After returning to his individual s.p.a.ce, Tang Muzhou retrieved 15 Agility-Enhancing Cards from the display case to feed [Lin Daiyu], upgrading its Agility from 85 to 100. Then he handed the card to Xie Mingzhe and said, “Every cards' attributes in this game can be enhanced in the later stages, but these white enhancing cards are limited in number, so they are very expensive. For example, this Agility-Enhancing Card costs 5,000 gold coins.”

That is to say, he had just spent tens of thousands of gold coins in order to upgrade [Lin Daiyu]. This man, who liked doing experiments, was really generous with money.

Xie Mingzhe took [Lin Daiyu], which had once again been upgraded, and followed behind him again in a complicated mood.

They went to Phoenix galaxy's Arena .

As soon as the countdown ended, Xie Mingzhe immediately summoned [Lin Daiyu] and released the skill – [Daiyu Burying the Flowers]. Daiyu reached out her hand, throwing the petals. When the petals touched Tuberose's hologram, the latter was instkilled!

[Lin Daiyu]'s skill was really powerful, as long as it took effect.

Xie Mingzhe, who had only visited the Arena for the first time today, was greatly shocked by the scene before him.

The next moment, Tang Muzhou took out a tree card – [Banyan Tree]. It had thick branches, looking extraordinarily powerful, while the [Tuberose] next to it looked so exquisite.

“Try again.” Tang Muzhou said.

“Continue to use [Lin Daiyu] to instakill [Tuberose]?”

“Yes, give it a try.”

Counting down 5 seconds, and the game began.

Like before, Xie Mingzhe summoned [Lin Daiyu] at the moment when the countdown became 0. He quickly activated the skill [Daiyu Burying the Flowers] to target [Tuberose], but at that same moment, he saw the [Banyan Tree] suddenly stretching out its branches and leaves. The green leaves, wide enough to cover the sky, formed a huge light green protective s.h.i.+eld. Under the bright light, the thin s.h.i.+eld was like a big green bubble, looking very beautiful.

[Tuberose] was safe and sound in the s.h.i.+eld.

Xie Mingzhe quickly realized, “Did [Banyan Tree]'s protective skill stop the IDE?”

“Yes.” Seeing that Xie Mingzhe understood so quickly, Tang Muzhou appreciated him even more, and said in a more gentle tone, “[G.o.d Tree Blessing] – protects friendly cards under its cover from all enemy control and damage, lasts 5 seconds. [Banyan Tree]'s Agility is also 100, so it can release its skill at the same time as [Lin Daiyu], but in the Arena, card skills are released in special sequence based on the card's attribute data.”

Tang Muzhou opened the battle panel, showing the log, and explained, “Look, defense and healing skills are prioritized, then control and IDE skills, and finally attack skills. [Daiyu Burying the Flowers] was blocked by [Banyan Tree]'s protective defense skill, so it didn't work.”

“Besides, in the second battle, I deliberately summoned [Tuberose] 0.3 seconds slower than you, so that you instkilled it. Otherwise, even if [Lin Daiyu] has 100 Agility, you won't necessarily instkill my flower card because I have a stronger sense of prediction than you so I can take action faster. In matches, speed and timing are very important. You don't know how to play in the Arena, so you can't master the right rhythm.”

“…” Xie Mingzhe really learned something this time. It turned out that he didn't have much knowledge of the Arena rules. Although he had countless great ideas in his mind to make cards, his understanding of this card game was nothing but the tip of the iceberg.

“IDE cards are not invincible. Masters will not give you the opportunity to release IDE skills simply by predicting your timing. An IDE card is not used directly; you should use it as a tactical card to instkill your opponent's card at the key moment when the latter's skills are in CD※.” Tang Muzhou explained gently, “I told you about this because I want you to understand that a real card designer not only has novel ideas, but also must clearly know all the rules in the Arena, so that the cards you make will be more useful.”

“I see. Thank you!” Xie Mingzhe said sincerely.

