Chapter 132: The Card

Yen Luo was not opposed to teaming up. Take the previous world, for example—being alone among an African indigenous tribe meant even sleeping was uneasy; constant vigilance was necessary. One or two days were bearable, but over time, even the strongest body would falter.

Having spent a considerable time in the ancient Greek world, Wang Dongwei and Zhu Xiaoyong—two kind-hearted, lawful allies—were trustworthy companions.

Level 1 and Level 2 Modulators could also form teams, but the world they entered would be Level 2.

“I’ve already received advance notification from the system due to my actions in the last world. Tomorrow, I’ll be entering a special slaughter world alone,” Li Changxin said.

“A slaughter world?” Chu Qingfeng was somewhat surprised. Seeing that Li Changxin seemed reluctant to elaborate, he refrained from asking further. To be honest, it was better if this “adorable” girl did not join—they were intimidating. Otherwise, a temporary team of three—himself, Yen Luo, and Li Changxin—all Level 2, would be hard to refuse.

“It looks like I’ll team up with Zhu Xiaoyong and Takanashi Yeli to enter a Level 1 inner world,” Wang Dongwei sighed; he was only Level 1.

“You seem to have learned basic swordsmanship? The Mozi Sword Technique—are you interested?” Chu Qingfeng placed a bamboo scroll before the underdog.

“Ah? I’m interested, but…” Wang Dongwei had currently activated genes for internal energy, basic agility, and basic swordsmanship. His swordplay was light and nimble; at least in the early stages, he was committed to the path of swordsmanship. He couldn’t afford commercial district sword techniques, so he had to find real-life manuals.

Yen Luo had given him the contact of the old Sword Saint Yu, but Wang Dongwei was too self-conscious to seek instruction before mastering the basics, fearing being looked down upon.

As for online materials, who could tell if they were genuine or fake? Whether Tai Chi, Bagua boxing, or sword techniques—all martial arts had gradually shifted toward “performance arts,” filled with flashy, showy routines.

In the surface world, traditional martial arts had declined.

The Mozi Sword Technique was archaic in form, paired with a mental cultivation method, and perfectly suited to his gentle, somewhat indecisive personality. Naturally, he wanted it, but such a manual was far from cheap.

Swordsmanship was no mere staff fighting practiced by the unskilled.

“You can’t afford it now, and I’m not giving it to you for free. Consider it a debt of 50,000 points! Of course, you don’t have to repay immediately; early on, focus on enhancing your strength. After one or two worlds, when you’re stronger, find a professional inner world to grind and maybe earn enough in one go.”

“Also, once you’ve learned the Mozi Sword Technique, take good care of Zhu Xiaoyong and Yeli when you team up next world.”

Chu Qingfeng, the psychologist, instantly saw Wang Dongwei’s fondness for the Mozi Sword Technique. He handed over the manual and earned the gratitude of a shut-in and a chuunibyou girl—of course, he showed off a little in front of Yen Luo.

The feast lasted from 8 p.m. until 11 p.m., costing over ten thousand in total. For a renowned psychologist, such an amount was mere pocket change.

In the next world, Li Changxin would enter the slaughter world alone; Wang Dongwei would lead two “kids”—or rather, burdensome companions—Zhu Xiaoyong and Takanashi Yeli, into a Level 1 inner world; Chu Qingfeng, Yen Luo, and Xu Han would team up to enter a Level 2 world.

They teleported into the Dream Space, each paying 1,000 points to form a temporary team.

As for naming the team, Chu Qingfeng had wanted something flashy, but Yen Luo remarked, “It’s just a temporary team. It won’t be next round, so why bother naming it?” Not only did they fail to name it, but Chu Qingfeng was left speechless.

After everyone dispersed, Yen Luo teleported back to the surface world and first visited old Ma Jianmin’s house, then rode the well-fed horse back.

This time, he planned to bring a mount along.

Lying in bed at night for a while, he found himself unable to sleep after overeating during the day. Thinking it over, Yen Luo teleported back into the Dream Space.

He still had over 60,000 bio-energy points remaining—enough to cover penalties for failing forced mission worlds and to reserve for healing severe injuries upon return. A few thousand to ten thousand points should suffice.

He intended to look for unarmed combat techniques.

After browsing for a while along the street, he encountered the “Sword Saint,” Old Master Yu.

“Kid, you’ve gone from Level 1 to Level 2 in a short time, not bad at all! And you even earned a mid-boss title? You’ve got potential,” the aged Sword Saint said. Old age often bred loneliness, so he liked to visit crowded places. Seeing Yen Luo surprised him.

He chuckled, “You boy, I gave you my contact info, but you haven’t come to find me yet; I’ve been waiting 'til my hair’s gone white.”

Yen Luo didn’t argue. Having lost his emotions, his nature was to avoid bothering others, and preferred others not to disturb him either. Since he had no intention of learning traditional martial arts from Old Master Yu, he hadn’t approached him.

However, fate had now brought them together.

They chatted for a while.

“What? You’ve mastered both the bright and dark energies, and next you want to touch upon the transforming energy? A martial arts prodigy, truly a prodigy!” Old Master Yu exclaimed, unaware that Yen Luo was cheating with the inheritance of the Ten Directions Staff Technique and Guan Yu’s heroic mask.

He sighed deeply, lamenting that such a talent was unwilling to learn traditional martial arts.

“There are too many martial arts routines nowadays, and I want to buy manuals that combine energy with combat. Of course, if there’s something like Hong Kong comics’ Tai Chi, Bagua, or Buddha’s Palm, I’d be very interested,” Yen Luo explained.

“You’ve got some high demands, boy!” Old Master Yu shook his head at the new generation.

“Forced worlds, be careful your first time. Dream Space, managed by administrators, is more humane than those main god or nightmare spaces in novels. Usually, there won’t be mandatory all-out team battles.”

“But… Modulators have their own factions, and in inner worlds, they have their own interests. The biggest issue is different countries… Like in recent games, the Red Army and White Army—teams from different countries often clash, leading to bloody battles, even fights to the death!”

The old man revealed this insider information to Yen Luo.

“For example, our Chinese teams encountering Japanese pirates in inner worlds—wouldn’t they fight to the death?”

“Even Europeans, part of the EU, like French and German teams, often go all out against each other in inner worlds. When entering, be wary of Modulators from other countries! As the saying goes: ‘Those who are not of my clan have different hearts.’”

“Best spend your points now on increasing your strength. Otherwise, if you encounter a team battle in a forced world—especially involving Modulators from different countries—many teams entering large worlds together might die!”

Taking the old man’s advice, Yen Luo readily agreed. After all, with the “Bloodline Material: Spider” in hand, he had enough saved wealth.

He spent quite some time browsing the commercial street again and found a very good item priced at 80,000 points. After bargaining, he bought it for 60,000.

It was neither a weapon nor armor, but a tool:

A card.

A D-rank sealing card.

A blank card.

In inner worlds, after defeating a boss or an NPC, one could seal them inside the card, creating a “Summoning Card”! Defeat plus seal—of course, sealing an overwhelmingly strong boss, like the Black Reaper, might fail, but success was possible.

At 60,000 points, it was a bargain. Even the cheapest enchanted weapons cost 10,000 to 20,000 points. If he managed to seal a boss of the Black Reaper’s caliber, the profit would be enormous! Even if afraid of failure, sealing just one NPC like Jessica, Catherine, or Brenda from the last world would provide a formidable ally.

In large-scale team battles, at crucial moments, pulling out a card to summon a powerful helper could be invaluable.

Of course, first one must select a target, defeat it, then seal it.