Mythical Card Maker: Starting with the Mountain Spirit

Upon hearing this, the recorder nodded slightly, and with a flick of his wrist, a silver-white jade tablet suddenly appeared in his palm.

This jade slab is about the size of a flat plate and about ten centimeters thick.

It has two card-sized grooves on the front.

Above the recess, there is something resembling an LCD screen, displaying the number "zero".

The recorder tapped a few times on the LCD screen before getting up and going to the candidate on the far left of the first row.

This is a boy who is about seventeen or eighteen years old. He has an ordinary appearance, short hair, and looks a bit awkward.

"Don't be nervous!"

The recorder smiled slightly, then said softly:

"Place the ID card in the left slot and the material card in the right slot."

Her voice was very soft and sweet, and it was very pleasant to listen to.

Upon hearing this, the boy relaxed considerably and took the identity card and material card that had been prepared beforehand from the long white jade table in front of him.

Place it into the corresponding groove as instructed.

"drop!"

A crisp sound rang out, and the surface of the jade plate flashed with light.

The next instant, lines of fine text appeared on the LCD screen.

The information displayed was the candidate's name, place of origin, alma mater, and age.

Almost the instant the message appeared, a mechanical electronic voice suddenly rang out.

"Identity verification successful, material card confirmed to be correct!"

Immediately afterwards, in the center of the lobby,

A bright blue fluorescent panel, three meters long and two meters high, suddenly appeared next to the three high platforms.

The fluorescent panel clearly displays the number of material cards this candidate has obtained.

The recorder glanced at it and immediately announced in a loud voice:

"Chen Yuanzhou has obtained a total of two purple material cards, twenty blue material cards, thirty-six green material cards, and forty-seven white material cards."

One point is awarded for white material cards, five points for green material cards, ten points for blue material cards, and fifty points for purple material cards.

Final score: 527 points.

As soon as he finished speaking, the recorder tapped the LCD screen.

The material card that was originally embedded in the right groove suddenly popped out and landed on the white jade table in front of Chen Yuanzhou.

Then she walked toward the next candidate.

"Wang Peng, actual combat score: 458 points."

"Li Zhaoxi, combat score: 503 points."

"Zhang Ziming, combat score: 641 points."

……

Soon, the recorder came to the Yang sisters.

Yang Shuang'er was the first to have her grades verified.

She followed the same procedure and inserted the identity card and material card into the groove on the jade plate.

Soon after, the familiar mechanical sound rang out.

Immediately afterwards, her material card information appeared on the fluorescent panel in the center of the lobby.

"Yang Shuang'er, combat score: 1,692 points."

As the recorder's voice rang out, everyone around gasped.

Countless eyes turned to look at the beautiful young woman, their eyes filled with disbelief.

The reason is simple: Yang Shuang'er's score is 300 points higher than the previous highest score.

Despite the stares of the crowd, Yang Shuang'er's expression remained largely unchanged.

He simply smiled faintly and then put the material card that the jade plate had spat out back into his possession.

Next up was Yang Xueer.

As the fluorescent panel flashed, the recorder's soft, sweet voice rang out again:

"Yang Xueer, combat score: 1,715 points."

"Another one with over a thousand points! You really can't judge a book by its cover!"

"She's even taller than that beautiful girl from before. Are girls these days really this terrifying?"

"My goodness, they seem to be going berserk in the rift!"

……

The crowd couldn't help but murmur among themselves.

The way he looked at Yang Shuang'er and her sister had become somewhat strange.

A hint of surprise flashed in the recorder's eyes. He glanced at the two sisters again before walking towards Fang Chuchu.

"Fang Chuchu, combat score: 1,927 points."

The entire audience erupted in uproar!

Over 1,900 points, this is the highest score so far!

Even the two mentors on the platform showed a hint of appreciation.

The gentle female instructor, in particular, nodded frequently, her eyes revealing obvious satisfaction.

Fang Chuchu simply smiled slightly, put the material card away, then turned her head to look at Lin Mo, her eyes full of curiosity.

Even she has over 1,900 points, so Lin Mo should be even higher, I wonder if he will break 3,000?

Just as Fang Chuchu was thinking, the recorder had already arrived in front of Lin Mo.

He stretched out his right hand and handed over the silver-white jade tablet.

