"Black Mane Tomb-Treading Horse…"
Chronicle extended his finger, skimming over the label below.
After a brief moment of thought, he counted out eighteen "Horse Cards" and pocketed them.
Following that…
【Human-faced Peach Wood Cold Steel Shadow-tempered Scimitar】, 【Yuanxi Dynasty Bloodwood Falling Eagle Bow】, 【Great Aberration Sundering Crimson Moon Quiver】, 【Remnant Wind Cold Garment Covered Face Black Robe】, 【Whistling Bandit Hidden Blade Horse Boots】…
He took eighteen of each item.
The quality ranged from white to green.
After making his selections, he still had ten thousand dollars left.
He thought for a moment, then reached out and took down the 【Ten Thousand Souls Entwined Hundred Trades Banner】 hanging on the eastern wall of the warehouse, planning to use it as a battle flag.
With that, his choices were complete.
"This provincial association is really stingy, blank cards aren't worth much, yet we have to pay for them ourselves."
Chronicle casually complained as he pulled out a stack of blank cards from his pocket and collected all the items imbued with yin energy that were spread across the floor.
At that moment, the bald referee also swept towards the outside of the warehouse, quickly bringing in the second-ranked, eagle-headed youth.
"Come in, Goldman," said the bald man as he slowly descended to the ground, pointing to the storeroom with a smile, "You can select materials worth up to four hundred and fifty thousand dollars here, to strengthen your legion."
Chronicle's eyes flickered upon hearing this, inadvertently revealing a smile: the bald man had said the same thing to him, only the numbers were different.
That is, the difference between five hundred thousand and four hundred and fifty thousand.
The gap of fifty thousand didn't really amount to much, even for the not-so-wealthy Chronicle, it was just a small number.
However, the gap between two Card Craftsmen often lies in these seemingly insignificant details.
Many times, an inconspicuous card, an ordinary accessory, or an overlooked competition could become the spark that starts a prairie fire or the source of an avalanche.
It might not be apparent in the short term, but over time, it becomes a chasm as wide as heaven and earth.
Just like the current 【Qingshan Cup】 Card Crafting competition.
Everyone was "placed" in the small Dushuo district, and even though they could move freely, the restrictions of the rules and the schedule meant they couldn't rely on the help of their families or mentors.
Without these external factors, these top students, whose abilities didn't differ much from each other, had to exert their utmost effort to surpass others.
They had to perform their best in every competition to obtain more and better materials and the right to choose materials first in the next round.
Otherwise, they would fall behind step by step.
Just like now.
These people's spiritual cultivation and card quality were already a notch below Chronicle's, and if they couldn't get good materials, they would lack competitiveness and could be eliminated at any round.
Even if they were lucky enough to make it to the last two rounds, they would have already fallen far behind Chronicle due to the lack of materials in the first four rounds.
"Unless…"
Chronicle passed by the pale-skinned, bespectacled youth named Goldman, exchanging a glance:
"They are like the 'Du Hongchen' mentioned by the newcomers of the Zhenyuan Army, with a solid background, having already bound a 'Living Scenery' anchor scene before the competition."
"In this way, they could receive feedback far exceeding mine, and if they play some tricks outside the rules, it's not impossible for them to catch up to my spiritual cultivation."
"Even if they surpass me, it wouldn't matter much, but to be on the safe side, I still need to break through to the Silver level as soon as possible."
"That way, by the finals, I can take over their territory and enhance my feedback."
Chronicle thought to himself, feeling the surge of spiritual power in his sea of consciousness.
If there were an experience bar between Bronze and Silver, with a hundred as the full value, then he was currently at ninety-one or ninety-two.
Based on his current cultivation, feedback, and card output speed, breaking through to the Silver level before the finals was not a problem at all.
"First, I'll go back and craft the cards, then absorb some feedback."
Chronicle thought to himself, his steps light as he walked out of the material warehouse.
