CHAPTER 70: 070 DO YOU PLAY TEAM MATCHES?_1

Indeed, she and Wen Jiang were not familiar with each other. At most, they had brief interactions when they were at the company. After she asked Wen Jiang to join the association and make cards, an offer Wen Jiang refused, she didn’t follow up on the matter. Occasionally, Ding Ruijie would mention something about her.

Tang Qian also felt somewhat embarrassed, as her visit was clearly purposeful. Based on her brief understanding of Wen Jiang, she decided to take a gamble. "Today, the official platform uploaded a new A-Rank Card. It’s a Healing Card called Jade Rabbit Pestle Medicine. The moment I saw the card, I felt it resembled your style."

After saying this, she stared intently into Wen Jiang’s eyes.

Her eyes didn’t flicker or avoid Tang Qian’s gaze, showing not even a hint of fluctuation. This suddenly made Tang Qian feel inexplicably nervous.

About a few seconds later, Wen Jiang burst into laughter. "Miss Tang is truly astute. It’s hard for most people to be as observant as you."

The anxiety Tang Qian felt was instantly relieved, yet she still clung to a sense of disbelief. "I just feel that the style of the card is like yours, but..."

She stared at Wen Jiang. "You’re a B-Level Spirit Card Master. It’s impossible for you to make an A-Rank Card!"

Wen Jiang answered nonchalantly, "I just leveled up a few days ago. I had an idea in my head, so I went ahead and made this card."

As she spoke, her fingers moved, and the Card Spirit of a Jade Rabbit appeared in the air.

Normal cards can be enlarged or shrunk at will; they don’t have to appear at their maximum size. However, their maximum size does ensure that the skill’s area of effect is maximized.

Looking at the Card Spirit holding a pestle, Tang Qian took a deep breath. "So it really was you, and... you’ve leveled up faster than I imagined."

It was just one competition, and she had even imagined Wen Jiang participating in the Dongzhou International League. She hadn’t expected her to level up in such a short time—a speed that couldn’t be matched even by train.

Wen Jiang said with a smile, "It was just a coincidence."

Leveling up wasn’t something that could happen by coincidence. It could only prove two things: Wen Jiang possessed a unique talent for both combat and card making. Once her spiritual power was sufficiently abundant, breaking through a level wouldn’t be a difficult task for her. Her ability to quickly create the Jade Rabbit Pestle Medicine card proved her capabilities. The more cards one made, the stronger one became, especially if they were cards of the same rank. Typically, one would level up quickly; this was an unspoken rule known by high-level Spirit Card Masters. The problem was, not many people had the ability to make same-rank cards. Just as there were many S-Rank Spirit Card Masters who weren’t adept at making their own cards.

Tang Qian, shocked, suddenly noticed another implication in Wen Jiang’s words. "You just said that you made this card first? Does that mean you have other card-making ideas?"

"Yeah," Wen Jiang replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Didn’t you read the introduction for my Jade Rabbit Pestle Medicine card? Clearly, it’s part of a card set. The Jade Rabbit was just the easiest for me to make so far. As for Changer and Hou Yi, I still need some time to think."

Hou Yi is actually quite simple; a bow-type damage card, no doubt. The key is how to design Changer.

HISS—

Tang Qian drew in a sharp breath.

She didn’t know how Wen Jiang could discuss such an outrageous matter so naturally. Looking at Wen Jiang’s face, Tang Qian couldn’t help but sit up straight and tense her nerves. "No, Wen Jiang, you don’t understand... No one makes cards like you do. From initial design to successful completion, a Card Maker has to spend a long time, and the higher the card’s rank, the longer it takes. When you made the Dual-Change Card set, I thought you had prepared it in advance, which was why you were able to sell it to Chen Runyu within a week."

"But it hasn’t been many days since you returned from the competition, and you’ve already advanced to A-Level and even made this Jade Rabbit Pestle Medicine card!"

It all seemed too easy for her. A Card Maker like Wen Jiang was an absolutely devastating blow to other Spirit Card Masters of the same level.

"Oh," Wen Jiang said with a smirk. "It seems I am a genius."

Zero Egg: "..."

Shameless.

Having witnessed Wen Jiang’s ability to control hundreds of B-Rank Cards, Zero Egg could now observe her rapid progression with a calm and even temper.

Perhaps only when Wen Jiang finally reached UR Rank would it be truly shocked.

Seeing that Wen Jiang seemed genuinely unaware of the implications, Tang Qian thought for a moment and then suddenly said, "I won’t speak of this to anyone. I just want to ask, if I, as a coach from the Mount Flower Association, requested it, would you give us an opportunity to collaborate? Our A-Rank Group desperately needs a new card set, but the Card Makers in our association have run out of inspiration, and we aren’t satisfied with the cards they’re currently producing."

Wen Jiang asked, "You believe my cards will satisfy you?"

Tang Qian’s gaze rested on the Jade Rabbit Pestle Medicine card. "I feel your cards bring an element of surprise, and I trust you."

Only then did Wen Jiang stand up and observe Tang Qian for a few moments. "It’s not impossible. Are we still talking about a buyout?"

Tang Qian was very surprised. "You’re still willing to offer us a buyout?"

There was a huge difference between a buyout of a new card set and not having one. With a buyout, the card set would have no further relation to Wen Jiang. Without one, Wen Jiang could still collaborate with Card Factories to create related merchandise. Considering the strength of her cards, the profits would be terrifying. Previously, the fifty million buyout for a B-Rank Card Set had brought Mount Flower more than ten times that amount in profit. The market demand for card-related merchandise was incredibly high, even internationally. However, the issue with lower-ranked cards was that they were typically a one-time transaction. Once most people owned them, they wouldn’t continue to buy. Some Card Makers would then release limited-edition card merchandise to sustain demand and inflate prices. Generally, higher-ranked cards followed this model. Regardless, for a Spirit Card Master capable of creating A-Rank Cards, unless they were bound by an association, they wouldn’t choose to sell their cards via a buyout to others.

Wen Jiang said, "I don’t mind. I have plenty of ideas for cards. What requirements do you have for the card set you want?"

Besides, she had no interest in monopolizing cards. Her ultimate goal was to help this world’s Yunxia slowly recover its lost civilizations. It wasn’t about doing good deeds, but rather the main quest given by the System, which was clearly guiding her in this direction.

"..."

For the first time, Tang Qian understood what it meant to be so prodigiously wealthy in card ideas that one could casually offer them for a buyout. It was a level of audacity born from abundance. If those Spirit Card Masters who couldn’t even create a single A-Rank Card knew about this, they would probably cough up blood from frustration.

Tang Qian couldn’t believe how decisively Wen Jiang had agreed. She thought for a moment. "Now that you’ve leveled up, you’ll need to switch to a different coach team. Are you still planning to continue playing in individual matches?"

"Trying to sign me to your team?" Wen Jiang asked casually. "Whatever. I participate in competitions purely to pass the time; it doesn’t conflict with making cards."

Otherwise, there would be no fun to be found in this world at all.

Tang Qian: "..."

This must be what a heart attack feels like. Where on earth did she find the time?

Then an idea suddenly struck her. "What about team matches? Runyu’s team could use a better substitute."