Chapter 63: Gathering Clouds (Part One)

“Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep…” In just half an hour since entering Green Mountain Ridge, a flurry of messages from various factions came pouring in like snowflakes. The urgent beeping made Long Yin’s brow knit tightly. Seeing this, Dodge and Gongliang Yi both halted to look at Long Yin.

Long Yin fished a small communicator from his pocket and quickly tapped open the messages, his eyes flickering across the display at an astonishing speed. Once he had finished reading, he did something rare—he rubbed his forehead, a hint of weariness showing on his face. Each piece of information was not isolated; every message seemed to connect somehow with the others, forming a web of intricate relationships, yet lacking enough direct clues for him to unravel the threads.

The freshman field experience organized by Dexin Cardmaker Academy had become the flashpoint, a prelude to the influx of numerous factions into Green Mountain Ridge. The commercial contests outside the ridge had further incited the powers pouring in, and in a short time, each had suffered losses to varying degrees. For the first time, messages composed of all manner of data sped through dedicated communication channels. For the first time… for the first time…

Green Mountain Ridge had become a battlefield for competing powers, where all the fiercest clashes would unfold.

It seemed the Crown Prince and that mysterious faction paid no heed to any preparations made by others. The members pouring in from the Drifters’ League and the various great families—they regarded none of them as threats. Judging by the initial reactions, it was clear the opposition possessed the strength to be so dismissive; indeed, their methods were so overwhelming that the others hardly merited a glance.

This was no longer a contest between one or two factions. The major forces had all joined the fray.

In this multi-faction contest, no one could be sure that behind themselves, the bird-catcher, wouldn’t suddenly appear a hunter with a gun—perhaps not just one, but many. The most insignificant cicadas and mantises had already been eliminated in the first wave, within fifteen minutes. Those who remained were anything but simple.

In this chaos, the alliance between the Ji family and that mysterious clan was clearly one such hunter with a gun. On Long Yin’s side, the combined forces from the Cardless World training group, Uncle Zuo's men, and Yuan Shaolin’s Silver Fox Squad could barely count as another armed hunter. But that was not enough; the enemy was too formidable. From what he gathered, if it came to a direct confrontation, they would be the ones lying dead.

Long Yin closed his eyes in thought for a long time before opening them to gaze into the depths of the forest. The opponent was strong, yes, but if he could join hands with other factions, perhaps there was still a chance. Two fists cannot fend off four hands; the enemy’s greatest mistake was revealing their ambition to invade and control Texas. Now that everyone felt threatened, that gave him the possibility of forming alliances.

Being too weak was fatal, but being too strong and ambitious was a weakness as well! Long Yin contemplated for a long while, then tapped out his plan on the communicator and shared it with three people—Uncle Zuo, Yuan Shaolin, and Ke Yifei. When they received Long Yin’s reply, each of them brightened and began to act. As Long Yin put away his communicator and had walked less than a hundred meters, he happened to encounter a group clearly composed of two family factions. One group had over a hundred people; the other, only three youngsters. Both parties were startled to run into each other unexpectedly.

The coalition, searching fruitlessly for their quarry, suddenly realized the people they’d been hunting for were right before their eyes. What a stroke of luck—search high and low, and find them effortlessly at last! Forced into chaos by an unknown enemy, they’d stumbled right into the ones they wanted.

A burly man, breathless and disheveled, let out a savage laugh and pointed at Long Yin. “You had a road to heaven and wouldn’t take it; instead, you barge into hell where there’s no door! You’re the reason my brothers died for nothing. This time I’ll be bringing your corpse back to the Patriarch to grind your bones to dust!”

“The Bai and Ni families?” So it’s true—enemies meet on a narrow road. Seeing Dodge and Gongliang Yi stunned, Long Yin gave a slight smile. “I’ll give you a chance—start running now, and if you get out of my sight, you’ll live. Otherwise, don’t blame me for your deaths!”

“Boss, what’s this kid saying? I don’t get it! You think he’s got a screw loose or something?” As soon as the burly man finished, the hundred or so surrounding them erupted in laughter.

Clearly, they believed that dealing with three kids would be a piece of cake. If things were as they appeared, their laughter was justified. But there were several teams hidden in the shadows on Dodge’s side—if one group was in trouble, others would immediately fill the gap. Long Yin wasn’t bothered by the laughter, but Dodge, realizing what was happening, was furious. “Attack! Then toss them out of Green Mountain Ridge!”

With Dodge’s shout, the outcome was already decided. Long Yin, puzzled by Dodge’s anger, asked, “Why are you so mad? They didn’t insult you, did they?” As he spoke, he parted the waist-high wild sweetgrass, broke off a stalk, and handed it to Dodge, then began to explain the plant’s properties. Long Yin’s explanations were always spontaneous and unpredictable—sometimes he’d even let slip a new cardmaking formula. Dodge was so bewildered by the barrage of information he forgot to respond, while Gongliang Yi, quick on the uptake, was so anxious he wished he had several more brains to remember every word Long Yin said.

Behind them, the wails and sounds of fighting gradually faded. The three walked farther and farther, but beneath a large tree, Long Yin’s hair suddenly stood on end. In alarm, he used his psychic power to shove Gongliang Yi and Dodge aside and flung himself forward. At that instant, the spot where the three had just stood exploded.

A massive crater appeared, debris and stones flying in all directions, the shockwave hurling them far away. Long Yin, gritting his teeth, managed to stay conscious by sheer force of will, but could only watch as a shadowy figure instantly subdued Gongliang Yi and Dodge. Long Yin’s heart almost stopped as he shouted in terror, “Don’t hurt them!”

The shadow paused, then dropped Gongliang Yi and Dodge, and walked toward Long Yin. Seeing his companions released, Long Yin’s fear eased a little, but the other two stared wide-eyed at the figure, struggling but unable to make a sound. Gongliang Yi clenched his teeth—there was nothing he could do to help. Dodge, meanwhile, was confused: Grandpa’s men were close by, so why hadn’t they noticed anything was wrong?

“Psychic power—SS rank?” The shadow appeared before Long Yin, suddenly clamping a hand around his throat. Long Yin’s eyes widened as he wondered whether this was one of the mysterious faction’s people.

The suffocating sensation surged up, and Long Yin realized with despair that the opponent’s psychic power was even stronger than his own.

Author’s note: Occasionally updating to slowly make up for the earlier missed chapters, though this one’s a bit short… cough, making up for June 8.