Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

Qing Ming City.

 In the shop.

 Lu Ming was in the midst of creating cards seriously.

 Shus.h.!.+

 Shus.h.!.+

 There was the faint sound of his pen.

 Stealing Card (Four-star Cloud Shuttle Card): Move the opponent's vocation core to the person who cast the card. The effects are dependent on the opponent's strength.

 Was the Stealing Card powerful?

 Very powerful.

 It could defeat even five-star Energy Warriors, was it not powerful?

 However…

 This was merely in situations where no one was targeting him.

 The advantage of the Stealing Card was that other people were unaware of his strength and thus would not know how to guard themselves against him. Therefore, it seemed very valiant!

 As soon as this card was exposed completely…

 Lu Ming was certain.

 A ma.s.sive number of researchers would begin to study this card, how to crack it and the abilities to counter it. This card would become useless then.

 When that time came, the so-called Stealing Card would become a joke!

 Therefore…

 He could not hand over this card!

 However, he would not be able to fool people with other cards. Cultivators were not fools. Therefore, there was only one solution to this…

Optimization!

 Optimize the Stealing Card!

 He could modify this card to become a more suitable card!

 Indeed…

 The Stealing Card itself was a four-star limit card that had already reached its limit. Even lightning integration could not improve it. However, Lu Ming could optimize it!

 This was because his optimization was — negative optimization!

That was right.

 Reverse optimization!

 Lu Ming learned it from Tim Cook and Jensen Huang in his past life. What to do if the new Apple iphone was not selling? What to do if the new video card was not selling?

A wave of reverse optimization would resolve the matter!

 Was the Stealing Card's scope of coverage too wide? Would all the vocations be impacted?

 This would not do! This would not do!

 He had to deoptimize it!

 Hence…

 Lu Ming deoptimized the ‘Wide scope of coverage bug'.

 The Stealing Card was in actual fact a four-star Cloud Shuttle Card. He had already researched it thoroughly and the various major functions and modules that could be slightly modified.

 Especially—

 This kind of basic restricted lines.

 It was too easy!

 As for the lines…

 Lu Ming looked at the back of the card.

 They were four-star limit. Although they were already very complex, they might not be considered difficult for those veterans in the Card Creators a.s.sociation!

 They might even be able to tell them at one glance…

 Well…

 He would make it more complicated?

 Hence…

 Lu Ming deoptimized the ‘Easy to create Stealing Card bug'.

 This was because he added a ma.s.sive number of ‘useless', ‘negative', and ‘repeated' lines to the empty s.p.a.ces between the originally exquisite lines.

 In the end, the card creation difficulty level increased tremendously!

 A card that could initially be created in an hour required a few days to do so now.

 Well…

 The energy requirement was too low?

 One could cast it with merely ten thousand points of four-star energy?

 Hence…

 Lu Ming deoptimized the ‘Low energy requirement of the Stealing Card bug'. The initial requirement of ten thousand energy points had become thirty thousand points now!

 It was super complicated!

 Well…

 At the sight of the outcome, Lu Ming was very satisfied.

 Card Name: Stealing Card

 Card Effect: Move the vocation core of Energy Warriors to the person who cast the card. The effects are dependent on the opponent's strength.

 Card Rating: Four-star.

 Energy Requirement: Thirty thousand points (After double lamination, it can become ten thousand points.)

 “Done.”

 Lu Ming felt very satisfied.

 Look, such optimization techniques could already surpa.s.s Bluehole [1. Bluehole, Inc. is a South Korean video game developer based in the Bundang-gu district of Seongnam.]

 Who would dare to not concede defeat?

 After a long time…

 Lu Ming finished completing his card.

 A few brand new ‘Stealing Cards' were born.

 He got up and looked outside the window. He could seemingly sense gushes of powerful and mysterious aura surging towards Qing Ming City and gradually circling the area.

 This was a hunch.

 It was an oppressive aura that radiated from countless powerful figures.

 He knew very well.

 Very soon…

 People from various major a.s.sociations and powerful forces would come here to investigate, study or plunder this card…

 Qing Ming City might evolve into a battleground!

 “Xiaobai.”

 Lu Ming suddenly turned around.

 “Yes.”

 Xiaobai, who was in the midst of reading a book, looked at her master.

 “Do you like this place?”

 Lu Ming smiled faintly.

 “Yes.”

 Xiaobai nodded.

 She loved this place very much.

 She could create cards and cultivate. She also had her master's company and could see her father occasionally. Sometimes, she would imitate her master's habit of lying down to enjoy the sun and then turning her body around occasionally…

 It was wonderful.

