Cheng Ying had a commission that day, and she needed to leave the base.
Few women would go out that late, but that wasn't a problem for Cheng Ying. She wasn't a weak woman; she was an outstanding card artisan, and had enough ability to protect herself.
So, when she saw the commission, she didn't hesitate to take it.
She had been training so hard that she could be considered to have a little reputation at the base, but she wasn't satisfied.
She wanted to be able to become more powerful, to be able to fulfill that seemingly unattainable wish of hers.
The reason she had joined the Ning family base was entirely for the excellent training facilities there.
Reality proved that her choice was correct.
There were so many aces at the base, including Mark Victor, Bo Wen, and even Will couldn't be underestimated. Every time she thought of that, she would give herself encouragement. How could she let those people pull away from her?
She held back her energy and trained hard. During this period of time, her level rose rapidly.
If she wanted to maintain that kind of training, she would have to keep completing commissions in order to get enough contribution points.
The commissions at the base were completely different from those outside. Not only were there many kinds, but they were also several levels more difficult.
Completing those commissions was in itself a kind of tempering for her own strength.
Cheng Ying would always go all out for each commission.
This time's commission was no exception. She needed to get to the designated location at about two in the morning.
There was still half an hour before the designated time, which was more than enough for her speed.
As usual, she walked into the number five passageway, which was the number she liked.
Suddenly, she seemed to sense something behind her.
Slightly startled, she turned around abruptly, but there was nothing behind her.
The exit passageway was clear at a glance, with no place to hide.
Maybe it was because she had accepted so many commissions that her nerves were sensitive. Cheng Ying couldn't help laughing at herself.
She took out the room card and was about to swipe it when she suddenly heard what seemed to be someone running in her direction. The sound of hurried footsteps reached her ears, and her hand stopped in midair.
Chen Mu was coldly watching Cheng Ying below him from where he was stuck to the ceiling, having long since forgotten that woman he had once met.
All of his attention was focused on the room card in Cheng Ying's hand. Since he was stuck to the ceiling, he could hear the footsteps coming from outside more clearly.
There wasn't a trace of life in his indifferent eyes, which were shrouded in a faint layer of black, as though it were a dark world inside.
Ten seconds passed.
His timing was extremely precise. He could only maintain the state of breath control for 150 seconds.
Although he could maintain the state of breath control for a maximum of three minutes, or 180 seconds, that number couldn't be used in the plan.
One hundred and fifty seconds. Every second was exceptionally precious.
If he couldn't complete it within 150 seconds, what would happen to him?
One could imagine.
Before coming up with this plan, he had thought about whether it was worth it or not.
He thought for a long time and finally decided — it was worth it.
After what had happened to Lei Zi and the Demonic Woman, his desire for freedom had grown stronger.
In the face of power, he knew how to temporarily lower his head in a worldly manner.
However, this did not mean that he was willing to continue like this forever.
He longed for freedom!
Chen Mu's brain had been kept running at a high speed, which was one of the characteristics of the state of breath control, as well as one of its strong points.
On the ceiling, he was like a gecko, his eyes focused on the room card in Cheng Ying's hand.
The footsteps were getting closer and closer, and he could tell that the other party was running in this direction.
There was only one entrance in this direction, and that was the fifth entrance.
He had made his judgment in less than a second.
Once that person entered the passageway, he would have nowhere to hide, and would immediately fall into a passive position.
Chen Mu's expression didn't show the least bit of anxiety or worry. He was like a bystander watching something that couldn't be more ordinary, calm and indifferent.
Compared to his state of mind, his reaction was explosive.
His waist and abdomen sunk in a little, and then he abruptly straightened out, while his four limbs, which were stuck to the ceiling, pounced on Cheng Ying like a shadow.
Just as Chen Mu made his move, Cheng Ying sensed something unusual.
There was someone above her!
Her expression changed dramatically. It was too scary that she hadn't sensed anything at such a close distance.
In the time it took for a spark to fly off a flint, many thoughts flashed through her mind, and she couldn't suppress a chill from the depths of her heart.
Although it had happened so suddenly, Cheng Ying had still demonstrated the profound power of a professional card artisan.
She hurriedly threw her back backward, and in the instant she touched the ground, she took advantage of the momentum to roll backward.
In that short time, the apparatus on her wrist had already been activated.
She had already calculated that in the instant she got up, she would be able to launch the first wave of attacks.
