The Mysterious Card Maker: Starting with Zhang Jiao's Deification

The entire third basement level has been transformed into a card testing ground, with defensive cards arranged on the surrounding walls, forming a pale golden light shield over the testing ground.

Zhang Li was the first to step into the testing area. He took out a card from his pocket and showed it to everyone.

Card Name: [Western Garden Army Bronze Ring Guard]

Type: Summoning Card

Quality: Blue Domain 8-star

Characteristics: Ironclad Rock (Heavily armored, wielding a bronze shield, extremely difficult to be knocked back or have their actions interrupted)

Skill: [Erect Copper Wall] Inserts a copper shield into the ground to block the enemy's advance and provide cover for friendly forces.

【Bronze Hammer Smashes the Earth】Raises a giant hammer and smashes it into the ground, the shockwave spreading forward and knocking enemies to the ground.

Overview: Elite warriors of the Western Garden Army, who bind their hair with copper rings and wear copper armor, are said to possess the remnants of military spirits sealed within their copper artifacts, thus enabling them to fight ten against one and never retreat.

"Xiyuan Army?" Lin Fan murmured the name to himself.

He remembered the army under the command of the Ten Attendants, a name that shouldn't exist in this world.

Is it a coincidence?

He glanced at Zhang Li without making a sound.

Zhang Li looked at Qin Muyao and gestured for her to proceed.

"Miss Qin, come on, take out your card."

Qin Muyao quickly arrived at the testing area, touched the card with her fingertip, and poured her mental energy into the card.

Zhang Fei's figure, clad in heavy armor, gradually solidified. He slammed his eighteen-foot spear into the ground, causing the alloy floor to cave in.

Zhang Li's lips curled up, and he tapped the card with his finger. A blue light flashed, and a figure solidified in front of Zhang Li.

Copper Ring Guard!

A burly strongman dressed in imperial guard armor, with the words "Xiyuan" faintly visible on it, stood in front of Zhang Li, holding a bronze giant hammer in one hand and a bronze shield in the other.

"Zhang Fei!" As soon as Qin Muyao spoke, Zhang Fei moved without any attempt to test her. The eighteen-foot spear in his hand transformed into a streak of black light and thrust straight at the copper-ringed guard.

The copper-ringed guard reacted quickly, raising his shield sharply and colliding it with the serpent spear.

"clang"

The ear-piercing sound of metal clashing echoed through the test field, causing both sides to stumble back a few steps.

Only a mark remained on the bronze shield, which did not affect its normal use.

Zhang Fei gave him no chance to breathe. He quickly retracted his spear and launched a series of attacks, including sweeping, slashing, and thrusting strikes, each accompanied by a whistling sound. The copper-ringed guard was forced to retreat repeatedly.

But the shield seemed to be permanently attached to his hand; no matter how the spear attacked, it was blocked by the bronze shield, and it was never breached.

Zhang Li stood at the sidelines, hands behind his back, a faint smile on his face: "Miss Qin, is this all the Purple Domain Card can do?"

Qin Muyao ignored him, her eyes fixed on the arena. Zhang Fei suddenly withdrew his spear and took two steps back.

The copper-ringed guard was stunned for a moment, and was about to give chase when he saw Zhang Fei suddenly open his mouth.

"drink!"

A roar exploded from Zhang Fei's chest, and the defensive cards on the wall lit up at the same time, desperately trying to maintain the stability of the light shield. Even Qin Chuan and the others watching from the sidelines unconsciously took a step back.

Fortunately, the light shield only flickered a few times and quickly stabilized, but the terrifying pressure made the copper-ringed guard pause.

This time, Zhang Fei gave him no chance. The killing intent on the serpent spear erupted completely at this moment, transforming into a black spear that shot straight at the copper-ringed guard's shield.

"boom!"

The copper-ringed guard, shield and all, was blasted against the wall of the testing ground with a dull thud. At that moment, a spiderweb-like crack spread out from the center of the giant shield.

The copper-ringed guard lay on the ground, struggling, his hand gripping the shield trembling. One more blow and the copper-ringed guard would be gone forever.

"Master Zhang, your cards seem pretty average, nothing special," Qin Muyao said with a smile.

"Miss Qin, you have some impressive skills." Zhang Li's face darkened completely.

He stroked his goatee, then pulled four more cards from his pocket, saying, "However, the true power of the [Bronze Ring Guard] lies in the combination of these five cards!"

With a flash of light, four bronze-ringed guards appeared simultaneously in the arena.

With the same build, the same massive shield, and the same bronze hammer, they surrounded the fallen bronze ring guard, shield to shield, forming an impenetrable wall of bronze and iron.

"The level of coordination... is he controlling five at the same time?" Qin Muyao exclaimed in surprise. Controlling more cards requires not only strong mental power but also the ability to multitask.

Although some Kalings have their own consciousness, it is still not as smooth as being controlled by one person. It is like controlling limbs; one person in charge is much more coordinated than four people each managing a part.

Qin Muyao was about to order Zhang Fei to launch a full-scale attack.

"Wait." Lin Fan's voice came from beside her.

Qin Muyao turned to look at him with a puzzled expression. "What's wrong?"

"Did you notice the guard with the bronze ring who fell to the ground?" He moved closer to Qin Muyao and whispered.

Qin Muyao followed his gaze and saw that the copper ring guard, who had been blasted to the ground by Zhang Fei's spear, was now slowly standing up, and even the crack on his shield had disappeared.

"That's not right." Qin Muyao's smile faded. "Their aura hasn't weakened."

"You noticed that too!" Lin Fan frowned, his voice growing even lower.

It is common knowledge that any card spirit will lose some of its aura after being attacked.

Even if Zhang Fei's spear didn't destroy the copper ring guard, it should at least have weakened it for a while, instead of leaving it completely unchanged like it is now.

Qin Muyao turned her head slightly, glancing at Zhang Li on the sidelines.

Zhang Li was still standing there, hands behind his back, a faint smile on his lips, but if you looked closely, his face was even paler than before, as if it had been drained of all its energy.

"Look at Zhang Li," Lin Fan said, his voice barely audible to the two of them. "His breath is getting weaker."

Qin Muyao's pupils contracted slightly. The five bronze-ringed guards maintained their auras, while Zhang Li's aura diminished.

This is not normal!

The Kalings will suffer losses after being attacked; this is an ironclad rule, unless their losses are replenished by another person, and Zhang Li is that replenisher.

"He didn't use an ordinary card." Lin Fan's expression was somewhat grim.

Qin Muyao didn't reply, but her gaze had already changed.

She knew that this method of card production was not something that regular card makers would use, but rather something that only those who walked the line of the rules would touch.

They bound the life force of the card spirit and the card maker together; as long as the card spirit exists, the card maker will not die, and vice versa.

This card has a name.

"Symbiotic Summoning Card." Qin Muyao's voice was so low it was almost inaudible.

Lin Fan frowned even more. He had heard of this term before; it was a card-making method that was explicitly prohibited in the Card Makers Association's list of violations.

"The All Souls Society! He's a member of the All Souls Society!" Qin Muyao exclaimed. Only members of the All Souls Society still use this kind of thing.

"All Souls' Society?"

"A crazy organization. Other card makers use materials dropped by the supernatural to make cards, but they are different..." Qin Muyao paused as she spoke, "They want to coexist with the supernatural."