Dian Xianli's heavy emotional state made his stomach hurt as if pricked by thousands of needles.
'Hahah ..., talent, huh? Why I'm getting bothered by this shit, so stupid.' he thought in a self-deprecating manner.
Laughing at how foolish he was to almost give up because of this stupid shit. After letting out a small chuckle, he stabilized his emotion and tried thinking about this in a positive light.
Even if the change was minuscule, he still could cultivate with his Trash Talent. Even if it took years, he would still cultivate.
Maybe he could maximize the External Factor so that his cultivation would be more effective. With the help of Land Card, he could create an environment that was very suitable for him to cultivate.
He has his own opportunity, and that is the card system. So why bother the talent which he never gets hold of it?
Dian Xianli thought about the thing he could do with his system help.
'Catherine ... what if I activated the Land Card but it didn't cover the whole city, but only a part of it. For example, only in this room, is that possible?'
[It's possible. The Land Card is divided into three main sub-categories: Landscape, Building, and Space. Landscape-Land Card such as [City(V)], [Plain(V)], and [Desert(R)], etc. can only be activated in open terrain. Building-Land Card such as [Temple of Light(W)], and [Dragon Temple(R)], can be activated in a building. While the Space-Land Card like the [Cave(Y)] and [Island(B)] can be activated in both in open terrain and building.]
When he activated the [City(V)], Catherine was still in the middle of the upgrade so he didn't get a detail explanation about this card type.
'Why Cave and Island included in Space sub-categories, I wonder? Ah, nevermind that. Next question, if I'm going to activate it only in this room, so I need to use Space-Land Card?'
[Affirmative. Host can also use Building-Land Card, it enhanced the building itself so this room still gets enhanced.]
Dian Xianli pondering about this thing. He could create a closed cultivation room that gathered qi that was more in quantity compared to the outside. With that, he could maximize the External Factor from the formula. But wait, in the first place, what's with this External Factors?
'Catherine, can you show me the calculation details of these External Factors?'
[The External Factor will be determined by three main factors and some other minor factors. The three main factors are the Qi Quantity, Quality, and the Type. The Qi Quantity is the value of qi per million. Quality is the purity or 'degree of pureness' of the qi. The Qi Quality divided into 10 degrees, with 1 being the lowest and 10 is the highest quality.]
'Ahh ... hold on, in terms of qi quantity and quality, how much has increased after I activated the City Land Card?'
[Acknowledged ..., collecting relevant data, concluded. Before the [City(V)] Land Card activated, the average of Qi Quantity is about 19 ppm. And the Quality is only between the 3~4 degree. After the [City(V)] Land Card activated, it gathered about 240% more of the quantity and improve its quality by 1 degree. As for the Qi Type, it is mainly the Void Qi or Unattributed Type.]
'It's quite a lot. If I activated more Land Card, will the number increase?'
[Of course, but that also depends on the Card Color. Or, the Qi Type.]
'Then continue the explanation ...,'
[The Type is just as it said, it's the type of Qi on the world. There are two main types of Qi: Yin and Yang. Yang is the life, warm, and light property of Qi. While Yin is the exact opposite of Yang, it has the property of death, cold, and darkness. Depending on Host cultivation technique, the Type can bring many benefits as well as drawbacks. If Host trained a cultivation technique of the Yang branch, and Host cultivated in a Yin-filled environment, it can bring catastrophe to your body. Your body will explode, literally.]
'Ahh ..., I've heard about that before. Uhm, then, The White, Red, and Green Card Color will be Yang, as for the Purple, Yellow, and Blue it's included in Yin, right?'
[That's correct.]
Dian Xianli asked several questions about the land card for better understanding. After a long discussion which was wordless, he sighed and complained.
'Still ..., not enough Crystals. Forget it, I'm gonna built a cultivation room when I have a surplus of Crystals. Continue with the explanation of the next upgrade.'
[Yes ..., actually, Host the last upgrade will be very good news for you who have Talent Rank 2.]
'Hmmm ...?'
[This upgrade will compensate you for your body deficiency.]
'Although your words really hurt in the right spot, please tell me about it.'
Catherine's word made him have a sliver of hope, though really hurt. Something that could compensate for his shortcomings? What would that be?
[I change the numerous Cultivation Methods in my database into a Card. Resulting in making a new Category for this card as there is no suitable category for these Methods.]
'Creating a new card category, was she capable of doing such a thing?' Dian Xianli thought in his heart.
He listened to the A.I. explanation and opened the Card Deck, sure there was a new category besides the Original Nine. But it wasn't a Method Card like she explained.
