The Card Apprentice

Chen Mu has returned!

As if the news had wings, it spread across the Heavenly Federation in a flash. Forces who were eyeing the Eastern Wei transit window reacted quickly, immediately calling back their troops at the border. The lead personnel from each group even sent words welcoming Chen Mu back.

Where had Chen Mu been all these years?

This had become the hottest topic on all platforms, but Eastern Wei had not published an official statement.

Ever since his first public appearance, Chen Mu had always been an exceptionally mysterious character. He was involved in countless mysteries, and people could never stop talking about him.

On the same day, the public’s confidence in Eastern Wei instantly rose to its highest in recent years. Every domain in Eastern Wei spontaneously held an event to celebrate Chen Mu’s arrival. Chen Mu was the founder of Eastern Wei. His return meant a stronger ruler for Eastern Wei and was advantageous towards the stability of the academy. Since they were now a part of Eastern Wei, they naturally wished for Eastern Wei to grow stronger. The return of Chen Mu solved their biggest concern.

Chen Mu opened his eyes. The morning sunlight shone through the window, making the room warm and cozy.

Such a peaceful morning!

After experiencing the bloody massacre in the Hundred Depths, he came to cherish warm and serene mornings like these even more. He lay in bed, silently enjoying the serenity and warmth. Just then, a knock on the door was heard.

He opened the door. Sue Lochiro was standing outside, holding a set of breakfast. “Time to eat,” she said with a soft voice and a gentle smile.

Something soft stirred Chen Mu’s heart as he saw the smile on her face. He could not help staring at Sue Lochiro in her plain pink dress. She was wearing minimal accessories, her lengthy hair was tied up loosely, and her smile was mesmerizing.

Sue Lochiro instinctively noticed Chen Mu’s stare and started blushing furiously.

Suddenly aware of his rude behavior, Chen Mu became mortified and quickly received breakfast from Sue Lochiro. “Thank you!”

Chen Mu sat on the table and started eating his breakfast earnestly. Treating food with great earnestness was a habit formed during his time in the Hundred Depths.

Whenever he looked up, he would see Sue Lochiro sitting across from him, holding her chin, wearing a contented smile, and looking at him quietly. An inexplicable feeling of warmth rose inside his heart. Chen Mu suddenly felt that things were pretty great.

In the warm and contented atmosphere, Chen Mu finished his breakfast, and Sue Lochiro cleared the table. Both of them then got busy.

Chen Mu had been gone for many years, and he had to readjust to many things. Meanwhile, Sue Lochiro was also the head of a unit, and her routine tasks were similarly involved.

“Boss, I am planning to retire.” Bogner was gradually recovering his energy. Apart from occasionally showing a sense of desolation, he was slowly reverting to his old self.

Bogner personally buried the king. It was only then that Chen Mu found out that the enigmatic man was Bogner’s old boss: The Black King, the chief of the Black Hibiscus Card Artisan Team! That man was likewise a mysterious figure.

Chen Mu lamented that life was especially unfair to Bogner.

The king’s death was a massive blow to Bogner. He was already overwhelmed with longing for his earlier days back in the Black Hibiscus Card Artisan Team, so his world almost collapsed when he had to watch his previous boss die in front of him. After realizing that Tang Hanpei was King’s brother, Bogner recalled that King had once requested the black notebook from him, and putting the pieces together, finally understood why Tang Hanpei’s style was so familiar.

Bogner did not resent Wei-ah. Anybody else would have done the same. A veteran like him understood that everyone held their own gratitude and grudges. However, he also did not want to fight with Tang Hanpei, his previous boss’s brother, and one of his disciples. Hence, he started to think of retirement.

Chen Mu did not know how to console Bogner. Bogner had always valued his relationships, or he would not have helped Chen Mu this much over the years without resentment. Chen Mu could not bear to let him battle Tang Hanpei.

“Don’t overthink, rest well. All these years, you haven’t been resting well.” Even though he knew letting Bogner retire would be a huge loss for the Eastern Wei, somehow, at that moment, Chen Mu was able to let go, and suddenly the world seemed brighter.

Chen Mu’s agreement put Bogner at ease, and both of them started to chat.

“Hm, after retiring, what do you want to do?”

“I’ve not thought about that yet. I just wanted to stop fighting and killing. Ha, it seems like I’ve truly become old! Plant flowers? Gardening?”

“Shall I give you a manor as a gift?”

“Haha, come on, even though you are the boss, you are also an old-school bumpkin. I don’t think you even know what a manor looks like!”

“Ehem…”

After leaving Bogner, rather than feeling heavy-hearted, Chen Mu felt relieved. If there was such a thing as karma, while we could not change that, we could at least change our mentality regarding it. All of a sudden, he thought that Bogner’s way of thinking was pretty good.

Chen Mu and Wei-ah were both sitting on the platform. Inside the training grounds, Li Duhong and Little Bu Mo were training hard and sweating heavily.

“How do you feel?” Chen Mu asked Wei-ah carefully. Many people lose their minds after getting their revenge. Wei-ah never showed his feelings to others, making it extremely hard for people to guess his thoughts.

Wei-ah replied without an expression. “Great.”

“Really? Great?” Chen Mu got closer, asking him even more carefully.

Wei-ah turned his head to look at Chen Mu without uttering a single word. His gaze made Chen Mu feel a little nervous.