 “That's good.”

 Lu Ming smiled faintly.

 At the corner, the two Original Cards were s.h.i.+ning fervently.

 And right then.

 The communication device which was vibrating violently suddenly fell silent.

 Well…

 There was no doubt.

 It must be because people knew that he was the creator of that card and were thus looking for him. However, the quant.i.ty was too large and Lu Ming did not manage to close a single sale.

 Lu Ming took a glance. The card machine had completely crashed. After he restarted it, there were already nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine messages waiting in line and he could not read all of them.

 He saw an astronomical figure for the card quant.i.ty.

 Afterward…

 The machine crashed again.

 Alright.

 Lu Ming sighed.

 It seemed the communication device could not be used for the time being. He used Xiaobai's communication device and searched for news on the web. Suddenly, he had a brilliant idea.

 At this very moment…

 On the internet.

 The news of ‘Zhang Yang's love affairs' was still popular. However, Zhang Yang's scandal was ultimately a misunderstanding from the slip of the tongue. Along the netizens using human search engines and discovering that the writers of these stories were mostly online media who were trying to gain popularity, they instantly lost their interest.

On a particular website with a name starting with ‘S', someone had already written a dozen articles on this subject…

Zhang Yang's scandal had become reliable content for this website.

 And so…

 The matter gradually died down.

 Everyone's attention returned to the death of the cultivator with humble origins and that familiar mysterious card.

 At the Energy Warriors a.s.sociation.

 “Remember! We have to control that card. We definitely can't let it go around!”

 The Card Creators a.s.sociation.

 “Remember! We have to take the card!”

 A certain mysterious force.

 “Remember! We have to cover up all traces and if necessary, kill Lu Ming!”

 A mysterious organization.

 “Remember! Protect Lu Ming at all costs!”

 Right then…

 Countless people were das.h.i.+ng towards Qing Ming City.

 There was turbulence in the air.

 However…

 When they arrived at the center of the storm, the shop in Qing Ming City's center, they were dumbfounded. This was because there was only a lonely poster pasted on the door.

 The copyright auction for the Stealing Card is about to begin. Please scan the QR code below to enter the auction program…

 Everyone was dumbstruck!

 W-was there such a thing?!

 d.a.m.n!

 Some big shots were suffering from an emotional breakdown. “I'm a dignified six-star…”

 “Shut up! one person said coldly, “Who's not a six-star here?”

 “How dare you…”

 The big shot was enraged. He glanced at him and then shut up decisively.

 Because…

 This guy was actually a peak six-star!

 Furthermore, he could sense the aura of a policeman…

 “Someone from the police is here.”

 “Sure enough, Lu Ming has made some preparations.”

 “What is that bright red spot on the door?”

 “It seems to be a live broadcast…”

 “Live broadcast?”

 “Be a little low-key.”

 The big shots were not talking anymore.

 Hence…

 A group of powerful veterans squatted abidingly in front of the doors of Lu Ming's shop, holding their communication devices and scanning the QR code on the poster…

 Dee!

 Dee!

 Sounds of scanning could be heard continuously.

 At this very moment…

 In a certain auction program, the number of users from the various forces were increasing constantly.

 “Not bad! Not bad!”

 Looking from afar, Lu Ming was very satisfied. Look, he did not even need to show his face. It was safe…

 As for the auction?

 It could be executed in the program!

 Tsk tsk…

 This was the Information Age, okay!

 As a programmer who worked like a dog, this was a piece of cake to him…

 However…

 At this moment.

 Bang!

Beams of shocking auras suddenly appeared and engulfed the entire place.

 Everyone's heart trembled.

 Seven-star…

 A seven-star actually came?

 Bang!

Another seven-star aura appeared, stunning everyone. Those cultivators with bad intentions were trembling all over and dared not move rashly.

 “Lu Ming, come here!”

 One middle-aged man spoke and glanced at Lu Ming who was hiding.

 “Y-you are…”

 Lu Ming glanced over gingerly.

 “The representative of the Card Creators a.s.sociation.”

 The person sighed. “Don't worry. With me around, no one will dare to touch you.”

 Card Creators a.s.sociation?

 Lu Ming finally felt at ease.

 “Then these people…”

 “He's the representative of the Energy Warrior a.s.sociation.”

 Someone glanced at Lu Ming with a pale face.

 “Oh.”

 Lu Ming dared not reply. He was deeply fearful that he would be beaten to death on the spot…

 “Representative from the Summoner a.s.sociation.”

