Chronicle looked into the distance.

 

He saw a narrow pottery jar filled with various poisonous insects entwined with gray and white breaths.

 

These ferocious creatures took advantage of Seven Brothers' "inattention" and squeezed and wriggled against each other, trying to climb out of the jar.

 

But every time they climbed to the edge, they were struck back into the jar by the Yin Qi emanating from the side-hung Soul Flag.

 

And so it went on and on.

 

Until two minutes later, when Seven Brothers put the last two spiders with transcendent aura into the jar, he manipulated the black cover with a hawk pattern and dropped it onto the jar mouth.

 

Completely extinguishing their hope of escape.

 

"Seven Brothers."

 

Hearing Chronicle's call, Seven Brothers raised his hand slightly, controlling the Soul Flag to turn into a wisp of purple smoke, entwining around his fingers.

 

Then, he lifted the jar that was constantly shaking and emitting a piercing sound, and held the net and sticky rod in one hand, walking towards Chronicle.

 

When he reached him, Chronicle raised his hand to take the jar and said, "Thank you."

 

At that moment, the scheduled bell rang.

 

So, the two of them walked side by side towards the exit.

 

"Caught so many?"

 

The middle-aged woman in charge looked at the jar full of poisonous insects and was a little puzzled: "Did you seal the secret realm creatures?"

 

Chronicle waved his hand in response and, right in front of her, raised the blue-framed material card for the "Lone-horned Snow Lion Dog."

 

"You actually caught this guy?" The middle-aged woman was surprised to see this and then said seriously, "You might achieve a good ranking in this year's 'Green Mountain Cup,' maybe even the championship."

 

"Then I'll take your good words." Chronicle smiled and said.

 

The middle-aged woman waved her hand, "These three bug-catching tools are for you, and also…"

 

As she spoke, she took out a silver-bordered admission ticket from her pocket, "When your spiritual power breaks through the Silver level, you can use this ticket to enter the second level hunting ground."

 

"There are not only vehicle materials there, but also corpse demons, fierce beasts, and poisonous insects. All the common species in the Green Mountain Secret Realm that you can think of are there. Of course, there are also uncommon ones."

 

"When the time comes, you can bring three blank cards and stay there for a whole day. As for the harvest, it depends on luck."

 

Chronicle carefully put away the admission ticket and thanked her.

 

The middle-aged woman then gestured for him to wait to the side.

 

Then she went to check the materials sealed by the others in the past half hour.

 

Baitian's "White-blooded Sword-toothed Thunder Tiger," Chacha's "Spirit Leaf Triple-colored Deer," Yanlou's "Wide-back Mountain Ape," Zhao Wenying's "Floating Sun Beetle"…

 

Each person found the embryonic form of a vehicle that suited them in this secret realm.

 

Except for Chronicle.

 

– He didn't even know if the pending "Year Beast" was suitable for him, he just picked the most powerful creature.

 

If the card didn't perform well, he might not even use it after this competition.

 

So, after the middle-aged woman carefully checked everyone's material acquisition situation, the steampunk-style public bus departed again.

 

After two hours, they finally returned to the temporary hotel where they were staying.

 

"The self-made vehicle race will start at nine o'clock the day after tomorrow. Please work hard to create usable vehicle cards before then."

 

After saying that, the association staff turned into a wisp of black smoke and disappeared in the lobby.

 

The crowd dispersed and returned to their rooms to begin seclusion.

 

Although most of the secret realm creatures in the "Green Mountain Hunting Ground" could be directly transformed into special cards that could be used to fill stories and make modifications, they did not need to prepare additional materials.

 

But this story-writing aspect was a daunting task for them.

 

– After all, they were all newcomers who had just entered the field. The reason they were able to quickly gather the three basic card types was mainly due to the help of their mentors, as well as their years of accumulation, which had already laid the foundation for some story concepts that could be used with a little modification.

 

And this time, whether it was material acquisition or story composition, they had to do it themselves in a very short period of time.

 

It was like showing off their card-making talent in the most direct way, regardless of family background, luck, and other factors, to the judges.

 

Although there might still be some "second-rate geniuses" with extraordinary luck who would make it all the way to the end, those temporary examiners and judges were not fools. They knew who was better and who was worse, who to invest in, and who to take as an apprentice.

 

"Ah, I'm now the principal's apprentice, and all this mess has nothing to do with me."

 

"I'd better focus on making cards and strive to win first place. What do I care about outside geniuses, family sons, and rich girls? With all this mythical knowledge in my head, if I can't handle you, what's the point of me being here?"

 

At this moment, Chronicle keenly felt the gap between himself and others, and stopped pretending.

 

After summoning Zongzi and its coffin to act as bodyguards, he sat cross-legged, ascended in consciousness, and in the blink of an eye, entered his sea of consciousness.

 

"Story-making for the card? That's easy."

 

He thought to himself, picked up the brush, and wrote the characters "Year" and "Eve" in the void.

 

Then, he continued to write the background story:

 

"On the first day of the first lunar month, the rooster crows and the firecrackers burst in the courtyard to drive away evil spirits."It is said that in ancient times, there was a monster known as "Nian," with a single horn, a body covered in white fur, resembling both a lion and a dog, sinister and ferocious.

 

Every other year, it would leave its lair, rampage through villages, trample over homesteads, tear apart livestock, devour humans, and often destroy crops, consuming everything in sight.

