The Card Apprentice

The trials arena wasn’t a gathering spot for many places.

In the House of a Hundred Depths, killing wasn’t something anyone paid much attention to. There were only a few large cities where they would promulgate any regulation to maintain order. Aguda was among the small number of cities to have such rules, and it was just because of that that it was rather lively.

Once a dispute arose between the two sides, it would be decided on the arena. It wasn’t against the law to kill someone inside, where one could compete freely in battle or even murder. For the ordinary people, the trials arena was a scary place to be avoided, but it was heaven for some of the flexsters, to the extent that some of them would keep watch long-term over the trials arena to hone their skills. Those flexsters were among the most dangerous, since only by killing one’s opponent could one survive. After having lived through one life-or-death battle after another, they would be quite dominant in each of their powers.

Some of the flexsters under the mayor Mo Sang would often come there as well, to use fresh blood and lives to hone their skills. The trials arena was the most chaotic place in Aguda; once one entered the large gate, your life would no longer belong to yourself.

The hemispherical sealed up arena was in the corner of Aguda. Chen Mu had thought that the dangerous place would be completely deserted. He hadn’t considered that the trials area would be surrounded by so many shops bustling with noise and excitement.

* * *

“High-class crutches made of indestructible diamond wood. There’s suppleness inside the hardness, making it light and textured. Once you touch it, you’ll love it!”

“Would you like to be a god in the trials arena? The spiraled spear is your best companion, with its naturally spiraled body coupling strength with suppleness. Its tempered snail head can destroy any hardness. The purchaser will be gifted a bottle of this shop’s secret formula poison which kills on contact, and if you buy two, you may enjoy a twenty percent discount. ‘A spear in my hands and the world is mine!’”

“Have you been vexed by wounds in the trials arena? Come to our shop! We sell all sorts of ointments. So long as you still have breath in your body, you’ll be able to draw another one.”

“Keep away from running naked if you cherish your life! We’re having a big sale on protective gear, and those who buy three or more will get a pair of elastic shoes for free.”

* * *

Every shop’s touts were shouting themselves hoarse in the overheated scene, which made Chen Mu stare with his mouth open. He was used to high-class shops with their elegant and considerate service, and it was his first time seeing such a market. He could not understand what was happening in front of his eyes. Wasn’t that a trials arena where killings were rampant? He suddenly heard someone haggling not far from where he was.

“How much is this spear?”

“Sixteen crystals.”

“That expensive? It sells for thirteen everywhere else.”

“Expensive? Is it more expensive than your life, my friend? Even at three crystals, if you were to win, then what would a piddling three crystals mean?”

“It’s not certain that I’ll win…”

“Well, then you’d be dead, and those three crystals left on your body wouldn’t be yours anymore.”

“That’s for sure.”

That person very readily paid the money to buy the spear.

Having heard the dialog of the two, Chen Mu had a little flash. Those who came to this place were all gambling with their lives. For them, money wasn’t the most important thing. If they won, then everything on their opponent would be their spoils, and if they lost, they wouldn’t even have their lives, so they naturally wouldn’t need to worry about money. No one knows when they are going to die, but once they have money, they are likely to spend it all in a second. Under such stimulation, the economy of that area was unusually booming.

Among the flow of people entering the trials arena, there would occasionally be some flexsters with gloomy spirits and fierce gazes. They gave off an extremely dangerous aura, and no ordinary person would dare to approach them.

“What are you doing here, Kunya?”

Having just entered the trials arena, everyone stopped. The one talking was some guy that Chen Mu had just noticed. He could tell this man wasn’t a kind person from first glance, his gaze unwittingly revealing his incredibly cold ferocity. Compared to the others in the trials arena, the murderous aura on him was the most intense. Chen Mu, who was very sensitive to killing intent, could easily notice him among the crowd. He seemed to get on pretty well with Kunya. When his gaze flitted over to Andre, he suddenly concentrated. “Andre!”

Andre’s expression shifted. “This is my grudge match with Kunya, Fayes.”

Fayes wasn’t very tall, and he had a lean body. Even just standing there casually, it was as though he were a sharp dagger.

“I’m telling you, Andre, don’t set foot in Aguda again.” Fayes’ eyes contracted as he spoke coldly.

“My affairs have nothing to do with you, Fayes!” Andre calmed down while his expression turned darker.

Andre’s harsh tone took Fayes by surprise, and his tone became worse. “You’re not qualified to talk to me like that as a loser.”

Kunya then interrupted, saying with a mocking tone, “Little Andre has really progressed this past couple of years, my friend. He’s found a good backer. Tsk tsk, his master spoke out that if he wins, then he’ll enjoy one of his lotus leaf shields.” With Fayes there, the pressure on Kunya disappeared, and his speech became more unrestrained.

“Kunya . . .” Andre’s face suddenly flushed read as he turned anxious and angry!

“A Lotus Leaf Shield?” Fayes gaze sharpened, contracting like a needle. His objective this time was Chen Mu and Zara behind Andre.

