Card Kingdom: This kid's codex is full of gold

"stop."

The old security guard, holding an enamel teacup in one hand, leaned halfway out of the window of the duty room, scrutinizing Zhang Yun from head to toe.

What do you do?

"I'm here to challenge the Frostwolf Dungeon," Zhang Yun said succinctly.

"You?"

The old security guard glanced at the cast-iron codex behind Zhang Yun and grinned, "Do you know what level the monsters in the underground palace are?"

"Of course I know."

Recalling the information in the textbook, Zhang Yun replied, "The first part of the Frostwolf Dungeon is guarded by 100 bronze fanged dire wolves, the middle part by 8 silver frost dire wolves, and the final boss is a gold-level frost dragon wolf."

"You know that, yet you still want to die?"

The old security guard slammed his teacup down on the table and warned in a stern tone, "Leave right now, and don't cause any trouble, or I'll call your homeroom teacher!"

[Old bastard, minding your own business! Go in and kick him in the crotch!]

Zhang Yun had thought about it, but reason told him he couldn't do it, after all, he was a kind student.

He calmly replied, "According to the laws of the Dragon Kingdom, venturing into the underground palace is a student's prerogative; surely a teacher's permission isn't required?"

The old security guard's face darkened. "Visiting the underground palace is indeed your prerogative, but if you die there, your homeroom teacher will be held responsible!"

"The school needs to write a report, and the bureau is coming to investigate. Your performance evaluation, commendation, and professional title as a homeroom teacher this year are all ruined!"

"You're asking for it, I won't stop you, but don't you dare mess with people!"

Zhang Yun raised his eyebrows and replied, "I am confident in my abilities."

"Heh, still pretty stubborn."

The old security guard lit a cigarette and asked, "What's your name? Which class are you in? What card game are you playing?"

"My name is Zhang Yun, I'm from Class 10 in the first year of high school, and I'm a Dark Gold Card holder," Zhang Yun said truthfully.

"puff--!"

The old security guard scoffed, "Class 10 of the first year of high school is the school's undisputed bottom-ranked class. The students they admit are basically good-for-nothings who only awaken to their potential after the age of 15."

"With your pathetic appearance, you still have the nerve to claim you have a secret card? Why don't you just say you're Qin Shi Huang?"

"Then you can just think of me as Qin Shi Huang."

Zhang Yun knew the old man wouldn't believe him, so he ignored him and walked straight into the teleportation building.

"Hmph, the Black Iron Codex dares to trespass into the underground palace? They're courting death!"

Behind him, the old security guard made sarcastic remarks, but Zhang Yun did not stop.

He knew... the old security guard meant well, but he didn't realize how powerful he was, so saying more would be pointless.

Zhang Yun had only taken about ten steps when suddenly, a whooshing sound came from behind him.

At this moment, Zhang Yun's combat power reached 40 points, and his reaction speed far exceeded that of ordinary people. He turned his body to the side, raised his hand, and grasped a hard object in his hand.

He looked down and saw that it was a golden token.

The token was only about half the size of a palm, with dense inscriptions engraved along its edges. It was icy cold to the touch, like holding a block of ice.

The front of the token features a relief of a giant wolf howling towards the sky, while the back is inscribed with two characters—Frost Wolf.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Yun's pupils contracted slightly.

This is actually a Frostwolf Token!

Zhang Yun had only seen a description of the Frostwolf Token in textbooks, and knew that it was an exclusive teleportation token for the Frostwolf Dungeon.

Summoners only need to inject soul power into it to forcibly leave the underground palace, even without relying on the teleportation array deep within the palace.

It is no exaggeration to say that it is the most effective life-saving tool in the underground palace.

However, this thing is not easy to obtain.

According to the textbook, only by defeating the projection of the guardian beast at the end of the level in a solo run can one be eligible to obtain it.

Throughout the hundreds of years since the founding of Jiangcheng No. 1 Middle School, very few teachers and students have ever teamed up to conquer the Frost Wolf Dungeon.

Not to mention he managed to get through it alone.