Tang Muzhou had taken him to the Arena and personally taught him a lot today. Although Xie Mingzhe indeed had numerous creative ideas, the cards he had made might not work in a compet.i.tion. In order to make excellent cards, he had to become a master card player first.

Only those who understood how to play could make excellent cards!

“Let's go back and talk about it.” Tang Muzhou brought Xie Mingzhe back to Qianlin Restaurant for further discussion.

“Is a card's Agility similar to the character's speed of using a skill in an online game? In other words, if a card has 100 Agility, it will use its skill in an instant, conversely, it will take a long time to use its skill. Am I right?“ Xie Mingzhe asked.

“Yes.” Tang Muzhou said with a smile, “An excellent IDE card must use its skill in an instant, so its initial Agility has to reach 30, and when it levels up to a seven-star card, it will have 100 Agility. Otherwise, the card won't be effective against your opponent's card. The reason why clubs scramble to gain your IDE cards is that there are few such cards in the game. Later on, when your cards start to circulate the market in larger quant.i.ties, their prices will fall sharply because they are just tactical cards. You can learn more card-creation skills by making IDE cards and try to get Agility to the top by distributing the card's basic data properly. After that, you can try to make a complete set of playing cards.”

“OK.” Xie Mingzhe nodded seriously.

The guru's guidance changed his understanding of the value of cards completely.

He used to think that excellent cards were those having high HP, Attack and strong Defense, however he now understood that Agility and Additional Skill were the only two attributes in a function card like [Lin Daiyu] that he needed to focus on.

Likewise, control cards also needed to raise their Agility to the maximum, which would enable them to control other cards first and defeat them quickly. If a player wanted to win the game through a protracted fight or a counterattack, they had to MAX out the card's HP. Attack cards had to MAX their Attack, but it wasn't always necessary for their other attributes to be high because there would usually be defense cards protecting them in the game. As the tanks, defense cards had to have high HP.

An excellent set of cards needed to balance every aspect of data and would include a variety of control cards, defense cards, healing cards, attack cards, as well as a few special cards like function cards and tactical cards.

An IDE card was just an 'unexpected' tactical card in the Arena.

Xie Mingzhe still had a long way to go before establis.h.i.+ng a complete set of cards, so he must keep learning.

Xie Mingzhe was grateful to the gurus he had met these last few days for their kind help. Legend Nie and Legend Lan had made no bones about the role that an IDE card played in the game, otherwise he wouldn't have realized his talent and potential in such a short time. Today, this guru, whose ID was made up of numbers, had personally taken him to the Arena where he was told how important Agility was and the idea of establis.h.i.+ng a card set.

Xie Mingzhe was so excited that he couldn't wait to go back to his individual s.p.a.ce and make more cards.

Seeing that Uncle Chubby was considering something with his head bowed, Tang Muzhou couldn't help asking, “What about recognizing me as your s.h.i.+fu? We've talked a lot and I've explained how important Agility was to you in the Arena. So am I qualified to be your s.h.i.+fu?”

Xie Mingzhe recovered his poise, scratching his head and saying, “You're kidding me, Legend Tang. I'm not qualified to be your apprentice.”

Tang Muzhou, “….”

He had the terrible feeling of being exposed while facing Xie Mingzhe.

He asked Xie Mingzhe after being silent for a while, “How do you know I am Legend Tang?”

Xie Mingzhe replied, “Your ordinary look, your ID, your vine and green plant decorations in the dining room, your proficiency with plant cards and your strong ability to compete with others in the Arena. All of these reminded me of someone, Tang Muzhou, the most powerful Wood card player.”

Xie Mingzhe had met Nie Yuandao and Shan Lan's smurf accounts, whose IDs were made up of numbers, several days ago. Today he met this rich player whose ID was 7456789. He had had doubts about the real ident.i.ty of this man at that moment. Was this a smurf account of a guru?

Translator's Note:

Cooldown, usually shortened as “CD”, is the term used to describe the period in which skills and items cannot be used after prior usage.

After a period of contact with the man, Xie Mingzhe was able to identify him – his [Tuberose], proficiency in plant cards, ID, strong ability to compete with others, continuous focus on him and buying all the [Lin Daiyu] cards indicated that he must be Tang Muzhou.

