Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

In Qing Ming City.

 Early morning.

 Lu Ming woke up.

 Xiaobai had already prepared breakfast.

 “Master, it's time to eat~”

 Xiaobai waved her hands.

 “Coming.”

 Lu Ming washed up and then went to the table.

 At this moment, it was coincidentally the time for the morning news.

 “News reporting… At midnight today, a spirit body appeared again at the college at the crossroads…

 An innocent student who was trapped in the college was successfully rescued by the police.

 According to the Firefly team, in order to avoid being captured, the six-star female snake spirit body forcibly broke through to seven-star and eventually died from an accident.

 According to sources, genius cultivator, Zhou Yang, was also hunting the spirit body there…

 To make up for the damage caused to the school, Zhou Yang expressed that he will fully compensate the re-refurbishment costs of the technical college at the crossroads…

 The matter regarding the female snake spirit body has come to a close…

 At the college at the crossroad, many four-star and five-star cultivators have died. Qing Ming City has even been nicknamed ‘Tombstone of Cultivators' because of this…

 Why do spirit bodies appear that frequently there?

 No one knows at the moment.”

 “Huh?”

 Xiaobai widened her eyes. “Master, this was…”

 Lu Ming smiled but said nothing.

 “Wow.”

 Stars twinkled in Xiaobai's eyes.

 She knew it!

 Each time master was out, it was because these evil spirit bodies appeared… He had to destroy them and protect Qing Ming City in secret.

 Oo…

 Goldfish, python… All of them were the same.

 “Xiao-Xiaobai.”

 Xiaobai looked at the Original Card at the corner. “Don't go astray, okay!”

 Whoos.h.!.+

 Whoos.h.!.+

 Xiao-Xiaobai was glowing.

 It was unlike those cards like Xiao-Xiaojian. Why would it go astray?!

 “Good.”

 Xiaobai was very satisfied.

 Xiao-Xiaojian was wearing a ‘What the c.r.a.p' expression. “Did I offend you?!”

 Lu Ming finished watching the news seriously.

 It seemed that…

 This matter had really come to a close.

 Zhou Yang had been taken away and the only one who discovered the problem was the Firefly team. After getting a generous sum from them, they had also compromised…

 In addition, the Lu Ming ‘victim' duo had also received a sum of hush money.

At this moment.

 The matter of the ancient tombstone had also come to a close.

 In the eyes of everyone, it was the six-star spirit body that stirred up trouble…

 In the eyes of the Zhou Yang and the Firefly team, Zhou Yang had attained the legacy and harmed the cultivators. In the end, he had no choice but to use such means to appease the furor of all parties and manage this in a low-key manner.

 As for Lu Ming and Jiang Feng?

 Oh.

 These two were ‘victims' that were accidentally implicated…

 In that case…

 This matter was considered to have come to an end completely!

 The ten million yuan from the sale of the legacy had also appeared in their bank account via the exchange platform. This sum of money had become Lu Ming and Jiang Feng's funds…

 It was equally split as previously agreed.

 After a long while…

 Lu Ming had completed the transfer of money.

 Buzz—

 Buzz—

 His wristband vibrated hard.

 “Princ.i.p.al?”

 Lu Ming was hesitant.

 “Your calculation of the funds is incorrect…”

 Jiang Feng's voice was filled with doubts.

 Ten million yuan!

 After a successful transaction, shouldn't it be five million yuan each?!

 Even if it was tax deductible, it would be reduced when he took out cash. Why did the amount reduce by so much now?!

 “I didn't.”

 Lu Ming was dumbstruck. “I am correct in my calculations!”

 “If you're correct, shouldn't it be five million yuan?”

 Jiang Feng's expression was unfriendly.

 Do you think that I can't even differentiate whole numbers or count zeros?

 “Of course!”

 Lu Ming rolled his eyes. “What about reimburs.e.m.e.nts for the teaching materials purchased earlier…”

 “Huh?”

 Jiang Feng was puzzled. “T-teaching materials?”

 “Yes.”

 Lu Ming sighed before saying. “The teaching materials purchased during this period… The price of every book was noted down clearly. There isn't any mistake…”

 “Impossible!”

