Tian Du City.

Sword Card Master Association.

Li Haoran held a book named “Introduction to Rainbow Studies” in his hands. He was doing some extra-curricular reading in his spare time to enhance self-cultivation.

Well…

It was very effective.

“I reckon Master is very satisfied?”

Li Haoran smiled.

He thought about getting started with Rainbow Studies.

Of course.

This was just for leisure in his spare time. Li Haoran did some casual reading and got ready to return to his work.

1. Document editing—The Untold Stories of Sword Card Master: Style and Charisma of a Sword Technique Volume 2.

On a certain day and certain month of a certain year, the mysterious Swordsman Flash appeared again. He destroyed the beast tide with one strike. Everyone knew that Flash was very powerful, but no one knew his real identity…

2. The experiment of repairing the Original Card.

After finishing the documentation, Li Haoran went back to the lab.

After all, unlike the first generation disciples, very few people could have a newly born card spirit by themselves. Most disciples of the Sword Card Master Association had to take the second path!

The spirit bodies in the Sword Card Master Association had been waiting anxiously as well.

As such…

They had to constantly improve the minimally invasive surgery techniques and the repair of the hole.

Nowadays…

It was very rare for anyone to rely purely on natural recovery.

Even in hospitals, minimally invasive surgery that was performed on the human body was ability-based. Therefore, the related technology was universally used .

As such…

Li Haoran specially made a trip to a hospital that said it provided xx repair surgery, to have a better understanding of the repairing techniques required for minor wounds and holes.

Well…

Then he had to understand the extent of the minor wounds.

Different spirit bodies had different openings.

As the spirit bodies differed in size, the matching hole would be different as well.

Since the first generation disciples had a second Original Cards as backup, therefore, Li Haoran used Xiao-Xiao-Xiaoshé to perform minimally invasive experiments.

He made an opening in Xiao-Xiao-Xiaoshé and directed the spirit bodies to enter and leave the card.

→_→

The spirit bodies were very curious as well.

Since they were not tied to a particular cultivator, they could practice and to gain an idea of their individual sizes.

Hence…

The association had accumulated a large amount of data and the thousands of spirit bodies allowed them to have a deeper understanding of the techniques of creating minimal wounds in the Original Card.

At this moment.

The Sword Card Master Association was able to make huge advancements in the techniques for having newly born card spirits!

Well…

Li Haoran felt very pleased.

In this way, if other vocations acquired spirit bodies in the future, they would have an advantage over them as they had better technology!

Nowadays…

Technology was the most important productive force!

Hence…

After working as usual, he returned to his room to rest.

Then, in the corner of the room, he found a crouching familiar figure who was speaking to his vocation core, “Dagger, dagger, you have already grown up! You are a mature dagger. You have to learn to cultivate by yourself and to stab people by yourself…”

Li Haoran rolled his eyes.

Fine.

The idiot was still working on that.

“Can’t you take a break?”

Li Haoran was speechless.

“Humph!”

The teenager in black turned his head and said proudly, “It’s none of your business!”

“What you are doing is useless.”

Li Haoran sighed. “I have said many times that Senior Sister’s secret skill is purely talent-based.”

“I am very gifted.”

The teenager in black pursed his lips. “Since all of you can do it, why can’t I?”

Yes.

This was the reason why he brooded over this. Everyone in the Sword Card Master Association could do it, why couldn’t he?!

Everyone had similar talents. Why was it that he was weaker than the rest in creating a newly born card spirit? This was impossible!

Something had to be wrong.

Some of them were not as talented as him!

He was a young four-star genius!

Snort!

“They cheated.”

Li Haoran had no other choice but to tell him how the rest shoved the card spirits inside the cards.

The teenager in black was dumbstruck for a long time.

What the hell was that?!

How could they shove a card spirit inside the card?!

It turned out that the damn card spirits were being shoved inside!!! He thought that everyone was talented while he was a loser!

