Who said this card is outrageous?

Next up is the [King Squid]

Card Name: Squid King (Dark, Spirit)

Type: Summoning Card

Level: Tier 3

Grade: Purple

Skills: Hypnosis, An Eye for an Eye, Illusion Ray, Mental Blade, Displacement

Talent: Penetration

Uniqueness: Bond Resonance

(Note: Although it looks scary, it can be very gentle.)

Compared to the innocent and cute appearance of the Hollow Squid, the Squid King's image can only be described as having a villainous aura: it is several sizes larger than the Hollow Squid, its body is dark purple, its tentacles on its head have become crown-like structures, its eyes are dark red, its pupils are vertical lines, and its overall temperament is gloomy and deep.

However, its strength is truly formidable, especially with the newly added "Transplantation" skill, which allows it to utilize the opponent's power to attack; the stronger the opponent, the greater the power.

A pure sixth-ranking character, which actually matches the "villainous aura" of the Squid King quite well.

Chapter 153 Unchanging Partners

With the fusion of all four cards complete, Zhang Che leaned back in his chair and assessed the energy drain in his mental sea.

After making cards continuously for a period of time, the liquid mental energy in his mind has grown from the size of a wine cup to the size of a teacup.

The fusion of four Tier 3 purple cards only consumed less than one-tenth of his mental energy, reminding him of the predicament he faced when fusing a single purple card at the peak of Tier 3, which would deplete most of his mental energy. He couldn't help but marvel at how much his strength had increased after advancing; lower-level transcendents really couldn't compete with mid-level transcendents.

Meanwhile, several people outside were glancing at the studio door from time to time.

Yu Renjia leaned back on the sofa, his fingers tapping unconsciously on his knees, his eyes fixed on the closed wooden door, glancing at it every few seconds.

Zhou Meng was getting restless. He stood up from his chair, paced around the living room a couple of times, sat down again, and then stood up again.

Even the usually composed Shen Yan found it difficult to remain completely calm at this moment.

After all, the idea of ​​"evolving cards" is still too far-fetched no matter how you look at it. If it weren't for Zhang Che speaking up, the others probably wouldn't have even bothered to respond.

More importantly, after spending this time together, they've come to regard their respective cards as important partners. Even if they successfully evolve, what if their partners forget about them?

Or what other changes have occurred? Are they still the same partners they used to be?

Fu Xing noticed their unease, so he called over the other two girls who had the evolved cards. The three of them immediately began to reassure the others, and at the same time, they summoned their partners as proof, explaining that the evolved cards would not lose their memories of the user.

Yu Renjia was the first to recover.

He and Zhu Yingqi are in a relationship, and the latter often brings Eevee with her, so he knows very well that even after the little guy evolves into Espeon, he is still essentially the same clingy little guy.

They've simply become stronger.

The reason he was nervous just now was mainly because he was too involved to stay calm when the situation was his own.

Seeing the evidence that Fu Xing and the others presented, Shen Yan and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief, and then began to imagine what their partner would look like after evolving.

It's also a way to distract myself and avoid thinking about unnecessary things.

There's nothing to worry about with Zhou Meng and Yu Renjia, as their cards have already evolved into advanced forms. The former, [Giant Shark], is already a household name in Binhai City, and many people know that it was a major contributor to the defeat of the Heart-Eating Demon.

Zhou Meng is quite accepting of this, or rather, he hopes his partner can become the Megalodon.

He is also a native of the coastal area and will probably not leave before advancing to the fourth rank, so a partner with such strong underwater combat power is very useful.

Yu Renjia's situation is similar. Don't forget that Zhang Che used the purple-level [Tidal Sea Spirit] and Zhu Yingqi to defeat that female archer, so he roughly knows what his partner will look like after advancing.

His appearance hasn't changed, but his strength has increased even more. What does he have to worry about?

……

And so, as everyone waited with their own thoughts, the studio door finally opened. Zhang Che came out, saying nothing, but simply returning the cards to the four of them one by one.

The four people took the cards and almost simultaneously channeled their spiritual energy into them. Four magic arrays then unfolded in the living room at the same time, their blue and purple lights intertwining and illuminating the entire space.

Then Zhou Meng let out a painful groan.