 Jiang Feng sneered coldly. “Who's the one managing the accounts? Get him to come out. I'll beat him to death!”

 “Xiaobai…” Lu Ming told the truth.

 Shus.h.!.+

 The other side of the phone suddenly quietened down.

 Jiang Feng fell silent for a long time.

 “Are you still going to beat her?” Lu Ming asked.

 Jiang Feng gave a long sigh. “Forget it. I can't beat her in a fight.”

 Lu Ming even mentioned Xiaobai. What else could he do?!

 Hehe.

 He said Xiaobai was the one who did the accounts…

 Certainly, this little b.a.s.t.a.r.d must have fooled her!

 He could not deny that this Lu Ming guy was really getting more and more stingy…

 “After all, I am going to break through to four-star.”

 Lu Ming felt very helpless too.

 If he were to break through via special means, he could only force himself to break through! Otherwise, he could only acc.u.mulate energy gradually over time! Another alternative was to forcibly break through with a ma.s.sive amount of energy!

 This kind of method… needed a lot of money!

 “Humph!”

 Jiang Feng merely sneered coldly.

 Weren't you also this stingy when you were not striving for a breakthrough?!

 Bam!

 Jiang Feng hung up the phone.

 Sigh.

 Lu Ming sighed.

 Old Jiang had changed. He had become more utilitarian… The Old Jiang in the past was much better. He was much more accommodating, unlike now. Tsk tsk tsk… He flew into a rage just for the sake of a mere few million yuan… 

Human nature…

 “Master, what happened?”

 Xiaobai heard her master sighing.

 “Don't worry.”

 Lu Ming shook his head slightly. “I just feel that a lot of people have changed.”

 “I won't change.”

 Xiaobai patted her chest and said seriously, “I will always stay by master's side!”

 Lu Ming took a glance at Xiaobai's tiny frame and took a deep breath. “It's also quite good for some parts to change slightly too.”

 “Huh?”

 Xiaobai was confused.

 W-why was there a need to change again?

 After breakfast.

 Lu Ming was preparing to examine the gains from the ancient tomb.

 Suddenly…

 Someone paid them a visit.

 “Master, s-senior sister.”

 Li Haoran stepped inside.

 “Why are you here?”

 Lu Ming was curious.

 Li Haoran had suddenly disappeared during the past few days. He thought that Li Haoran had returned to Chong Yang City.

 “I'm preparing to go back,” Li Haoran said respectfully.

 Since the card spirit was already born, he did not intend to remain there.

 Qing Ming City was too chaotic and there were too many powerful figures. Yesterday, four-star and five-star cultivators had been roaming the world. He was not as powerful as his master and it was too dangerous to remain here!

 “Okay.”

 Lu Ming nodded slightly. “Be careful on the road.”

 “Thank you, master.”

 Li Haoran prepared to leave.

 However…

 Before he left.

 He accidentally glanced at the corner of the shop and was instantly stunned. Over there, two Original Cards were squatting at the corner and constantly glowing and glowing…

 The most shocking thing was that…

 The surfaces of the two Original Cards were dyed with colors!!!!

 This was…

 Li Haoran's heart jumped a beat.

 Could it be a new ability that master had researched and created?!

 “Master,” Li Haoran said respectfully, “the colors on your Original Card…”

 Lu Ming took a glance and was instantly embarra.s.sed.

 Oh.

 The fringe…

 He broke out in a sweat!

 His dignified Original Card had a pink fringe. It was certainly quite uncanny. He pondered deeply for a moment and could only tell the truth. “It's a side effect due to tempering.”

 Li Haoran felt somewhat disappointed.

 “Master… You still refuse to trust me, right?

 I know I joined not long ago but please believe me. My sincerity is not lesser than that of my senior sister and second senior brother. I will definitely win your trust and strive to pick up this color-dying ability as soon as possible,” Li Haoran said earnestly.

 Lu Ming's jaw dropped. He was so stunned that he was at a loss for words.

 Color-dying ability…

 To h.e.l.l with it!

 When was there a color-dying ability?!

 He really did not have that!

 “This is really a side effect.”

 Lu Ming felt very helpless.

 “I understand, master,” Li Haoran said respectfully.

