Chapter 126: 0126 Card Key Fragment_1
News of Wen Jiang being the heir to the Jimo Family spread like wildfire throughout Mount Flower. It was believed that it would soon reach the other major Card Associations as well. Before this, no one dared to gossip online, so the discussion about Wen Jiang remained quite heated. However, everyone also noticed that, true to her word, the reporter she had previously scolded did not publish a sensational article attacking Wen Jiang after returning. Instead, he adhered to regulations, issuing only a routine news report for the day without adding any speculation. The media within the Empire still possessed considerable freedom; their reluctance to write about this hinted at the immense pressure they faced.
"I never expected that she wouldn’t publicly declare her identity, yet wouldn’t mind revealing information about herself."
Hua Zhuo, who was managing affairs in Mount Flower, smiled wryly and shook her head. "She’s not like her father, nor her mother." Both her parents possessed humble yet proud natures; they wouldn’t excessively show off, and their conduct was never so high-profile.
Hua Zhuo looked at the middle-aged man before her, his age clearly showing, and spoke with a hint of emotion, "I also didn’t expect we’d find that child so quickly. Thank you for making this trip."
The man before her was Zheng Xun, Jimo Xiao’s most trusted aide. After Jimo Xiao’s sudden death, he had left Yunxia and gone abroad. No one knew his purpose. However, as soon as Hua Zhuo informed the Jimo Family that the heir had been found, he hurried back.
Zheng Xun nodded, his lips pursed, and said gravely, "Madam, regarding our suspicions, should we inform the Young Lady yet?"
Hua Zhuo shook her head, her brow furrowed with worry. "Not now. She has just returned to the Jimo Family, and there’s a pile of issues to deal with. Telling her our suspicions now wouldn’t be beneficial and might even put her in danger."
Few knew that ever since Jimo Xiao had died in battle, they had suspected his death was orchestrated. It’s not that easy for a general to fall in battle on the frontier. The circumstances at the time strongly suggested Jimo Xiao was ambushed, unable to even summon his Card Spirit before being assassinated by someone close to him. They simply never found conclusive evidence. However, the Empire was also covertly monitoring this matter, and Zheng Xun’s trip abroad had been for this very reason. The mystery surrounding Jimo Xiao’s death required investigation, but the living heir was now more important.
Zheng Xun nodded. He had yet to meet Wen Jiang and was now even more curious about Hua Zhuo’s impression of this heir. "What are your thoughts on her?"
Hua Zhuo considered for a moment, then paused thoughtfully before saying, "Mysterious, unfathomable."
As for Wen Jiang’s secrets, she didn’t plan to reveal them to anyone.
***
With the change in her status, the world around Wen Jiang transformed. Now, whenever she passed by the Card Association, everyone, regardless of who they were, would greet Wen Jiang cordially. If Wen Jiang was in a good mood, she would respond; if her mood was average, she’d act listless. Even if her current temperament was arrogant and she ignored people, some would still attribute it to the rightful haughtiness of the Nobility.
Although the online public opinion was tumultuous, it didn’t affect Wen Jiang and her team’s training. At this critical juncture, the World Tournament officially began. The Tournament could be considered the most important event of the year in this world, drawing nearly universal attention. Cards had become a symbol of national power. Sanctuary and Frost Moon consistently dominated the top three, leaving Yunxia’s perennial third-place position somewhat awkward.
Domestic selections for participation quotas began in November, with Card Association battles scheduled every two days. Eventually, they would be matched with Card Associations from other countries to compete for ten qualifying spots in the Dongzhou region. The S Rank events were undoubtedly the most anticipated.
During this period, Wen Jiang divided her time between training and slacking off, living quite comfortably. The funds from the sale of Mount Flower’s Cards had been transferred into her personal account. Coupled with the subsequent collaboration with the nation, she had become a bona fide wealthy woman. Unfortunately, the System didn’t require her to earn money; emotional Points were still quite difficult to accumulate. If she could use money to buy Points, she was certain she could spend enough to hit the System’s cap.
So far, she had only completed three Cards for her task requirements. The few Cards she had given to Mount Flower, including Mo Liqing and Su Daji, indeed did not count as part of a publicly revealed deck.
She wondered if she could later ask Mount Flower to register them officially but keep their details confidential.
A-Level competitions had specific requirements for the venue. Consequently, a huge natural island in Zhongzhou, outside the Empire, had been converted into a special ’Card City.’ Only Spirit Card Masters were allowed entry, and the annual competitions were held there. Besides the competitions, it provided daily entertainment. Of course, these were still the domestic preliminary competitions, so it wasn’t time to go to Card City yet.
Mount Flower’s first match was quickly assigned; they were to face a small Card Association. With over a hundred Card Associations in the country, their quality varied greatly. The Card Association Mount Flower was up against was so weak they didn’t even require Wen Jiang to make a move. She chose a Support Card on the field and could simply stand by and watch the show. Chen Runyu and the others were enough to overwhelm their opponents, making it a completely one-sided domination.
The first match was merely a warm-up. Chen Runyu and the others were still quite excited, but Wen Jiang showed little emotion. She even had Zero Egg search for videos of other matches for her to watch. Aside from Yunxia, intense competitions were also underway within Sanctuary and the Frost Moon Empire.
However, after this match ended, something unexpected happened to Wen Jiang. After their victory in the first match was officially announced, Wen Jiang once again heard the System’s cool and indifferent notification.
’Ding! Congratulations to the Host for unlocking the main storyline task of the Card world.’
’Please lead your teammates to achieve a top-ten ranking in the A-Level Team World Competition. Reward: 10 SSR Card Key Fragments.’
’Achieve top five in the World Competition. Reward: 20 Card Key Fragments.’
’Achieve third in the World Competition. Reward: 30 Card Key Fragments; second place: 50; first place: 100!’
’Collect 1,000 Key Fragments to obtain the qualification to open the High Dimensional Space.’
’Note: Key Fragments can also be randomly obtained through A-Rank Card draws.’
Wen Jiang raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of surprise on her face.
Zero Egg, even more bewildered than she was, exclaimed, "I don’t even know what this is!!!"
Wen Jiang said flatly, "What use are you then?"
Zero Egg mumbled, "...There was already one Card task; why is there another main Card storyline?"
Wen Jiang quickly understood that the two tasks held different meanings. This task seemed more like the main Card storyline task carried by the Heaven’s Mandate System, which had automatically activated now that Wen Jiang had reached the threshold. The one she was currently undertaking, however, seemed more like an extremely challenging Card quest. After all, reproducing the Cards of the Yunxia civilization was much harder than taking first place.
But undeniably, the rewards for both tasks were tempting; this qualification to open a High Dimensional Space genuinely attracted her.
Could it be that the world of this System was also awaiting her arrival?
She curved her lips into a faint smile. "Zero Egg, your world is truly interesting."
Zero Egg whined, "I think it’s terribly dull! I was created knowing nothing at all, BOO HOO HOO!"