The Old Book

After more than 4000 years of history, the world has now formed three major powers that maintain a delicate balance. Tung Lin's residence is located in the Jiuxing Alliance, in the south. To the north is the Ziyue Alliance, and to the west, far across the sea, lies a small continent, which is the territory of Aresland.

Among the three powers, the Ziyue Alliance occupies the largest territory and has the most cities. The Jiuxing Alliance is smaller, only about two-thirds its size, but in terms of resources, cities, and human resources, the Jiuxing Alliance is not inferior at all.

However, ten years ago, a war broke out between Aresland and the Jiuxing Alliance, lasting over five years and causing heavy losses to both sides. Therefore, the Ziyue Alliance is temporarily the strongest power and has begun to exert pressure on the Jiuxing Alliance in various ways.

Speaking of the Jiuxing Alliance, although its territory is smaller than the Ziyue Alliance, it is still extremely vast. The wilderness area accounts for more than two-thirds of its total area, with the rest being cities. Cities are not evenly distributed; some form chains or networks, while others are isolated. Even in this era, the wilderness remains extremely dangerous for humans, so there are always safe routes between cities for trade. Venturing off these routes significantly compromises safety.

Sai He City is part of the southeastern city chain. As one of the 20 largest cities in the Jiuxing Alliance, Sai He City possesses all elements, from being incredibly bustling to incredibly complex. Apart from the dominant power of the alliance, various large and small gangs occupy territories everywhere.

After a tour of the world, it was now 5:30 AM. In summer, the sun was already up by 5 AM, and the morning light shining through the towering glass buildings made them dazzling. On the fixed glass routes crisscrossing the sky, hovercars zipped past at terrifying speeds exceeding 500 km/h. On feeder routes, hovercars flew at a slower speed, around 200 km/h. On ground roads, all vehicles had to strictly adhere to a speed of 40 km/h.

Tung Lin was jogging. Every morning, he woke up at 5 AM, jogged a circuit around District B, and then returned home, covering about 20 km.

Although Tung Lin was a Card Ink Master, his father was a Card Cultivator, and he had access to reference materials for Card Cultivators. He used to do morning exercises with his father when he was young to build strength. After his father passed away, he continued this routine without interruption until now.

After jogging about 10 km, Tung Lin reached the central park of District B. He turned into the park, and along both sides, on the grass, many people were also exercising.

The park had 5 levels with various landscapes, each level separated by 20m, specially designed so that the lower levels still received enough light and wind. The higher levels were brighter and cooler. Tung Lin went straight up to the 5th level.

The landscape on this level consisted of wide grassy areas, with a large lotus pond in the center. In the middle of the pond was a single-pillar pavilion connected to the shore by a bridge of unknown material. Scattered across the grass were a few trees, with benches at their bases for resting.

Tung Lin stopped at a wide, empty spot and began to practice the Card Cultivator exercises he had read in his father's book. These movements were very easy at first, but became increasingly difficult to perform later on, totaling 108 movements. By the 30th movement, he was breathing heavily, and his muscles began to ache. Ignoring the sweat pouring down him, he pursed his lips and tried to continue.

Tung Lin didn't know his father's Card Cultivator level because he had never told him, but based on the difficulty of these exercises, it could be guessed to be quite high-level.

Half an hour later, Tung Lin completed the 36th movement, which was his limit. Performing a closing stance, Tung Lin let out a long breath, his body filled with an unparalleled sense of comfort.

At 16, his body hadn't fully developed, but thanks to regular exercise, Tung Lin had a well-proportioned physique, standing 1.7m tall, with muscles subtly defined and full of strength. For Card Cultivators, in addition to cultivating Spiritual Power, a healthy body was also needed. Tung Lin was not a Card Cultivator, but having a healthy body was always a good thing.

Tung Lin walked around the lake, then left the park.

This morning, he planned to visit the old bookstore to find some books on ink adjustment. He had finished all of his mother's books, having memorized all the ink adjustment theories from One-Star to Three-Star. Although he couldn't prepare Two-Star Card Ink, acquiring more knowledge was essential.

The place he went to was an old bookstore that had been open for a long time. He had bought books there several times before; old books were cheaper and often had unique content.

"Hello, Uncle Fang."

"Ah, buying books, Lin? Go inside and pick some out," Uncle Fang, the friendly bookstore owner, smiled. "By the way, yesterday I found a very thick book on ink adjustment. I don't know if it's any good, you can take a look."

With that, Uncle Fang went inside and returned a moment later with a book in his hand.

Holding the book, Tung Lin's first impression was that it was heavy, very heavy. The book was an inch thick, A4 size, with a worn, old cover. The paper had turned yellow, but the characters were still very clear. On the cover, only four slightly faded characters read "Basic Ink Adjustment."

Skimming through it, it started well; the knowledge recorded in the book was not much different from other books. But the more he read, the more surprised Tung Lin became, his expression growing intently focused.

Tung Lin hesitated slightly, but then immediately became resolute.

"How much is this book, Uncle?"

"This book has been in storage for a long time. I'll give it to you for a cheap 150 Ren. This price is already very friendly."

"I'll take this one." Tung Lin said decisively, though his heart ached, as 150 Ren was a lot.