The place where Spirit Card Masters lived was in a very nice environment. It was even better than the crappy one Song Yingchen had arranged for her before. The house was a spacious 100 square meters, with a room dedicated to the card-making device. All other furniture was also provided; you could move in with just your suitcase. There was even a computer, and utilities were automatically turned on.
There were two units per floor. Most Spirit Card Masters lived with their families, but each household's head was definitely a Spirit Card Master.
After finding a suitable outlet, the Spiritual Energy finally began to be absorbed by her Remnant Soul for autonomous cultivation again. But compared to her previous progress, the nature's spiritual energy was just too slow! Even when she used her past Cultivation Techniques to mobilize the spiritual power within her body, it wasn't as fast as before, ...as though she needed to observe the rules of this world.
Of course, it didn't completely restrict her from cultivating on her own. But Wen Jiang was curious. If she hadn't died in the Tribulation, could she still return to her old world? Or perhaps, did she want to explore the world of the System?
If the cultivation progress was slow, it meant it would take a long time to accomplish that. By that time, who knew what state this world would be in.
When Wen Jiang entered the apartment and stared at the legendary Card Making Pool, an idea began to form. The card-making device resembled the card wall she had seen in the institution, only with a smaller platform in the middle. Here, Spirit Card Masters had to bind with the device to use their spiritual power to construct new cards, which would then appear on the card wall.
Card construction wasn't just about making new cards. When someone sent you card data, you also needed to use your spiritual power to construct it. However, constructing existing cards was simple. Cards that had never appeared before required a huge amount of spiritual power from Spirit Card Masters, and most of them lacked the ability to create original cards.
With so many Spirit Card Masters, if one's card idea overlapped with another's, it would naturally be rejected, making successful creation impossible. That's why new cards were becoming increasingly rare. Most of the Combat Card sets on the market were monopolized by various Card Organization Associations and the Nobility.
When Wen Jiang's consciousness merged with the Card Making Pool and bound with the card-making device, those vital energies of heaven and earth began to rotate faster. By guiding them...she could regain her previous cultivation speed.
To become a Spirit Card Master, to battle, to make cards. This was her way of cultivation in this world.
Only when her spiritual power merged into the card wall could the cards be summoned in her mind; this was considered a different form of externalizing objects.
Indeed, different worlds had their mysteries. Wen Jiang, experiencing the world of cards for the first time, actually found it quite interesting. Looking at those weird and wonderful cards on the internet only added to the interest.
It was just too expensive—she hadn't expected a single R-Rank Card to cost around 2,000; it was practically robbery. But the more expensive they were, the better it was for Wen Jiang.
Zero Egg didn't know Wen Jiang's thoughts and merely snorted, "HMPH, don't even bother looking. Those B-Rank Cards aren't worth mentioning to me. If you like them, just earn enough energy to unlock a B-Rank Card Set, and you can easily draw a few to build your own set."
Wen Jiang looked down and asked just one question, "Can you sell the cards in your pool?"
Zero Egg replied, "Of course, the cards you draw out are yours. But I think..."
Suddenly, Zero Egg became hesitant. When Zero Egg faltered, it definitely wasn't a good sign. Wen Jiang said, "If you have something to say, it's best to make it clear early on since we're partners, right?"
Zero Egg was silent for about a minute, then sighed and said, "Alright, I told you from the start that I'm a 'Drawing System for the Abused Female Protagonist.' Actually, the cards I carry are all useless 'Female Protagonist Enhancement Cards.' In other words, they were originally tailor-made for you and unusable by anyone else."
Hearing this, Wen Jiang instantly understood the System's meaning. Her mind raced, and she let out a mocking laugh. "So you're saying Combat Cards aren't unique? In other words, there's another host in this world bound to a System like yours, only theirs is a Combat Card System, right?"
The System: "..."
It said with a shudder, "Host, you are so smart."
Because from the beginning, this world didn't just have one System.
And...
Wen Jiang hit the nail on the head. "Is there competition between you Systems?"
This time, the System fell silent for a long while. Wen Jiang wasn't in a hurry, knowing that the System would eventually speak up. She took the computer provided in her apartment and started searching for information about Spirit Card Master competitions online.
After a long pause, Zero Egg finally gritted its teeth and said, "Since you can't possibly reach our world anyway, and this isn't against the rules, I'll just tell you straight: the System that came here with me is of a higher rank. It belongs to the Destined Battle Card System. I don't have enough authority to know who it's bound to. Our missions aren't the same either. All I need is to get energy from you completing your original tasks."
"The Combat Card pool is shared. If you draw a card before the other host does, you can use it and sell it. But if the other host draws it first, you only have the right to use it, not to buy or sell it."
This was something the System had never imagined Wen Jiang capable of doing. Because drawing high-rank Combat Cards requires a large number of Points. How many Points could be gained from mere feminine jealousy?
That other System didn't care at all.
But who could have known? Wen Jiang had switched genres, damn it!!!
Wen Jiang already understood the rest without it needing to be spelled out. She drawled lazily, "Oh, so either that System is higher-ranked than you, or your energy requirements aren't as high as theirs. If I obtain more energy, it would be a huge benefit to you, right?"
Zero Egg fell silent again.
Of course, that was the case. They all had evaluation metrics. The more Points their host acquired, the higher the System's rating would be, which would naturally grant it greater authority and the choice of a better host... It was just too weak, which is why it ended up as a 'Drawing System for the Abused Female Protagonist.'
"So, it's a competitive relationship."
Wen Jiang had already deduced the relationship between these Systems. Zero Egg still tried to argue, "The other one is a Major System. Our target indices are completely different; there's no comparison."
It didn't even qualify as competition.
Wen Jiang clicked her tongue. "But what if the Points you obtain in this world far exceed theirs?"
Zero Egg was hesitantly shocked. "No...that's not likely, right?"
Even if it didn't understand those Major Systems, it knew their goals must be hundreds of thousands of times greater than what was expected of Wen Jiang. They must be bound to the Child of Destiny of this world. Definitely the type destined to become UR Rank. Wen Jiang...how could she compare?
"What's so impossible about that? One must always have dreams, and as a System, you should have them even more."
Regardless of whether the System was shocked, Wen Jiang had already figured out the Spirit Card Masters' enclave and found their exclusive website. It was called the Global Spirit Card Master Hub, or the Spirit Card Master website for short.
Once Spirit Card Masters verified their identity and obtained a special marker, they could access all sections of the website, except for those restricted by rank. Ordinary people could enter the common sections too. So, fans of Spirit Card Masters from all over the world gathered here.
That's right, since they participated in competitions, Spirit Card Masters would definitely have fans. Wen Jiang clicked on the entertainment section, and the posts that flooded the screen instantly caused the computer to freeze for a moment.