The Card Apprentice

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Chen Mu couldn't remember how many times he had entered the state of breath control by then. But, strangely, the details of previously entering into the state of breath control all seemed very clear in his memory. Those tiny fragments didn't require any brainpower to remember, as though they had been directly etched into his brain.

He would be a calm onlooker without any joy or sorrow. His surroundings were so clear he could master their every nuance.

Perception was no exception.

Without having to expend any energy, his brain operated at a much higher speed than normal. He painstakingly investigated the chaotic perceptual vortex, the shocking speed of which was more and more clear in his mind.

For the two sides' perception to be mixed together, any slightest change wouldn't escape her eyes. Sue Lochiro immediately felt Chen Mu's transformation.

What is going on?

It was hard for her beautiful eyes to hide her shock. She felt the youth to her side had suddenly become a different person. She didn't have the words to describe such a transformation. In fact, Cao Dong hadn't moved a finger.

Although she couldn't control her perception, there had been no influence on the rest of her body. She started to carefully size up Cao Dong with powerful curiosity. That card artisan seemed to keep a lot of secrets on him.

That sallow-looking Cao Dong seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary youth who gave out something of a sickly feeling. But, that ordinary-looking youth who would be lost in a crowd was hiding too much that was extraordinary.

He was only 18, which she'd detected from the age of his bones. There was nothing special about that age, but if one were to add that mid-range fourth level of perceptual strength, it would have a completely different meaning. If the news were to get out that an 18-year-old had mid-range fourth-level perceptual power, it would attract throngs of large firms.

The top geniuses of the federation would likely be no better than that.

She'd been recognized as a genius since she was small, though she didn't really live up to it. She was 20 that year and had already accomplished the title of a high-grade medical card artisan, which was a proud achievement. One of the requirements for a high-level medical card artisan was that one's perceptual strength had gotten to the fourth level.

At the same level four, she could approximately determine Chen Mu's perceptual strength.

Her curiosity wasn't only limited to his genius. A genius such as him would likely be added into some powerful firm or clan. They could accomplish better development that way. But, it didn't seem Chen Mu had anything like that.

There weren't any firms who would be so careless to allow such a genius youth to go looking for a medical card artisan by himself. Every detail of their lives would get the greatest attention.

Since Cao Dong had come looking for a medical card artisan by himself, that made him a little hard to understand.

What also made her rather full of admiration was how cool he was. Being a medical card artisan was a profession that tested a person's nerves, and she always had to stay calm. She knew how hard it was to be able to keep such cool in such a dangerous situation.

He really had tough nerves.

However, what most surprised her was Cao Dong's instant transformation just then.

It was too abrupt and too fast—and too thorough! Sue Lochiro had never seen such a situation. Although a transformation of temperament wasn't seen often, it did happen. But, Cao Dong's transformation had changed even his breathing and heart rate. Even the rate of blood flow through his body was completely different from the second before.

How could that be? She nearly cried out involuntarily! As a medical card artisan, she didn't believe there could be any such transformation in the world! But, it had happened right in front of her.

Although she'd only been in contact with Chen Mu for a brief time, she had still made her own judgment. For example, Cao Dong's coolness had made her think he was a little introverted and was just being vigilant about his surroundings.

Now, that thought had completely changed!

He was as cool as ice water and without a hint of impurity, but he was also without any hint of emotion.

"Is anything wrong?" Sue Lochiro's voice had some fear in it, but she still couldn't help but check in with him.

Chen Mu opened his eyes.

There wasn't any emotion in that pair of eyes; they were like a cold machine. That glare made her feel some nameless terror!

Every detail of the two combined perceptions was reflected extremely clearly in Chen Mu's mind. He could feel every change in them, even to the extent he could turn their transformations into some rough data and calculate what would happen next.

While his perception had been furious like a wild beast, there wasn't anything more than a paper mache beast in front of him now.

He couldn't determine all of the details, but he could determine quite a few things. With every detail of the perception clearly displayed in front of him, it looked like he had analytically calculated the optimal method for the chaotic scene.

Chen Mu had heard worried and fearful talk, but he hadn't understood it. By that time, it was a complete waste of time to talk. Under the state of breath control, every bit of time was sliced very fine. It wasn't sliced by the second; the unit was an order of magnitude smaller.

He chose the most peripheral. Those tendrils that had extended the furthest would be his breakthrough.

