Who said this card is outrageous?

For this reason, Tie Hao specially rode in the same car as Ji Xingchuan, and even chose a seat in the back so that it would be easier to talk.

Not long after the car drove off, he grabbed Ji Xingchuan's shoulder and patted him hard: "Old Ji, you little rascal, you've kept this a secret! You actually had such an incredibly powerful brother-in-law hidden away, without telling the brothers a thing or two."

Ji Xingchuan was swayed by the slap, but did not respond.

This was actually a question on everyone's mind. It wasn't the first time they had teamed up, and they were quite familiar with Ji Xingchuan's family. They often heard him mention his wife and children, but they had never heard that Wang Xinran had such a talented younger brother.

A mid-level extraordinary being, who looked to be only around twenty years old, was undoubtedly a prodigy in the eyes of Tie Hao and the others.

Under normal circumstances, they would never have had any interaction with Zhang Che in their lives. They never expected that he would appear by their side in this capacity and even save their lives.

Hord, in the driver's seat, also perked up his ears, clearly very interested in the topic.

Faced with his friend's questioning, Ji Xingchuan showed no smugness, only a complex and helpless bitter smile. He slowly shook his head, his tone full of confusion: "To be honest, I don't really know what's going on either."

Zhang Che naturally knew his wife's brother-in-law, who was like a brother to her. However, when they last met three years ago, the man was just an ordinary young man who was struggling to pass the first-level card maker exam.

Then, after only a few years, how did he suddenly become a powerful mid-level superhuman?

Ji Xingchuan himself found it somewhat unbelievable when he said this.

When Ji Xingchuan first saw Zhang Che in the forest, he did feel that Zhang Che looked familiar, but until Zhang Che called him "brother-in-law," Ji Xingchuan never thought that the powerful man in front of him would have any connection with his brother-in-law.

It's like knowing someone, knowing they're the neighbor's child, with average grades, ordinary and unremarkable.

Then, three years later, when you see him again, you find that he has become a big shot in a certain field.

Most people's first reaction would be that they've mistaken him for someone else, rather than "Oh, it's him."

However, it is equally impossible for such a powerful person to simply acknowledge someone else as his brother-in-law and lower his own status.

Therefore, there is only one answer: the other party is indeed the boy I once saw.

As for why Zhang Che underwent such a dramatic transformation in just three years...

Ji Xingchuan remained silent for a while, and finally could only give a reason that he himself felt was somewhat perfunctory: "Geniuses are always different from others, aren't they?"

Tiehao and Huode exchanged a glance, both seeing similar complex emotions in each other's eyes.

However, since even Ji Xingchuan, the person involved, couldn't explain it clearly, they decided not to ask any further questions.

Soon the conversation turned to Zhang Che's extraordinary profession.

Huo De, who was in the driver's seat, immediately became interested and turned around while driving, saying, "Old Ji and I have both witnessed Lord Zhang Che wielding cards several times, so he is most likely a Card Master."

“No.” Ji Xingchuan shook his head. “He should be a card maker.”

"A card maker?" Tie Hao was taken aback.

"Don't forget that among the cards he just used, there were three purple cards." Ji Xingchuan held up three fingers. "Ordinary card masters can't get so many good things."

Tiehao thought about it and felt it made sense.

Even at the mid-level transcendent level, a card master's deck should primarily consist of green and blue cards of the same tier, rather than just a few purple cards at random.

Although the two can exert similar combat power, their prices are vastly different: under normal circumstances, one Tier 3 purple card is enough to buy several Tier 4 cards of the same type.

Ultimately, in terms of both cost-effectiveness and practicality, it's more worthwhile for most Tier 4 Transcendents to use Tier 4 cards.

“Just like Lady Anqi,” Ji Xingchuan concluded.

Anqi is one of the mid-level transcendents in the Adventurers' Guild of Hezhou City, a fourth-tier card master, and also the mid-level transcendent who Ji Xingchuan and others have the most contact with on a daily basis, and they know the most about her.

The best cards she has are two Tier 4 blue cards. She hasn't even used any Tier 1 or 2 purple cards, let alone Tier 3 purple cards.

Now, Zhang Che has pulled out three purple cards by himself, and they are most likely all third-tier purple cards.

Therefore, there is only one answer—those cards were made by Zhang Che himself.

The carriage suddenly fell silent.

Tie Hao and Huo De immediately realized what was happening and looked at Ji Xingchuan with burning eyes.

Chapter 168 Attention

However, the two quickly dispelled their delusions.

Tiehao awkwardly removed his arm from the latter, his movements becoming more restrained; in the driver's seat, Huode sat even straighter, and his driving had never been so cautious.

At the same level, combat power and productivity are completely different concepts.

The former is strong on its own, while the latter can lead many others to become stronger when resources are plentiful.

A card maker capable of crafting Tier 3 purple cards, coupled with the status of a mid-level transcendent. The terrifying power of this combination far surpasses that of a mere "mid-level transcendent."

Putting everything else aside, if the two of them had a Tier 3 purple card, they wouldn't have been in such a sorry state when facing the Harpy Commander and the Armored Corpse, even if they couldn't win, which ultimately led to the sacrifice of five brothers.

No, it should be said that if Zhang Che hadn't come to support them in time, apart from Ji Xingchuan and the other two who escaped, the remaining eight people would have basically all perished in the Dead Zone.

Thinking of this, Tie Hao subconsciously touched his chest. There was a wound there left by an undead creature, which was still throbbing slightly.