Zhang Yun had heard from a classmate that the price of the Frostwolf Token on the black market had been driven up to seven figures, and there was no market for it.

This clearly shows how precious the Frost Wolf Token is.

Zhang Yun turned to look at the old security guard.

The old security guard had picked up his enamel teacup again, turned to face Zhang Yun, and the steam rising from the teacup blurred the outline of his profile.

He glanced at Zhang Yun sideways and said irritably, "What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen a handsome old man before?"

Zhang Yun held the token in both hands and bowed deeply to him: "Thank you, sir."

"Please forgive me if I have been offensive just now!"

Zhang Yun couldn't help but feel relieved that he hadn't gone in and kicked him in the crotch...

It seems that being kind is better than having feet...

"Get lost, don't pretend to be innocent."

The old security guard waved his hand impatiently. "That token was left with me by the principal, specifically to save some stubborn idiots."

"You better come out alive with this token, or I'll get expelled by the principal and I'll be making a scene at your house!"

Zhang Yun put the golden token into his pocket and grinned, "Don't worry, I'll come out with two tokens in a bit."

After saying that, Zhang Yun turned and left.

"With your pathetic appearance, you think you can get through alone? Dream on!"

"If you didn't look somewhat familiar, I wouldn't bother with you."

The old security guard scoffed at Zhang Yun's retreating figure, not believing for a second that he could conquer the underground palace alone.

...

...

Zhang Yun walked to the end of the corridor and came to a stone chamber.

In the very center of the stone chamber stood a huge black stone tablet.

The monument is three meters tall, entirely black, and its material is unknown. A faint, icy blue halo floats on its surface, like a luminous jellyfish in the deep sea.

According to historical records...

In the ancient war between gods and demons, the earth shattered, demonic energy raged, corrupting all things and wreaking havoc in all directions.

To suppress the source of demonic energy, the God of Summoning fused his own blood essence with the World Stone, creating the Seventy-Two Underground Palaces.

The Seventy-Two Underground Palaces, guarded by seventy-two sacred beasts, are scattered in every corner of the world, suppressing the sources of demonic energy around the world and creating a space suitable for human survival.

The black boundary marker in front of us is the passage leading to the underground palace.

However, what they led to was only a projection of the underground palace.

Human summoners can gain the approval of the sacred beasts by defeating the projections of the guardian beasts in the dungeon, obtain the corresponding golden cards, and enhance their strength.

Rumor has it that as long as you collect enough Palace Tokens, you can gain the qualification to enter the real Palace.

If you can defeat the guardian beast's true form, you will obtain the corresponding sacred beast card.

Of course, this is just a folk tale, and there is no clear record of it in history books.

Zhang Yun walked up to the stone tablet.

The stone tablet seemed to possess a spirit, emitting a faint golden light, and rows of characters appeared on it.

Zhang Yun looked closely and saw that it was a series of names.

They were all sages who had cleared the Frostwolf Dungeon throughout history.

Zhang Yun's gaze fell on the name ranked first: Ye Fan, solo time: 30 minutes.

Ye Fan was the founder and first principal of Jiangcheng No. 1 Middle School. As a student of Jiangcheng No. 1 Middle School, Zhang Yun had naturally heard of this name.

Zhang Yun looked down.

Second place: Dugu Lie, solo time: 60 minutes.

Zhang Yun didn't recognize the first name, but he did recognize the surname.

As one of the three ancient clans in Jiangcheng, the Dugu family is known to almost everyone in the city.

One of the three giants of Jiangcheng No.1 High School is a descendant of the Dugu family.

The third place winner was anonymous: Zhang Kuang, solo play time: 90 minutes...

These results certainly give them reason to be arrogant...

Fourth place, also anonymous: Gugu Gaga, solo play time: 120 minutes...

The fifth place winner is also anonymous: Outlaw, solo play time: 125 minutes...

...

As Zhang Yun reviewed the achievements of these ancient sages, he couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, "These ancient sages are truly remarkable. Almost all of those ranked in the top 100 achieved single-player success. Surely I, Zhang Yun, a figure of such extraordinary talent, cannot possibly be inferior to these ancient sages..."