

This was when they realized the reason Tang Hanpei mixed with the lower ranked card artisans. It had always been part of his plan.

Within a few days, the team was no longer recognizable. The team was renamed as Tang Team. When the framework of the team was constructed, Tang Hanpei announced his intention to expand the team!

With Tang Hanpei’s influence, the new Tang Team was officially the strongest force in the Federation Comprehensive Academy. The day after the announcement, the support team diligently designed new suits for the team, following the high standard that Tang Hanpei had set for the team.

Equipped with the top-notch tools and ambitious leaders, Tang Team had changed into a brand new team in just a few days time.

Tang Hanpei’s expression remained peaceful as he stood at the highest platform and observed the chaotic situation underneath. He looked into the distance leisurely, meanwhile, holding a black notebook in his right hand.

All the card artisans from areas near Kyoto would keep coming to the base during these few days. When Tang Hanpei announced the enrolment personally, his powerful influence caused the main basecamp to be flooded with card artisans.

“Time…” Tang Hanpei stared afar, mumbling to himself. His grip on the black notebook tightened unknowingly.

“Lord, I have bad news!” Shao Xue’s voice came from afar, carrying a hint of sobbing.

Tang Hanpei was pulled back to reality by her voice. He turned around and looked at the frightened Shao Xue and calmly asked, “What happened?”

It was as if his voice carried a mysterious power to soothe the anxiety of others. Shao Xue regained her composure right after she saw Tang Hanpei. However, her expression turned sorrow as she was reminded about what she saw.

“Lord, the Big Bad Wolves… The Big Bad Wolves were completely defeated!”

Bang!

Tang Hanpei stood there for the longest time, even cobwebs were starting to cover the whole platform!

“Lord!” Horrified, Shao Xue looked at Lord Tang Hanpei who remained a calm expression. Shao Xue could not move her body, as if it was frozen like ice.

Tang Hanpei shifted his gaze away, back to staring afar. However, he no longer hid the ruthlessness and ferocity in his eyes!

“Time…” He repeated the word softly.

Baiyue accelerated her pace and hurriedly rush to the headmaster’s office. She just received a message from her mentor, requesting her presence at the headmaster’s office as soon as possible.

‘Why such a hurry? Unless something happened?’ She remembered clearly that previously her mentor was able to keep calm during Faya’s attack, and she could even suggest Baiyue to seize the opportunity to go for a trip jokingly.

The moment she pushed through the doors, she saw that her mentor was sitting in front of the fantasy card receiver, engrossed. She was puzzled as her mentor had never watched the fantasy card receiver before. So why was she watching it now?

“Mentor.”

“You’re here, Yue er,” Jia Yingxia did not shift her gaze away from the screen and not even a turn of her head as she spoke, “Come to mentor’s side. Come have a look at this interesting thing.”

“Oh,” Baiyue replied, yet confused. She followed her mentor’s instruction and went to her side, feeling curious. What was the thing that interested mentor?

She was startled the moment she set her eyes on the screen!

There was nothing strange on the screen but only corpses. However, the faces of the dead were captured so distinctly that one could easily recognize their identities.

Baiyue recognized these card artisans!

Ever since Tang Hanpei publicly announced and promoted about the Big Bad Wolves’ mission, all the platforms have done some digging and manage to reveal the personal informations of all the members of the team. Moreover, Moon Frost Island had more detailed information than any of the platforms.

Isn’t this the Big Bad Wolves?

They… they are… all dead?

Baiyue could not move an inch. Great horror was shown all over her blank face! It was only natural for her to be terrified. According to the detailed and complex calculation that was done by the internal team of Moon Frost Island, the White Commander’s chance of victory was absolutely nil. His best bet was to flee from the battle.

However, all of the members of the Big Bad Wolves were dead!

“Who did this?” Baiyue realized how silly she was after asking that question.

Sure enough, Jia Yingxia said with a grin, “This recording was released by the Tai-shu Family,” she turned around and looked at Baiyue with interest, who was still in a state of shock, “The White Commander’s deed is worth a compliment as he was able to get this look on Yue’er’s face!”

