The Card Apprentice

The flexsters, who had just been looking on, were long gone. To remain here at this time would be courting death. Those found around the arena would not have survived to this day if they did not have this much vision.

In the empty arena, numerous low whistles interweaved like countless crying grievances; it was breathtaking. The blade of a sword was like the rain, and could not be avoided.

There was no eye contact, no gestures, no openings, yet Chen Mu and Zara tacitly attacked at the same time.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The cracked air sounded like a high-pitched whistle—as if a wire had been oscillating at high speed. The 10 energy threads controlled by Chen Mu’s pair of power gloves suddenly bounced, and the lightly drifting energy threads made a series of breathtaking tremors.

Chen Mu’s ten fingers fluttered at a dazzling speed, and the power gloves virtually transformed into a shadow. In the blink of an eye, an intricate mesh shield consisting of thin lines of energy appeared in front of Chen Mu. Dozens of small bladed-shields hit the seemingly soft “mesh shield” fiercely.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

All the small bladed-shield burst in midair, causing debris to shoot in all directions. However, no small bladed-shield managed to break through this “mesh shield”!

The old man’s pupils suddenly shrank! With his strength, he could capture every detail! The energy threads that vibrates at high speed were like sharp blades that could easily cut the small bladed-shield into pieces. The small bladed-shield, which was rotating at high speed, would then explode from its own force.

While Chen Mu opened his mesh shield, Zara’s figure disappeared from her original spot! Half a second later she appeared on the ceiling! With her body still in a squatting position, she stuck her right hand and feet against the ceiling and kept her head down. Before someone could see her clearly, her right hand and legs suddenly exerted energy, and just like an extremely compressed spring, they suddenly released!

Like an arrow released from the bow, she suddenly plunged into the middle of the sword and shield sect of the flexsters! In midair, a few inconspicuous, fine-haired lights flashed through the throats of several flexsters. Some of these flexsters’ bodies suddenly went stiff, but they could not make any sound.

Everyone’s attention gathered on them, and nobody noticed anything unusual except the older man. But the leader of a sect was naturally strong. The old man remained calm and fixed his eyes on Chen Mu, without any intention of turning around. He did not think this move would be able to hurt the two men, but he was surprised by the relief shown by the other.

Even Andre, seeing the opportunity arise, hastily picked up the Lotus Leaf Shield in front of him and crouched behind it, afraid to emerge. A few small bladed-shields hit the Lotus Leaf Shield in his hands, and the enormous power the shield’s body withstood was so strong, he could not help but cough another few mouthfuls of blood.

Each small bladed-shield had a layer of red energy blades. Although these energy blades were not very strong, they were dangerous due to the high-speed rotations. Every time a thin line of energy intersected with a small bladed-shield, it will suffer some damage.

A series of highly dense impacts quickly loosened the originally compact energy threads. The taut thin energy line provided power, hence once it loosened, it could no longer vibrate with high frequency, and would also lose its sharp characteristic.

This was the first time Chen Mu had ever encountered such a situation. Before this, he had never blocked such a large number of high-intensity attacks in such a short period with the thin energy lines! But he did not have to worry about it, because he rushed to the elder.

“Hmph!” The old man snorted heavily, and the air seemed to thicken in an instant.

What a strong aura! When the flexters saw the demonstration by their sect leader, all the flexsters from the sword and shield sect became energetic.

Chen Mu showed an expression of slight surprise. According to the other’s age, the elder had already passed his prime. It was not easy to still have such an aura! But the surprise disappeared in less than a second.

Whether in the Federation, House of a Hundred Depths, or Mohadi Domain, the use of auras was standard for all masters. But of all the skills, it was probably Chen Mu’s least feared one.

Within the whole Federation, the person who was best in this field had to be Caesar, the God of Slaughter. Caesar’s methods had reached such a level that it was utterly unimaginable, and Chen Mu, who was known as Caesar’s disciple, was also extremely adept at these techniques. Additionally, these two years of struggle in the House of a Hundred Depths, going through bloody and cruel battles, trampling on the corpses of countless beasts and killing his way out, made his spirit and will very firm. As for the murderous aura surrounding him, it was not inferior to those powerful, frightening beasts in the House of a Hundred Depths.

He was the most powerful beast in the House of a Hundred Depths! When he released his murderous aura without scruple, the older man’s expression changed!

A furious and completely naked aura of murder, like the maddened cries of countless beasts, filled every inch of space in the arena. Everyone could only see scarlet in their vision, and the depths of their souls involuntary trembled under that breath of destruction!

No one could imagine that someone could have such a terrible, powerful, and inexplicable murderous aura! Invincible! Such a person was invincible!

Andre looked on blankly. He was shivering all over, and his eyes were glassy. From the aura and image involuntarily formed in his mind! Chen Mu was like a giant of hundreds of meters tall, and he was like a small ant in front of the giant. The other party only needed to do a little pinch, and he will become a powder!

