Chapter 227: 227 UR-Rank Spirit Card Master_1
Wen Jiang now possessed a vast amount of money.
Her money was all managed by Zero Egg.
Zero Egg, a data entity of the System, was quite adept at managing these matters.
This time, with Mount Flower winning the championship, the money she invested had multiplied to an unimaginable figure.
Using this money, Zero Egg expanded the Card Factory, since the previous production line was struggling to keep up with the increasing number of Mount Flower cards.
The production capacity of Mount Flower was ridiculously high. While others could sustain themselves on one card set for a long time, the Founding Emperor Card Set was still selling briskly, and Wen Jiang had already decided to launch the Empress Card Set, meaning they urgently needed to expand their workforce.
Zero Egg spread a large number of recruitment advertisements in the market, hiring not only regular people but also Spirit Card Masters. If they could recruit high-level Spirit Card Masters, that would be even better. After all, replicating Card Spirits also required manpower.
Under Mount Flower’s pricing model, other associations that hadn’t raised their prices much were fine. However, foreign associations hoping to cash in this year faced criticism. The price of 10,000 per set versus 500 per set was an outrageous difference, even if the two associations had different statuses. After all, the quality wasn’t vastly different. It was just that many people preferred foreign card sets, and one was SSR while the other was A-Level; it seemed there was no need for comparison.
As Mount Flower began preparations for the new cards, Wen Jiang was also engrossed in crafting them.
At home, Hua Zhuo received an unexpected visitor. Peng Fenglai’s visit was something Hua Zhuo had not anticipated. Peng Fenglai belonged to the new generation of Spirit Card Masters and was younger than Hua Zhuo. Her visit carried an air of mystery.
"When General Jimo passed away, I was abroad and deeply regretted not being able to attend the funeral. So, I chose this time to come specifically to pay my respects to General Jimo," Peng Fenglai said with a smile, looking at Hua Zhuo.
Hua Zhuo knew this woman. She was rather mysterious. As Jimo Xiao’s junior martial sister, she had suddenly appeared to take charge of the Jimo Family after the incident. But Peng Fenglai wasn’t focused on these matters. She only remembered that Hua Zhuo seemed to have an extraordinary relationship with Song Ji—a fact Song Ji had never even concealed in her presence.
When Peng Fenglai entered, Hua Zhuo was engrossed in a book. Peng Fenglai’s keen eyes caught only a glimpse of the words "Liao Zhai" before Hua Zhuo quickly flipped the book face down on the table. The cover depicted an ancient-looking woman in white, exuding an indescribable, almost sinister charm. Just a moment later, her gaze shifted back to Hua Zhuo.
Hua Zhuo possessed a very elegant demeanor, a name that didn’t quite match her appearance. She seemed like a lady from a scholarly family; even the wheelchair couldn’t hide the grace of her youth.
Hua Zhuo smiled faintly at her and said, "You are thoughtful, Miss Fenglai."
Peng Fenglai pursed her lips and suddenly said, "At a recent meeting, Mr. Isaac asked me to pass on a message to you. He hopes you won’t live in the past."
Hua Zhuo was momentarily stunned, then chuckled, "To think he still remembers me."
"After all, back then you were exceptionally talented..." Peng Fenglai remarked, her voice trailing off slightly.
Hua Zhuo’s talent was undisputed, but so much time had passed that it seemed many had forgotten her. Peng Fenglai had rarely seen Hua Zhuo mentioned in domestic reports. It was indeed lamentable that such a genius of her time had met such an outcome.
Hua Zhuo said, seemingly unconcerned, "It’s all in the past. I’ve long since stopped caring."
Both knew this statement was false. No one could be indifferent when their fate had been so drastically altered, especially since it was related to Song Ji. Otherwise, Song Ji’s face wouldn’t have shown that momentary disorientation when he heard about visiting the Jimo Family.
Peng Fenglai vaguely knew about the past events, but the details seemed deliberately obscured by someone. Picking up the cup of tea served by a maid, she subtly advised, "For a man, it’s not worth it."
She liked Song Ji; this was likely common knowledge. She was willing to be the Song Family’s Spirit Card Master, but she wouldn’t be bound by her emotions. Peng Fenglai knew what she wanted and understood that a man like Song Ji wouldn’t be attracted to a weakling. He was accustomed to calculating everything, even his own love could be part of his calculations. Hua Zhuo was merely a casualty of these schemes.
Hua Zhuo was somewhat dumbfounded. She had only met Peng Fenglai a few times, and their relationship was rather superficial. Upon hearing Peng Fenglai say these things, she quickly understood why. After her legs became disabled, she had lived in seclusion for many years. Did paralysis significantly impact a Spirit Card Master? It wasn’t a huge problem, but it wasn’t negligible either. Her ability to control cards wasn’t much affected, but she could no longer make them. Otherwise, she could have helped Wen Jiang. Recently, Wen Jiang had given the Spirit Card Masters at the factory a collection of stories, "Liao Zhai." Hua Zhuo had become very interested in it. Reading the many tales within, she’d gained new insights and suddenly felt the itch to start making cards again. But these were not things she could discuss with an outsider, especially one whose position was so delicate. Of course, Hua Zhuo didn’t care about Peng Fenglai’s relationship with Song Ji.
After thinking for a moment, she said gently, "Thank you for your kindness. You must have wanted to see Wen Jiang today, right? But the timing isn’t very good; Wen Jiang is in seclusion."
The so-called seclusion referred to card making.
Peng Fenglai raised her elegant eyebrows. "Wen Jiang is truly a genius. Given time, perhaps she’ll become a UR-Level Spirit Card Master."
This was clearly just a flattering remark. But Hua Zhuo merely smiled and replied, "Perhaps."
Peng Fenglai was taken aback. How could she be so confident in Wen Jiang?
As she was leaving, she suddenly said, "Be careful of Yin Tianxiao."
Hua Zhuo froze.
Peng Fenglai said nothing more. Simply issuing that warning was already overstepping boundaries.
Hua Zhuo stared at Peng Fenglai’s retreating figure until she disappeared from sight, her expression gradually hardening. Peng Fenglai wouldn’t make such a comment without good reason. And Hua Zhuo knew who Yin Tianxiao was: the Spirit Card Master of the noble Yin Family, and also one of the five UR-Level Spirit Card Masters. There was always unspoken filth among the Nobility, and Yin Tianxiao was a prime example of this. In his youth, he was from a collateral branch of the Yin Family. Because he had been an S-Rank Spirit Card Master since childhood, he was brought into the main family for training. However, he suffered considerable contempt. His performance at S Rank was unremarkable, yet he somehow leaped to become a UR-Rank Spirit Card Master. This news had made countless jaws drop. It was an opportunity countless Spirit Card Masters yearned for but never obtained. No one knew how Yin Tianxiao had succeeded, but he had indeed become a UR-Level Spirit Card Master and created SSR-Rank cards. And the Yin Family’s Card Association is Broken Heart, currently the top association in Yunxia. Because of the unjust treatment he endured in the Yin Family as a child, Yin Tianxiao had grown into a petty and ill-tempered man. People might have sympathized with his past suffering, but he had taken things too far, becoming cruel. Moreover, he was extremely exclusionary and jealous of highly talented Spirit Card Masters. He had done many dirty deeds in private, all covered up by the Yin Family. Peng Fenglai’s unsolicited warning gave Hua Zhuo a bad premonition. It meant that Yin Tianxiao might have taken an interest in Wen Jiang.