“Mentor!” Baiyue clung onto Jia Yingxia’s arm, pouting. The iciness on her face was gone, replaced with an innocent child’s. Any outsider would be astonished by this scene before them!

“Such an interesting fellow. Indeed, Caesar got himself a good apprentice!” Jia Yingxia seemed to be in a good mood as she gently patted Baiyue’s hand that was on her arm. She smiled, “I did not expect this kid to be capable of doing this. It seems that the confidence Caesar has in him was not based on nothing.”

Baiyue did not speak a word. She thought her mentor’s rare compliment was comprehensible. Whoever could achieve such things naturally deserved this compliment!

“What is mentor’s plan?” Baiyue asked curiously. She knew that her mentor did not summon her here merely to praise the White Commander.

“You shall visit Dongrui City,” Jia Yingxia ansered.

“Dongrui City?” Baiyue felt strange, “We are short-staffed now, and you want Yue’er to visit Dongrui City?”

Jia Yingxia flashed a caring smile, “Indeed, we are understaffed. However, Yue’er’s absence is acceptable. Moreover, this trip is very important to Moon Frost Island as well. Tang Hanpei’s plan was considered sinister, and was expected to kill two birds with one stone. But never had he expected that the White Commander could defeat the Big Bad Wolves completely without any help of other forces!”

“Yes,” Baiyue, who was considerably well-versed with politics, nodded.

“However, Tang Hanpei will not give up easily. But I have always expected that the White Commander would have contingency plans. You do not have to bother about anything else other than the Tai-shu Family’s safety during this trip. If Moon Frost Island fails to even protect Tai-shu Family, then there’s no use of speaking about the Great Alliance,” Jia Yingxia grinned suddenly, “You don’t have to worry. The White Commander is definitely not a simple person. You have to keep an eye on him. My instinct tells me that he is the key person to the future of the Federation!”

Baiyue was dumbfounded. After a long while, she said in disbelief, “Mentor, he isn’t worth your compliment even if he was able to defeat the Big Bad Wolves.”

Jia Yingxia shook her head, “I have no idea either. However, I cannot dismiss this hunch once I have thought of it. You shall observe him closely during your trip and judge if mentor’s deduction is accurate.”

Baiyue said nothing as she inevitably showed a disapproving look

Jia Yingxia noticed Baiyue’s expression but she remained silent about it. Jia Yingxia then changed the topic abruptly with a solemn expression, “There’s another person you shall pay attention to during your trip, and that’s Tan Yumin. She possesses four Card Appliance Notebooks that are very useful for Moon Frost Island. You can approach her if you encounter any chance. From what I can tell, she is an ambitious woman. You may try getting close to her using some benefits. However, do not overdo it as to avoid stirring trouble with the Star Court and the Bitter Solitude Temple.”

“Yes!” Baiyue withdrew her look of disapproval and nodded in a serious manner.

Moon Frost Island had been investigating Tan Yumin for a very long time, and she knew Tan Yumin better than anyone else. From her perspective, Tan Yumin was the main target of this trip. The White Commander was but a normal card artisan.

Being a mere card artisan, his influence towards the Federation was limited no matter how strong he was. The only ones that predominated over the Federation were Tang Hanpei, her mentor and the Big Six!

They were the main powers!

All the platforms went insane for the recording!

All the platforms were busy circulating the clip after it was released!

To heat things up, the Elemental Fantasy Platform offered a prize of 500 million Oudi to anyone that could explain the process of the White Commander’s victory. Countless experts participated in the contest, and until now, no one has yet to succeed!

That event gained a lot of popularity for Elemental Fantasy Platform and their audience rating rocketed!

Some other platforms followed suit and offered great prizes for their respective contests. According to unofficial statistics, the total amount of all the prizes from multiple platforms had achieved 2.2 billion Oudi!

Nevertheless, there was no winner yet!

The mysterious White Commander had only created more mysteries among the people. However, he was so mysterious that it was as if he was wearing a halo!

One trouble came after the other!

Suddenly, a terrifying rumour had started spreading across the Federation! In a blink of an eye, the Federation was engulfed by the rumour!

It was so fast as though boiling oil was poured onto the raging fire!