“Did you obtain yours in the same way?”

The teenager in black was suddenly excited.

“No.”

Li Haoran looked at him as if he was an idiot. “Back then, we didn’t have the money to buy a spirit body.”

“You’re right.”

The teenager in black was discouraged again.

“How about I get a card spirit from the association and shove it in?”

Li Haoran said after some thoughts.

Since there were thousands of card spirits waiting in the association, there must be someone who was willing to choose the teenager in black. After all, he was one of their own.

To his surprise…

The teenager in black refused outrightly!

“No!”

The teenager in black was furious. “My dagger is a lady. I can’t allow a spirit body to be shoved inside it! This is impossible. I will never agree!”

Li Haoran turned sullen.

Damn it!

Last time, he said that his right hand was his wife!

“Will you do it or not?”

“No!”

“Are you sure?”

“I am a real man, if I say no, then that’s final!”

The teenager in black was prideful.

“I am a five-star now. Recently, with the help of our master, all of us improved our cultivation speed. At this rate, I might become a six-star one day. Are you sure… you want to remain a four-star?”

Li Haoran said lightly.

The teenager in black was silent for a moment.

After a long time…

With a sad expression, he slowly took out his dagger and handed it to Li Haoran, saying, “Be gentle when you shove the spirit body inside it.”

Li Haoran was speechless.

He suddenly had an urge to kill…

Gentle? What crap!

It was only a dagger. Why was he being so dramatic?

“Such a wishy-washy.”

Li Haoran looked grumpy.

He took the dagger and he chose an appropriate spirit body from the spirit body department. Thereafter, he used the most advanced minimally invasive surgery techniques of the Sword Card Master Association to make an opening.

Afterward…

Entering the bridal chamber!

The spirit body entered the dagger and the hole was repaired!

Done!

Everything was going well!

“Very good!”

Li Haoran was very satisfied.

The experiment was a success.

In that case, this was considered as the first dagger to have a newly born spirit body. He wondered how he should name it…

Dagger spirit?

It sounded… odd.

However…

Just when the teenager was about to retrieve the dagger to check whether it had been integrated, the dagger shook and there was a loud sound moments later.

Bang!

A small cloud of energy soared up, terrifying energy dissipated, sweeping the surroundings, drowning the two of them and destroying everything in the room!

Li Haoran was shocked!

The teenager in black was stunned!

Explode…

It exploded!?

…

Dee!

Dee!

A piercing alarm suddenly sounded.

“What is happening?”

Lu Ming realized the problem right away.

“The d… dagger spirit exploded to death.”

Li Haoran was teary-eyed.

“Dagger spirit1?”

Lu Ming was a little puzzled.

What was that…

What was with the strange tone and what the hell did it mean that the dagger spirit had exploded to death?!

If it was the other way round, that would be blow up the dagger spirit?2 He seemed to have heard this song before. The lyrics were “They told him don’t you ever come around here”. It was quite a nice song.

Hence…

He and Xiao-Xiaojian hurried to Li Haoran’s room.

Well…

It was a total mess and there were two men who were at a total loss.

Ss——

Lu Ming gasped a breath of cold air.

Well…

That was right.

Ever since his talents reached their peak, he could gasp a breath of energy openly! The full energy beam and the skyrocketing energy speed made him feel comfortable.

Of course.

This still could not hide his shock at seeing those two…

“What’s wrong with you?”

Lu Ming was shocked.

“Something happened.”

Li Haoran who became all black from the explosion looked weird with his afro-textured hair. He told Lu Ming what had just happened. To put it simply, the spirit body had blown up!

The dagger was gone. The spirit body was gone as well!

The spirit body was gone?

Lu Ming was alarmed.

“Xiao-Xiaojian?”

Lu Ming’s expression was grave.

“Understood!”

Xiao-Xiaojian swept its gaze over the room.

Buzz—

Buzz—

A large amount of energy was brimming out.

