Chapter 268: 268 Isn’t this thing just fun?_1
Ever since that brief encounter with Blood Emperor, Mech King had indeed quieted down for a while. At least, that’s what it seemed like on the surface. Sa Ang also mentioned that fewer people had been targeting him at the Underground Arena recently.
Armed with the Mechanical Angel Deck Wen Jiang had given him, he had been dominating the Underground Arena lately. This attracted the attention of many who set their sights on this deck. Pre-orders for this Sixth Division deck had been climbing steadily, and Karin had been all smiles for the past few days. One could easily imagine how explosive the scene would be when it officially went on sale.
In the past few days, Blood Emperor had provided some information. Whether it was true or false, Wen Jiang loitered around the Underground Arena, pretending to investigate information about her "brother" while also paying attention to recent matches.
An interesting match emerged.
Wen Jiang saw the B-Rank Card Set featuring the Demon Race Double Change Card that she had created. It wasn’t that this card set couldn’t be sold at Mount Flower; during the times of turmoil, Mount Flower had sold a batch of B-Rank cards. Therefore, it wasn’t surprising that the Child Demon card had appeared in Ceylon City. Moreover, Child Demon had a vastly superior win rate among B-Rank cards.
This card set had once swept through competitions in the B-Level Group; hardly any card could match Child Demon, although, of course, much still depended on the Spirit Card Master’s own skill. When Wen Jiang initially created the B-Rank Card Set, she had just arrived and had only considered power when designing the cards. Their adaptability wasn’t as high as the Mechanical Angel Deck she created later when her skills had improved. After Sa Ang won against his opponent, the live broadcast of this match was widely publicized.
The Spirit Card Master who used the Child Demon card was only average in strength. Since Child Demon required overwhelming power for an instant kill, the Mechanical Angel card, being a counter-damage card, was its natural nemesis. Its loss was hardly surprising.
Child Demon had a reputation in the B-Level Group. After it lost the match, the people in the Underground Arena were fervent. Spectators from Xi Zhou were excited yet disdainful, "This card from Yunxia, its power is mediocre at best; it couldn’t even last a minute against Sa Ang!"
"Indeed, cards from Xi Zhou are superior! At least this designer from Xi Zhou named Helena—the cards she designed simply demolished this card from Yunxia!"
Wen Jiang: ...
Zero Egg exclaimed, "Tsk, let them fight, let them fight!"
Others had a gleam in their eyes. "The history of the B-Level Group should be rewritten! Faced with the power of Mechanical Angel, Yunxia’s card set is nothing special!"
Wen Jiang: It’s not that serious, really.
Of course, due to the publicity from this fight, pre-orders for the Mechanical Angel Deck soared in Xi Zhou, directly boosting Helena’s reputation.
In the current world, although S-Rank competitions were grand in scale, on actual battlefields, B-Rank and R-Rank cards still dominated in terms of sheer numbers. It wasn’t easy to release cards for the A-Rank Group and above, but competition among B-Rank cards was fierce. Some won based on ’attractive’ features, while others relied on the actual combat power of their cards.
Mechanical Angel’s victory over Child Demon shot it to new stardom as a B-Rank card powerhouse. This was especially true since the five cards Wen Jiang released were for public sale, just like the publicly available Moon Palace Card Set she had created earlier. This deck was enough to change the landscape of B-Level Group competitions.
It had been a long time since Wen Jiang had paid attention to B-Level Group competitions. On the first day the Mechanical Angel Deck officially went on sale, Hua Zhuo got the news very quickly and called directly to ask, "That Xi Zhou-style Mechanical Angel Deck, was it your creation?"
The answer wasn’t exactly a secret. Wen Jiang hadn’t hidden her use of the name Helena from Hua Zhuo before. So, she promptly admitted, "Yes."
Hua Zhuo gasped in admiration, her thoughts growing more complicated. "Your strength truly amazes me." She’s so dazzling, Hua Zhuo mused. For someone with my status as an A-Level Spirit Card Master, creating a B-Rank Card Set might not seem like a monumental feat. But to craft one that can alter the entire competitive landscape... In this aspect, I’d dare to call Wen Jiang a genius. If she’s considered a genius, then few others could probably claim to possess such talent.
Then Hua Zhuo added, "It’s a pity for this deck to appear in Ceylon Cemetery."
Wen Jiang, however, thought it was fine. To catch a fish, one must be willing to make sacrifices. "I’ve already met one of their leaders, Blood Emperor. His name is Di Jizhou. If you hadn’t called, I was planning to ask you to investigate him too."
Wen Jiang had only just learned Blood Emperor’s name. She was worried that investigating it with such fanfare now would alert Blood Emperor’s side, which was why she hadn’t notified Hua Zhuo yet.
"Di Jizhou?"
Unexpectedly, Hua Zhuo had heard this name before. "Is this Blood Emperor’s name?"
"Yes." Wen Jiang detected a subtle nuance in Hua Zhuo’s tone. "Have you heard this name somewhere before?"
"Possibly..." Hua Zhuo sounded uncertain. "You know, the incident with Yu Jian had a certain impact on me. Not only do outsiders have a vague impression of me, but my own memories of past events are also somewhat hazy." A Spirit Card Master’s memory is typically quite good, but Hua Zhuo, having been injured, was an exception. "I think I’ve heard the name Di Jizhou somewhere, a long time ago." Hua Zhuo pondered for a moment. "It probably has nothing to do with the current Di Family."
"Oh?" Wen Jiang found this rather intriguing. So it’s not related to the Yan Family as I guessed. "Does anyone know Blood Emperor’s real name?"
Hua Zhuo replied, "I don’t know. We’ve been investigating them. Blood Emperor is one of the more mysterious leaders among the Fiends. Did he tell you this name himself?"
Wen Jiang replied, "Yes."
Hua Zhuo remarked, "That’s strange. We couldn’t even find this information, yet he told you his name during your first meeting?"
"Yes..." Wen Jiang affirmed, and suddenly, a strange thought occurred to her.
If Di Jizhou was a name Blood Emperor had improvised on the spot, then with Mech King present, there was no need for him to lie and invent a fake name. Unless that name held some special meaning for him. If he suspected me, it wouldn’t make sense for him to use a Yunxia name specifically.
Wen Jiang suddenly narrowed her eyes. Having been in this world for some time, I’ve always enjoyed analyzing people, and Blood Emperor is no exception.
There’s something wrong here. Wen Jiang always trusted her intuition. Although I don’t know what Blood Emperor is thinking, I have a feeling... Blood Emperor is setting a trap for me.
Wen Jiang suddenly said, "Hua Zhuo, act as if you haven’t heard anything, and as if you’ve never heard this name."
Although Hua Zhuo didn’t understand Wen Jiang’s reasoning, she knew Wen Jiang wouldn’t say such a thing without cause. She didn’t ask if she should investigate on her own and simply agreed, "Okay." She would act as if she hadn’t heard a thing.
After she hung up, Zero Egg asked, "Hua Zhuo seemed to have some recollection of the name Blood Emperor. Why didn’t you let her continue investigating for you? Instead, you’re acting as if you don’t know."
Wen Jiang sneered. "I didn’t know before, but now I do. Would you inexplicably tell your real name to someone you’ve just met? If there’s an issue, I’ll just sound out Mech King and find out. He said it in front of Mech King at the time. If Mech King still remembers the name, then there’s no problem. But if he doesn’t remember... then wouldn’t this matter become rather amusing?"