Back on the field, he saw everyone sitting together, watching his Nian Beast parked by the roadside.
Despite its usually simple and honest appearance, the creature was quite concerned about its "image."
For instance, it was now lazily sprawled on the grass inside the track, its pure white and shiny fur fluttering in the wind.
Chronicle approached and saw it with its two thick front paws crossed under its chin, covering the lower half of its face tightly.
Only a pair of lantern-like beast eyes were exposed, emitting a chilling cold light in the vast night, making it look like a majestic and fierce beast.
And Yingtai, who had returned to her scholarly demeanor, was sitting sideways on its broad back, one hand on the hilt of her sword, her face cold and valiant.
The contrasting beauty of the beauty and the beast was a significant baptism and shock to the aesthetic of the Qingshan people from the underworld.
"Let's go."
Chronicle squeezed through the crowd and called out to the Nian Beast.
The majestic creature instinctively stood up, its paws hitting the ground and stirring up a cold wind.
Chronicle exerted force with his legs, leaped into the air, and landed lightly on the back of the Nian Beast, one arm around Yingtai (fearing the young girl might fall off), and the other hand waving lightly to Li Baitian, Ginger Tea, and the others.
Then, with a kick to the ribs of the Nian Beast, he rushed towards the temporary hotel.
His departure was stylish, without a word of superfluity, truly the epitome of cool.
"Tiantian, is that handsome guy your classmate? Introduce us," said the young girl accompanied by three wolves, stepping lightly to Li Baitian's side and bumping his shoulder with her slender, delicate body.
"Go back and make your cards, Old Ji wouldn't even spare you a glance."Li Baitian patted the dust off the back of the ghost tiger. She had ranked quite high in the recent speed race, and her mood was rather beautiful.
"Just send a WeChat message, please, I beg you."
A three-tailed wolf girl in a hoodie and hot pants, with her hair tied up in a bun, pleaded with a bow.
"No."
Li Baitian remained expressionless, continuing to pat the tiger's back.
"…Baitian, let me be honest with you, I've been studying medical books lately to craft a medical summoning card. I could tell at a glance that the handsome guy has a bad stomach."
The three-tailed wolf girl chuckled, batting her eyes and said, "Only a rich loli like me can cure that. Hurry up and send me his WeChat, such a promising Card Craftsman seedling shouldn't delay treatment."
"…"
Li Baitian was somewhat speechless, but eventually, worn down by the pestering, he sent Chronicle's WeChat ID over amidst the other's delighted expression.
…
Meanwhile.
Not far from the Triangular Pyramid Battle Card Arena, on the streets, Chronicle was humbly accepting a lecture from the association's traffic officer.
As the old saying goes, if you always walk by the river, you're bound to get your shoes wet.
Back in his hometown, the Land of Peach, with people like Su Wen and Xie Wenyuan looking out for him, even if he roamed around in an unregistered palanquin, he wouldn't get caught.
Over time, he had forgotten the rule about registering new vehicles before taking them on the road.
But this was the capital of Qingshan Province, and as a newcomer, he had no one to cover for him.
Just as he had stepped out of the venue, he was caught red-handed by the association's traffic officer.
【One person, one ghost, vehicle unregistered, fine of two thousand, subject to criticism and education.】
Looking at the notification on his phone, Chronicle felt like crying without tears, as two months' worth of living expenses vanished.
Feeling that his luck was particularly bad today, he registered his vehicle and didn't linger outside. He rode the Year Beast back to the hotel.
Then, he heard a "ding" from his phone in his pocket. Picking it up, he saw someone had added him.
He couldn't be bothered to deal with it, casually accepted the request, sent a hello sticker, and tossed the phone aside, asking Ying Tai to help plug it in to charge.
Then, carrying a cushion, he went to the living room, tossed it aside, and sat down cross-legged.