It was not just him who had this thought. He was behind Chen Mu, so the murderous aura was not aimed at him. The flexters which were facing Chen Mu were not so lucky. The violent and oppressive killing aura was like a huge wave swept up by a hurricane, which easily broke down their weak psychological defenses! These flexsters were shaken to their core; some of the more timid sat on the ground weakly.

At the entrance of the arena, Hazak who had just arrived had a change in his expression!

“There actually exists such a person in the world!” Hazak did not know if this was praise or surprise.

The flexsters around Mose changed their expressions drastically. With a whoosh, they rushed up and firmly guarded Mose in the middle. They were nervous, acting as if they were facing a great enemy.

Mose’s face changed slightly, but soon he regained his composure, “No wonder he dared to find trouble with the sword and shield sect.”

The two looked at each other. They wanted to know the appearance of this person who was able to exude such a horrifyingly murderous aura! The two tacitly moved inward at the same time. At that moment, they heard a roar coming from within.

“It’s Gammick!” Mose’s expression changed slightly. The party could not help but quicken their pace.

When Chen Mu released his murderous aura, Gammick knew they had underestimated their opponent this time. But now, he has no way to retreat, as retreat would also lead to death.

Interestingly, it was only when there are no options left that people could concentrate. He concentrated all his strength, roared, and went up in a brisk and nimble manner!

As expected, a master’s move is extraordinary! Gammick was much stronger and more skilled than Fayes. He was enveloped in the shadow of the Lotus Leaf Shield, which covered him with a solid dark green light! This was the first time Chen Mu saw such a solid energy body in the House of a Hundred Depths, which also displayed how Gammick’s strength was anything but ordinary. The power was like a thunderstorm!

The moment Gammick made his move, he would not hold back. If he had some hope in his heart before, then the last hope would have been completely shattered at this moment as well! He knew that his opponent’s strength was far better than his own, and his success rate was so little that it was pitiful. Every chance was precious to him.

The Lotus Leaf Shield seemed to come alive in his hand, and it was amazing how skillful it was. The connection between the shield and body was natural and smooth as if they came from the same source!

Chen Mu admired in his heart that, in terms of shield skills alone, the elder was more of an expert than himself. The intense wind pressure of the Lotus Leaf Shield stung everyone. It rolled outward, wave after wave. Each attack was seamless and gave people a sense of continuity. In the whirring of the Lotus Leaf Shield, there was a buzzing sound, as if dozens of bees were dancing.

Chen Mu had the heart to experience the skill of the sword and shield sect, so instead of retreating, he charged head-on into it. His ten fingers barely scratched the air, and the thin lines flew around like a group of snakes dancing!

Clank! Clank! Clank! One could see the force contained in the thin lines by the light tapping of the steel-string!

Ding! Ding! Ding! Sparks burst out like dotted stars!

High-speed flying thin energy lines collided with the Lotus Leaf Shield. Chen Mu only felt a strong force coming from the shield as 10 filaments violently bounced off as if they were struck by lightning! Amazing!

With the Lotus Leaf Shield in the older man’s hand, it not only maintained a high speed of rotation but also retained an astonishing vibrational frequency. The constant high-frequency oscillation of the shield body steadily accumulated its strength. It was like a powder keg that never ceased to fill up with gunpowder. Probably only the best shields, such as the Lotus Leaf Shield, could survive oscillations at such a high speed. If it was an ordinary shield, even one of those alloy shields would fall apart in this sort of scenario. And when the thin energy line hit the body of the shield, it immediately ignited this gunpowder barrel! The strength of this force even caused Chen Mu to lose control of the thin energy lines for a very short time.

There was a flush on the elder’s face. Although he repelled his first attack, the power of the 10 energy threads was beyond his expectations. If he had not experienced it personally, he would never have imagined that 10 thin energy lines could have launched such a powerful attack. If he did not see it himself, he would have mistaken it for a hammer.

The blood in his chest was boiling, but he sighed in his heart. It was a pity that he was old. Otherwise, if he was still young, there would be no response to this blow. But the old but forthright Gammick was so experienced that he knew it was an opportunity! The only chance!

He forcibly stopped the blood rushing in his chest, snorted in a low tone, and tried again! There was a slight expression of pain on his solemn face. The shield body of the Lotus Leaf Shield was suddenly more powerful, and the shield body was shrouded entirely in the green awns—even his right hand. The green awns, like the highest quality jade, glittered and was translucent.

Another look of caution appeared on the face of Chen Mu who had failed to launch his attack. He could not help but show some respect for the flexter who founded the sword and shield sect. These shield skills were self-contained and painstaking. If there were more fighting skills before, then the current tactic was enough to show that the predecessors who created this tactic—in addition to wisdom and abundant practical experience—must have had a robust perception when they were alive!

This was undoubtedly something remarkably different in the House of a Hundred Depths. The energy contained in the Lotus Leaf Shield was not much. It was almost necessary to trigger all the energy contained in the shield to form such strength and intensity.

He knew how difficult it was to accomplish all this in such a short time! He also knew how amazing the energy was in that seemingly pleasant green awn. What made him more awe-inspired was the danger hidden in the green awn that he had not yet seen through!