The History of Ink Blending

"Hey, we have History class next. Is our class specializing in history or something? Why does everyone seem so excited?" Song Lin turned to ask the person sitting next to him.

"Are you new to the academy? Where did you study before?" the person asked in surprise.

"Yes, I just entered the academy. Before this, I was entirely self-taught and didn't attend any schools. Why do you ask?"

"Wow, self-taught and yet you became a three-star ink-blending master? You're amazing!" the person expressed deep admiration.

"Excuse me, but I think we're getting off-topic," Song Lin said. Being praised made him feel a mix of pride and embarrassment, so he quickly changed the subject.

"Hehe, sorry," the other scratched his head and continued. "You wouldn't know, but every student in Xingxiu Academy looks forward to History class, whether it's the History of Ink Blending, the History of Card Making, or the History of Card Cultivator Combat. That's because our academy has an exceptionally brilliant History teacher who uses a completely new teaching method—guaranteed not to be boring or forced, but incredibly fascinating. I've only heard about it, but we'll find out for ourselves in a bit."

"I see," Song Lin replied. Hearing this, he also grew curious, and unconsciously, his eyes shone with anticipation like everyone else.

A few minutes later, the History teacher walked into the classroom, and the entire room seemed to instantly brighten.

She was an incredibly, incredibly, incredibly cute beauty. With a well-proportioned figure, an adorable face, and her hair neatly tied into two braids, a bright smile always graced her lips. However, calling her a teacher felt a bit odd; she looked more like a student herself.

"Hello everyone, let me introduce myself. My name is Shen Liyu, and I will be your History teacher from now on," the beauty spoke in a voice as clear as a cool stream flowing past everyone's ears.

The entire class was dazed. A beautiful woman with a lovely voice, but her name seemed a bit peculiar. It sounded nice, but if you played with the syllables...

"Haha, just playing a little joke on everyone. My name is Huang Yuming, I look forward to working with you all!"

The class burst into laughter, lines of sweat appearing on everyone's faces. This teacher had certainly left quite an impression. Even so, no one could dislike such a lively and lovely teacher. Perhaps today's History class would indeed be very interesting.

"If I'm not mistaken, you are Class D of the Ink Blending department, right? Then you must all be three-star ink-blending masters," Huang Yuming said. Waiting for the class to nod, she continued, "So, do you know when people first began to blend Card Ink?"

"It must have been two hundred years ago," someone sitting at the front row spoke up.

"Why do you say that?" Huang Yuming walked closer to him and asked.

"Ah, because as far as I know, two hundred years ago, a great ink-blending master named Ren pioneered the field of Ink Blending. Perhaps people began to know how to blend Card Ink from then on," the person replied happily as Huang Yuming approached him.

"Thank you for your answer, but unfortunately, it is incorrect. In truth, humanity has known about Ink Blending for a very long time, about more than two thousand years ago..."

More than two thousand years ago, when the first person accidentally let the juice of a brown melon drip into a sample of liquid resembling mercury and was blown to pieces, people first began to pay attention to these two substances. After years of experimentation and at the cost of dozens of lives, they finally realized that the liquid was actually a destroyer, the cause of terrifying explosions that claimed the lives of many scholars.

During that era, people named it Baoyin. Baoyin was quite similar to mercury, but whiter and without a metallic luster. Initially, it was used for decoration in noble estates. Later, no one dared to use Baoyin for decoration anymore, shifting instead to crafting weapons to fight other nations and the hordes of beasts that constantly threatened humanity's already scarce territories.

However, the amount of Baoyin mined was highly limited, so people gradually abandoned its use, and Baoyin faded into oblivion. Until a thousand years ago, a "wizard" attempted to use his spiritual force to blend Baoyin with the goal of alchemy, to create gold. Strangely, when brown melon juice dripped into the cup of Baoyin while the wizard was focusing his spiritual force, it not only didn't explode but underwent a miraculous reaction. The drops of juice dissolved, and the entire cup of Baoyin instantly transformed into a beautiful golden solution. That daring wizard had successfully blended "gold." For the rest of his life, he tried every possible way but still could not turn the golden solution into solid gold. Ultimately, he passed away in regret, leaving behind a house hidden deep in the forest filled with solutions of all colors.

Time flew, and in the blink of an eye, several hundred years passed. Human society entered the first industrial revolution. The global political landscape at this time had reached a state of balance with five major nations and dozens of smaller surrounding countries.

By chance, people discovered the wizard's house. The animal skins recording his life's knowledge still survived. From here, a major turning point in the development of human science and technology began.

However, in reality, only the field of chemistry underwent changes. Hundreds of years later, many combined solutions of Baoyin and other substances were created, but their applications were highly limited. Only the solution made from melting Chijin Sand with Baoyin was widely used, as it could keep lamps burning for a very long time.

The true turning point that elevated Baoyin to a dominant position only came with the birth of Cards. Along with the emergence of Cards, people gradually discovered the wonderful applications of Baoyin solutions. A new era, the Era of Cards, had arrived and completely altered the trajectory of human development.

Then war broke out. World War II, with the involvement of Cards, became exceptionally fierce and was called by a strange name: the thin weapon war. At lower levels, this weapon could not compare to firearms, but with the frantic investment of various nations, higher-level cards emerged and demonstrated overwhelming superiority. On the battlefield, scenes of five or six tanks surrounding a card cultivator without being able to break his defensive shield were not uncommon. Meanwhile, he only needed to fire a single shot, and a tank would be blown to pieces. Furthermore, Cards possessed an outstanding advantage in energy sources.

This world war lasted for over twenty years and ended with the birth of four major powers, three of which still exist today: the Jiuxing Alliance, the Ziyue Alliance, and Aresland. However, the global situation remained unstable. Decades later, within the territory of the Chiri Alliance, the fourth power at the time, the birth of a genius named Neto once again shook the world.

Neto had shown extraordinary talent since childhood, not only in the field of Ink Blending but also in Card Making; additionally, he was an outstanding card cultivator. Becoming a six-star ink-blending master at just twenty, he was heavily groomed by Chiri. After only five years, he successfully researched a method to analyze material properties. At thirty-three, Neto broke through to the eight-star level, becoming the youngest and only eight-star ink-blending master, card maker, and card cultivator in history.

Recognizing Neto's immense potential, the other three powers tried every means to recruit or assassinate him, but all failed. With no other choice, they temporarily allied to destroy Chiri before it was too late.

And so, a few years later, war broke out again—World War III!