 Someone nodded slightly to introduce himself.

 Lu Ming was speechless.

 Oh.

 Even the big shots from the Summoner a.s.sociation are here. Are they here to seek revenge for what happened last time?

 Lu Ming felt a little guilty.

 Afterward…

 He looked at the last one.

 “Representative from the Elementalist a.s.sociation.”

 The man smiled.

 “Huh?”

 Lu Ming was shocked. Why was the Elementalist a.s.sociation here?

 “Don't worry.”

 The representative from the Elementalist a.s.sociation smiled happily. “I'm just here to join in on the fun.”

 Join the fun…

 Lu Ming broke out in a sweat.

 Suddenly, he remembered the fight between the Energy Warrior a.s.sociation and the Elementalist a.s.sociation for the number one vocation. Having been in the second place for thousands of years, the Elementalist a.s.sociation must have been feeling sore for a long time…

 Therefore…

 This person was purely here to cause an uproar?

 Hence…

 The entire place suddenly quieted down.

 There were four terrifying representatives from the vocation a.s.sociations. When the seven-star big shots took action, no one dared to say a word.

 After a long time…

 The representative of the Energy Warrior a.s.sociation swept a cold and aloof gaze across the crowd. “All of you can get lost now.”

 “You're too much!”

 “Exactly.”

 “There are so many of us here…”

 “We also came here to buy cards in a legal manner.”

 They were instantly unhappy.

 Although you're a seven-star big shot, don't be ridiculous. If there was only one of them there, they would really leave in despair. However, they had sheer weight in numbers now.

 “Get lost!”

 The representative from the Energy Warrior a.s.sociation merely waved his hand once and a group of six-star cultivators was blasted out instantly, spewing blood from their mouths.

 “Leave or die!”

 A chilling cold voice could be heard.

 “You're too much!”

 “This is the city. You're openly going against the law!”

 “We're going to lodge a complaint against you!”

 A group of six-star cultivators shouted as they left the place.

 Lu Ming was speechless.

 h.e.l.lo! The way you all are shouting. It sounds like an empty threat?

 However…

 At the sight of them leaving, Lu Ming gaped and did not know what to say.

 c.r.a.p!

 Many gold investors are gone… 

All of them represented money…

 All of you are seven-star big shots and you certainly don't lack money, can't you fight for this honestly?

 It was true.

 He had initially wanted to take advantage of the popularity and did not intend to appear… But, the outcome? Everyone ran away out of fear. How was he going to con people… No… How was he going to sell the card?

 “Hehe.”

 The Energy Warrior Representative sneered coldly. “They are just six-star and not fit to compete with us.”

 W-was that so?

 Lu Ming was in a daze.

 Was the gap between six-star and seven-star that huge?!

 There was actually a generation gap!

 “Is it that odd?”

 The Representative from the Elementalist a.s.sociation patted his shoulder and said in a low voice, “Also, you have to remember, a seven-star representative means… Um… means…

 Well…”

 He pondered deeply for a moment, and then suddenly told Lu Ming quietly, “I'll show you something fun.”

 “Huh?”

 Lu Ming was puzzled.

 His second statement is incoherent with his first one?

 “The authorities want to buy the mysterious card this time.”

 The Elementalist representative pretended to negotiate with Lu Ming. “I'll fork out three million yuan first. Any of you can increase the bid if you want to. If not, I'll take the card away.”

 Lu Ming was speechless.

 Three million yuan…

 You're not doing justice to its popularity, okay?!

 The minimum price that he had set in the auction program was ten million yuan!

 However…

 The Elementalist representative ignored him. Instead, he looked at the Energy Warrior representative. “Brother, increase your price.”

 The Energy Warrior representative wore an ugly expression.

 “That's too much?”

 The Elementalist Representative was shocked. He said gingerly, “What about two million yuan?”

 The Energy Warrior representative's expression turned even uglier.

 “Well… One million yuan?”

 The Elementalist representative felt guilty. “Just increase it a little?”

 The Energy Warrior representative was speechless.

 Lu Ming was speechless.

 This was surprising.

 Was this a reverse auction?

 “Hahaha, sorry, I can't carry on with the act anymore.”

 The Elementalist suddenly burst out laughing.

 “Lu Ming. Did you see that?

 These people from the Energy Warrior a.s.sociation… This means that this guy is poor. If he didn't chase those people away, he wouldn't have the money to auction at all. Hahahahaha!”

 The big shot from the Elementalist a.s.sociation laughed hysterically.

