The Card Cultivation System
CCS-225

In a residence the Academy provided for its guests ahead of the Competition, a middle-aged man was standing in front of his students. Each wore the same uniform with watermarks pointing upwards.

"Do you remember any names I mentioned? Each of them has the potential to win this Competition. I know it may be hard for you, but keep trying. Remember the name of our sect. You may lose, but you must not humiliate the name of the sect. Understood?"

All the disciples replied in unison, "Understand!"

The man nodded with satisfaction. "good. Any question?"

One of the students raised his hand. "Teacher, why is it that out of all the names you mentioned, none of them come from the Academy? They are the hosts of the Academy this time."

The teacher remained silent for a while before returning to talk. "For now there is still no information on who their participants are, and how many they are. Mu Zhan Academy was very good at hiding things like this. Some sects underestimate the Academy, but we won't do the same. We're-"

Geck! Geck! Geck!

The knock on the door stopped the teacher's words. The man turned his head somewhat annoyed that his words had stopped, but let his disciple in.

"You're back. Did you bring any good news?"

As an intermediate sect, the Rising Flow Sect should always be wary of their surroundings. So even though only a few of their disciples would participate but they brought in other disciples to add to the experience, as well as to investigate other powers.

The newly arrived disciple was one of the senior disciples who was indeed assigned to search for news around the strength of the other sects. So the man looked at his disciple with anticipation.

"Teacher, I'm getting news about the Academy."

"Good! There are finally. I knew they wouldn't be able to cover up information forever. What news? Does this have anything to do with the competition?"

The student nodded. "I'm not sure about the teacher. This news had just spread a while ago, so maybe the information I got wasn't very accurate."

"What's wrong. Just say it."

"Mu Zhan Academy has indeed often grouped its students into several categories. The goal is to make each student grow. They also developed a ranking system to spur the disciples to practice more vigorously.

The news I brought was related to Pupil Dalam, so I doubt this has anything to do with the Competition. But there are also strange rumors that confuse me.

I'll tell you from the beginning. The Disciples Within this made a rank that declared the Hundred Disciples Within the Strongest. The rankings were always changing, but the Big Ten rarely changed names, most only moving positions.

A few days ago, there was a disciple who boasted that he would defeat the Strongest Hundred by himself. Surely many people don't believe him. But slowly, his strength proved to be no nonsense. It beats many familiar names in that rank.

Despite that, the crowd still doubted he would be able to defeat the Great Ten. Until a while ago, when I heard this news.

The Strongest Inner Disciple, Hua Zhantian, he had already ranked first for many years. His position was firm unshakable. Then the same disciple who said he would defeat the Hundred Strongest fought with Hua Zhantian. Unfortunately, I did not manage to watch the fight.

But the end result surprised everyone."

The student was silent for a while to see the reaction of his friends, but he was instead protested by them.

"Replease go on!"

"Really! Just be curious!"

The middle-aged man actually wanted to curse his student, but he tried to hold back.

"The result is, the braggart's student wins."

"Is their cultivation not much different?"

"No. From the news that was circulating, that braggart disciple was at the 6th Qi Forming level while Hua Zhantian, was, the strongest disciple had already been in the Qi-9 Forming for many years and it would not be long before breaking through."

"Is he cheating?"

"Hundreds of people watching could be witnesses that the disciple had not committed any fraud. No artifacts or anyone else was involved."

"Did he win narrowly? Because luck might?"

"The result of the fight can confirm that the student won not because of luck. Hua Zhantian was still lying on the scene of the fight until now. His body is covered in blood. And that bragging disciple wrote an insult to Hua Zhantian using Hua Zhantian's own blood."

"What's writing?"

"'Defeated by Xing Xika'"

Everyone present simultaneously widened their eyes. What their friend just said sounds unbelievable. After all, all he said was the news. The news is always exaggerated, right?

"Please see for yourself Hua Zhantian's condition if you don't believe me" said the disciple, noticing the gazes of his friends.