Lin Mo examined the silver-white jade tablet for a few moments. If his guess was correct,

The jade tablet in front of him should be like his Vajra Bracelet, containing its own Sumeru space.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to accommodate so many material cards.

After all, the groove inside the jade plate only appears to be a few centimeters deep.

Exhaling a slight breath, Lin Mo flipped his wrist, took out the identity card, and placed it into the groove on the left side of the jade plate.

Immediately, a thought occurred to him.

In the next instant, countless material cards appeared on the white jade table like a shower of flowers from a celestial maiden.

They were piled up into a small mountain, shimmering with different kinds of light.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the mountain of resource cards, and many people even swallowed hard.

He stared blankly at Lin Mo, as if he were looking at a monster.

"My goodness, did he go into the rift to get more supplies?"

"Holy crap, what did I just see? There's an orange resource card! Oh my god!"

"I thought those girls were exaggerating, but compared to him, they were really nothing."

"Not only are there a large number of his resource cards, but what's most outrageous is that their quality is shockingly high. The vast majority of them are purple and blue resources, with almost no white resources. Can you believe it?"

"Impossible! He must have cheated, bringing the material cards he obtained earlier into the rift and mixing them in. Otherwise, how could there be so many? I need to verify the cards!"

……

The recorder was also stunned.

She had seen many source cards before, but never this many.

He couldn't help but glance at Lin Mo a few more times, and at the same time, a hint of doubt welled up in his heart.

But seeing that the other person's expression was open and honest, not fake, the doubt vanished.

The recorder smiled slightly and said calmly, "Please place the material card into the slot."

Lin Mo nodded calmly and gestured with his finger.

The materials cards on the long table suddenly rose into the air and filed into the groove on the right side of the jade plate.

The surface of the jade slab shimmered with light, its brightness surpassing that of all previous test takers.

A few seconds later, the familiar mechanical voice sounded:

"Identity verification successful, material card confirmed to be correct!"

Upon hearing this, the two instructors on the platform stood up simultaneously, staring blankly at the records on the fluorescent panel.

At this moment, Lin Mo's ranking had jumped to first place, and the actual combat score displayed behind him was a staggering 4,530.

Quiet.

The entire side hall fell into a deathly silence.

Four thousand five hundred and thirty points.

This number struck like a heavy blow to the hearts of everyone present.

The candidates, who had been marveling at the score of over a thousand points, now stared wide-eyed at Lin Mo in disbelief.

Although they had guessed that Lin Mo's score might be high, they didn't expect it to be this outrageous.

Over four thousand points!

He scored more than two thousand points higher than the second-place finisher.

Some people even doubted they were seeing things and rubbed their eyes frantically.

The recorder looked at Lin Mo with the eyes of someone looking at a monster, and even forgot to broadcast the news.

The two mentors on the high platform exchanged a glance, and both could see the shock in each other's eyes.

Unexpectedly, the first time Yudu Tianfu changed the rules of actual combat, such a terrifying record was created.

"That can't be..."

One test taker muttered to himself, "Is there something wrong with the points system?"

"Yeah, over four thousand points, how many mutants would I have to kill? Even if they lined up and I could kill them all, I don't think I could kill that many."

"I bet Lin Mo will be the top scorer in this district exam. Even if the practical skills portion is reduced to 40%, this score will still crush the vast majority of people!"

……

The test takers were discussing it, but no one questioned the authenticity of the materials cards anymore.

Because no abnormal material cards were detected on this silver-white jade plate.

Fang Chuchu gave Lin Mo a thumbs up, genuinely happy for him.

The Yang sisters, however, seemed completely unsurprised.

Clearly, they were already aware of Lin Mo's strength.

Before long, the murmurs subsided.

The recorder suppressed his surprise and continued to verify the scores of the remaining candidates.

Half an hour later, all the candidates' practical test scores were released.

Lin Mo unsurprisingly came in first place with over 4,000 points.

Fang Chuchu ranked sixth.

As for Yang Xueer and Yang Shuanger, they ranked eighth and ninth respectively.

Naturally, this result has brought joy to some and sorrow to others.

After a short rest, the gentle-looking female instructor cleared her throat and spoke again:

"Dear candidates, the results of this practical assessment have been verified. The next stage, the theoretical assessment, will begin."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the crowd:

"This theoretical assessment will be a practical card-making exercise."

