Domineering Two-Star Card Ink (2)

Song Lin held the bottle of Card Ink in his hand, his heart overflowing with joy. Finally, he had successfully formulated Two-Star Card Ink. This meant he would no longer be trapped as he had been before.

An Ink-Making Master who could not formulate Card Ink of the same Star Rank as themselves would find it very difficult to progress. Song Lin had broken through to the Two-Star realm two years ago, but his Spiritual Force had only increased slightly.

It was currently five in the afternoon, and Song Lin still had to deliver goods. He quickly packed up and departed. Although his Spiritual Force was nearly depleted, he was still extremely excited, showing no signs of fatigue.

Arriving at Gao Da's stall, the man was packing up, likely preparing to close.

"Experimenting again today?" Seeing Song Lin, Gao Da asked with a smile.

"Yeah, just finished. Here is today's batch." Song Lin handed the foam box to Gao Da, then pulled out another bottle of dark purple Card Ink, which was the one he had just formulated. "Here, help me test this bottle of ink."

"Two-Star Card Ink? You actually succeeded?" Gao Da was astonished. Over the past few years, Song Lin had consistently brought One-Star Card Ink to sell, ten bottles a day without interruption. He had wondered why Song Lin didn't rank up, because no matter how poor an Ink-Making Master's talent was, they would usually reach the Two-Star rank within three years at most. Only later did Gao Da learn that it wasn't that Song Lin couldn't rank up, but rather that his Card Ink couldn't be upgraded.

"Yeah. Hey, aren't you about to leave? Hurry up and test it for me."

"Alright, alright." Gao Da took the bottle of ink and observed it briefly. He had seen plenty of Card Ink, but this bottle gave him a rather strange feeling. He didn't know how to describe it; looking at the transparent liquid felt as if all his spirit was being drawn into it.

More than a minute later, Gao Da snapped out of his daze. He took a glass rod, dipped it into the Card Ink, swept the ink onto a glass plate, and placed it into the analyzer.

"Beep, beep, beep." The machine analyzed for about two minutes before outputting the results.

Looking at the analysis, both Song Lin and Gao Da were stunned.

"Name: Zijin Ink
Grade: 2-Star
Energy: 1000
Activity: 100%
Characteristics: Absorbs and restores energy. Absorption rate of 0.0025/second. Cannot absorb once energy is completely depleted.
Conclusion: High-energy Card Ink, suitable for Energy Cards."

There were only a few simple data points, but they left both of them in disbelief.

First was the energy index. Only Two-Star Card Ink formulated with extreme precision could reach an energy level of 1000. But when crafted into a Card, the maximum energy was usually only 900, because their Activity had never exceeded 90%.

Yet this bottle of Card Ink had an Activity of 100%. This meant that as long as the Gouyun pattern was suitable, an Energy Card with 1000 energy could be created. Do not look down on this difference of 100; when a Card Cultivator used an Energy Card in battle, a difference of just a few energy points could often decide life and death.

This alone was enough to shock the world of Two-Star Card Makers and Ink-Making Masters. But that was not all; the latter part was even more shocking.

An absorption rate of 0.0025/second meant that when made into a Card, the Card could absorb a maximum of 0.0025 energy points per second to restore itself. This also meant that if used until almost depleted and left to recover on its own, the Card would be fully restored in at least 111 hours, equivalent to a brand-new Two-Star Energy Card.

Of course, this was only the standard data. When crafting Cards, efficiency loss always existed, so the actual results would vary.

Gao Da could assert that he had never seen any Card Ink or Energy Card with such characteristics, even among high-grade ones like Four-Star. Surely, once this bottle of ink was announced, it would cause a sensation among Card Makers, Ink-Making Masters, and even Card Cultivators. Imagine owning an Energy Card capable of self-charging; how much money would that save? Not only that, during wilderness battles without supplies, this Energy Card would become a lifesaver.

Gao Da looked at Song Lin as if looking at a monster. This guy usually did nothing, but once he did, it was like an atomic bomb exploding.

Song Lin also found it hard to believe. However, since this was his own creation, he quickly felt immense joy. This was the first time he had formulated a second-grade Card Ink, and it was so domineering!

There was another reason for his joy. Clearly, the ink-making ingredients were no different, yet the Card Ink was as good as it could possibly be. There was only one explanation: the ink-making method guided by that book was an incredibly powerful method, and he was the one who possessed it.

"I'll buy this bottle of ink for 1,200 Ren. Will you sell it?" Gao Da immediately offered a price.

On the market, good-quality One-Star high-energy Card Ink was priced at 61 Ren, and good-quality Two-Star was 620 Ren. But because the quality of this bottle was too high, after a rough estimation, he immediately offered double the price. No matter what, for such a special item, he wouldn't lose money at 1,200 Ren.

"So high? Of course I'll sell it," Song Lin agreed immediately. Was this a joke? This amount of money was equivalent to a whole month of continuous formulation for him. Moreover, having spent a fortune on books and experiments this month, he had already prepared himself to go hungry.

"Hey, how much is a Two-Star Safebox?" Song Lin thought for a moment and asked. Going hungry was fine; he was already prepared for it anyway. But if he wanted to delve into formulating Two-Star Card Ink, a Safebox was indispensable.

"5,000 Ren. With your current ability, I can sell it to you on credit, but you must clear the debt within ten days," Gao Da said after a moment of thought, knowing Song Lin's intention. "It can't be any longer. You know a merchant like me needs capital."

"Great, I'll be selling second-grade Card Ink over the next few days. You can just deduct it from my earnings," Song Lin said readily.

Over the following week, Song Lin gradually transitioned to formulating second-grade Card Ink, though he only made high-energy Card Ink. His previous success was partly due to his familiarity with the ingredients after contacting them many times. Now, formulating a new type of Card Ink would not be so easy.

Even so, one type of Card Ink was enough to significantly improve his life. On average, he could formulate one bottle of Zijin Ink per day, selling it for 1,200 Ren. After deducting costs, he made a profit of 1,000 Ren. In just six days, he paid off his debt. Now, he had a surplus.