If Zhang Che hadn't arrived in time, this wound could very well have been the cause of his death.

"Old Ji, your brother-in-law..." Tie Hao opened his mouth, wanting to say something flattering, but the words just didn't sound right. In the end, he could only give a thumbs up and say, "Awesome."

Ji Xingchuan gave another wry smile—in truth, he was also somewhat at a loss.

Although Zhang Che's attitude suggests that he acknowledges Ji Xingchuan as his brother-in-law, he acknowledges the title of "brother-in-law" rather than the person himself.

The main connection between the two is Wang Xinran, and at most, his son.

However, there wasn't a deep relationship between the two of them; they had only met a few times and knew each other.

They weren't even as familiar as he was with Tie Hao and others.

"Sigh, well, I'll just have to take it one step at a time..."

Ji Xingchuan leaned back in his seat, watching the scenery rushing past the window, and sighed silently in his heart.

With this feeling, the convoy of three vehicles finally entered the territory of Hezhou City. The city walls of the distant fortress gradually became clear in the twilight, the gray bricks gleaming warmly in the setting sun.

Got home!

The convoy naturally caused another disturbance when it entered the city.

Tie Hao and the others were, after all, seasoned third-tier superhumans, and had some reputation in Hezhou City.

This time, the entire team of third-tier transcendent beings ventured deep into the Dead Zone Rift to carry out a cleanup mission. However, upon their return, the original ten-person team had suffered more than half its losses, with only five survivors.

The survivors were all pale, with unhealed wounds and a faint smell of blood on their bodies; they were in very poor condition.

The team's dire situation alone is enough to attract attention.

Furthermore, the extraordinary materials piled high on the two off-road vehicles, and the several harpy corpses with parts of their bodies exposed because the packages were not large enough, attracted a lot of attention.

"What is that? Something with wings?"

"It looks like a human, but it's not human... Could it be a monster?"

"Look at those claws! Good heavens, they're longer than my arm!"

Several daring young people approached to get a closer look, and people on the roadside stopped to watch, some even taking out their phones to take pictures, but they were immediately stopped by the city guards who arrived.

Thanks to this, Zhang Che didn't attract much attention. His overly youthful face and the pretty fox-like demi-human in the back seat were subconsciously ignored—most people only glanced at the uniquely designed alchemical vehicle before continuing to look at the more unusual things.

A few people occasionally noticed him, but they only regarded him as a traveling merchant hired by Tie Hao, and looked away after a glance.

Zhang Che was happy to have some peace and quiet.

Soon, more city guards arrived.

A squad of soldiers in standard armor ran up to the front of the convoy, led by an officer in his thirties. After briefly learning about the situation from Tie Hao, his expression quickly turned serious.

A new race of extraordinary creatures? Fourth-order armored undead? Anomalies appearing in the Dead Zone Rift?

Each of these messages alone would be a headache, but now they've all come together.

The officer glanced subconsciously at the alchemy vehicle at the front of the convoy, his gaze lingering on Zhang Che for a moment.

He's actually a mid-level transcendent?!

The officer nodded somewhat awkwardly to Zhang Che, and Zhang Che nodded slightly in response.

The officer then quickly arranged for people to collect the bodies of the five fallen men, and then specially called a military vehicle to take Tiehao and the others, along with the spoils of war, to report the situation to their superiors.

As for Zhang Che's spoils of war, after Tie Hao explained the situation to the officer, the latter said he would send someone to deliver them to Zhang Che.

"Okay, I'll be going now." Zhang Che waved to Ji Xingchuan. "Brother-in-law, remember to come home as soon as you're done. I'm worried about you."

Ji Xingchuan nodded repeatedly upon hearing this: "I understand. I'll go back as soon as I'm done here."

"Also," Zhang Che glanced at Tie Hao and the others, and added, "you guys should also take good care of your injuries. Contact me if anything comes up."

Tiehao, Huode, and the others nodded, flattered, while simultaneously having the same thought flash through their minds—

Old Ji is really lucky!

……

Although Hezhou City is not as bustling as Binhai City during the day, there are still quite a few people on the streets.

As the alchemy cart drove down the street, it naturally became the focus of everyone's attention: both the metallic sheen of its body and the faintly visible runes on it told passersby that this thing was definitely not cheap.

"Look, look! What kind of car is that? It looks amazing!"

"I've never seen this kind of car before. It must have been custom-made by an alchemist, right?"

"Is that a demi-human sitting up there? She's so beautiful..."

Passersby stopped to watch, and several children chased the car for quite a distance before being pulled back by the ears by adults.

After all, both alchemy vehicles and demi-humans are rare finds here.

Although Hezhou City is not small, ordinary people may only see alchemical tools of this level a few times in their entire lives.

As for the subhumans, they are even rarer. Apart from the provincial capital, most people in the Southeast Province have only seen them on television and the internet. This is the first time they have seen them in real life.

So much so that Zhang Che, who was driving the car, and the Dilu beast on the front of the car became mere background figures.

However, Zhang Che didn't care about these stares. He calmly drove his car, leading the SUVs following behind, and drove through the streets according to the route he remembered, finally stopping in front of Wang Xinran's house.

Chapter 169 Awakening of Special Traits

Two city guards followed him all the way here. With their enthusiastic help, all the extraordinary materials in the off-road vehicle were moved into the yard, saving Zhang Che a lot of trouble.