It crushed Lu Ming’s spare Energy Card right away, filling every corner of the room with a large amount of energy, ensuring that there was sufficient energy.

After a long time…

Lights flashed.

A weak spirit body re-condensed.

As expected…

Lu Ming heaved a sigh of relief. It was good that the spirit body was alive.

After all, spirit bodies were different from humans. Their bodies were condensed from energy. Therefore, as long as they did not completely die, they could be restored when there was sufficient energy.

Of course.

This was because it did not integrate with the dagger. They were broken up as soon as it was shoved inside.

“Are you okay?”

Xiao-Xiaojian helped the spirit body stand up.

Buzz—

Buzz—

The spirit body shone faintly.

“What did it say?”

Lu Ming asked.

“Uh.”

Xiao-Xiaojian translated for them. “It said that the dagger had a very low stability. It’s stability was not even one percent of the Original Card. It was impossible for it to become a host for the spirit body!”

“Oh?”

Lu Ming and Li Haoran glanced at each other, stunned.

They knew that the stability of other vocation cores was very low.

There was no other option.

Everyone had their own area of expertise.

For example…

The Sword Embryo of a Swordsman would major in combat, showing one’s ability to the full extent!

The shield of a Shield Specialist would major in defense: it was indestructible!

The crystal of a Charmer would charm others: it was very captivating!

And many more.

Every vocation core had its own characteristics!

What about the Original Card?

It was stable!

Yes.

This was due to the fact that it had to create cards and to maintain the lines!

As an auxiliary occupation, the characteristics of the Original Card had always been its stability!

Lu Ming and the rest naturally knew this. However, they never thought that the stability of the Original Card would be far better than other vocations!

Even higher levels could not make up for it!

How about trying to hit people with the crystals of a Charmer?

Was that possible?

How about trying to charm people with the shield of a Shield Specialist?

Was that possible?

They did not have these characteristics!

That feeling…

This was like the maths results of a humanities student.

In that case…

Lu Ming suddenly figured out something.

It was no wonder many people came to the Sword Card Master Association to learn secretly!

They provided ladies and disciples for free…

The only exception was providing wives!

The reason was—

They simply could not do it on their own!

They must have tried to integrate many spirit bodies but all of their attempts failed. Therefore, they thought of joining the Sword Card Master Association to secretly learn the so-called secret technique!

However…

They were unaware that an Original Card was the foundation for the birth of a card spirit!

There was no other way.

To be honest.

Ever since discovering the minimally invasive method of inserting the spirit body, as well as the discovery of his sister’s sword spirit, they had prepared themselves to compete with the spirit bodies of other vocations.

Lu Ming was very sure about something.

Once the minimally invasive technique of shoving the spirit body into vocation cores was discovered by others, perhaps there would be all kinds of spirit body vocations everywhere!

Before this….

The Sword Card Master Association had to maintain its advantages in the techniques and spirit bodies!

However…

He never thought it would turn out like that!

Other vocations simply could not do it!

One needed to have a vocation core to integrate a spirit body and that was the Original Card.

This meant that…

One had to be a Sword Card Master or Card Creator!

The teenager in black was downhearted. “Therefore, will I never be able to have a spirit body in my life?”

“It is still possible if it is developed by itself.”

Lu Ming was certain.

He was reminded of his sister’s Xiao-Xiaolan!

In some special cases, the spirit body that developed by itself would be a perfect fit for a vocation core. Since it developed on its own, there would not be any integration issue.

The teenager stared at Lu Ming as if the latter was an idiot.

Nonsense!

If the spirit body could develop on its own, would he need to resort to his previous method?

Lu Ming realized that he was making useless comments.

Cough, cough.

“How about you join the Sword Card Master Association?”

Li Haoran suggested.

The timing was just right.

Since he had lost his vocation core, it could be considered as a re-cultivation. He could take the opportunity to re-cultivate to a Sword Card Master!

“Impossible!”