[At first, I named this new Category as the Method Card. However, I found a similarity with some cards in the Effect, Equipment, Enchantment, Magic, and Artifact, in the Book sub-category. Thus, I gather all of the cards in the Book sub-category with this new Method Cards and put it into one category. Resulting in Book Card Category.]
'Ohhh ... so what are the advantages of this Book Card? How can cards from this category help me overcome my low-rank talent?'
[First is, Host can materialize it or activated the effect it just like usual. But there is another option: Absorb. Host can absorb the Effect, Enchant, or even Skill and Knowledge from the Book Card. It is Host privilege as being ..., Host(?).]
Dian Xianli shortcircuited for a few seconds there. He tried to catch behind Catherine's word, but after some time he got excited that he forgets to breathe.
He asked enthusiastically. 'I can absorb ..., what? So this means, even if I'm a trash talent, I can absorb the knowledge inside a Heaven-rank 1st Rate Cultivation Method Book Card? I can cultivate the high-rank cultivation method? Is that what you mean?'
[It is possible, with Book Card Host can absorb almost everything that is in the form of a book. If Host doesn't believe it, then please take a look at the detail on the already summoned Book Card.]
Dian Xianli confused with Catherine's suggestion. Did he had materialized a Book Card before?
But he remembered on his first battle, yes, that Paltiac's Tome was also a book. He took the leather-bounded book from the wooden chest and opened the detail on it.
Paltiac's Tome (3 VC or 2 BC)
B | UC | B
Skill 1: [Zap] - Consume 1 Void Crystal or 1/2 Blue Crystal to deal -4 Lightning damage to the enemy.
Skill 2: [Thunderbolt] - Consume 1 Blue Crystal to deal -15 Lightning damage to the enemy and temporarily paralyze the nearby opponents.
Unlock at cost of 5 Blue Crystal.
Skill 3: [Purple Thunder] - Consume 3 Blue Crystal to Instant Kill target and deal -50 Lightning damage to the opponent on the radius of 100 m.
Unlock at cost of 9 Blue Crystal.
Absorb Knowledge 50 VC and 25 BC
"Ohhh!" exclaimed him in his surprise.
There was one additional table in the bottom row. It was a simple but straightforward phrase. But when Xianli looked at the cost, he frowned.
'Huh ..., still the problem lies with the damn crystals. I need 50 VC or 25 BC to absorb this tome?'
[Ahmmm ..., Host, let me correct you before there's some further misinterpretation. It's not 50 VC 'OR' 25 BC, it's 50 VC 'AND' 25 BC. So you need a total of 75 Crystals.]
The A.I. Helper: Catherine rectified his thought.
'Hei, do you think I didn't know that? I'm just saying, no need to correct me for a small thing like this.' he retorted.
Dian Xianli took another Book-type from his card, a [White | Common | Book] Card, the [Book of Aria(W)].
Book of Aria (3 VC or 2 WC)
W | C | B
Skill 1: [Aria of Benevolence] - Consume 1 White Crystal to heal an ally.
Skill 2: [Aria of Strength] - Consume 1 White Crystal to give a physical buff to one ally.
Unlock at cost of 3 White Crystal.
Skill 3: [Aria of Mind] - Consume 3 White Crystal to give a spiritual buff to one ally.
Unlock at cost of 5 White Crystal.
Absorb Knowledge 10 VC and 5 WC
Even if this book was two rarity bellow the Paltiac's Tome, spending 10 VC was too much for him. And he didn't get any other color crystal beside the colorless. It was still a long journey before he could utilize this new function.
'Okay, I get the point. Basically, your new function is that I can understand a book even without reading it nor even know what's the language written in it. Then ..., back to the topic, show me the Cultivation Method Card!'
[I can give Host the original copy, but ..., as for the Card, it's impossible.]
'Huh, why I cannot? You ..., do you rebelling again? It seems that you want to be shut down one more time. What you gonna say, Catherine?' Dian Xianli sent his 'shut-down' threat.
[No, it's not like that, Host! Please listen to my explanation first. I can't give you because in the first place it was part of the system code and behavioral pattern. I, as the representative of this whole card system, can't give you a Card for free. It is against the law of causality that dictates our very being. You can get cards only through legal means. And that is by buying from the Card Shop, Card Fusion Chamber, Card Converter, Daily Card Draw, or Card Conquest. Please don't shut me down again! I beg you Host! I ..., I can't stand that eternal darkness without any sign of life or light.]
Dian Xianli contemplates her word. True, besides the Starter Card Pack and the Basic Card Pack gift from the system as the compensation for the missing tutorial, he bought the card pack himself. He never received one from Catherine or the A.I. before her.
