Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan
"The first group: Yu Anran fails to break through the domain!"
"Chronicle wins both battles, smoothly passing this round of competition!"
Watching Chronicle standing opposite her, Yu Anran sniffled and cried in frustration.
As a person from the Cloud Summit, she was shamefully overwhelmed by the despicable Chronicle.
"How can there be such a bad person."
Her lips puckered, and tears streamed down her collagen-filled cheeks.
"Here."
Chronicle strolled over and handed the young girl a napkin: "Wipe your tears."
"At least you have a conscience."
Yu Anran wiped her tears and suddenly realized something was amiss: "Why is this napkin so rough?"
"Because it's not a napkin."
Chronicle thought to himself, having casually taken the napkin from the opponent's domain table.
Such "free shopping" opportunities were rare, and he knew to take what he could.
See, it came in handy.
"Times are tough, gotta pick the cheap stuff and make do."
With that, Chronicle turned and walked away.
But at that moment, Yu Anran called out to him: "What about the thing I mentioned to you before? Have you thought about it?"
"Huh?" Chronicle was a bit confused: "What you mentioned? When?"
"It was on Weixun." Yu Anran narrowed her eyes suspiciously: "You didn't forget, did you? You promised me before!"
Chronicle's eyes flickered, thinking of Zhu Yingtai's recent odd behavior, and he spoke softly: "How did I promise you again?"
"It's about my favorite cat emoticon pack." Yu Anran stated matter-of-factly.
"Ah, right, there was such a thing." Chronicle smiled and then walked away without looking back: "I haven't decided yet."
"Eh, when you've made up your mind, let me know on Weixun!" Yu Anran waved her hand.
"Got it!"
As Chronicle spoke, he held the card 【Internet Addict Girl·Zhu Yingtai】 in the palm of his hand.
As if sensing his gaze, the lifelike and valiant girl on the card seemed to shift her eyes, looking somewhat guilty.
Chronicle chuckled and shook his head.
Of course, he wouldn't criticize the "pillar" of his home over such a trifle.
A simple reminder was enough: "You can't be this mischievous in the future."
Then, without caring whether she listened or not, he stored her in his sea of consciousness.
He then summoned the Nian Beast and rode the colossal creature straight to the hotel.
Along the way, the rain was relentless.
The curtain-like dark sky showed no moon, nor could any stars be seen.
The cold night wind seemed to drive away any citizens still outside at this hour.
As a Card Craftsman, Chronicle had a robust physique and was unfazed by such cold.
But the bone-chilling wind creeping into his collar and sleeves was indeed unpleasant.
It was like a slimy snake slithering into your clothes.
Feeling quite uncomfortable, Chronicle pulled out a waterproof jacket from his backpack and put it on.
Then he took out a firecracker and tossed it behind him.
"Pop!"
The Nian Beast got startled and immediately quickened its pace.
Chronicle nodded in satisfaction but didn't stop there. After quickly finishing a handful, he returned to the relatively safe inner city.
"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"
It was now midnight, and instead of silence, urgent voices echoed through the city.
Chronicle looked up to see a troop in sky-blue uniforms appearing at the end of the asphalt road.
Their steps were in unison, heavy on the ground, splashing water from the puddles.
It was the 【City Defense Army】, a unit belonging to the Card Craftsmen Alliance.
Chronicle's "parents," whom he had never met, were from this unit.
According to his memory, this force was only responsible for city defense, far inferior to the Zhenyuan Army in all aspects.
Most of the time, it consisted of "quasi-card craftsmen" with low spiritual talent who could barely control two or three standard cards.
Occasionally, they would recruit some physically strong and mentally stable civilians.
The pay wasn't high, just enough to make ends meet.
But after all, it was a step into the world of card craftsmen, with decent benefits and status.
It was because of these reasons that Chronicle had the opportunity to become a Card Craftsman.
"Looks like a full mobilization… I wonder what happened…"
As Chronicle pondered, he suddenly heard an explosion behind him.
He could even see the reflection of the explosion's flames through the windshields of the floating motorcycles ridden by the City Defense Army.
The sight was truly spectacular.
"Seven Brothers, Eight Brothers."
Without turning his head, Chronicle summoned his two powerful subordinates to float beside him and guard him as they passed the City Defense Army.
"Buzz—Boom!"
Suddenly, like the roar of a fierce beast, a dump truck appeared behind Chronicle at the street corner, its engine revving at high speed, charging towards the City Defense Army.
Water from the road splashed in all directions, and Seven Brothers casually drew out a blood-red umbrella obtained from Yu Anran's domain, shielding Chronicle from the "water curtain."
Then, with a graceful move, he floated down with the blood-colored umbrella to the middle of the road.
Facing the dump truck wrapped in unknown energy, he stood with one hand behind his back and the other raised in front.