And without being prevented, all the disciples present immediately rushed towards the location of the fight. Even the teacher would not want to miss. Other than the student who brought the news, only one student remained in the room. The disciple was the man who asked Xika whereabouts to Xika himself.

"You're not going?"

"no need. I believe the news is true."

The news anchor student felt touched when that was not the reason the news was trusted. While the disciple that Xika met earlier smiled inwardly.

'So the news is true.'

-------------------------------------

Xika sat in her room. In front of him Huo Bing and Heiliao were staring at him sharply.

"So, can you explain the news that just came out?"

"Other things to explain? The news is true." said Xika lazily. Actually he was still not in a good mood to talk. But he had to meet Huo Bing and Heiliao so that his body could recover as soon as possible. He had a feeling he would fight soon.

"You mean, you actually defeated Hua Zhantian?" huo Bing asked somewhat in disbelief.

"No, I killed him. Of course I beat him. Didn't everyone say that? Why do you still not believe?" reply Xika was a bit upset.

"You said yesterday that you just told me that you were injured because of Hua Zhantian and were forced to flee from him. If you can beat him, why don't you just do it from the beginning?"

"Because I don't know that I can beat him either."

The Heiliao from earlier was silent, but her eyes looked at Xika suspiciously.

"A minute, a minute. I seem to have missed an important part. Looks like you just told me that you were hurt because of that one kid and your wings were badly damaged. Then after that I asked you to collect some plants. Did you collect it?"

Xika nodded. He threw his spatial ring at Huo Bing. The bird looked at the contents and nodded in satisfaction. He talked to Heiliao, asking the wolf to make Hyper Swift Pill.

"So, you collected the materials I asked for. After that what?"

"Ng, I spent quite a long time finding those plants to the point of forgetting Hua Zhantian's existence."

"That doesn't explain why you beat Hua Zhantian."

"My story is not finished. Quietit briefly. Earlier I managed to give Hua Zhantian a wound so I managed to escape. To this day I am still unsure of the attack I gave. My wings were broken and my body received some of the impact. My condition wasn't very good at the time."

Heiliao, while making the Hyper Swift Pill, gave Huo Bing a look that Xika could not understand. While the bird gave a look 'as I said'.

"Just, suddenly thought to me. I belong to the Water Cultivator, so I can control the water. Does not blood include water? That means I can also control blood, even those in other people's bodies."

Huo Bing and Heiliao widened their eyes simultaneously. The two looked back, and realized that each thought the same thing. But the two waited for Xika to finish her story first.

"So I concentrated hard. And in the end I managed to bleed a little. After that I ran away."

Xika nodded.

"That explains 'Hua Zhantian was defeated horribly'."

Xika did not seem to be bothered by Huo Bing's remark. His eyes seemed to think of something.

"But I still don't understand some of Huo Bing's things."

"What?"

Heiliao listened to their conversation while melting the plants Xika brought and uniting them.

"You must have heard the news that I was defeated by Hua Zhantian before, right? Then after that I just got up and beat him up."

"really. Why?"

"First, Hua Zhantian behaved very differently. The first time I fought him in the forest, he was a lot of talk and arrogant, so I could still escape from him. The second time, when we fought in the night after I gathered the Spiritual Plants, he was like a different person.

He didn't say much and attacked me. I was surprised by the change so he attacked me. The third time, the fight you just heard, he came back to be the same person when I first fought him. He came back a lot of talk. Can you explain that?"

Huo Bing frowned.

"I'll explain that, but it seems you still have another question. And you're not done telling me. Continue."

"My second question, when I fought a moment ago with Hua Zhantian, he caught my foot with the ground. I am also a Land Cultivator like him, but why can't I let go of that land?"

Huo Bing just opened her mouth, but Xika spoke again.

"Don't tell me because his cultivation level is higher than mine. Earlier I managed to untie his earth trap in our first fight."