 Lu Ming lamented listlessly and pointed at Xiaobai, “If you don't believe me, ask her.”

 Eh?

 Li Haoran looked at Xiaobai.

 Was it true?

 He knew that his senior sister would not lie.

 Although senior sister was his senior, she was not very big — referring to her age here.

 “You want to learn this?”

 Xiaobai looked at him curiously.

 “Yes.”

Li Haoran looked serious.

 “This is a result of blood tempering the Original Card.”

 Xiaobai looked at him quizzically.

 What was there to learn?

 This was a failed product…

 “??! Blood? Tempering?!”

 Li Haoran was trembling all over.

 That was right.

 According to rumors, the Original Card would become stronger after immersing in liquids that contained energy. Would the effect be better if he specially tempered certain parts of the Original Card?

 If it were to temper it under the guidance of the card spirit?

 The effect would be much better!

 This was the reason for the color dye.

 Since this was the case…

 Why was it that only certain parts were dyed?

 Oo…

 Perhaps…

 Perhaps for the ease of holding with one's hands!

 After all, the Original Card was not a Sword Embryo that had a handle. The Original Card had sharp edges all over. If the entire card was tempered, it was easy to hurt yourself. If only one side of it was tempered…

 That side would certainly be very sharp!

 The other side could also be more attack-resistant!

 It could advance to attack and also retreat to defend.

 This was one of the real reasons that master tempered only a part of it!

 However…

 Although he had already understood this, senior sister was the one who imparted this to him…

 Why?

 “Master.”

 Li Haoran looked at Lu Ming with some antic.i.p.ation. “Can I learn this?”

 Lu Ming was speechless.

 What did this child invent again? However, judging from the situation, if he did not agree, perhaps he would knock his head against the wall and die. What to do?

 “Up to you.”

 Lu Ming waved his hands.

 “Thank you, master.”

 Li Haoran was grateful.

 True enough.

 Master was still concerned about him.

 He certainly wanted to impart this to him but he was too much of a novice. If he were to impart it to him directly, Senior Brother Xiaoyan might be unhappy. Therefore, he got senior sister to impart this to him secretly…

 That was right.

 Although the trio were master and disciples, it was possible to harbor ill feelings too.

Master was indeed thorough in his consideration!

 Hence…

 Li Haoran returned to the hotel on that day.

 “Let's go! Let's go!”

 The teenager had already packed his luggage.

 “Don't hurry.”

 Li Haoran pondered deeply for a moment. “I have been enlightened again. Let me learn something first before we leave.”

 “Oh?”

 The teenager was shocked and curious. “What did you learn?”

 “The ability of a Sword Card Master!”

 Li Haoran was very proud of it.

 Hence…

 He poured over a large number of materials and read about “The Complete Guide to the Energy in Blood”, “Five Steps to Mastering Sword Embryo Tempering”, “Discussion on the Attack and Defense of the Vocation Core” and dozens of various books. He read every book and familiarized himself with them. Combined with his master's teachings, he finally compiled a set of new materials.

 It was very late at night.

 Li Haoran penned again. The topic was “The Sword Card Master's Vocational Characteristics—Few thoughts on Dyeing the Original Card”.

 In the essay, he described a few important points. The attacking characteristic of the top layer of the Original Card, the stability characteristic of the middle layer of the Original Card and the defending characteristic of the bottom layer of the Original Card.

 The top layer involved attacking and advancing, like which type of blood and energy were the most suitable…

The middle layer involved stability and solidifying lines…

The bottom later involved defense and to become as st.u.r.dy and strong as a monolith…

 Wait a minute.

 After a long while…

 He published it in the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation and a message appeared instantly. “It looks very good. I will give it a try. Regards, Xiaoyan.”

 Ss——

 Li Haoran's heart trembled.

 True enough.

 Senior brother Xiaoyan was not aware of this!

 In that case, until now, master had only imparted this to senior sister? True enough, his prior request had been out of bounds and there was no sense of propriety!

 Master must have considered this. That was why he did not impart this to him directly!

 However… 

Fortunately…

 He learned it through senior sister!

 He hoped that his essay could provide second senior brother with some experience.

 After a long while…

 Li Haoran finished penning his thoughts.

