Back in his Card Shop, Lu Chenxing resumed his Card Maker and cultivation, a never-ending cycle with hardly any breaks.
Lu Chenxing understood that he had been targeted by a cult, and not just any cult—he was on their kill list. This left him no choice but to work hard.
Although he had Shadow One’s protection, Lu Chenxing knew that external protection was only temporary; only by becoming strong himself could he truly rely on something. After all, in the final moment, a person could only rely on himself.
Amidst these days of non-stop Card Maker and cultivation, a week gradually passed. The Card Shop’s business also stabilized. Aside from the initial rush of people who made impulsive purchases out of curiosity, only those with actual needs came later on.
Even so, Lu Chenxing still handled over a dozen custom Card Maker orders a day.
As for his Bombardment Art cards, he sold the card rights and patent to the military, earning five hundred military merits.
Everyone in the military who used these cards praised them, but it was tough for the Card Maker in the military. They all had bitter expressions; they had never seen such a complex first-tier card!
However, none of this concerned Lu Chenxing; let the military’s Card Maker worry about it.
At the same time, he kept those dozens of Bombardment Art cards for himself, to use as trump cards for the current stage. After all, his promotion mission still required him to go to a secret realm, and having these dozens of trump cards provided some peace of mind.
Lu Chenxing’s strength, through this week of high-intensity Card Maker and cultivation, was already on the verge of breaking through to first-tier completion, just one step away.
Concurrently, his mental world was almost identical to the scene in his visualization—lush green grass, the seasons endlessly revolving, like a real world.
At this moment, Lu Chenxing was sitting on his bed, meditating and visualizing to break through to first-tier completion.
Seeing Lu Chenxing’s rapid increase in strength and solid foundation, Shadow One couldn't help but remind him, “Don’t just focus on increasing your strength; pay attention to improving your combat power. For us professionals, combat power is the foundation.”
“Understood, thank you for the reminder!” Lu Chenxing deeply agreed with this. For example, though both were fifth-tier, Liang Shouji was no match for Shadow One and was even taken down instantly. This was because Liang Shouji had never been to the front lines or participated in combat.
He possessed fifth-tier strength but lacked the corresponding mindset and combat experience. Lu Chenxing even doubted if he was truly fifth-tier.
Lu Chenxing also had a rough idea for this problem. He had been conceptualizing a spell during his Card Maker over the past few days. It was almost complete, and he had attempted it several times, but all had failed.
So he simplified it again and again, and finally, today, he felt he could try again. He instantly entered Weaving state and began to weave the spell.
“Weave a spell that stores observed combat scenes in the mental world for synchronized simulation. One can replace any party in the combat to gain combat experience. The stronger the simulated opponent, the more mental and magical energy consumed. The more data available on the simulated opponent, the closer the simulation will be to their true strength. The spell is named ‘Combat Simulation Art’.”
As Lu Chenxing confirmed the spell’s effect, the Weaving began to flash, and moments later, it started drawing magic power, signifying the spell’s formation!
When Shadow One saw Lu Chenxing close his eyes again, seemingly beginning his cultivation, he sighed inwardly but said no more. A single reminder was already doing his utmost; there was no need for more.
He had no idea that Lu Chenxing had just completed the Weaving of another heaven-defying spell! The miraculous aspect of this spell was that it could even simulate battles recorded by others on a mobile phone! This was also why Lu Chenxing’s Weaving had failed so many times!
Without any life-threatening danger, one could improve combat experience without leaving home. This was a spell many people would wake up smiling from dreaming about!
Having obtained the new spell, Lu Chenxing eagerly pulled out his phone and began searching for first-tier beast combat videos. Such videos were countless online, and he randomly clicked on one, which seemed to be an assessment recording from an academy.
The beast that appeared was a giant blood-red bovine-shaped beast, scientifically named “Bloodthirsty Bull,” a late first-tier beast that would mindlessly charge upon smelling blood. Its opponent was a warrior wielding a staff, also late first-tier.
Late first-tier beasts generally had no special abilities; their physical strength was just very high. They would only acquire racial skills at the second tier. So, in Lu Chenxing’s mind, he thought this one should be quite easy to deal with.
However, when the two sides actually started fighting, Lu Chenxing found that it didn’t seem to be the case.
Although the staff-wielding warrior, also a late first-tier, had learned some skills, the damage inflicted on the Bloodthirsty Bull was extremely limited, and it even further enraged the Bloodthirsty Bull.
As a blunt weapon, a staff primarily relies on forceful strikes to cause damage and requires mastering “Penetrating Force” to be considered proficient. Clearly, this warrior’s talent was not very good, and he had not mastered this technique.
If this continued, the warrior was almost certainly doomed, as the Bloodthirsty Bull’s vital spot was its heart in the chest, firmly protected by thick muscles. Without a strong penetrating move, it would be very difficult to pierce through.
Moreover, the Bloodthirsty Bull would lower its head during each charge, covering its chest, which further increased the difficulty of killing it.
Just as Lu Chenxing thought the warrior was about to lose, he seemed to activate some skill or talent effect. His veins bulged, muscles swelled, and his entire body instantly grew a size larger, while his strength greatly increased!
Facing the charging Bloodthirsty Bull, he swept out with his staff, instantly knocking the Bloodthirsty Bull to the ground. Seizing this opportunity, he thrust his staff forward, and even without mastering Penetrating Force, he pierced a bloody hole in its chest, killing it in one blow.
“So, after all that, it’s a strength-type talented warrior. I thought it was some kind of staff mastery talent. If it’s strength-type, wouldn’t a big hammer or a big axe be more effective?” Lu Chenxing shook his head slightly, offering no further comment.
He put down his phone, closed his eyes, and found that in his mental world, a glowing orb had appeared on the lush green grass. He injected his mental energy into it, and the scene before him instantly changed. He found himself in the arena, facing a Bloodthirsty Bull more than twice the size of an ordinary bull.
The moment the blood-red Bloodthirsty Bull saw him appear, it let out a fierce roar and charged at him with its head lowered!
It had to be said, such large creatures truly exerted a great sense of oppression on humans, but for Lu Chenxing...
“It’s nothing more than this.” Lu Chenxing revealed a slight smile, and with a wave of his hand, a thin layer of ice appeared on the ground in front of the Bloodthirsty Bull.
The Bloodthirsty Bull, charging furiously with immense momentum, instantly began to slip when it stepped onto the thin ice, losing its footing and falling to the ground, sliding along the ground towards Lu Chenxing.
Lu Chenxing waved his hand again, “Earth Spike!”
On the path where the Bloodthirsty Bull was sliding, a cluster of earthy-yellow Earth Spikes suddenly emerged, thrusting diagonally upwards, like cheval de frise, towards the sliding Bloodthirsty Bull. As it rapidly slid forward, it was inevitably impaled directly through its back!
“Moo!” The Bloodthirsty Bull let out a painful roar, but it did not die.
So Lu Chenxing waved his hand again, and another cluster of Earth Spikes suddenly burst from its chest, bringing forth a spray of blood. Two Earth Spikes pierced it clean through.
Then, a flash of light, and the glowing orb in his mental world disappeared, signifying the end of this simulation.