Huo Bing swallowed back what he wanted to say. The only thing that came out of his mouth was,

"You haven't finished your story. There's something else that happened after you escaped with Wu Liao isn't it?"

Xika sighed somewhat annoyed. It seemed that Huo Bing knew there was something he was hiding. The bird laughed at his reaction.

"I've stayed long enough in your head. It's easy for me to know there's something you're hiding."

Xika grunts.

"I met Xingli."

Huo Bing's eyes widened. Then his smile too. Several times he elbowed Heiliao with a faint look and made the wolf nearly detonate the pill half-finished.

Xika had already guessed Huo Bing's reaction. That's one of the reasons why he didn't want to talk about it. Another reason is because he is still confused.

"Continue, continue." Huo Bing said with a wide smile as she raised her eyebrows.

"They looked at each other until I ran away from them. When they returned to the hiding place, they were gone. I'm catching up with them."

And Xika told me about the misunderstanding. About how Wu Liao was hugging her, and Xingli who was looking at her from behind. About her trying to chase Xingli but being held back by Wu Liao. It was about her that finally confirmed her relationship with Wu Liao was nothing more than a stranger who had met several times. And it was about her who straightened out the misunderstanding that occurred between her and Wu Liao.

Slowly, Huo Bing's smile faded away. His eyes were also not filled with the look of frown anymore.

"So, you're involved in a love triangle. Well, I'm not sure I can give you good advice. Me and the Wolf Rosong have never been involved in a love triangle."

"I'm not in a love triangle!" Xika directly denied it, "I..............." Unfortunately, he was unable to continue his words.

"Let me guess, you don't know your own feelings?"

Xika was about to refute, but did not find the right words, so she finally just nodded lethargicly.

"Then I'll try to clarify it. Do you like Wu Liao?"

"No." Xika replied firmly. Even without thinking first.

"Do you like Xingli?"

Once again, Xika opened her mouth, but no words managed to come out. Finally he shook his head.

"Don't like what don't know?"

"...................."

"Then that's what you have to find out."

Xika directly raised her head to look at Huo Bing.

"Wait first. So you asked me this-that, but in the end you didn't help anything?"

"I'm trying to be a doctor of love. It's hard too."

"Damn it!"

Heiliao growled to remind Huo Bing and made the look on the bird's face return seriously.

"Okay, now I'll answer your question. The second question first. You're confused why you can't use your element. The answer was simple, but there were still many cultivators who did not know."

"No need to go around in circles. Just answer why."

"Because your heart is fucked. Your heart is messing with your mind. Your mind fails to control the elements. Let me guess, when you try to untangle the earth trap you don't focus, do you? You're thinking about something else, aren't you?"

Xika looked at Huo Bing dumbly. He seems to have realized a few things.

"Wait first. So you're saying I failed to control the land because I was concentrating less?"

"There is no other cause." Huo Bing replied confidently.

Xika's face changed several times. At first confused, then happy as if to find a bright spot, then in the end his face again tangled confused and sad.

Huo Bing paused for a moment so that Xika could think. After Xika's face got better, she spoke again.

"Now, about your second question. The reason Hua Zhantian changed several times like that was because."

"What?"

"Xika, the technique you used is no ordinary technique. Although it was only for a short while, but it was enough to make Hua Zhantian frightened. You did that technique in your first fight with Hua Zhantian didn't you? The technique stuck in his head until he was scared.

That's why in the second fight he didn't say much and immediately attacked you. He's afraid of you. He attacked you first so you couldn't control his blood. But because he succeeded, he forgot himself. And he came back a lot of shit in the third fight. That's why you beat him.

Unfortunately, the ones who witnessed the technique were not only Hua Zhantian, but also hundreds of Academy students and they had spread your word throughout the Academy.

There was a reason why the technique had managed to scare Hua Zhantian away. The same reason that makes a lot of people spread your word in horror."

"Why?"

"Because it is a black sect technique."