"【Evil Cultivator's Arm Bone Crossbow】, 【Black Mane Grave-Treading Horse】…"
He muttered to himself while taking out various materials from his sea of consciousness, quickly covering the floor.
"Let's start with the crossbow."
He thought to himself, held the card, closed his eyes, and entered his sea of consciousness.
Modifying such special material for props was actually quite easy. He casually wrote down the true names of the cards, 【Yuan Rong Crossbow】 and 【Zhuge Repeating Crossbow】.
After that, he began to write with a flourish:
【In the late Han Dynasty, Chancellor Zhuge was adept at ingenious thoughts, with creations like the Fire Beast Spear and Wooden Oxen and Gliding Horses all coming from his mind.】
【He also improved the repeating crossbow, calling it Yuan Rong, with straight grooves carved on it, using iron for arrows, each eight inches long, with a magazine holding ten arrows, and the fletching made from the softest wood.】
【Another mechanism was added, allowing the user to cock the string with one hand, shooting an arrow, and as one arrow is fired, another falls into place, ready to be cocked and fired again.】
【Ma Jun, the Central Official of Wei, thought it was "ingenious indeed, but not yet perfect," and thus began to innovate…】
"Increase its power by five times."
Chronicle had a little trick up his sleeve here.
Historical records about Ma Jun's comment on the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow, "it could be made five times more powerful," did not provide additional description.
Whether it referred to increasing the range by five times, increasing the magazine from ten to fifty, or turning it from an "AK" into a "Gatling," many people had their own opinions and interpretations.
"Why should I write something vague that even experts are unclear about? Let the 'review system' worry about that."
Chronicle thought to himself and continued writing:
【However, the production method was too complex, and the arrows needed to be specially made, so it gradually disappeared from history.】
【Regarding its power, Wang Yinglin of the Southern Song Dynasty once wrote in his book: ten arrows are called a flock of crows, one arrow is called a flying spear, collectively known as the mountain-crushing crossbow.】
【Such a weapon, Chancellor Zhuge naturally would not let go to waste, so he selected three thousand strong soldiers, equipped with quivers and crossbows, as "Repeating Crossbowmen," using them in the Northern Expeditions.】
As Chronicle was about to stop writing, after a moment of thought, he added a "legendary" description:
【According to descriptions in texts like 《Wei Lue》 and 《Records of the Three Kingdoms》, it is very possible that the famous Wei general Zhang He fell at the hands of these elite troops.】
With that, the information was complete.
Once the review was passed, Chronicle picked up the pen again and, based on the descriptions in the books and some online images as references, effortlessly completed the card illustration.
After inscribing the back of the card, a rich green light rose and entered the several cards floating in front of him.
Instant feedback came:
【Zhuge Repeating Crossbow】
Quality: Green
Category: Soldier
Card Type: Equipment (Legion Accessory Card)
Skills:
【Mountain Crusher】: Consumes a large amount of mental energy to continuously release ten 【Flying Spear】 arrows with the 【Mountain Crusher】 effect. The ability to destroy mountain-sized objects depends on the strength of the legion and the Card Craftsman's mental power level.
【Flock of Crows】: Consumes a small amount of mental energy to continuously release crossbow bolts with effects like 【Armor Piercing】, 【Soul Piercing】, and 【City Crushing】. When facing individual or group units of a quality level not higher than our legion, it can trigger the 【Flock of Crows】 state, instantly releasing 【Three Thousand Arrow Rain】, with an extremely low chance of triggering 【Instant Kill Critical Hit】.
Entries:
【Forest Movement】: In forests and valleys, the speed of crossbowmen is slightly increased.
【City Defense】: When crossbowmen participate in battle as the 【Defending Side】, their bolts will receive the effects of 【Piercing】 and 【Knockback】.[Assassin]: When unnoticed, launch a sneak attack on the enemy [Commander], the shooting speed, power, and lethality of the crossbow bolts will be significantly enhanced.
Introduction: Thump! Thump! Thump!
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