Who said this card is outrageous?

At the same time, Cheng Shu's development was indeed limited by fundamental issues, and he was indeed strict with the original owner, all of which Wang Guofu knew.

Zhang Che simply added the elements of "his own extraordinary talent" and "his master deliberately concealing it for his own good," which sounds quite reasonable.

“My master always said that once I could consistently produce blue cards, he would take me to meet some old friends and help me get into a larger card-making workshop or go directly to the Adventurers’ Guild.” Zhang Che sighed, “I never expected… that he would leave us so suddenly.”

Wang Guofu remained silent, thinking of his old friend who had been strong-willed all his life but had ultimately succumbed to talent and the passage of time.

Seeing this, Zhang Che pressed on, saying, "After my master passed away, I always thought about finishing what he didn't complete. After I recovered a while ago, I tried making a few blue cards, and I didn't expect it to actually work."

Zhang Che knew there were many loopholes in what he said, so before Wang Guofu could react, he offered a sincere suggestion: "Uncle Wang, I know you're good to me. I don't know where to sell the cards I make later. If you don't mind, you can consign them to me."

Wang Guofu snapped out of his daze, looked at Zhang Che with a complicated expression, never expecting that what he had said jokingly yesterday would actually come true.

But then again, this kid only brought a green card yesterday. Could it be that he was testing me?

“You silly child…” Wang Guofu shook his head, his tone filled with relief, “Alright, leave it here. It just so happens that my little shop needs to have something decent to show off.”

"I always charged a 5% commission on the blue cards your master made back then. That's the rule, you shouldn't have any objections, right?"

The Blue Card is priced relatively high, and a 5% commission is more than enough for a small shop like this. Moreover, its main purpose for them is to attract customers; the majority of their profits come from the regular products in the shop.

“No, Uncle Wang.” Zhang Che immediately shook his head. “You’ve taken care of me for so long, how can I let you suffer a loss? It has to be ten percent!”

He remembered the care the other party had shown to Zhang Che and his disciples over the years, and it was time to repay him.

However, first-tier blue cards don't generate much profit; the real money comes from higher-tier cards later on.

Wang Guofu paused for a moment, then understood what Zhang Che meant.

He smiled and didn't refuse anymore: "Okay, whatever you say. But speaking of which, this card you made is really good. Those two students from Binhai University just now clearly know their stuff. I bet they'll come looking for you again in a few days."

Zhang Che smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble you, Uncle Wang. I'll go back and prepare some more, and try to make a few more good cards."

He knew in his heart that this was just the beginning; with the "fusion" ability, he could create far more cards than these.

Once I've saved enough money to buy better materials, I'll try to craft second-tier cards.

Only then will the world stage truly open to him.

Chapter 5 Second-Tier Blue Card

When Zhang Che left the card shop, he spent almost all of the money he had earned this time.

In addition to the materials used to craft the Skeleton Archer, he also bought a lot of other items that could be used to craft Tier 2 cards.

The bold words Zhang Che just uttered in the card shop were not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but rather his plan for his future, made during the past month or so of awakening his inner wisdom.

People always need some goals and pursuits in life. Zhang Che had always followed his master to live in a corner of the city. The word "future" was actually quite foreign to him. So foreign that after his master passed away, he fell into endless confusion.

Until Zhang Che arrived.

……

Back in the house, Zhang Che went straight into the card-making room.

In a space of less than 20 square meters, there were some basic card-making tools. The walls were covered with rune cloth for noise reduction and magic gathering. In the middle was a polished card-making table. This was the battlefield he had become most familiar with during this period.

Today's task was quite demanding, so he didn't start making cards immediately. Instead, he first sat quietly to regulate his breathing and bring his mental energy to its peak.

During this time, the extraordinary system of this world and the origin of card makers began to constantly appear in his mind—

Due to the existence of the rift, more than 90% of the extraordinary systems that humans in this world called Blue Star possess are directly copied or modified from power systems from other worlds. Only a very small number of professions were created by humans through their own wisdom.

The result was that this extraordinary system, which mixed countless world rules, appeared extremely chaotic. The power systems and cultivation paths of different professions were vastly different, and at the beginning, it was impossible to use a unified set of evaluation standards.

After hundreds of years of adjustment and refinement, the extraordinary individuals across the entire planet finally established the classification of extraordinary strength that has been passed down to this day: lower, middle, upper, and the ultimate level.

Card makers emerged relatively late, so their nine-tier system naturally corresponds to the lower, middle, and upper levels of the extraordinary system.

In fact, the core principle of card making is not complicated; it is essentially a simplification and improvement of alchemy.

The card maker first needs to use magical dust containing special energy, guided by mental power, to draw the card blank on specially made card paper.

This card embryo is essentially a miniature, disposable alchemical cauldron, capable of locking in the energy within materials and guiding the flow of magic. The materials needed to craft the card are then placed into the card embryo, and the process is driven by mental power, ultimately transforming it into an alchemical creation manifested as a card.

That's right, card maker is not a native profession, but a variant branch of alchemist.

It is said that more than two hundred years ago, the ninth-level Grand Alchemist Chen Mu discovered a lost world with cards as its core power system while exploring a high-level rift.

He then spent decades integrating the card system of the other world with his own alchemy skills, ultimately creating the new profession of Card Maker.

Master Chen Mu also broke through his own limitations with this innovation, ascended to the transcendent level, and became another peak powerhouse in the human world!

Such a great achievement, yet the master always humbly referred to himself as a "card apprentice," which adds a touch of romance to this legendary story.

However, after he fully established the nine-tier system of card makers and the division of each rank, he gradually disappeared from public view and his whereabouts became unknown.

