Ghost Amber (2)

Song Lin also used pre-programmed cards, but his cards were not of such poor quality. In just a few days, Chen Ling had crafted four top-grade life-saving cards for him. One was a three-star energy card capable of self-recovery, named the Eagle Card. The other three were all two-star cards, but with excellent performance. They were all crafted using card ink blended by Song Lin. Because he had only recently entered the three-star realm, he could only blend three-star high-energy card ink, meaning he could only possess one such three-star card.

Even so, ordinary three-star or even four-star card cultivators would not find it easy to kill him. As long as he remained safe, his ink-blending skills would improve day by day.

Speaking of ink blending, although Song Lin had become a three-star ink-blending master, his knowledge of ink blending at this level was still far too lacking. Although he took supplementary classes at Star Academy and studied at the Ink-Blender Association on weekends, it was barely a drop in the bucket against that vast mountain of knowledge. One had to know that there were several thousand types of three-star materials alone, not to mention the intricate ratios required to combine them... it was a labyrinth of complex problems.

Therefore, Song Lin decided that he would not blend ink for the time being, but would focus on studying theory instead. Once he had mastered it, he would resume his blending practice. For an ink-blending master, theory was truly of paramount importance. Besides, the money he had made from Zijin Ink was quite substantial; as long as he didn't make any major purchases, he had more than enough to just eat and study for a month or two.

The next morning, while it was still pitch black outside and no one was awake except for the breakfast vendors busily setting up their stalls, Song Lin began his physical exercises. No one else exercised at this hour, and normally he wouldn't train so early either, but today was Saturday. He had to finish early to make it to his classes at the Ink-Blender Association on time.

By the time Song Lin returned home, the sky was fully bright. Although the towering skyscrapers made it hard to see the sun, the reflective glass technology allowed the morning light to reach every nook and cranny. Though, at nearly eight in the morning, it could hardly be called early morning anymore.

Song Lin quickly ate a pastry and left the house. By the time he arrived, the class was about to begin. This was a basic class for newly advanced three-star ink-blending masters. Since there weren't many of them in the Association, a class only had about ten people.

The classroom was quite spacious, so it felt rather empty. Song Lin took a quick look and saw that a few people had not yet arrived. Although there was no penalty for being late, he felt it was still better to be on time.

"Song Lin, how have you been?" a person sitting next to him asked with a smile.

"Yes, and how are you, Uncle?" Song Lin replied.

"Haha, this old skeleton of mine can still manage to attend classes," the man laughed.

"Shut up, old man!" a young man snapped, instantly dampening their mood.

The older man was slightly angered but remained silent. However, Song Lin could not hold back. He had recognized this guy from the previous class—always arriving late and acting incredibly arrogant. But he had a powerful father; whether his family owned prime real estate was unknown, but his father was indeed a high-ranking government official, which was a big deal. Because of this, even though everyone was harboring a stomach full of resentment, no one said a word. Even the instructor turned a blind eye, pretending nothing happened.

Today, Song Lin was truly furious. Looking down on others to this extent was unacceptable. Regardless of who his father was, he had to teach this guy a lesson.

"You've gone too far," Song Lin said, standing up and walking over.

"You... what do you think you're doing!" The other guy panicked slightly upon seeing Song Lin's aggressive approach. Do not be fooled by Song Lin's mere sixteen years of age; his robust physique was not something this guy could compare to. However, he quickly regained his composure. He had two three-star card cultivators serving as bodyguards standing outside; at the slightest disturbance, they would rush in. In front of a card cultivator, what use was a slightly strong body?

"If you continue to be this insufferable, you will end up like this table," Song Lin growled. He slammed his hand onto the desk with a loud *thud*, startling the entire room.

When Song Lin lifted his hand, the other guy's face turned as pale as a ghost. A deep, terrifying handprint was embedded into the tabletop. What kind of strength was required to achieve this? At least, his bodyguards couldn't do it.

Hearing the loud noise, the two bodyguards rushed in. But seeing that their young master was unharmed, they simply stood at the door, glaring at Song Lin, their card devices already activated.

Song Lin stared back at the two bodyguards, his aura not yielding in the slightest. What a joke. When he was younger, he had fought off entire groups of older kids by himself. Now that he had a full set of cards, if it came to a fight, mere three-star card cultivators were not enough to make him back down.

But Song Lin only stared for a moment before turning back to his seat. He wasn't foolish enough to actually start a fight; he couldn't bear the consequences. He had only done it to warn the guy out of sheer anger. Seeing that the opponent had backed down and their young master was unharmed, the two bodyguards stepped back outside.

The room fell silent, but the satisfaction on everyone's faces was palpable. In contrast, the young master's face shifted between green and white, looking utterly pathetic.

"Hmph, remember this. If I, Zheng Wen, do not get my revenge, I swear I am not human!" he hissed through gritted teeth.

Just then, the instructor walked in, and the tense drama was temporarily forgotten, replaced by the tedious lecture that was about to begin.

Lunch break.

Song Lin quickly grabbed a bite to eat and went down to the three-star material trading floor to verify the theories he had learned that morning. This verification process was highly effective; it helped him retain information much longer and allowed him to expand his understanding. Only at the Association could one have the opportunity to test what they had just learned like this. After all, not many places had such a vast array of materials readily available, and academies certainly didn't. Three-star materials and above were quite expensive. Even buying a small sample of each type from tens of thousands of varieties would require an astronomical budget. From this, one could see just how wealthy the Association was.

Today, Song Lin had learned about more than twenty common three-star materials. These were reasonably priced and available in unlimited quantities, often used to blend high-energy card ink or ink for crafting airflow cards. He wanted to examine them, but the moment he stepped into the trading hall, his attention was captured.

In the corner of the room, a dense crowd was gathered around a glass display case. Among them, Song Lin recognized several four-star and five-star masters. Such a scene only occurred when an extremely, extremely rare material appeared. Strangely, no matter how rare a three-star material was, it shouldn't cause such a stir. If it were five-star or above, it would be understandable.

Song Lin walked over to take a look, filled with curiosity. Strangely, everyone was standing several meters away from the display case, even the four-star and five-star ink-blending masters were no exception. Normally, they would crowd as close as possible to get a clear look.

Squeezing through the crowd, Song Lin finally got a clear view of the material. It was a fist-sized piece of gray amber, and inside was a beautiful yet incredibly bizarre seven-winged butterfly. The moment he saw this object, Song Lin's heart skipped a beat. He finally understood why so many people had gathered, and why they were standing so far away.