The seemingly unstoppable dump truck split in half as if it had hit the sharpest blade in the world, its smooth cut surfaces flying towards both ends.
It crashed through several barriers before finally stopping, emitting thick black smoke, but it did not harm the residential houses and shops on both sides of the road.
Even with limited spirituality, this Yin God was using his power to protect the mortal beings on the land of Jiuzhou.
"Well done, Little Chronicle."
A familiar voice came through the night sky, and Chronicle looked to see Xie Wenyuan emerging from the dark street corner.
His hand glowed with orange light, clearly about to take action, but Chronicle, or rather Seven Brothers, had acted first.
"Wait for me over there; I have something for you later."
After speaking, Xie Wenyuan tapped the ground with his toes, floated in the air, patted Chronicle's shoulder, and then swiftly flew towards the direction from which the dump truck had come.
Chronicle knew he was in the midst of a significant event and didn't linger, heading straight to the end of the asphalt road, not even waiting to hear the City Defense Army's words of thanks.
Only when he reached a relatively safe spot did he, under the protection of Seven Brothers, Eight Brothers, General Zeng, and Zongzi Brother, board the thick clouds attached to the 【Fairy Rope】.
Using the binoculars from the secret realm suit, he observed the distant battle.
Old Xie, usually unassuming, was certainly no slouch in a real fight.
He landed steadily, tossed aside his coat, rolled up his shirt sleeves, and walked straight towards the woman in the black trench coat.
Without using a summoning card or a legion card, he simply threw an orange-grade skill card onto his hand and stroked the roadside iron railing.
Then he slowly raised a hand and let it fall towards the direction of the trench coat woman.
The railings along the way detached from the ground, striking towards the woman's vitals like a ghostly serpent leaving its nest.
They carried such immense energy that even in the moist air after the rain, they sparked continuous electricity and fire.
The speed was so fast that even Chronicle, with his top-tier vision, could hardly keep up.
It was clear that if these objects hit their target, they could cover an area and instantly blow up a building.
And this was just Old Xie's welcoming gift.
The woman was clearly capable of catching it.
The ground beneath her feet cracked open, revealing two eyeballs several meters in diameter, glaring fiercely.
She was lifted off the ground by the owner of these eyeballs.
Old Xie's "welcoming gift" also bombarded the body of the monster beneath her feet.
Because of the distance, Chronicle could barely hear any sound, but the intense vibration still traveled a long way to reach him.
Through the binoculars, he could see that the monster beneath the woman was a 【Subterranean Shark】!
Faced with this situation, Old Xie remained calm and simply raised his black-lined arm, swiftly throwing out a card.
The card scattered in the night rain, turning into petals that fell on the woman's head, shoulders, and the Subterranean Shark's mountainous body.
The next moment, Old Xie snapped his fingers, and a hazy domain illusion appeared, enveloping the woman and the card spirit within it.
After doing all this, Xie Wenyuan looked back, found Chronicle from afar, and sent a message with his mental power saying "wait a moment," then entered the domain himself.
***
A few minutes passed, and he emerged from the domain, slightly raising his hand and gently tossing the woman onto the muddy asphalt road with his mental power.
The battle was over.
Chronicle didn't know what happened inside the domain, but seeing Old Xie's casual demeanor, it seemed not too strenuous.
"Quite a thing…"
Before Chronicle could finish, Xie Wenyuan boarded the clouds.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Little Chronicle."
He was as amiable as ever.
"Uncle Xie, what was that just now…"
Chronicle pointed to the distant "ruins."
"A mid-level pawn of the Scenic Order, meant to distract us," Xie Wenyuan said softly: "Lately, those wild dogs have been restless, launching several attacks on the provinces of Dongtu in just a few weeks."
"We've stopped them outside the city before, but a few little mice still slipped in."
"But you don't have to worry, both inside and outside the city are covered by Alliance experts, fully covered, no blind spots, no safety issues."
"The Scenic Order may seem fierce this time, but on Blue Star, they're far from our match."
"And the secret realm?" Chronicle thought to himself but didn't voice it.
Xie Wenyuan didn't say more, just took out a thin iron box and handed it to Chronicle.
"Inside are ten blank skin cards, three for card craftsmen, six for card spirits, and one for legions."
"They're all specially made, allowing you to freely fill in the required images, use them as disguises, and support changes at any time, multiple uses for one card, and even allow you to write background stories for use as core materials for card crafting."
"However… these cards don't have any enhancement effects."
"Whether they can be seen through depends on your and your opponent's level of mental power."
"I heard your final round is the 【Anchor Point Battle】, these cards should be useful to you."
"Make good use of them, win the championship, and bring glory to the Land of Peach!"
"Mm! Thank you, Uncle Xie." Chronicle nodded solemnly, showing a respectful smile.