Xie Mingzhe was frank about it, but unexpectedly, the man admitted that he was Legend Tang honestly.

Tang Muzhou said with a smile, “Now that you know who I am, why do you refuse to be my apprentice? No matter what you want to be, a professional designer or a professional game player, with my guidance your life will become much easier than any others'.”

Xie Mingzhe replied bluntly, “Thank you for your kindness. Actually, I've seen Nie Yuandao, a guru in the Adjudication Club.”

Hearing that, Tang Muzhou asked with his eyes squinted, “Lao Nie has approached you? Why?”

Xie Mingzhe said, “He invited me to join his club, but I refused. If I recognize you as my s.h.i.+fu, I will have to join the Fenghua Club, right? My refusal of your invitation doesn't mean that you are unqualified to be my s.h.i.+fu, on the contrary, it will be an honor to be instructed in person by a guru like you. I just don't want to join any clubs now, so I can't be your apprentice for the time being.”

Tang Muzhou, “…”

Xie Mingzhe continued, “I'm sorry, Legend Tang. Thanks again for your invitation. You've taught me a lot today. I'll repay you for your kindness, but I prefer a carefree life rather than a life restricted by the rules of a club.”

Tang Muzhou stared at Uncle Chubby with his eyes still squinted, “Restrictions? Are you worrying about your copyright?”

Xie Mingzhe nodded, saying, “Legend Tang, you probably think that I have failed to appreciate your kindness. However, in order to avoid my card copyrights being owned by others, I won't join any clubs.”

Uncle Chubby was indeed chubby in the game, although he was friendly and his smile was warm, Tang Muzhou sensed his “fearless” spirit of young people.

Xie Mingzhe was indeed a visionary. Anyone who was gifted in card creation would be unwilling to join a club and transfer his/her copyrights to the club. Tang Muzhou had signed a supplemental agreement with the Fenghua Club, which said Tang Muzhou owned the copyright of all original cards having the LOGO “Tang”. So did Lao Nie, Fang Yu and Ling Jingtang. They could take their cards away when they left their clubs.

Their agreements were signed before the fifth season.

However, in the fifth season, something unpleasant happened. Its cause was a copyright dispute.

A guru filed a lawsuit against his club, which took a long time and provoked much discussion among players. Because of this, there were fewer and fewer contracts to allow the card creator to own his/her original cards' copyright. Few players had signed such a contract with their clubs since the seventh season. Every club had strict control over copyright for fear that such a dispute might reoccur.

Players that rose in recent years had signed a contract to transfer their copyrights to their clubs. Among these players, few could create original cards, so most of them used cards made by their club's card designers and didn't care about the card copyright clause.

Obviously, Uncle Chubby cared deeply about this.

He was wise. In the long run, he would earn more money as a freelance designer than as a card designer of a club because he could make various cards with his exceptional imagination if he was not bound by the rules.

Instead of joining a powerful club, Xie Mingzhe decided to make cards himself. Was he that brave?

Seeing that Uncle Chubby was firm, Tang Muzhou said, “Since you don't want a s.h.i.+fu, let's become friends first. If you have any questions about card creation, you can send a private message to me and I will reply as soon as possible.”

Tang Muzhou wasn't arrogant at all and he personally taught Xie Mingzhe a lot. Such a “guru” friend was just what Xie Mingzhe wanted. He nodded at once, saying, “No problem. Let's be friends if Legend Tang is willing to make friends with a novice.”

“You'll be an experienced player soon. By the way, do you not read emails regularly? Please check your emails when you are free.” Tang Muzhou stood up while smiling, saying, “I have some other things to do in the club, I'll go offline.”

“Okay, bye.”

The man disappeared directly without hesitation.

A person suddenly disappeared from his view – Xie Mingzhe hadn't expected that. He was stunned at first, and then he went downstairs, planning to take a stroll through this entertainment planet.

When he arrived at the door, he found it closed, with a “CLOSED” sign hanging on it.