“Let’s do paired exercises.”

Wei-ah jumped into the training grounds right after saying those words.

Chen Mu frowned before following, but he internally sighed in relief. He did not want to lose Wei-ah, who had supported him unconditionally from the start. He was like his teacher and his brother.

It was only suffering of the flesh…

The bitter smile on his face became even more forced.

* * *

In Copper’s house, Lan Feng was tidying up the mess, shaking her head at the two people who got drunk.

To get drunk by drinking low-alcoholic Sapphire Cloud Running Water, their alcohol tolerance must be…

“Block…blockhead, ha, still remember the time when we used to do card play?” Copper stuttered, his tongue doubled in size, struggling to hold his bleary eyes open.

Chen Mu’s face was red, and his actions were like those of a puppet, particularly clumsy. He muttered, “Re…remember! We even…got into a fight…with other people in the academy…”

“Haha, yea… yeah!” Copper opened his bleary eyes and mumbled, “Now I don’t hate the executive director anymore…”

“Hate…” Chen Mu gazed off into space, then shook his head with charming naivety. “I don’t hate anyone…”

“Blockhead!”

“Mmm…”

“We should find…find a time and finish the card play, we only did half…”

“Okay…”

Their voices became softer. Soon, they were snoring.

* * *

A month passed peacefully. Surprisingly, Eastern Wei had not taken action. The situation in the Heavenly Federation was also unexpectedly calm. The fighting between the forces had reached its least in recent years.

“I don’t agree!” Jiang Liang’s face turned red from anger. The rest were also wearing disapproving expressions, shaking their heads simultaneously.

“This is the best way,” Chen Mu explained with a smile on his face. “The news of Bogner’s retirement has not spread, and the enemy is still in the dark. The possibility of success is very high.”

“It is too dangerous for you. With all due respect, I will not agree to your plan!” Jiang Liang shook his head decisively.

Chen Mu looked at Jiang Liang and said calmly, “Bogner has retired. You are the most skilled commander among us. Are you confident enough to compete against Tang Hanpei?”

Jiang Liang was taken aback. He had improved a lot these past few years, but he still had to admit that he was inferior compared to Tang Hanpei, the gifted one. Furthermore, since Bogner has retired, he had to safeguard the Big Crack Base.

“You are still young. You would be able to compete with him in a few years, but now, you are still not good enough.” Chen Mu sighed. “The problem is, we do not have time. Once the news of Bogner’s retirement goes out, we will be in a terrible situation.”

Everybody was silent. They knew very well that what Chen Mu said was right.

The one that made all the forces afraid of Eastern Wei was Bogner, the strongest commander! Be it Tang Hanpei who was born in the air, or Su Heiming who was cunning and cold-blooded, or Rossini the greatest commander in the Federation, all of them were afraid of this ‘wolf’.

Once the word of Bogner’s retirement got out, Eastern Wei would be put in a dangerous position. Chen Mu has also documented success in battles, but he was still far from Bogner’s ability.

“You don’t have to worry so much about the Desert Camp. The power of the Desert Camp will weaken with time. Their power makeup is too complicated. If they fail to expand, there will surely be an internal fight. The other families have more than enough on their plates, protecting themselves. They will not have the power to expand in the short term. Tang Hanpei is our biggest threat.”

“He might not agree,” said Copper. He disagreed with Chen Mu’s plan.

“He will surely agree!” Chen Mu smiled, but his tone was resolute.

During this period, the Heavenly Federation could be said to be raging like a storm, and there was a constant stream of news. All of these were related to one person, Eastern Wei’s Chen Mu.

His sudden return a month ago was a shock to the Federation. Today, the Eastern Wei held a press conference, and he tossed a major bomb in front of numerous media.

A letter of challenge!

A letter of challenge for Tang Hanpei!

Chen Mu has challenged Tang Hanpei!

This news spread across the whole Heavenly Federation in just 30 minutes! Such incredible efficiency has never before been observed in the Federation.

The contents of the letter of challenge were not complicated. Chen Mu invited Tang Hanpei to a battle. Both of them will fight the final battle half a year later at a location chosen by Tang Hanpei.

In today’s Federation where multiple heroes have risen, the strongest between the two largest forces were the traditionally dominant Comprehensive Federation Academy, and the sudden uprising Eastern Wei. The two of them have a similar status in their respective groups. Tang Hanpei was the ruler and spiritual leader of the Comprehensive Federation Academy. Likewise, Chen Mu founded Eastern Wei and was no doubt the spiritual leader of this academy.

Now, these two were going to have an ultimate battle!

There was much that was interesting about this.

Chen Mu was Caesar’s disciple. Everybody knew the grudge between Caesar and the Comprehensive Federation Academy. In addition, the results of the battle would directly influence the future direction of the Heavenly Federation! Tang Hanpei once personally challenged the governor of the Central Repository of the Classics and made vigorous efforts to turn the tide, thereby reaching the pinnacle of his prestige and obtaining the title of the Heavenly Federation’s greatest card artisan.

Most people’s initial reaction was that Chen Mu or Eastern Wei had gone mad, or that it was fake news.

However, just an hour later, the Comprehensive Federation Academy in the Heavenly Federation held a press conference, and Tang Hanpei personally accepted the letter of challenge!

Half a year later, in the ruins of Pomelo!