282 Fate is a Two-Edged Sword (1/2)
The power of the Federation Comprehensive Academy had suffered a destructive blow from Qiao Yuan and the rest, and there wasn't much left. But because of the shrinking of their defensive zone, they had actually gotten stronger among the local powers.
Still, their situation hadn't actually gotten any better, and a lot of the aces had been wiped out among the card artisan reinforcements that had come later.
Within the current defensive area, only Zu Ning remained among those who could be called aces. But compared to the Central Repository of the Classics, Zu Ning wasn't any more than the level of Mi Xiaqing. If he were to encounter Qiao Yuan, he would die miserably.
Zu Ning was feeling terrible. He had never thought he would fall into such a predicament someday.
The sudden move of the Central Repository of the Classics had been quite awesome, with Qiao Yuan leading the troops himself through the jungle on a circuitous route into Pomelo. It abruptly changed the disposition of the powers within the city. Lao Hao, who was the one behind it all and managing the big picture from afar, had played a beautiful hand.
They had descended into a passive position precisely because of that move. But what calmed him slightly was that there would be a batch of card artisan reinforcements arriving the next day. What made him more excited was that the one leading the troops was the great Tang Hanpei!
There were none in the federation who didn't know or weren't enlightened enough to speak of the great Tang Hanpei. He had established the record for the fastest accomplishment of fourth-level perception at 17 years, 4 months and 15 days of age. Up until that time, no one had ever broken through that. His other record was spoken of with the same relish. From when he embarked on his career right up until then, he had never lost. That made him one of the most top-notch card artisans in the federation.
He had even more prestige than President Pavchek in the Federation Comprehensive Academy. Tang Hanpei had been his idol since before Zu Ning had entered the Federation Comprehensive Academy. To be able to fight alongside his idol was more exciting than anything.
So long as he got through that evening, he wouldn't have to worry about what was to come. Although Qiao Yuan was powerful, he thought he was a little beneath Tang Hanpei.
He wasn't concerned about anything happening that evening. Although the Central Repository of the Classics had taken the lead, they would be exhausted in the long run. They would also need to recuperate from that day's vicious battle.
”It's right here.” Chen Mu and Wei-ah were quietly hiding in the shadows. In front of them was the final encampment of the Federation Comprehensive Academy.
The Federation Comprehensive Academy had lost a string of battles during that vicious daytime melee, and they had to retreat to their station. They hadn't been able to do any repairs or rearrangements to the encampment during the flurry.
The two of them arrived at the edge of the encampment, never having run into any patrolling card artisans. That surprised Chen Mu. Apart from some weak fluctuations showing up in the air and some people standing guard, they hadn't seen any other defenses.
The reconnaissance waves emitted by scanning cards were no issue for Chen Mu and Wei-ah. The two of them silently traced the Federation Comprehensive Academy encampment, the entire process as easy as wandering in their own courtyard. Chen Mu was really surprised, never having thought the encampment of the great Federation Comprehensive Academy would be so lax.
Was it still one of the Big Six?
He thought of the Central Repository of the Classics encampment, which was not so heavily guarded either. Could that be the style of the Big Six?
He felt that if Bogner had seen such defenses, he would certainly not have been able to restrain his yelling. If those who had set up those defenses were under him, the only aftermath for them would be dismissal.
But Zu Ning couldn't be blamed for that. Having been soundly defeated during the day, he retreated right when his martial ardor had chilled. That was along with having determined the Central Repository of the Classics wasn't likely to mount any attack just then. So, he could permit those under him to rest.
That had provided Chen Mu with his opportunity.
The scope of the encampment was small, and the two of them quickly found the building where Zu Ning was resting. Compared to the first time Chen Mu had seen Zu Ning so spirited, his face was now full of exhaustion and his eyes devoid of luster.
Zu Ning was idle and full of helplessness. His original plan to take advantage of Jie Yanbai's injuries to suddenly make his move against the Central Island Firm shouldn't have had any issues. But he hadn't considered the situation would develop in unexpected ways. He would have to take most of the responsibility for the situation getting to where it then was. He knew it would have a huge influence on his future in the academy. His future…
A warning suddenly arose in him. Just as he was raising his head, his neck went cold before he could react.
A very fine wavy blade was poised on his neck, and the coolness exuding from that person made his scalp go numb.
Such a fast move! Zu Ning was shocked speechless, and his spirits abruptly plummeted. Could it be someone from the Central Repository of the Classics?
He wasn't just horrified by his situation; he was also horrified by the attacker's skill.
Why hadn't he sensed it? There had been no energy fluctuations from any of the moves his adversary had made. And, he had brought out the fine wavy blade just as his right hand was about to touch his own throat.
What card artisan could accomplish that? He had never heard of such a thing! His adversary looked like an ace from some cardless sect combined with a card artisan. Moreover, his adversary could control a wavy blade in his hand, and he never would have sensed such fine energy fluctuations if he hadn't been so close.