As a third-tier warrior-type superhuman, his mental strength was indeed somewhat low, but fortunately, Zhang Che's cards inherently possessed the characteristic of low consumption, and in addition, the [Sharp-Toothed Fish], which served as the main body of the fusion, was already bound to him. In the end, he managed to summon the [Giant-Toothed Shark] with great difficulty.

The massive body hovered in mid-air, its dark red eyes reflecting Zhou Meng's figure, but there was no savagery in its gaze, only kindness.

Seeing this, Zhou Meng instinctively reached out his hand, and the Megalodon quickly lowered its head and touched his palm with its nose. The rough touch from his palm was cool and slightly damp, making the big man grin.

Zhou Meng didn't need Zhang Che to explain to him. After all, his ears had been filled with information about the Megalodon these past few days. Whether it was official news or casual conversations with friends in the Adventurers' Guild, there were always stories of the Megalodon wreaking havoc.

Yu Renjia had Zhang Che explain in detail the uniqueness of the [Tidal Sea Spirit] card after it became a purple card.

Then Zhang Che briefly explained the use of the equipment slot to him: skill cards and item cards can be equipped, and Fitz himself is responsible for the mental energy consumption. Moreover, the power of the equipped cards is no longer limited by the original card level, but directly corresponds to Fitz's current combat power level.

After learning about the powerful effects of the equipment slots, Yu Renjia's mouth never stopped moving.

Shen Yan, on the other hand, got along very well with the Heavenly Cover Insect and did not feel dissatisfied at all because his card was the only blue card.

The moment the two met, the Sky-Covered Insect used telepathy to tell its master everything about itself and assured him that it would not disappoint him when it emerged from its cocoon!

Shen Yan chose to trust his cards, especially since the Heavenly Cover Worm itself was very powerful and could also act as a mental energy amplifier, making it a perfect match for him.

As for the battle, the [Sky-Covered Insect] couldn't be of much help for the time being, but Shen Yan didn't say much, he just gently patted its hard shell.

Anyway, I'm just an office worker, so there's no need for me to fight on a regular basis.

The only one who surprised Zhang Che was Ruan Ruoshi. You see, when the Squid King floated out of the magic circle, everyone in the living room was startled by its villainous appearance.

Zhang Che originally thought the little girl would be frightened, but she wasn't. Instead, she reached out and intertwined her hands with the squid king's tentacles, just like when Hao La Squid did.

Ruan Ruoshi smiled even more happily.

She quickly accepted the evolved form of her partner.

The reason is simple: ever since she became a transcendental professional known as a Spirit Master, she has become accustomed to observing the world through her own spiritual power—what the eyes see can often deceive, but the perception of spiritual power will not.

So what she sees with her eyes is no longer the most important thing to her.

The mental link between Ruan Ruoshi and the Squid King tells her that beneath the former's terrifying appearance, there is still the lively, cute, and slightly mischievous Squid.

Chapter 154 Paying the Final Payment with the Future

Finally, there's the [Ring of Resistance] prepared for Fu Xing.

After all, Zhang Che had already promised to get him a good card, and he wouldn't go back on his word.

He handed the finished card to Fu Xing and briefly introduced the card's information. The latter quickly took the card, looked at it over and over again, his eyes seemingly shining.

He came from a distinguished family and was quite knowledgeable. He knew very well that although the [Resist Fire Ring] was only a second-tier card, its value was greatly enhanced by its ability to automatically activate and protect its owner, as well as the ability to store mental energy in advance to keep it in a normally active state!

Zhang Che treated the others the same, giving each of them a defensive card. However, he had run out of materials for the [Resist Fire Ring], so he gave the other six people either [Misty Body] or [Guard], allowing them to choose one.

Although they are all second-tier cards, their abilities have been personally verified by Zhang Che in previous actual battles, so they are relatively reliable.

Everyone opened their mouths, wanting to say something sentimental, but swallowed their words back. In the end, they just nodded heavily and put the cards into their pockets.

Strengthening the cards for these friends was the last thing Zhang Che did for them before leaving Binhai City.

With a Tier 3 purple card as the main force, plus a defensive card, this already constitutes a considerable combat power in a city of Binhai City's caliber.

This can be seen as a way of indirectly giving back to the city that raised them. At least with these extra fighting forces, they can handle any troublemakers they encounter in the city again, just like last time.

