The Card Apprentice

“This is the Bipolar Card! I’m certainly not mistaken! It is indeed the Bipolar Card!” Sang Hanshui was so excited that he nearly leapt. It was hard to imagine he had just been so ashen and crestfallen.

It looked like Sang Hanshui was a true card lover. That was Chen Mu’s determination. He knew without even thinking about it that it was an occupational disease left over from the more than ten years Sang Hanshui had tirelessly spent researching cards that had been forgotten by history.

“Bipolar Card?” Chen Mu asked with curiosity. The name was missing Thunderball, and he thought that must then be its true name. But that name was utterly strange to him.

“Right! It’s the Bipolar Card!” Sang Hanshui shook his fists vigorously, as though the card belonged to him. He explained with an excited look, “There are certainly few people who know about this card. Ha ha! You’d never know it came from the Central Repository of the Classics.”

“Central Repository of the Classics?” It was now Chen Mu’s turn to be surprised. He had never thought the card in his hands would be connected to the Central Repository of the Classics from the Big Six.

“Mmmm. It is indeed from the Central Repository of the Classics. Among the Big Six, the Central Repository of the Classics isn’t known for its battle power, but it has the strongest reputation when it comes to card making. There have been many grand master card masters from the Central Repository of the Classics in history, some of whom made countless cards. Others had more meager results, but they could all be called grand masters.”

Sang Hanshui’s excitement had clearly reached a climax. He had forgotten his own situation, gushing loudly as he gave his exposition.

“Cao Bairan, the one who made the Bipolar Card, was among the grand masters. He only left two cards behind in his life; one was the Bipolar Card, and the other was the Nine Stuns. He destroyed the rest of his cards with his own hands. The Bipolar Card was passed along through many hands until it finally became lost. The other card—the Nine Stuns—became famous far and wide. Even today, it’s still one of the most important legacies of the Central Repository of the Classics. Cao Bairan was known for the Nine Stuns, which made him one of the grand master card masters of the Central Repository of the Classics. The strange thing was that Cao Bairan remained silent about the loss of the Bipolar Card, as though he didn’t care. It was a good thing the Nine Stuns alone was enough to get him to the top. It is a pity the Nine Stuns is so difficult that even in this age, few practice it, and even fewer are known for it.”

Sang Hanshui was inexplicably excited and was gushing with emotion. “I would never have thought you would have the Bipolar Card. That card is at the same level as the Golden Word Shackle. Because the Bipolar Card was lost not long after it was completed, though, I don’t know whether it has a legacy in the end. The Golden Word Shackle certainly has no legacy; that sect has been wiped out for many years.”

It was clear from what he said that Sang Hanshui couldn’t get over his regret. The power of a good card without a legacy would be greatly diminished.

Hearing what he said, Chen Mu didn’t feel much, though he was curious. “What sect is the Golden Word Shackle from?”

Sang Hanshui explained patiently, “The Golden Word Shackle is the most famous card from the sect called the Word Sect. There are as many as ten kinds of cards the Word Sect is famous for, among which the Golden Word Shackle is the most famous. It’s the only card still recorded by now. Judging from those records, the Word Sect flourished for a while during the age of the sects, but no one knows why they were quickly wiped out. They didn’t make it to the appearance of Heiner Van Sant. Otherwise, this Golden Word Shackle would certainly have had a hard time escaping the fate of being swept into the Federation Comprehensive Academy by Heiner Van Sant.”

“The age of the sects…” Chen Mu felt that he seemed to have some karma with that period. The signature skills of breath control and the Night of the Cross were also produced during the age of the sects.

Chen Mu actually admired Sang Hanshui’s erudition. He had recognized both of those cards because he could be called methodical; it wasn’t likely to be just a matter of luck. But losses in one part could be made up in another. Although Sang Hanshui hadn’t found a card after spending so much time, his looking had still enabled him to become a rare card appraisal expert.

“Those two cards are both first-rate! You really have good luck!” Sang Hanshui was moved, and his expression was at peace. “It’s just too bad they both don’t have legacies, and you can only grope along with them. If you wanted to give the Bipolar Card to the Central Repository of the Classics, you should be able to swap it for a card with a legacy, though I reckon it wouldn’t be as good as this one.”

That was the truth. As he saw it, although the card was good, it wouldn’t be as dependable as having a legacy. Even a lesser legacy could enable a card artisan to quickly increase his battle power. His own groping would depend on his own luck and ability.

Chen Mu shook his head noncommittally, still having in his card wallet the Sectional Succession legacy. Why would he need to be greedy about another legacy? As he saw it, there was a good side to not having a legacy. Without the legacy, there wouldn’t be any constraints to his style, and he wouldn’t be bound by the original thing.

That attitude was related to his style of battle. Having been influenced by Wei-ah and the demonic woman, his battle style was greatly transformed. He kept rapidly changing and getting better, in addition to being good at using his environment. Although it had massive power, speaking for himself, the Golden Word Shackle didn’t really suit him that much.