 The corners of the mouth of the representative from the Card Creators a.s.sociation also curled into a slight smile.

 Energy Warriors a.s.sociation?

 Heh.

 Poor a.s.sociation.

 The face of the Energy Warrior representative was ghastly pale.

What else could he say?

 In terms of ability, they were number one or two. They were invincible!

 But in terms of wealth…

 Well…

 It was better not to elaborate further.

 Elementalists could have encryption or decryption part-time jobs…

 Not to mention Card Creators. The vocation was a representative of wealth…

 d.a.m.n, the Summoner a.s.sociation could even sell beasts and hold second jobs of supplying fresh meat to certain large major chain restaurants and earn big bucks…

 But Energy Warriors like them…

 Second jobs…

 They could only carry bricks and do manual work.

 After all…

 They majored in physique!

 They could not a.s.sa.s.sinate as well as a.s.sa.s.sins could. They could not defend as well as defenders, who specialized in various kinds of abilities to protect and a.s.sa.s.sinate attackers. Therefore, they could only sigh.

 In terms of having another stream of income, it was true that their vocation could not be compared to that of others…

 What could he do about it?

 He felt very helpless too!

 Therefore, when he applied for funds for this trip, the higher-ups hesitated for a long time and eventually approved one million yuan. At that time, he felt like hacking the finance department to death.

 One million yuan…

 Oh my goodness. He could not afford to lose this face.

 Lu Ming was silent.

 Oh.

 It was no wonder that he drove people away earlier…

 “Don't worry.”

 The Energy Warrior representative pondered deeply for a moment. “We're not people who resort to force or trickery. Although we don't have money this time, I've specially prepared something that suits you.”

“Oh?”

 Lu Ming was curious.

 “Our Energy Warrior a.s.sociation has an Illusory Realm!

It's most suitable for three-star cultivators like you to obtain a breakthrough. Countless people want to send their children there to cultivate. If you are willing to hand the card over to us…

 You can have an opportunity to train there,” the Energy Warrior representative said.

 Well?!

 Lu Ming's heart skipped a beat.

 Illusory Realm?

 Breakthrough?

 It seemed like they had really investigated him!

 Even the representative from the Elementalist a.s.sociation turned serious at this moment. They were very clear of what the so-called Illusory Realm meant. That kind of place…

 Only the most talented children of Energy Warriors were eligible to enter!

 Over there…

 You had endless lives!

 It was a small world with a fine line between reality and illusion.

 You could die and resurrect infinite times in that place and experience the profound meaning of life and death. You could come close to a breakthrough many times until you really attained a breakthrough!

 So far, the rate of breakthrough in the Illusory Realm was one hundred percent!

 It could be said that…

 Even a dog could break through when thrown into the place!

 Most importantly, besides a breakthrough, you could improve in other aspects such as your sense of perception. It was an all-rounded improvement. Therefore, the improvements in the Illusory Realm were extremely meaningful!

Of course, his only regret was that the Illusory Realm was only limited to a three-star breaking through to four-star…

 This was because only three-star and below energy could be supplied endlessly. The energy quality for four-star and above was too much and could not be resurrected. Once the four-star breakthrough was attained…

The cultivator would be thrown out.

 The Illusory Realm was the sacred place for peak three-stars!!!

 However… it only belonged to Energy Warriors!

 Only the most talented people in every cohort and those with the most potential were eligible to enter it. Furthermore, each of them relied on many financiers that dumped in a lot of money.

 Ordinary people?

 They had never heard of it!

 But now…

 He was actually offered an opportunity!

 “It's good stuff!”

 Lu Ming's eyes lit up.

 Four-star!

 Breakthrough with no conditions!

 Hahaha! Too cool!

 He had slight trauma from his last failed breakthrough. He did not break through even with the secret techniques that absorbed other people's energy!

Was he that lacking in talent?

 He felt super ashamed now!

 After all…

 As everyone knew, a ninety-nine percent success rate was equivalent to zero.

 Lu Ming had experienced this deeply when he played games in his past life. Therefore, he was very anxious to find an opportunity that would allow him to breakthrough at a one hundred percent success rate!

 “What about the rest of you?”

 Lu Ming looked at the other big shots in antic.i.p.ation.

 The poorest Energy Warrior a.s.sociation had offered such a reward. What about the rest of the a.s.sociations?

 “Well… I'll tell you what.”

 The representative from the Card Creators a.s.sociation pondered deeply for a moment. “I can represent the headquarters of the a.s.sociation and award you with a certificate. How about that? One of those gold plated ones.”