Chapter 10: Spiritual Cards

Gathering Qi Elixir is the mark of a one-star spiritual apprentice.

When the first drop of spiritual liquid forms in the Sea of Spirit, it signifies that Duke can harness the power of the liquid to wield supernatural abilities—though the range of such abilities is limited.

He closes the door and secures the latch.

Duke's consciousness connects with the 1-ring Desert Eagle within his Sea of Spirit. In the next instant, a silver-grey desert eagle handgun solidly materializes in his hand.

Gripping the weighty Desert Eagle, he senses that this 1-ring arcane artifact maintains its physical form in reality while constantly consuming the spiritual liquid within his Sea of Spirit.

"Xiaoyi, how long can the Desert Eagle's materialization last?"

"Based on the current rate of spiritual liquid consumption, without using the Desert Eagle, it can manifest for about three minutes. As I am still maintaining meditation and absorbing free-floating spirituality at an increased rate, it might extend the materialization time to six minutes."

"What if I pull the trigger?"

"Master needs to attempt it once for Xiaoyi to gather sufficient data."

Trying it out is certainly necessary, but it's not feasible to do so in the inn. Temporarily suppressing the urge to pull the trigger, Duke continues to inquire, "Xiaoyi, can this Desert Eagle be further upgraded?"

Both having transmigrated.

While his smartphone transmigrated into a 9-ring Xiaoyi, the handgun remains a 1-ring Desert Eagle—a substantial gap between them.

"In theory, it's possible. Xiaoyi can improve the magical model of the Desert Eagle, but it requires collecting a significant amount of data for calculations."

"Upgrading it will be great."

Duke toys with the Desert Eagle for a moment, then dismisses its material form, indicating for Xiaoyi to continue practicing the "Blank Slate Meditation Technique." He, in turn, starts to flip through the books he purchased.

He gives them a quick glance.

Xiaoyi will remember all the content for him, providing feedback anytime and anywhere.

Having such a potent tool at his disposal, Duke isn't concerned about his relatively low affinity for spiritual magic. Affinity is just one factor influencing the future, not an absolute determinant.

...

The next day.

As dawn breaks, Duke leaves the inn, buys a few meat buns from a street vendor, and walks into the West Station. Finding the sign for the route to Snakehead Town, he waits for the black-armored beetle car to arrive. It's the same one as before, with the driver and ticket attendant being the same, only the knight who accompanies the car has changed.

Traveling this route comes with risks, which is why the car knight is indispensable.

Two 1-ring car knights are more than capable of averting most dangers.

The return trip goes smoothly without any danger. When the black-armored beetle car arrives at the station and Duke steps off, he feels his mood change significantly at the sight of Snakehead Town.

"As a registered spiritual apprentice, I finally have some assurance of safety."

Before registering at the Arcane Tower, as an ordinary person without any family, even if he were to be murdered, it would just be a local public security case that the local law enforcement might casually close.

Once registered at the Arcane Tower, the nature of things changes.

The Seven Pagoda Federation is a paradise for arcane mages. Any murder of arcane mages or spiritual apprentices is seen as a provocation against the federation, and it will be thoroughly investigated.

Of course.

Nothing is absolute, and true safety still relies on oneself.

Back in the rented room, gazing at the two rooms, with the roof leaking, he decides, "It's time to find a new place to live."

Snakehead Town's layout consists of four main streets forming a grid with two horizontal and two vertical streets, dividing the town into nine squares.

The central area is naturally the best in terms of safety, environment, convenience, and is built atop rich spiritual energy. It's most suitable for spiritual cultivation. However, the rent there is exorbitant, which Duke can't currently afford.

He intends to find a place near the second vertical street.

Little Sam's card repair shop is located at 214 Second Vertical Street, and renting nearby will be convenient for commuting.

He spends the afternoon searching for a place, finally settling on a two-story house with a yard in a small alley of the second vertical street. It has two rooms on each floor.

Two months' deposit and three months' rent—four and a half Silver Dragons per month.

Duke moves his meager belongings in and buys a spiritual energy-powered water heater from a nearby spiritual artifact shop, installing it in the bathroom of his new house. He couldn't bear the thought of not having hot water for bathing, and this move takes care of that need.

Once everything is settled, he cooks rice.

Then, Duke continues to open the purchased books, providing more data to Xiaoyi using his own eyes. As a 9-ring arcane artifact, Xiaoyi is nearly useless without data. Progressively nurturing Xiaoyi's abilities will allow it to become more and more effective, aiding him in surviving better in this world.

"Spiritual cards are a collection."

"All forms capable of compressing a standard magical model—essentially a ring—and maintaining an intact energy circuit within, can be referred to as spiritual cards."

"Spiritual cards can be a single card, a dual-faced card, even a layered ball, or a soft, gelatinous mass."

"However, the most common form for spiritual cards is the card structure—convenient to carry, easy to operate, simple to craft, and easy to repair, leveraging the smallest volume to unleash the greatest energy."

While swiftly reading, Duke places his three cards—Spirit Dragon Card, Arcane Card, and Spirit Storage Card—on the table for comparison.

"These three cards consist of the simplest forms: the Spirit Dragon Card, Arcane Card, both single-faced cards, and the Spirit Storage Card, which is three-dimensional and more complex." He glances at the cards, then continues reading.

The book describes various types of spiritual cards, broadly categorized into single-faced, dual-faced, layered, nested, bundled, irregular, and three-dimensional cards.

Single-faced, dual-faced, and three-dimensional cards are the most common.

"Tomorrow, when I go back to work, I wonder if I can get hands-on experience by crafting a spiritual card myself," Duke ponders.

Continuing to read until late at night, he extinguishes the light and lies down to sleep. Meanwhile, within his Sea of Spirit, Xiaoyi maintains the operation of the "Blank Slate Meditation Technique."

The external, unbounded spiritual energy is gradually drawn into his body, converging within his Sea of Spirit.

What initially was just a drop of spiritual liquid.

Now amounts to twenty-eight drops.

These spiritual liquids swirl around Xiaoyi and the Desert Eagle, pulsating irregularly, yet Duke can sense their intimacy with him, able to command them with just a thought.

"Once these droplets form a continuous line of energy, I'll advance to a two-star apprentice."

However, the condensation of spiritual liquid is not straightforward. As the amount of spiritual liquid increases in his Sea of Spirit, the efficiency of condensation begins to wane. This is due to the body's ability to accept spirituality nearing saturation.

The Sea of Spirit is not a literal sea capable of boundlessly containing spiritual energy.

The capacity for spiritual energy within the Sea of Spirit is closely linked to the body. And of course, these spiritual energies subtly enhance bodily qualities, promoting longevity, mitigating ailments, and improving overall well-being.

"Xiaoyi!"

"I'm here."

"Do you have any insights about card crafting?"

"The trick in card crafting is to identify the weak points of the energy circuit, then reinforce or clear those points. Theoretically, Xiaoyi can now repair ordinary single-faced spiritual cards."

"That's great." Duke's mood lifts. "When you've learned, it's as though I've learned it too."

"Indeed, in theory. However, Master, Xiaoyi can't control your body. Thus, you need to operate and practice the specific repair techniques yourself to become proficient."