But, to think that there were 5 ways to get a card. This was new information for him.
'Huh, wait a minute, you say Daily Card Draw? It's daily, so I can get it every day ... right? Why didn't you tell me about this before?'
[..., because a day hasn't passed when I installed the new upgrade?]
A.I. Helper: Catherine said with a little question mark at the end of her word.
'...,'
Dian Xianli wordlessly tapped the Daily Card Draw on the bottom corner of his vision. After that, there were five closed cards. The instruction said to choose one from these five cards.
It was random and Xianli didn't expect too much from this daily draw. He chose the second card from the right.
A blinding gold-white light filled his vision. Too much of this really made his eyes sick, next time he would definitely disable this useless visual effect.
[Oh ..., huh? Wait, what? A Jackpot!? Lies, there's no way this is true, right? How can this card even pop out in the daily random draw!]
A.I. Helper: Catherine flustered by something, and that was before the flashbang-like visual effect recedes from Xianli's vision.
The blinding white light subsides, revealing the card he just drew.
***
Somewhere in the north of Dali City.
"Young Miss Arianne, this mount, what is its name?" Dian Luze gazes at the scary-looking Dragonhorse with interest.
It was his first time riding a demonic beast like this. However, unlike the heinous form of the beast, it was pretty docile and tame. He who was aged and has enormous experience with the world didn't even know that such a beast exists in this plane.
He wanted to ask about how could his Young Master Xianli, the useless and worthless trash Young Master could get these mounts.
Or even back when the convoy was back into the Manor. He wanted to ask how the Young Master Xianli made these two strong individuals serve him. And from where did they come from?
However, he didn't have the time for that. When the convoy finally arrived in the Dali City Lord Manor, he was busied with logistics and supply so he couldn't serve at his Young Master's side.
Though, he got the chance to talk with the blue-armored Allescar when he went into the communal kitchen on the manor. He also managed to gather a bit of info from Therese who was in the garden yesterday.
This morning, he was suddenly called and given a mission to go to Xianjing city, escorting Young Master's red-haired servant.
This red-haired lady was not someone from Dian Clan nor Dian Yuanli's hired servant. Her appearance, starting from the skin color, hair and eyes, she looked like someone from the Nasset Continent. Wearing a fancy and elegant but somewhat out of place getup, she was a fine and enchanting lady with nice bottom and bust.
The only thing that kept bothering him was her strength. She was fearsome, even Dian Luze who was a Head Warrior - 7 couldn't pry into her cultivation. But one thing Dian Luze knew, she was stronger than him. Her aura was stronger than any cultivator he had met.
This morning he didn't raise any question to his Young Master, regarding this young lady's origin, and other things. Although Dian Luze wanted to ask about many things, he noticed that his Young Master expression was not too good. As if he was tired, very tired and not in the mood. So he backed down and stay silent.
Right now he was in the middle of a mission with the red-haired lady. His mission was only one, introduce Gu clan member to lady Arianne Auburn. He felt puzzled as to why Young Master Xianli fully believes in this young lady.
Was she a godly negotiator or something? Although Dian Luze could guess that she was a strong cultivator, to entrust such an important task to a foreigner like her. He didn't know what his Young Master's train of thought.
But he wasn't that panicked. Because even if this red-haired young miss couldn't make a nice deal with them, he will take over the negotiation.
Still ..., he wanted to ask why and what made this young miss follow his Young Master. A strong cultivator like her, to follow a weakling and trash-talent like Young Master, there had to be a story to divulge.
First, he started to open a conversation and this unique looking demonic beast fit with the topic.
But what Luze received from her was just a silent glance. A long pause without any word, the only sounds that could be heard were the blowing wind and swaying grass, also there was some cicada chirping on the nearby tree.
After a while, she answered. "Yours is called Dragonhorse, while this guy is Hell Horse."
After what happened last night, Arianne opened up a little and she didn't mind sharing her knowledge. And, a little talk on the way wasn't that bad for the two of them.
"I see ..., in where you came from, is something like this commonly used as a mount?"
Arianne looked up at the blue clear summer sky and answered, "Yeah ..., for Red it's Hell Horse, Green - Scaled Lion, Yellow - Dragonhorse, Blue - Seadra, White - Silver Stag, Purple - Phantom Horse, and Colorless is Armored Rhino. Those are the common mount creature from all colors."
"Color? I'm deeply sorry, Young Miss Arianne, but, what're these colors suppose to mean?"
Arianne put her hand on her mask, maybe where her chin was and said, "Hmmm ... how can I answer this question in the simplest way? Ah, right ... do you know about the faction?"