Although the Hundred Changes, which Chen Mu had made himself, didn’t have as much power as the Golden Word Shackle, it had an absolute advantage with regard to flexibility. It would be hard to evaluate the true advantages and disadvantages of each. The Hundred Changes was like an assassin’s dagger, which might not have much power but could still be deadly with a single blow. The Golden Word Shackle was better at positional warfare, where two sides battled face-to-face in a conventionally disciplined battle. Battling hard up against hard was precisely the kind of fighting Chen Mu didn’t like.

There was still another card in his wallet of which Chen Mu didn’t know the origins—the Snake Lens. That probe-type card was strangely magical; even Chen Mu couldn’t evade its scanning, which was something he had never encountered before.

“Do you recognize this card?” Chen Mu took out the Snake Lens to seek Sang Hanshui’s advice. Without meaning to, Chen Mu had become a lot more courteous in what he said. He had always rather admired those who had real ability.

“It’s called the Snake Lens,” Chen Mu added.

“Snake Lens?” Sang Hanshui took the card with some surprise and carefully identified it in front of his eyes. “If this is the Snake Lens I know about, it should be a probe type of card.”

“Right. It’s a probe card.” Chen Mu was still a little surprised that Sang Hanshui was actually the real deal.

“Your luck is really enviable.” Sang Hanshui looked full of envy, thinking about how much scheming he had gone through to come up with nothing, while others could just casually gather so many excellent cards. He felt a bit disgusted.

“The Snake Lens is a neglected card that also came from the age of the sects. Compared to the Golden Word Shackle, however, it has a lot less fame since pitifully few people knew about it during that time.” Sang Hanshui looked rather authoritative.

“Why?” Chen Mu thought that was inconceivable. He had a deep understanding of the Snake Lens’s power. From any aspect, its usefulness wasn’t inferior to that of the Golden Word Shackle. On the contrary, if he were to have to choose one of them, he would certainly choose the Snake Lens. While the Golden Word Shackle was definitely ingenious and powerful, there were lots of such cards to be found. Cards like the Snake Lens, on the other hand, could be counted on one’s fingers. It was hard for him to imagine such a powerful card not getting a lot of attention.

Seeing Chen Mu’s look of disbelief, Sang Hanshui felt rather interested. He explained, “It’s related to the peculiar nature of the age of the sects. Card artisans during the age of the sects were far from having developed to our current level, and they weren’t as commonplace. The card artisans during that period were far more accustomed to single-handed combat and didn’t fight in teams. You’ve used the Snake Lens and should know that it’s most suited to team combat and not for single-handed combat.”

Chen Mu couldn’t help but nod. The Snake Lens was certainly suited to be used in team combat.

Sang Hanshui really gathered steam in what he was saying. “Now that you mention it, I remembered this card because of the sect where it exists. The sect still exists in some of the remote areas of the Northern Reaches. With so many powerful sects already gone up in smoke, it’s hard to imagine this small sect still exists and continues on to this day. They were able to continue on by virtue of the Snake Lens. Although the battle strength of the sect isn’t very powerful, their alertness is extremely high; it would be hard for anyone else to catch them. They also conduct themselves in a low-key manner and are really good at hiding. They’ve never been discovered after so many years.”

Chen Mu was stunned. “Sects still exist in the federation? They haven’t long died off?” In his thinking, the end of the sects had been declared when Heiner Van Sant had come out of nowhere that year. The age of the sects had long since become nearly forgotten history in people’s minds, and he never thought there would actually be sects still tenaciously hanging on.

“The sects died out? Ha! How could that be?” Sang Hanshui’s face was full of sarcasm, and you couldn’t tell whom he was aiming at. “No matter how powerful Heiner Van Sant was, he was still a man and not a god! How could this world turn only according to his will? Although the numbers of sects that remain from the age of the sects are as few as they could be, there are still more than 100 of them. They are distributed everywhere in the Heavenly Federation, some hiding in the dark and some in full disguise.

“You shouldn’t look down on these sects. They have a much longer history than the Big Six. Although they can’t compare with how comprehensive the Big Six are, their research into certain cards is still more profound than that of the Big Six. The Big Six have also relaxed their system these past few years, which has given them an opportunity. Quite a few among them have infiltrated the Big Six, studying the knowledge of the Big Six to develop their own card systems.

“Humph. I don’t wonder that Faya—which has been making such a sensation just now—might possibly have developed out of one of the sects. Ha ha! If that’s the case, the Big Six are in trouble. The enmity between these sects and the Big Six is utterly irreconcilable. In the final days of the age of the sects, all of the sects large and small were washed in blood over and over. None of the Big Six was clean; even the Bitter Solitude Temple had blood on its hands in those times—enough to turn the Afanni River red.”

What Sang Hanshui was saying really opened Chen Mu’s eyes. It turned out there were still so many untold stories! In any sort of history books, the description of that period was always vague, and they only desperately praised how great Heiner Van Sant was.

Now, hearing what Sang Hanshui had to say, Chen Mu suddenly had the great realization that history was the story told by the victors.