Since they extended so far, they were the furthest from the vortex and therefore the least restricted.

In an instant, those perceptual tendrils, which were finer than a hair, became thousands of strands trembling at their tips in concert.

Countless perceptual strands shook and then combined together like a wave, and they rolled toward the helical perceptual coil from their tips.

Chen Mu was now causing every last change to the two combined perceptions, which was clear to Sue Lochiro. She saw the moment with her own eyes, and a phrase almost unconsciously popped out of her brain—the butterfly effect, where you pull one hair, and the entire body moves! She thought to herself that this was probably the best portrayal.

Looking on with surprise, she didn't quite understand how Cao Dong's actions could actually be useful, but that didn't hinder her from being stunned by his ability to control perception. She knew if she were in his place in that situation, she couldn't have done any better.

Chen Mu was continuously controlling countless fine peripheral perceptual tendrils, making them rhythmically shake. One by one, waves took shape and grouped themselves together, endlessly impacting the helical perceptual coils.

Such stunning perceptual control! Sue Lochiro's eyes shone bright, though she was inwardly aghast.

It wasn't easy to control thousands of fine perceptual tendrils at the same time and then to think of forming such a huge oscillating wave! For such a stunning number of perceptual tendrils to move in the same rhythm required highly accurate control.

Precise control was one of the objectives of the medical card artisan. Compared to ordinary professional card artisans, they had more expertise in that regard. Quite a few medical card artisans had stunning accuracy, which allowed them to perform difficult procedures and manipulate a lot of advanced medical cards.

Even as a high-grade medical card artisan, Sue Lochiro wasn't sure she could control such a huge number of perceptual tendrils so accurately. If she hadn't seen it herself, she wouldn't have believed anyone in the whole city of Pomelo could get to that point. But, she had seen the entire scene with her own eyes. No! It was more precise than sight; the information was returned from perception.

That was something done by an 18-year-old? She looked at Cao Dong in disbelief.

Level-four perception in that nearly freakish body might not be considered that huge, but it meant unlimited potential. Adding to that his superb perceptual control and his calm mind… Apart from not really looking quite handsome enough, he was simply…

She really couldn't believe Pomelo could actually have such a genius, and still with no fame!

Cao Dong's expressionless face was as cold as a mountain.

Focused, calm, seasoned…

If she hadn't examined him to the age of his bones, she would never have believed such a temperament could appear in the body of a mere 18-year-old. Those qualities should show up in battle-hardened, eminent and famous first-class card artisans.

Wave after wave of vibration shocked the madly spinning spiral perceptual coils, and every blow made them slow a little. Within a brief ten seconds, Chen Mu could control the peripheral vibration of the perceptual tendrils to within 100 times, averaging ten times per second!

The high-frequency shocks made the countless fine spiral perceptual tendrils Chen Mu had emitted seem crazed, as though a wild beast had become enraged.

The information fed back from the perception made a picture in Sue Lochiro's mind, which made her a shocking sight. She raised her eyes to look off, and Cao Dong's expression hadn't changed in the slightest; it was just as cold as ever—neither joy nor sorrow. All of her hopes were now consigned to Cao Dong. Seeing how calm he was calmed her as well.

In an instant, she was delighted to find the suction within Cao Dong's body seemed to have decreased somewhat.

The method was effective! She became excited after having been forced into such a desperate situation. No matter how outstanding she was, she was really just a 20-year-old girl. As soon as she encountered danger—especially a life-or-death situation—how could the toughness of her will compare with someone who had experienced as much danger as Chen Mu?

But, after her initial excitement, she quickly returned to being calm. Her gaze moved to Chen Mu's body. She had become even more interested in him. The feeling was as though she had just encountered some challenging case, from within which she looked forward to being able to dig out some hidden knowledge.

She then made a few more discoveries without knowing why she had such peace of mind.

He was still as calm as ever, without the least fluctuation and with no change at all to his breathing or heart rate. She was full of admiration. If he were to become a medical card artisan, he would certainly be the most outstanding.

Her attention was drawn by Cao Dong's eyes.

They were open, but it was clear his attention wasn't on what was in front of him. That made his eyes look rather dull.

What was he thinking? There were innocent thoughts, along with some naughty ones, that jumped out of the girl's mind.

Her gaze traced down from Chen Mu's eyes and turned to his face.

She suddenly wrinkled her brow a little as her eyes reflected a sallow face.

Waxy yellow…