A demonic aura shot forth.

Chen Mu and Zara seemed oblivious, not saying anything.

“And you two fine people are?” Fayes indifferently asked while remaining utterly careful in his mind. His adversary had acted as though he hadn’t felt his aura, and that alone was not something that any ordinary person might have. He had been in the trials arena for rather a long time and was very clear about such people, who was best not provoked. But the Lotus Leaf Shield was an irresistible temptation for any disciple of the Sword and Shield Sect.

Fayes was the number one ace of the current generation of the Sword and Shield Sect, but even then he wasn’t qualified to use the Lotus Leaf Shield. Although the Water Core Shield in his hands was quite rare, he didn’t know how many grades lower it was, compared to that shield. To have suddenly heard that someone had the Lotus Leaf Shield, Fayes, who was always firm, couldn’t help the jolt to his spirits. The burning desire in his chilly eyes was not hidden in the least.

Chen Mu analyzed Fayes without looking directly at him and turned toward Andre to say. “Loser? What did you lose?”

A look of pain flashed through Andre’s eyes, “Some years ago, I represented our sect in a contest with another sect and lost.”

“And then?”

“And then I was driven out of the sect.” Andre was red-faced and pale, but that sort of anger from deep in his heart was something Chen Mu could feel.

Chen Mu was a little surprised. “They drove you out of the sect for losing a contest?” As he saw it, since it was a contest, losing or winning would be something ordinary.

“Mmmm.” Andre was staring hard at Kunya grinding his teeth and grimacing, while his voice was strangely calm. “That’s right. I hadn’t thought that I would be drugged by my own mentor before the contest either. Oh, I nearly died tragically in the contest and then was driven out afterward.”

Kunya’s face shifted, as he unconsciously took a glance at Fayes, retorting, “Are you really going to fabricate a lie like that, Little Andre…”

“And you two fine people are?” Fayes cut off Kunya, as his gaze stared firmly at Chen Mu.

Andre didn’t care at all whether or not he had been drugged. There was now only one thing on his mind —the Lotus Leaf Shield! Having been cut off, Kunya quickly shut his mouth, and couldn’t help showing an expression of satisfaction on his face.

Still not paying him any attention, Zara suddenly said to Andre in a cold voice, “Kill him.” In the eyes of the two of them, Fayes was akin to air.

Fayes’ gaze contracted. It had been quite a few years since anyone dared to be so rude to him. Even his own master would talk to him very politely. His identity in the sect was highly respected, and he was the revered invincible lord of the trials arena.

“You’re all dead!”

Fayes’ chilly voice was like a knife, and then without any warning, a white glare appeared less than half a meter away from Chen Mu’s eyes. A shield blade that was shaped a little bit like a water drop was raised flat on his hand, and at raised tip of the shield flashed a glowing white knife.

Boom!

There was a thud, and that wisp of blade scattered into a fire burst. Chen Mu’s vision went blank, and he didn’t move at all. The water core shield in Fayes’ hands seemed to have been smashed head-on by a heavy hammer, as Zara’s fierce blow gave him a surprise.

Now that Zara had made her move, she didn’t intend to give her adversary any opportunity. As far as she was concerned, given her position as the chief of the Western Mountain Royalty, her identity was distinguished beyond compare. Never mind the number one ace of the younger generation of the Sword and Shield Sect. Even the master of the Sect was no different from a common plebian in front of her.

The painted graphistemma star vine in her hand followed her like a shadow, and her ghostly body went straight for Fayes. Chen Mu lost his smile in his surprise, discovering that Zara seemed to be still protecting Andre, which was something rare in his opinion.

With Zara’s support, Andre roared out with bloodshot eyes and went pouncing toward Kunya.

The trials arena when abruptly chaotic, though after they screamed a couple of times, they stopped and watched from a distance with excitement.

Fayes was an undefeated legend in the trials arena of Aguda, and up until then, there hadn’t been anyone who could defeat him in battle. His natural disposition was grim, and he had never shown any mercy to the enemy. Countless flexsters had died by his hands.

They never thought that anyone would dare look for trouble with Fayes. Why wouldn’t they excited?

“It looks like that woman has a star vine in her hands. . .” someone said hesitantly from the crowd.

“Star vine? Are you out of your mind? Who would come to the trials arena with the star vine?” there was immediately someone unconsciously retorting.

“It looks like the actual thing.” Most of the flexsters in the trials arena had some discernment. Suddenly, more and more people felt that the long vine in Zara’s hands was the star vine.

There was a sudden commotion among the crowd with quite a few of their gazes turning quite heated, as they stared closely at the star vine in Zara’s hand.

That was a priceless treasure! A true priceless treasure. It was the ultimate weapon of the flexsters who specialized in vines!

The temperature of the atmosphere soared, and quite a few people couldn’t help loosening their collars to let the heat out. Their excitement had made their breathing heavy. What type of person would linger around the trials arena? Who there hadn’t been stained with blood and hadn’t killed someone for treasure?