Now, after more than two hundred years of development, the card maker system has long been mature.

Meanwhile, with the official tacit approval, a large number of standardized Tier 1 public version cards are circulating in the market. The recipes for these cards are public, and the production steps are simple. As long as one's mental strength is stable enough, even a novice card maker can learn to make them on their own.

The Skeleton Archer, which Zhang Che created to practice after becoming a formal card maker, is a basic public version card and an essential step for low-level card makers.

Pulling his mind out of his memories, Zhang Che opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them. He reached out and placed the card-making materials he had purchased that day onto the card-making table. Based on yesterday's experience, he crafted and fused them into the [Skeleton Archer] (Ice) and the [Skeleton Archer], a pure physical damage dealer that combined the [Extended Quiver] and [Rapid Fire].

However, even the best Tier 1 card is still just Tier 1. In Zhang Che's vision for the future, he still needs stronger cards!

Even if we talk about the most realistic goal, he should at least get some powerful cards to protect himself, right?

It's true that the teacher left Zhang Che some assets, but most of them were just second-tier green cards. Zhang Che is now fully capable of doing something much better.

……

Having just finished making several cards, Zhang Che was in peak mental condition. Then, he solemnly took out the most important relic left to him by his master from the safe under the card-making table—a card-making manual.

This document records the creation methods for approximately fifty Tier 1 to Tier 3 public cards, with white and green cards making up the majority, and only a handful of blue cards.

Zhang Che's target was the second-tier green cards recorded inside.

"call--"

With a long sigh, Zhang Che began to carefully study the instructions on how to create second-tier cards recorded in the book, and only closed the book after a long while.

The good news is that, regardless of whether it's a Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3 card, since they all belong to the category of lower-level extraordinary cards, the only difference when creating the card blank is the number of patterns drawn; the difference is not significant in essence.

With Zhang Che's current abilities, he is fully capable of doing it.

He spent about two hours and failed three times before finally creating four card embryos that could be used to refine second-tier cards.

To have such a success rate on my first attempt at making a second-order card blank—if my teacher were still here, he would definitely praise me.

Such a thought flashed through Zhang Che's mind, but he quickly returned to reality, refocused his mind, and prepared to begin the next step of card forging.

The advantage of using public version cards is that there is a complete recipe and a stable process. As long as you follow the instructions in the book, put the required materials into each card embryo, and then use your continuous and stable mental power to control the refining process, you can basically get the corresponding finished card.

Based on previous experience, the three cards Zhang Che created this time are the second-tier green summon card [Snow Fox], and the second-tier green skill cards [Snow Curtain] and [Breath of the Cold Wind].

【Snow Fox】is the most visually appealing Tier 2 card in the card-making book. Compared to other summon cards, it has a higher premium and was Cheng Shu's main card for making money.

Zhang Che's choice of it this time can be considered a formal inheritance of his master's mantle.

The Snow Fox is set as the main fusion card, which is then fused with two other cards to create a card that shines with a blue light.

A small, snow-white fox in the card is particularly eye-catching.

Chapter 6 [Six-Tailed Fox], the Cute Yet Fierce Little Fox

Card Name: Six-Tailed Fox (Ice)

Type: Summoning Card

Level: Tier 2

Grade: Blue

Skills: Fine Snow, Icy Wind

Talent: Snowfall

(Note: Wind and snow, heed my command!)

Zhang Che: ...

Dude, aren't you afraid of attracting the strongest legal department in the Eastern Hemisphere?

What? This is another world, and nobody else can interfere? Never mind then…

A sudden brainstorming session eased the shock, and Zhang Che finally accepted reality.

Although he still didn't know exactly what went wrong, the cards in his hand were real, and he seemed to have no other choice but to accept them.

As his mental energy gradually calmed down, Zhang Che realized that he needed to quickly bind the [Six-Tailed] card to himself.

Starting from the second tier, the card will have an additional mental link function. Once it locks onto someone's mental fluctuations, it will become an exclusive card that cannot be used by anyone other than the cardholder.

This is one of the rules inherited from the alchemists; otherwise, if someone were to steal or rob the cards, things could get really messy.

The connection was complete. Zhang Che began to infuse his spiritual power into the card, and then a magic circle even more magnificent than the one he had used to summon the [Skeleton Archer] appeared, and a small, snow-white fox appeared before him.

But what's most eye-catching is the little guy's six fluffy tails behind his bottom, which are squeezed together like a giant fan, making you want to pet them.

"Meow?"

The little fox curiously looked around at its surroundings, then took a few steps and trotted over to Zhang Che's feet, rubbing against his leg and making a coquettish sound, like a little pet asking for a pat.

Holy crap, this old man's girlish heart is fluttering!

Zhang Che could no longer hold back. He immediately picked up Liuwei and gently stroked it.

Sure enough, the little guy's skin was cool and smooth, and the feel of his fur was indescribable; Zhang Che was already quite fond of it!

As for the origin of this little guy, he had completely forgotten about it.

"Meow~~"

Feeling Zhang Che's caresses, Liuwei's big, watery eyes narrowed into slits, revealing a human-like expression of happiness.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Che, having regained his composure after the initial excitement, didn't forget to take the little guy to the backyard to test its fighting power.

The test subjects were the two newly created blue-tier Skeleton Archers.

Then Zhang Che witnessed what it meant to be completely crushed: the battle had just begun, and before either of the two skeletons had even made a move, Six-Tailed Fox unleashed a [Frozen Wind] AOE attack on the entire field.

The Skeleton Archer (Ice) has some resistance due to the same attribute, so it can barely launch a counterattack; while a Skeleton Archer is frozen solid and is judged to be dead after a short while, turning back into a card.