Chapter 120: 120 spiritual power enhanced _1
Back at the Card Association, Tang Qian came to see her first thing in the morning. Upon seeing her, she could hardly believe it, "Really?"
Wen Jiang said with amusement, "Is this something so unbelievable?"
"But..." Tang Qian was left speechless.
Just yesterday, she was a professional player for the Card Association, so how did she suddenly gain the title of the Jimo Family’s heir?
Putting two and two together, considering Mount Flower was originally a Jimo Family property, could it be that Wen Jiang’s arrival here was also related to this matter?
She guessed something but didn’t state it outright, only saying with a complex expression, "I thought you would come with some bodyguards."
Instead of returning to the Card Association so quietly.
Nobility heirs are far too precious. They are typically surrounded by a group of Spirit Card Master bodyguards to protect them in the shadows when they step out. Even the Song Family twins, who aren’t heirs, still have a group of bodyguards when they come to the Card Association for training every day.
"I won’t run into trouble in Imperial City."
Wen Jiang spoke lightly, telling the truth. In Imperial City, unless an S Rank Spirit Card Master went mad enough to attack her, no one could be her opponent.
Without using cards, and apart from modern weapons, nothing could come close to her.
She had no need for the superfluous presence of bodyguards.
Seeing Wen Jiang didn’t elaborate, Tang Qian understood that the affairs of the Nobility were troublesome and complex. However, Wen Jiang hadn’t changed her attitude or become arrogant despite revealing her new identity, which relieved Tang Qian. She then naturally shifted the topic. "The preliminary competition in November is starting soon. A total of thirty associations from the Empire have signed up. Before that, we need to go through a series of interviews. It’s a mandatory activity for the Card Association and can’t be refused like your usual training."
It was like how a star must make obligatory appearances.
Fortunately, Wen Jiang didn’t fuss much over these matters, simply saying, "Okay, just let me know when there’s an activity."
Tang Qian had another question for her. "There are still about twenty days left until the preliminaries, and the interviews haven’t started yet. I just wanted to ask if you can finish making your last card. There’s a new rule this year: all card decks must be reported before the official start of the league. Submitting a new card halfway through will no longer be allowed."
The rule wasn’t exactly unexpected.
The World League had mentioned such a thing before. The sudden emergence of new cards during a competition could catch everyone off guard and make participants feel it was unfair.
Even though card competitions were inherently unequal, relying solely on individual strength, new cards were indeed the biggest variable.
Of course, Yunxia, being in a weaker position with its cards not having much advantage, didn’t propose this rule. It was the Sanctuary Empire that got played by the Frost Moon Empire this way last year. This wasn’t the first time, so presumably, they had pressured the World Card Association to change the rules for next year’s competition.
Only twenty-five fixed cards could be used in the official competition.
All empires and national associations must report their prepared twenty-five cards before the competition starts. All subsequent matches must then feature cards chosen only from these twenty-five.
The absolute deadline for this was after the end of the preliminaries.
But with the competition starting soon, and despite there being break times, the tournament’s schedule was quite tight. Tang Qian worried Wen Jiang wouldn’t have time to make her card, and they would have to rearrange a card slot if it wasn’t ready.
Of course, she wasn’t too insistent. "The Four Heavenly Kings card is powerful. I’ve had them copy it for training these past few days, and they basically dominated every game. However, if it appears too frequently in matches, it might get banned every time. Having more cards gives a stronger advantage, of course, but if it really can’t be done, it’s fine."
Wen Jiang heard this and nodded. "Then I will create this card."
She hadn’t heard of this rule before; it must have been a recent development.
Once a card deck is confirmed, any new cards that appear can only be used in the next competition.
Tang Qian was quite surprised. "It seems your inspiration is truly inexhaustible. I wonder how you create such outstanding cards."
And she intuitively felt that the cards Wen Jiang created all had a grand background.
In the background story of the Four Heavenly Kings card, a figure named Jiang Ziya appeared, wielding the legendary Investiture of the Gods. This was enough to suggest that perhaps not only the Four Heavenly Kings were enshrined by it. Were there other heavenly kings?
This was even more astonishing.
Wen Jiang just chuckled lightly without replying.
After continuing to train with Chen Runyu and the others at the Card Association for several days, Wen Jiang also noticed some of their problems. The Four Heavenly Kings card was effective, but it put a lot of pressure on the user. Quickly switching between its various abilities was demanding. Although their reaction speed was sufficient, they always felt a sense of fatigue when using it.
Wen Jiang speculated that for her, A-Level cards were verging on the category of common SSR cards. This could be a heavy burden for an A-Rank Spirit Card Master.
But for the moment, the problems didn’t seem too significant.
And Wen Jiang discovered another key point.
After observing how Chen Runyu and the others used the cards, Shi Qi casually mentioned during mealtime, "I’m still not very adept at using the Four Heavenly Kings card, but when I go back to controlling those common A-Rank Cards, it’s noticeably more effortless. Just yesterday, I even tried to control two A-Rank Cards at the same time. Although controlling both simultaneously takes a lot out of me, I’m now able to manage one card while also barely controlling another."
Although Shi Qi was talented, previously when he controlled two A-Rank Cards, he could barely make them perform basic actions, unlike now when he had extra capacity.
"Do you feel the same way?" Dou Yuan’s eyes widened in surprise. He seemed unexpectedly eager as he suddenly said mysteriously, "Let me show you something even more amazing."
With that, he stood there. The others hadn’t noticed anything yet, but Wen Jiang felt a surge of power emanate from him. However, no card appeared. The next second, Dou Yuan transformed into a B-Rank Card Spirit, an Orange Cat, right on the spot.
Chen Runyu jumped up and exclaimed, "Holy shit! You can perform Spirit Fusion directly without summoning a card?"
Spirit Fusion was a concept barely attainable even for S Rank Spirit Card Masters. Just like Hua Zhuo had previously suppressed her from a distance without using a card, Spirit Card Masters at that level could directly harness a card’s power without the step of summoning Card Spirits.
But for an A-Rank Spirit Card Master to do so was almost unheard of.
After a while, Dou Yuan easily transformed back. "That’s right," he said. "I just discovered I could do it. Transforming into a B-Rank Card Spirit is no big deal."
The others were all greatly shocked. Controlling multiple cards was one thing, but the concept of Spirit Fusion was something else entirely.
Yet Wen Jiang thought of an issue she had somewhat overlooked until now.
In this world, a Spirit Card Master’s ability to control cards was known as spiritual power, but she could sense Spiritual Energy from nature itself.
In essence, cultivation should be the same, meaning one’s own combat strength should also be formidable. Just like Wen Jiang, who could now easily use Spells without relying on a card.