Chapter 115
Chapter 115
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 115 – Lan Qi’s Artistic Limit Break
Author: Pitiful Xixi – 2024-06-15
Inside the card-forging workshop styled like a headmaster’s office—
Lan Qi cleared the broad workbench, then began a fresh round of material preparation and mixing.
On the low auxiliary table beside him, several partition trays were filled with all kinds of carefully arranged components.
The scene faintly resembled the stance Talia had when she created the Great Poet of Love.
These were the materials Lan Qi had spent much time refining and balanceng.
Once the trays were placed onto the main workbench, Lan Qi calmly and deftly began his work.
This card he was about to attempt—was nothing short of a gamble. Just purchasing the components alone had consumed nearly all his wealth.
To harmonize with the holy-grade core material, the Unnamed Light Element Stone, he had prepared a multitude of supplementary sealing materials attuned to light.
For most cardforgers, handling such “all-in” stakes would be nerve-wracking to the point of trembling hands.
But not for Lan Qi. His heart was steady—far more relaxed than the time he worked in Talia’s home workshop.
Instead of lamenting that he might fail at a critical moment, he simply accepted that his true skill lay in treating every creation as if it were just another ordinary forging.
That, to him, was the best state of mind.
With quick precision, his hands moved. Within ten minutes, all preliminary preparations were complete.
Naturally, this caught the attention of the broadcast director.
The live feed began cutting to Lan Qi’s side more frequently.
After all, when one dared to use materials of this caliber, the outcome would either be a spectacular failure—or an exceptional masterpiece.
On-screen—
Lan Qi exhaled softly.
A card appeared in his hand, and he summoned it.
“Great Poet of Love, are you ready?”
After confirming all prep steps were complete, he asked the figure that emerged from the summoning.
“Mhm, no problem!”
The poet twirled gracefully with a dancer’s joy, arms lifted high, answering cheerfully.
Instantly—
Not only within the association’s building, but even across Hedon’s pedestrian square, a ripple of astonished voices spread.
“An epic-grade summon?!”
Such summons were usually seen only in the highest-tier Shadow World broadcasts. To see one here, in a cardforger’s exam, was unheard of.
“Yes, candidates are allowed to use any spells or cards during the test.”
Soon, some more knowledgeable onlookers in the plaza explained.
If an epic summon possessed a high degree of self-awareness, it could indeed act as an assistant.
There were even tales of great figures who, upon summoning a particularly mild-tempered epic, kept them long-term as attendants or stewards.
Even the mere appearance of an epic summon was enough to draw crowds.
All the more so when it was someone as radiant and captivating as the Great Poet of Love.
“Wait—gray hair, red dress, that stunning aura…”
Someone suddenly recalled—
“Could that be the same Great Poet of Love from the recent rumors? The one tied to Demon Academy’s Principal Lan?”
The plaza grew louder, passersby halting to stare at the massive glass screen showing the live feed from the association.
Inside the prominent office-like workshop—
Lan Qi had already begun the forging without hesitation.
Though more than two hours remained in the exam, the moment he summoned the Poet, his mana began draining away.
But just like a surgeon and nurse in perfect harmony, they collaborated seamlessly.
During his dorm-forging sessions, Lan Qi often summoned her to assist.
And it had once shaken his confidence when he realized—her talent in cardforging seemed to surpass his own.
Though she was but a card-born summon, she picked things up instantly.
Her drawing skills were weaker than Lan Qi’s, but her comprehension of magical engineering often exceeded his.
Unfortunately, as a fixed Rank-1 summon, she couldn’t craft higher-tier cards herself—only serve as Lan Qi’s assistant.
Thus, whenever facing difficult projects, he always brought her forth.
“This time’s crucial. I’ll need you to put pressure on me.”
While mixing powdered light-crystals with specialized sealing-core ink, he spoke.
The Poet seemed to understand.
Her cheerful aura vanished, replaced by a chilling severity—as though a harsh overseer glaring down at his every move.
“Enough pressure?” she asked, cold as ice.
“Perfect,” Lan Qi murmured, already slipping into deep immersion.
In short, the Poet was cosplaying Talia—providing stress.
But beyond her psychological support, there was another reason he needed her this time.
The card he was attempting was modeled after his finest Rank-3 card, Melodious Note (Song of the Purgatory). Its core borrowed from demonic magic principles.
Humans rarely used demon-type magic long-term—for overuse warped their flesh and soul into grotesque, partial demonization. It wasn’t true species-change, but a malignant deformity, shortening life and often leading to madness.
The only counter was employing proper demonic mediums—materials that massively inflated cost and still carried risk.
Yet with his soul-bonded Poet, Lan Qi had a unique medium. Her presence allowed him to channel demon-based magic without corruption.
The cost was steep: sustaining her drained his mana heavily, and success still relied on their synergy.
For most cardforgers, mere exposure to her voice during deep focus would cause their minds to collapse.
Only Lan Qi’s peculiar mindset allowed him to work alongside her without ruin.
Immersed, he adjusted mixtures with practiced ease.
The Poet synchronized his mana into the ink, fine-tuning it with her own.
Once complete, he filled his pen, unsealed the scroll, and began etching the summoning prototype onto the blank card.
Now came the most critical phase: rewriting and stabilizing the enchantment lattice, imbuing the card with true magical properties.
Bent over the desk, he engraved slowly, meticulously. She guided him from the other side, balanceng their flows of power into each complex rune.
The massive volume of inscription slowed progress to a crawl.
Hours passed.
Outside, sunlight lingered across the square as time slipped by.
With less than an hour left, fewer candidates remained, and the broadcast focused more and more on him.
On-screen, he appeared like a statue—pouring every shred of spirit into the evolving card.
But the unfinished card, hidden beneath their hands, began leaking arcs of unstable light, threatening to explode.
Still—
Lan Qi pressed on unfazed, carrying it to completion.
By now his face was ghostly pale. Maintaining the Poet drained him close to collapse. Yet utterly absorbed, he remained oblivious.
This was beyond immersion—this was a state of forgetting oneself, where even death couldn’t halt him before finishing.
At last—the transformation reached completion.
Blinding radiance erupted.
For a heartbeat, only the silhouettes of Lan Qi and the Poet remained, then even those vanished into pure white.
…
In Hedon Square, under the association’s massive glass wall—
Onlookers froze, breathless.
The light on the screen seemed to engulf even reality itself.
“Destroyed…?”
“He overreached. Even if flawless, the image he tried to embody was too insane!”
“Foolish. He could’ve secured at least a purple-tier rare, yet he insisted on self-destruction.”
“Humans… how could one dare draw something so divine…”
There were gasps, pity, disbelief. Some still couldn’t look away—entranced by the audacity of it.
For it was as if Lan Qi had tried to sketch the sun itself.
Then—
The blaze subsided.
And there it was—an orange cocoon of lightning cradling a new card.
[Radiant Virtue]
Type: Summon Card
Grade: Orange Epic
Attribute: Light / Sealing
Rank: 3
Effect: Continuously consumes massive mana to summon a miniature sun of blinding radiance (harmless), sealing the vision of all targets, raising local temperature. In enclosed spaces, the radiance intensifies; in open fields, its brilliance gradually fades.
Note:At dawn our hymn ascends, piercing clouds to the Almighty. Mercy and Omnipotence, revered by the saints; Glory and praise to the radiant body of the Sun. Cast aside the golden crown, encircle the crystalline sea; countless hosts kneel and chant His true name—Lanmen.
——
Today’s update: 12,000 words.Xixi feels utterly burned out… brain barely functioning…