The teenager in black snorted.

As an Assassin who had strong beliefs in his vocation, even if he re-cultivated, he would still choose to be an Assassin!

Hence…

He turned around coolly, and went back to his room to cry…

“I am sorry, dagger. It’s my fault that you…”

Oo… Oo…

There were sounds of someone crying miserably.

Lu Ming and the rest glanced at each other.

“I am sorry, Master. I have caused you trouble.”

Li Haoran felt bad about it.

“It’s okay.”

Lu Ming was between laughter and tears. He paused briefly and he was reminded of something else. “How is the assessment of the disciples going?”

“There are no other eligible candidates.”

Li Haoran looked embarrassed. “Due to the incident with the spies, I reassessed other disciples and discovered some issues…”

He felt sorry.

There were many spies among the disciples who passed the assessment!

This meant that…

Other than the 32 disciples, there were other disciples and people from other associations who were eying the secret skill of the Sword Card Master Association and searching for their weak spot!

Of course.

They might never find out that there was only one reason for their failure—the vocation core!

Anyway.

After his rigorous assessment…

The few disciples who could pass the assessment had been denied as well.

In the end…

None of the people who applied qualified!

“It’s okay.”

Lu Ming did not seem bothered.

Right now, his talents had improved!

He was considered a genius as well!

As for disciples…

It did not matter!

He was already very pleased with his current talent!

Well…

“Let’s change the recruitment standard of the Sword Card Master Association. Reject everyone who has a score of 10 and below,” Lu Ming instructed.

“Huh?”

Li Haoran was dumbstruck.

Reject everyone who was 10 and below?

How were they supposed to recruit anyone at all?

Only top-notch talents were able to score 10 points for the fundamental talents! Ye Liangfei and the rest could not even achieve that!

It was only possible with people like Lu Yan and Yan Suya!

“This is only a temporary adjustment.”

Lu Ming waved his hands. “I feel that this ten-point talent assessment system is quite stupid. Later, I will develop a hundred-point talent assessment system.”

“Understood.”

Li Haoran was in awe.

He was indeed his master!

He actually planned to develop a talent assessment system!

However…

He did not know that the reason why Lu Ming planned to create a new system was mainly because the so-called talent assessment system was not compatible with the Art of Equalization. Therefore, he planned on developing a method that could suit the Art of Equalization!

His talent assessment score was 0.1. It was impossible that it could not equalize!

And…

Xiaobai obviously scored 10 points!

Why was it that after averaging it out, everyone had 10 points?

It was inaccurate.

Therefore, he intended to study the talents assessment mechanism. He must make sure that it was accurate to the extent of being able to display a negative value!

Of course.

This kind of research would require a lot of databases and a lot of deduction. One would need to work on the basics and start from scratch and to carry out incremental research!

In the end, he might have to apply it to the students who enrolled into the college at the crossroad!

Well…

There was nothing wrong with that.

Therefore, everything had to wait until the admission program ended.

Zhang Yang seemed to be working hard on getting more students to enroll into the college. He seemed to have asked the disciples to go to their alma mater to solicit… cough, cough, to hold talks. It should be quite effective.

Anyway.

He would wait for the results.

At this moment…

He had just broken through to five-star. He needed to reorganize his current combat abilities!

Regardless of one’s talents or association, Lu Ming bore it in mind that one’s combat capability was the most important thing in this world! Everything that he did was to become stronger!

He had reached five-star. It was time to integrate some cards that he had not used for a long time!

For example…

The Sunlight Card which was loved by the World of Darkness and Shadows.

Another example was—

Miss Xiaoqing’s favorite Bulls Card.

…

1 In Chinese, this is pronounced as bi ling. Here, the author is making a homophonic pun on Michael Jackson’s song, Beat It.

2 In Chinese, this is pronounced zha si bi ling. Here the author is making a homophonic pun on the lyrics, ‘just beat it’ in Michael Jackson’s song, Beat It.