These cards combined are enough to ensure they don't have to worry about combat strength for a long time, which can be considered Zhang Che's guarantee for their safety.

As for the issue of charging, Zhang Che originally did not intend to charge money. After all, in reality, it only consumed some materials and mental energy, which was nothing to him now.

However, after being persuaded by everyone, they symbolically accepted 10,000 star coins from each of them, and agreed to use mid-level extraordinary materials of equal value to settle the debt after they advanced to the fourth rank.

"Sigh, doesn't this mean that if I can't get promoted, it's practically like getting something for nothing!" Yu Renjia sighed and laughed self-deprecatingly.

He was the only one present whose strength was still at the second level, and looking at his friends around him, he felt somewhat disappointed.

Logically speaking, with his second-tier mental strength, it would be impossible for him to activate a third-tier purple card. However, firstly, the card Zhang Che fused with consumed less energy than a normal card, secondly, Yu Renjia had already completed mental binding before the evolution of [Tidal Sea Spirit], and finally, his mental strength as a magic-type class surpassed most other superhumans of the same tier, which is why he did not suffer as much as Zhou Meng after summoning Fitz.

Fortunately, he still had a lower-level transcendent spiritual crystal in his possession, which he would use to break through to the third level after his spiritual strength reached the peak of the second level.

"Hey, it's okay, your second brother's got your back!" Fu Xing put his arm around Yu Renjia's shoulder, inadvertently revealing their usual playful attitude, "Even if you never reach the middle rank in your entire life..."

Before he could finish speaking, Su Wanqing flicked him on the forehead: "If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute!"

With a muffled thud, Fu Xing immediately clutched his forehead and began to wail, proving that Su Wanqing had definitely not held back this time.

Yu Renjia watched from the side, a slight smile playing on his lips, clearly pleased to see his good brother suffer a setback.

Zhang Che looked at Fu Xing speechlessly, but still added, "If you can't advance to the fourth rank, then consider this card a small token of my appreciation as a friend."

This can be considered an imitation of Lin Jiming, but Zhang Che is not as wealthy as Lin Jiming, so he can only do this with his friends.

Life is unpredictable. Although everyone present could be considered the top tier of the younger generation in Binhai City, none of them could guarantee that they could actually advance to the intermediate level of extraordinary.

Okay, except for Fu Xing—he has a powerful grandfather who's at the upper-level extraordinary level, so even if you just pile on resources, you can still get him to the middle level.

And that concludes today's gathering.

Before parting ways, Su Wanqing suggested that everyone find a place to have a meal together, which was unanimously agreed to.

The group set off in a grand procession, found a fairly upscale restaurant in the southern part of the city, pushed two tables together, ordered a table full of dishes, and opened several bottles of wine.

Fu Xing dragged Yu Renjia into a drinking contest, Zhou Meng egged them on from the side, Shen Yan quietly drank tea, Su Wanqing and Zhu Yingqi whispered something, and Ruan Ruoshi sat in the corner eating and watching all of this.

Perhaps because there were too many people, Ruan Ruoshi had no choice but to follow the crowd and couldn't find an opportunity to be alone with Zhang Che.

As the meal ended and the party was over, she stood at the restaurant entrance, watching Zhang Che being carried ahead by Fu Xing and Zhou Meng, one on each side. She opened her mouth, but ultimately didn't utter a sound.

She stood there, watching the group's figures disappear under the streetlights, then turned and walked in the opposite direction, a hint of regret in her heart.

……

The matter of Zhang Che leaving Binhai City for the provincial capital was thus settled. Although the mid-level extraordinary beings in the city, such as Zhong Huaiyuan, were somewhat reluctant, they knew in their hearts that this was the best choice for Zhang Che.

Moreover, the provincial capital has a greater concentration of extraordinary resources. If Zhang Che makes further progress in the future, these people in Binhai City might also benefit from it.

They don't need anything else, even just selling them some fifth or even sixth-tier cards would be fine—these people all know that Zhang Che has a trait that can reduce the mental energy consumption of cards.

Cards that are normally unusable beyond one's rank might be usable in his hands.

As for the matter of evolutionary traits, Fu Xing and the others tacitly kept it a secret. Such an application should definitely be told to others by Zhang Che himself.

As for methods to increase the speed of mental energy recovery, Zhang Che had also asked around, but the responses he received were not ideal.