In the center of the long white jade table in front of you is a hidden compartment containing five types of basic materials.

There are four cards for each type of material, for a total of twenty material cards.

All characters have the same materials, and all are of blue quality.

You can mix and match as you like, but each person can only choose four portions.

The assessment rules are as follows: Within one hour, use the materials provided in the hidden compartment to independently create a complete card.

The card's star rating, quality, version, special skills, and combat ability will all be included in the rating system.

The final score will be calculated by combining the practical assessment score to determine the final ranking for this year's district exam.

As soon as he finished speaking, the middle-aged man on the left, who had been silent all along, suddenly stood up and said:

"I'd like to add two more points: during the card-making process, no material cards other than those in the hidden compartment may be used; violators will have their district exam results canceled."

Secondly, regardless of its rank, the card you created will ultimately belong to the Imperial Capital.

The academy will award corresponding grade points based on the final score of the cards!

So for the sake of your GPA, give it your all!

These words immediately caused an uproar in the hall.

"Holy crap, they even have GPA?"

"Excuse me for asking, but what is the purpose of GPA?"

"You don't even know this? Simply put, GPA is the universal currency within the university. Everything you do requires GPA, including attending classes!"

"You need GPA to attend classes?"

"That's right, and the more accomplished the mentor, the higher the GPA required!"

……

Lin Mo listened to the crowd's discussion, his eyes flashing.

It seems that this Imperial Capital Academy is completely different from the card-making academy he used to study, and the competition is much fiercer.

Just as Lin Mo's thoughts were racing, the female instructor's gaze swept across the entire room once more:

"If there are no further questions, the assessment will begin immediately."

As soon as he finished speaking, a huge hourglass on the side of the platform was turned over, and golden sand began to flow slowly.

The atmosphere in the lobby instantly became tense.

All the candidates opened the hidden compartments on the long table in front of them and began selecting materials.

Lin Mo took a deep breath, suppressing the many thoughts in his mind, and opened the hidden compartment.

The hidden compartment is divided into five small sections, from left to right: living beings, creations, metals and stones, plants and trees, and nature and form.

Each compartment contains four blue-quality material cards.

Lin Mo picked them up and looked at them, finding that they were mostly very common material cards.

For example, Moonflower Grass, Molten Crystal, and Grim White Bones...

"Grim white bones, white jade hairpin, three-transformed remnant soul, Netherworld soil... Got it!"

Lin Mo's eyes lit up, and the image of the White Bone Demon immediately appeared in his mind.

Beneath White Tiger Ridge lies a desolate wasteland, littered with white bones, and shrouded in eerie atmosphere for millennia.

There was an unnamed female corpse abandoned on a desolate mountain. Her flesh and skin had all disappeared, leaving only withered bones. By chance, she absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the essence of the sun and moon, and transformed into human form, known as "Lady White Bone".

She hides among the desolate mountains and rocks, transforms into a human, lures and kills passersby, sucks their blood and souls to increase her cultivation.

They are masters of illusion, able to transform into a hundred different forms, bewitching people's minds and confusing their souls. Even cultivators find it difficult to distinguish between the real and the fake.

It is said that when Tang Sanzang went to the Western Paradise to obtain Buddhist scriptures, he passed by White Tiger Ridge, where the flesh of the monks could grant immortality.

She then transformed herself three times: first as a village girl delivering vegetarian food, then as an old woman searching for a daughter, and finally as an old man searching for a wife, all with the intention of taking Tang Sanzang's life.

However, her fiery eyes could not deceive her. All three transformations were seen through by Sun Wukong, who killed her with a single blow, turning her into a pile of white bones. The words "Lady White Bone" were carved on her spine.

Having made up his mind, a glint of light flashed in Lin Mo's eyes.

With a wave of his hand, he took out the four selected materials. His spiritual power surged out continuously, enveloping the four material cards and bringing them, along with his consciousness, to his mind space.

"The first step is to decide on a real name!"

Lin Mo raised his hand and used his mental power to transform it into a pen, writing the three characters "White Bone Demon" in the void.

The moment the true name was finalized, the main material [Grim White Bones] lit up with a brilliant blue light, absorbing all three material cards beside it.

Seeing this, Lin Mo seized the opportunity and filled in the narrative he had already prepared in his mind.