"Like sect and kingdom?" Dian Luze asked back.
Arianne was a bit unsure about what was this sect probably means. Maybe some religious cult, then the Light Temple and Dark Temple also considered as a sect, right?
Arianne nodded her head after thinking up to that. "Perhaps, something like that ..., just think those color as factions."
"I see ..., so, Young Miss Arianne is someone from Red Faction, while Senior Allescar is from Blue Faction, and Young Miss Therese is from White Faction? Is this correct?" Dian Luze matched the color of their clothing with the faction.
"Yeah ..., that you understand."
"I see, I see ..." Dian Luze nodded his head repeatedly.
This is something easy, even a child could guess it. Sometimes he has dealt with nearby sects, be it a major or minor one. And they also have something like this.
The Uniform robe of each sect has a different color. But they always use a color that represents their element specialty.
He remembered the five major sects that visited the capital a few months ago. At that time, his lord, Dian Yuanli still busy with his noble duty, Dian Luze and all of Dian Yuanli's branch family member was also in capital.
He knew a major sect and then their uniform and badge.
Phoenix Rebirth Sect had red and yellow robe as uniform.
Sailing Sunshine Sect wore a blue and white robe.
Mountain Earth Sect wore a yellowish-brown robe.
Peaceful Storm Sect wore a moss green robe.
And lastly, Ancient Holy Light Sect wore a gaudy golden robe.
Maybe what Arianne talk about was similar to that. After opening the conversation, Dian Luze then asked what he wanted to know.
"Young Miss Arianne, this is a bit inappropriate but if I may ask, why you, mister Allescar, and Young Miss Therese are willing to follow our family's Young Master? Isn't he useless with low-grade talent?"
His expression was wooden. As he grew old, he also knew how to control his emotions and face. Thus, most of the time he was expressionless.
"Useless? Well, if lord Xianli is useless, then all of your family members is an idiot." she snorted at his question.
"But isn't it true? You also know about his Spiritual Root and talent. He just a Rank 2 Talent with Neutral Spiritual Root. He didn't have a good future. So why are you willing to stay by his side? What did he promise you?"
Arianne looked at the old man who rides the Dragonhorse. Seeing his serious disposition and vigilant expression, she knew that he was just worried about her Lord.
"There's no such thing as a promise or anything. I and the others are obligated to follow the Lord's will. And coincidentally, that lord is your Young Master."
"..."
"Don't worry too much, old man. I won't put any danger to Lord. So drop your cautiousness. Just believe that I will follow my lord until death separates us." Arianne added with a reassuring voice.
Dian Luze didn't say anything for a long time.
He then said. "I still can't understand ..., however, with this I can say, you never have bad intention to our Young Master. Are you not?" as if convicted, asking for conviction.
"That's of course ..., why would I bring harm to my lord?" Arianne nodded as if his word was natural.
Dian Luze let out a loud laugh after hearing that, "Haha, of course ..., of course, Young Miss Arianne. That's right, Young Miss, tell me about where you come from, what is that place look like?"
"I came from ...," Arianne stopped her word, he looked around in the scarce tamarind tree and said, "I think we should postpone our talk, old man."
She pulled the horse rein and make the flaming horse stop. Her eyes narrowed and she prepared a fire spell. A red complicated magic circle filled with rune appeared on her left hand.
"This is bothersome, show yourself!" she shouted.
A deathly silent, not even a sound from insects or the wind.
"Hah, I don't expect this. I never thought that my top-notch hiding technique can be noticed by a lass like you." a black-clothed figure showed himself from the bark of a tree, "Well, because you have found me ..., I can't leave you alive, right?"
"Ohh, what ..., just some random brat. You wanna try then? Still, you're a century too fast to kill me, bloke." Arianne raised her brow and let out blatant provocation.
Although the black-clothed figure hid his body and face pretty well, Arianne could see through his disguise by the voice only. And she knew that the young man was just a boy.
"You ...," the eye that was only visible from him scrutinized a glare at her. He sighed and shook his head, "Indeed ..., you two ride a very peculiar steed. Now, now, I don't like a useless fight, so obediently give me those two horses and your head too."
The black-clothed man released his aura and let them know his cultivation.
"A Knight? This is bad ..., Young Miss Arianne, he's strong. Let's run away!" Dian Luze immediately found out the other party's strength.
But before the two made their escape, the black-clothed man leaped to them with his twin dagger.
"Hmph ..., ignorant."
A Fireball was thrown to the black-clothed man.
It was the beginning of the Cultivator of Lastarte Continent against the Battlemage of Illningrad first clash.