 He had finished writing the guidelines of the earlier stages. The next step would be to dye the Original Card.

 Well…

 Blood…

 Would his own blood be useful?

 He had no idea.

 He should be using blood that contained powerful energy but he did not possess such things. Therefore, he could only give it a try…

 Blood…

 He bit his fingers and blood dripped.

 Buzz—

 There were traces of blood.

 They landed on the top of the Original Card.

 Nothing happened.

 He tried to rotate the card in the same way when tempering it but nothing happened.

 “Alright.”

 Li Haoran gave up.

 It seemed that he really had to look for blood that was more powerful.

 However…

 Just at this moment, countless lights suddenly appeared on the Original Card. There was an outburst of lights from Xiao-Xiaoshé's body and they engulfed the Original Card!

“It's the card spirit!”

 Li Haoran's heart trembled.

 Card spirit…

 It actually appeared at this moment!

 Due to insufficient energy or an inability to temper, the card spirit was the one who eventually tempered the Original Card. If that was the case…

 Buzz—

 Buzz—

 The glow receded.

 The blood engulfing the top layer of the Original Card turned deeper and deeper in color. Eventually, there was a steak of radiance and it became a familiar… green!

 The dyeing succeeded!

 “It turned green! Turned green!”

 Li Haoran was very happy.

 Hahahaha!

 Senior sister was right, indeed!

 Blood… Tempering!

 It turned out that it involved the card spirit!

 In that case, his thoughts on dyeing the Original Card were lacking in certain aspects. Li Haoran decided to research the dyeing ability!

 It just so happened that…

 Since master did not have time to publish them, he would help him tidy up these guidelines.

Hence…

 Li Haoran was immersed in his research again.

 At the corner.

 The teenager in black was squatting and speaking to his vocation core seriously. “Dagger, dagger, you have already grown up. You are a mature dagger. You have to learn to cultivate by yourself…”

 At this very moment…

 Twilight was nearing.

 Lu Ming called out to Xiaobai. “Come, Xiaobai.”

 “Huh?”

 Xiaobai walked towards him curiously.

 “Wait a minute.”

 Lu Ming suddenly thought of something. He looked around secretly in the shop. At the sight of the dwindling crowd, he then carefully closed the doors of the shop.

 Bam!

 “Huh?”

 Xiaobai's heart suddenly jumped. W-what were you doing?

 “M-master.”

 Xiaobai was somewhat anxious.

 “Come.

 Come here.”

 Lu Ming walked to the corner of the shop, his back facing her.

 “O-okay.”

 Xiaobai walked to him anxiously, her heart thumping wildly.

 How annoying.

 W-what was master trying to do?

 “Come nearer,” Lu Ming said mysteriously. “Master will show you something good.”

 Eh?

 Xiaobai's hand trembled.

 Closing the doors…

 In the corner…

 Mathematics cla.s.s, Culture education, Biology cla.s.s..

 Eh?

 Could it be… could it be…

 Xiaobai gingerly tiptoed to him.

 “Look here.”

 Lu Ming brought Xiaobai to the corner, where the Original Cards were glowing in the air. “Look…”

Afterward…

 Bam!

 Lu Ming stepped onto his.

 Cras.h.!.+

 Xiao-Xiaojian was almost trampled to death. It very much wanted to give up. But considering that Lu Ming specially wanted to show off to Xiaobai, he could only try his best to persist.

 Buzz—

 Buzz—

 Lu Ming was suspended in the air and looking super das.h.i.+ng.

 “Hahahaha, did you see that? Master is also flying…”

 Lu Ming was showing off.

 “T-that's all?”

 Xiaobai was surprised.

 “And?”

 Lu Ming looked at her curiously. At this moment, according to her usual style, shouldn't she say ‘Master is so das.h.i.+ng. Master is so formidable' and so on?

 “N-nothing.”

 Xiaobai's face was blus.h.i.+ng.

 How annoying.

 Master is getting more and more naughty…

 After he finished his words… She actually trotted back to her room.

 “Huh?”

 Lu Ming looked bewildered.

 What was wrong with this child today?

 This was strange.

 Lu Ming pondered deeply for a moment.

Could it be that I'm das.h.i.+ng to the extent of making people speechless?