An ace!
Such ability to control perception was simply dumbfounding. Still, how could he have evaded his own perception? Why hadn't he perceived a thing?
The physical skills of the cardless sects and the refinement of their perceptual control, along with their evasion of perceptual scanning, all combined to create a freak…
That impacted Zu Ning as nothing before ever had.
What kind of a person was Zu Ning? He certainly wasn't an ordinary card artisan. He was a well-known figure who had received the highest-level systematic card artisan education from the Federation Comprehensive Academy. He had a far deeper understanding than ordinary card artisans did regarding the optimization of the card artisan system.
He knew clearly what kind of power such a freak represented.
It wasn't unreasonable to call him a freak. The development of the cardless sects had declined to almost nothing, and there were very few of them, with aces being still scarcer. The cardless sects emphasized physical training, and their skills all involved the core of the body.
It was a system that had nothing to do with being a card artisan, and there was no intersection between them. But one thing was certain—the system was huge and meticulous, and it required a large expenditure of time to advance one's professional training.
What about the perceptual control? If one were to say Zu Ning were a complete stranger to the cardless sects yet familiar with the card artisan system, no one would call that into question. The high-grade card artisans from the Big Six would always be familiar with the card artisan system.
He well knew if he wanted to achieve such a level of perceptual control, he would require a lot of hard, long-term training. Card artisans who had gotten to such a level would seldom be seen, even in the Federation Comprehensive Academy.
Everyone knew the training of perception was the hardest skill to accomplish, whether in strength or acuity. But such high ability with perceptual control would sometimes appear in someone who wasn't a pure card artisan.
Zu Ning found it incredible. Did this guy ever sleep? Did he make two days out of one? Is he that gifted?
That was all impossible! He had seen plenty of geniuses. To tell the truth, geniuses were often seen in such a place as the Federation Comprehensive Academy. Geniuses could do things that would be difficult for ordinary people to do, but they had no way to go against the laws of nature. Even Tang Hanpei couldn't get to such a place.
Could the Central Repository of the Classics have cultivated such a freak?
Thinking about that, Zu Ning was taken aback. He couldn't help his reckless thoughts, and he wondered if the attacker was a secret weapon of the Central Repository of the Classics.
Still, apart from the slight shift in Zu Ning's expression, he had immediately returned to normal in Chen Mu's eyes. He was an ace of the Big Six with naturally excellent psychological qualities, so Chen Mu wasn't surprised by that.
Wei-ah was outside standing guard. Chen Mu had originally been concerned about running into powerful obstacles, so he had brought Wei-ah along to back him up. He hadn't thought he would only be used to stand guard. That had left Chen Mu rather speechless.
”Who are you, esteemed sir?” Zu Ning asked coldly, as though he weren't feeling the wavy blade in Chen Mu's hand. His neck was stiff, however, and he didn't dare make a move.
Chen Mu didn't waste any words with him, removing the apparatus from Zu Ning's wrist at the first opportunity. Without his apparatus, Zu Ning's threat would be reduced to its lowest.
Zu Ning obediently let Chen Mu remove his apparatus. He was a smart man who knew when to resist and when to cooperate. By the time Chen Mu had removed his apparatus from his wrist, he mocked himself. ”You can relax now, sir. What brings you for so late a visit?”
By then, he could clearly see what kind of a person had snuck up on him. He wore a strange mask with seven drops of brightly colored blood from the forehead and brow over the nose to the chin, dividing the entire mask in two and giving off a strange, demonic feeling. Zu Ning was desperately searching his brain about where such a weird mask might have come from. It was hard to tell.
”Hand over the gold-mottled liquid-soft fungus.” That deep, hoarse voice wasn't brooking any hesitation.
Zu Ning looked taken aback, not knowing whether he should laugh or cry. From that phrase, he'd determined this adversary wasn't from the Central Repository of the Classics. If they had come looking for him, they certainly wouldn't have come for any gold-mottled liquid-soft fungus. Reasonably speaking, he should be happy, but he couldn't be.
That was because he didn't have the gold-mottled liquid-soft fungus on hand.
He could only harden himself. ”I am very sorry; I don't have it on hand.” Seeing that his adversary was about to make a move, he rushed to say, ”If you need some, sir, I would really like to find a way.”
Chen Mu stared at Zu Ning, his gaze as sharp as a sword.
Under that sharp gaze, Zu Ning smiled bitterly to say, ”If I had some, I would certainly present it to you with both hands. Although those above me did bring up the gold-mottled liquid-soft fungus, it is a lot of bother to transport that stuff. Their idea was that if Ren Wenzhou wanted to join the academy, they would send it when the time came. So, I don't have any. That is something the media mistakenly spread.”