 

People feared its ferocity, feeling that surviving this day was like "passing through a heavenly gate," hence they called this day "Nian Guan."

 

Until one day, an old man with a walking stick, a bag slung over his arm, elegant silver whiskers, and the youthful face of an old man with white hair, came to the village and imparted a secret method.

 

From then on, people used spring couplets, lanterns, candles, firecrackers, red clothes, and red socks to drive away the Nian beast, gradually evolving into a custom.

 

There is also a saying that the beast that plagued humanity was of the same lineage as Glutton, named "Xi," while "Nian" was a celestial child summoned by the Kitchen God to save the people from heaven.

 

This celestial child, with profound magical power, not only subdued the "Xi beast" with a red silk treasure but also taught people to use bamboo poles that crackled in the fire to drive away other monsters from the mountains and seas, which is the so-called "firecracker."

 

Another saying is that this monster was actually subdued by the Purple Star Lord who descended to the mortal realm.

 

Legend has it that after the Star Lord defeated it with great divine powers, he forged chains from celestial iron and bound it to a stone pillar.

 

Since then, this monster has become a beneficial creature, guarding homes, suppressing evil, assisting the twelve zodiac gods, and bringing peace to people year after year.

 

Thus, the dust of the past settles.

 

After a brief contemplation, Chronicle conjured a massive creature in the void, resembling a lion but not quite, a dog but not quite, with a single horn on its head and a body covered in white fur.

 

It stood atop a hill, gazing at a nearby human village, with a trail of pinkish-white footprints behind it, and the glow of fire and red shadows reflected in its eyes.

 

Its expression, a mix of resentment and fear, slightly ferocious, seemed to curse: "These old fools."

 

Here, the writing stops.

 

Deep within the sea of consciousness, currents whirl, revealing the enormous silhouette of a beast as large as a dump truck.

 

The moment it appeared, Chronicle felt a chill strike his face.

 

He closed his eyes, took a gentle sniff, and the mixed scents of the human world rushed into his nostrils, summoning a surge of emotions.

 

"Sigh."

 

After a long while, he exhaled softly, stepping out from the layers of illusion and swiftly completing the final step of "Inscription Card Back."

 

Minutes later, a flood of information surged into his mind:

 

[Evil Sky Dog · Nian Beast] (Ren Yin Crouching Tiger → Gui Mao Black Rabbit)

 

Quality: Blue

 

Level: ★★★

 

Category: Monster/Beast

 

Card Type: Summon (Vehicle Card)

 

Skills:

 

[Charge Village]: Consumes a small amount of mental energy to launch an assault on buildings, with a high probability of affecting crop growth in the area.

 

[Mountain Walk]: The user silently thinks of the target location, and by consuming a certain amount of mental energy, the Nian Beast can carry the user to the destination. The maximum distance and speed depend on the user's mental energy.

 

[Zodiac]: Purple Star suppresses evil, turning misfortune into fortune. Each time it enters battle, the Nian Beast can temporarily borrow the power of the current or next year's zodiac by consuming a certain amount of mental energy or magical power.

 

(Currently available zodiac powers are [Ren Yin Crouching Tiger] and [Gui Mao Black Rabbit].)

 

(The former erupts with a tiger's roar every half minute, suppressing the [Hundred Beasts]' movement speed, with a low probability of forcing them to retreat;)

 

(The latter increases its own movement speed, every ten minutes summoning a [Black Water] phantom, causing flying units to fall into the negative state [Unpassable], with a certain probability of triggering the [Gold Foil] effect, automatically searching for [Magical Treasures] and [Valuables] within a ten-mile radius.)

 

Traits:

 

[Night Travel]: At nightfall, the Nian Beast's movement speed will increase.

 

[Gluttony]: Legend has it that the Nian Beast is of the same lineage as Glutton, able to accumulate magical power by devouring all things, using it as a substitute for mental energy, and its own growth will also accumulate in this process.

 

[Nian Guan]: Every Lunar New Year, the Nian Beast's panel will transform from a vehicle unit to a combat unit, entering battle without additional consumption, and its quality and level will be elevated to the highest level supported by the card master's mental energy.

 

[Three Fears]: The Nian Beast has three fears: fear of red, fear of noise, and fear of firelight. When these three elements appear within a hundred meters, it greatly increases its own movement speed and has a low probability of condensing a [Zodiac] phantom, dealing special attacks to opposing creatures.

 

Introduction: On the first day of the first lunar month, rise at the crowing of the rooster, set off firecrackers in the courtyard to drive away spirits and ghosts.

 

Advancement Direction: [Zodiac Suppressing Evil · Nian Beast] (Purple) → [Purple Star Binding Evil · Xi Beast] (Orange)

 

Modification Direction: When the card advances to [Purple Star Binding Evil · Xi Beast], the user can choose one of three modification directions: [Glutton], [Purple Star], [Zodiac], to unlock a new advancement path.

 

Bond: Activating the bond effect [New Year's Eve] when fielded with the zodiac unit of the current or next year.

 

Today, the clinic was crowded, my brother waited a long time for an IV drip, and many people came to our house, so I only managed to write 7000 words, I'm truly sorry to all the readers, I'll try to make up for it in the next few days.

 

On this festive occasion, I wish you and your family good health and all the best.

 

In the new year, let's all take good care of ourselves.

 

Gui Mao Rabbit, wealth is sure to come!