Chen Ling

June was the hottest month of the year, especially in a place located right on the equator like Sai He City, where both day and night were scorching. High temperatures and humid air multiplied the feeling of irritation, especially for those living in small, enclosed houses, where it felt like torture.

At ten o'clock at night, the streets had thinned out, but public places like parks and riverbanks still had many people strolling or sitting to enjoy the cool air. Perhaps they were sleepy, but thinking of enduring the heat at home, no one wanted to go back. You might wonder why they didn't use air conditioners; indeed, air conditioners were very common in the city, but not everyone could afford to buy one and maintain the energy to run it all night throughout the summer months.

Tung Lin was no exception. Although he had made a good sum of money selling Two-Star Card Ink all month, he spent no less on buying materials for experiments. Undoubtedly, in this month, his skill level had advanced by leaps and bounds; his second He Xin Jing Shen had grown nearly one and a half times larger, and his proficiency with various types of Card Ink had rapidly increased. However, in return, he wasn't much richer than before, if not poorer.

For this reason, an air conditioner was still a distant dream for him, and the consequence was that at ten o'clock at night, he was still wandering the streets.

In truth, Tung Lin had only finished work a few minutes ago, and instead of sitting to restore his Spiritual Power in his oven-like house, he went out to breathe some fresh air.

Streets in this era had no concept of smoke or dust. All vehicles, from personal transport to heavy cargo carriers weighing hundreds of tons, used Card Energy and flew in the air by magnetic force. Factories also emitted no smoke because closed-loop production technology provided energy from Cards. Therefore, although the night temperature was still high, the air was much cleaner and more comfortable than indoors.

Tung Lin took a deep breath, relaxing his mind. Working and cultivating too much was sometimes not good; occasionally, one needed to relax to sharpen the axe for higher efficiency. Besides, living without enjoying moments of relaxation would truly be a pity.

Tung Lin didn't go far. This wasn't his morning exercise time; he just walked a few kilometers in a circle and returned. When he reached a deserted area, he suddenly heard intense sounds, seemingly a battle between Card Cultivators.

The distance was very close, and they were rapidly approaching Tung Lin.

Tung Lin quickly hid in the shadows. Are you kidding? Card Cultivator battles caused immense destruction, and he didn't want to accidentally get hit by a move and kick the bucket.

Four people were chasing each other, two of whom zipped past where Tung Lin stood. Both wore masks; the one in black clothes, fully covered, wore a bear-shaped mask, while the other, in normal attire, wore a black mask with many blood-red patterns, looking very eerie. Both were injured, covered in blood, their clothes tattered, and even their masks chipped in places.

"Chen Ling, be careful!" The bear-masked person suddenly shouted.

But it was too late. A flash of light, then a spray of blood bloomed from Chen Ling's chest, causing him to fall forward and roll several times.

"Chen Ling!" The bear-masked person ran to lift Chen Ling, his expression grim.

"Uncle Hua, I'm done for. You must run!" Chen Ling gasped.

"Hmph, I, Hua Yan, promised your father; how could I abandon you? If I die, we die together, and I'll drag a few of them down with me!" The bear-masked person said with resolute determination, then put Chen Ling down and turned around. His eyes turned cold.

The other two had caught up. They were both clad in full purple attire, and although also covered in wounds, their aura was extremely powerful.

"Finally, you stopped." Irien said, his killing intent thick. In his hand, three blue diamond-shaped energy shards appeared, hovering.

The other person remained silent, but two light swords appeared in his hands. The swords were 0.7m long, 3cm wide, and blood-red.

"Irien, Zhi Duo, today you won't hope to return!" Hua Yan said, then his powerful aura surged. His muscles bulged, especially his arms, which almost doubled in size. His entire body grew larger, filled with immense power.

Tie Xiong Card, a Five-Star Card. It increased arm strength fifteenfold and full-body defense fivefold. Its skills were Xue Zhao, a high-grade Grade Five attack, Jin Mao, a high-grade Grade Five defense, and Bao Hong, a mid-grade Grade Four Spiritual Power attack. This was the main Card he was using.

"Rooooar!" Hua Yan let out a loud roar, activating his Bao Hong skill.

The roar wasn't loud in volume but caused a 100m radius to shake. Tung Lin only felt his ears ringing, and then his Spiritual Power immediately faced the risk of collapse. Fortunately, he was only affected, almost fainting, but not dying.

Irien and Zhi Duo bore the direct attack, but their Spiritual Power had reached Five-Star, so they only lost focus for a moment.

However, what Hua Yan needed was precisely that moment. He charged forward, his left hand clawing at the air.

Xue Zhao skill, instant activation.

Five red streaks of light flashed before Irien. Irien reacted incredibly quickly; in an instant, he activated his defensive skill and simultaneously waved his hand, firing three energy darts faster than bullets. However, due to his loss of focus, he was a beat too slow; the energy shield hadn't fully formed and was torn apart. He twisted his body to dodge but was still hit, suffering a horrific wound extending from his face to his ribs. On the ground, five deep furrows proved the immense power of that claw strike.

Beside him, Zhi Duo had already charged forward. He used a Qi Flow Card called Bao Feng, which could instantly accelerate a Card Cultivator to 100 m/s (bullet speed is 500 m/s). Zhi Duo approached his target, his twin swords slashing down, leaving behind beautiful, lingering red afterimages.

Hua Yan, after his claw strike, did not stop. He immediately activated his Jin Mao skill. His entire body seemed enveloped in a layer of golden light, and his defensive power sharply increased. He raised his left hand, rigidly blocking Irien's three energy darts.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft!"

Three bloody holes appeared on Hua Yan's hand. To be able to pierce an arm with such abnormal defensive power, the penetration force of these three energy darts was not ordinary.

Hua Yan seemed oblivious to the pain and continued to charge. His right arm came up to block the sword strike.

"Slash!" Blood splattered. Hua Yan's right arm was almost severed. But his left hand had clenched, delivering an extremely powerful punch.

Bao Dan Card activated.

The punch condensed energy into an orange oval ball. Hua Yan's charging force, the recoil from Zhi Duo's speed, all concentrated into one punch.

Zhi Duo's expression changed, and he immediately activated his defensive skill.

"Boom!"

Hua Yan's punch struck Zhi Duo's defensive layer and exploded like a B52 bomb. Hua Yan flew backward, spitting out a mouthful of blood, clearly having suffered severe internal injuries. His left arm was severed, and his right arm was a gruesome mess of flesh and blood. Zhi Duo was even more horrifying; he was sent flying back more than 10m, his entire chest and abdomen caved in, his body covered in blood with no intact spots. He fell to the ground, rolling several times, his eyes wide, no longer alive.