No wonder he had talked to Legend Tang for so long but no one had bothered them.

The waiter at the door said with a smile, “Uncle Chubby, Boss said that you can come to our restaurant at any time in the future. Our restaurant only accepts special guests, and you have been added to the list of VIPs who can freely come and go.”

Xie Mingzhe felt flattered, “Thank you.”

After walking out of the restaurant, he looked back at the Qianlin Restaurant. The word “Qianlin” was surrounded by green vines and small light blue flowers. Such a fresh design was quite distinctive.

Since the waiter called Tang Muzhou “Boss”, this restaurant was obviously rented and operated by Tang Muzhou. Would anyone spend money on eating in a game? Players could make money by renting a shop to sell something, but wouldn't he lose money by renting a restaurant?

Xie Mingzhe walked to a street of bars feeling confused.

The street of bars was very lively in the evening; some singers were singing in the bars. With jazz and drink all around, Xie Mingzhe found it hard to connect these scenes with a game world.

Xie Mingzhe sighed and sat down casually on the street, and started to ponder.

[Lin Daiyu] was bought by Legend Tang for 660,000 gold, which had created quite a stir in the auction. At that time, many people in the Auction House were doing live broadcasts. He guessed that the card creator using the LOGO “月半” had become something of a celebrity. The other players' impressions of him also included being the creator of IDE cards.

As the Chinese old saying goes, there should be a specific field that one specializes in. He'd be better off relying on the IDE cards to achieve a strong position in the card creation field first. When he becomes really famous, he would then make other types of cards.

He had created two IDE cards, [Wu Song] and [Lin Daiyu].

The copyright for [Wu Song] was sold to Legend Nie, so he could not continue to make this card, but he could make countless [Lin Daiyu]. However, if his card store only sold [Lin Daiyu], that would make people feel that he had exhausted his talent and could only make this one card.

He might as well make more IDE cards and sell them together with [Lin Daiyu].

When it comes to [Lin Daiyu], he naturally thought of another main female character in Dream of the Red Chamber: Xue Baochai.

Since he had made [Lin Daiyu], why didn't he make [Xue Baochai]?

Xie Mingzhe got a sudden idea – Baochai Chasing b.u.t.terflies; Daiyu Burying the Flowers!

These two plots happened in the same chapter in Dream of the Red Chamber. Xue Baochai went to Xiaoxiang Garden to find Lin Daiyu, just to see Jia Baoyu entering the garden. She was afraid to cause a misunderstanding※, so she left silently. When seeing b.u.t.terflies on her way back, she took out a fan and held it open in front of her to chase b.u.t.terflies.

Baochai chased b.u.t.terflies first, and then Daiyu buried flowers, which depicted their different personalities.

Chasing b.u.t.terflies, of course, meant that b.u.t.terflies could be killed. But Xie Mingzhe didn't know how many b.u.t.terfly cards there were in this game.

Xie Mingzhe rubbed his chin, poring over how to make [Xue Baochai].

At the same time, the headquarters of the Capital of Darkness Club.

Ye Zhu laughed loudly, “Hahaha, someone bought that card for 660,000? Lol, Tang Muzhou proposed the IDE skill in the last season and now someone made an IDE flower card against him, hahaha! Legend Tang must be very depressed now!”

Seeing the boy holding his stomach and laughing out of breath, Pei Jingshan patted his shoulder, “Xiao Zhu, don't gloat. If the card maker '月半' makes an IDE card against your b.u.t.terfly cards, you won't laugh then.”

Ye Zhu tried hard to stop smiling and waved his hand, saying, “Don't worry, Brother Pei! All my b.u.t.terfly cards have high Agility, so they won't be hit by an IDE easily!” Then he sneezed successively. He rubbed his nose so hard that it turned red.

What's going on? Why did he feel that someone was cursing him?

Translator's Note:

(Xue Baochai) “If I go in now after him, he is sure to feel embarra.s.sed and she is sure to start imagining things. It would be better to go back without seeing her.”

——an excerpt from Dream of the Red Chamber