She believed that as long as she could launch that attack, she would certainly be able to force her adversary to retreat.
At such a short distance, there would be no time to dodge.
And if her adversary retreated, that would be even more advantageous for her.
Pulling open the distance would allow her to once again reverse the passive situation and take the initiative.
But before she could get up, a strong force came from the room card she was clutching tightly in her hand, and she couldn't hold on to it any longer. Her hand was empty.
She turned pale with fright!
Her slender and mesmerizing waist and abdomen hurried to roll to the side.
The attack she had expected didn't appear, which surprised her, and she quickly took advantage of the opportunity to roll as far away from her adversary as possible.
By the time she got up, her adversary's attack still hadn't appeared.
Having calmed down from her fright, Cheng Ying slightly bent her legs so that she could exert strength at any time, assuming a defensive posture.
Her face didn't have a trace of blood. Her adversary had just so easily snatched the room card from her hand. If her adversary had wanted to kill her, all he would have needed was a dagger. No, perhaps an iron nail would have been enough.
It had been a long time since she had encountered such danger, and her life had been directly threatened. The pressure of death was far beyond what any of those commissions could compare to.
There had been many commissions she had completed, but none of them had made her feel so terrified.
Her adversary had completely and utterly suppressed her without making a sound.
Her adversary's power was far superior to hers!
She immediately realized that in front of such an ace, she wouldn't have the slightest chance to resist.
That kind of feeling was really terrible!
She stubbornly and fearfully raised her head to look at the person who had snatched her room card. She couldn't quite figure out what was so good about snatching a room card.
A person with such terrifying skills would actually come to snatch a room card, and a very ordinary one at that.
When Cheng Ying clearly saw the appearance of her attacker, her expression changed again and again, and she was so shocked that she nearly shouted.
It was him!
It was that sallow-skinned youth she had met outside the training grounds that day. It was actually him!
She suddenly thought of what she had seen on the training grounds, about the terrifying scores of close-range dodging and evading training.
That made her even more determined that the youth was a terrifyingly powerful close-combat card artisan.
She didn't know how terrifying Chen Mu's power really was, but she knew she couldn't defy him.
When did her adversary get above her?
And how long had he been up there?
She didn't feel anything.
Judging from that attack just then, the two sides weren't on the same level.
"Who are you?" Cheng Ying was a little frightened, looking at Chen Mu with a guarded expression.
That turn of events took a long time to describe, but it had actually happened in a short five seconds.
Fifteen seconds had already passed in the state of breath control, and Chen Mu didn't pay any attention to Cheng Ying.
There was no need, and there was no time.
He swiped Cheng Ying's room card at the entrance to the passageway as fast as he could.
At the same time, he calculated that it would take five seconds for the passageway entrance to open, which meant that by the time he got out, he would only have 130 seconds left in the state of breath control.
Seeing Chen Mu swipe the room card at the side of the exit door, Cheng Ying suddenly understood what he was trying to do.
That youth certainly didn't have a room card, or didn't have the authority to get in and out!
He wanted to use her card to open the passageway entrance.
Her face immediately became devoid of any color.
She didn't know what the relationship between Chen Mu and the Ning family was, but she was very clear about one thing, which was that if she allowed him to leave like that, she would certainly be miserable afterward.
The Ning family's style had always been to recognize the results, not the process.
"What you're doing is useless.
There's a probe card here, and if they detect you, the entrance won't open. "Cheng Ying bit her lip and said with a pale face.
She didn't want to die, because she wouldn't be able to fulfill her wish if she died.
But at the same time, she didn't want to lose her foothold at the Ning family base because of that matter.
If she couldn't become strong enough, then her wish would be nothing more than a fantasy.
Chen Mu didn't pay attention to her, but listened.
The footsteps outside were getting closer and closer, and were only twenty meters away. He quickly determined his adversary's exact position.
Seeing that Chen Mu wasn't moving, Cheng Ying didn't know what to do.
Once the probe card appliance detected that the information in the room card wasn't the same as the person at the passageway entrance, the passageway door certainly wouldn't open.
During the day, only one person was allowed to enter and exit the passageway entrance at a time, not two at the same time, just to prevent that kind of situation.
She wasn't afraid her adversary would escape the base, but she was afraid her adversary would vent his anger on her.
She had also heard the footsteps, and she was desperately hoping someone would get there quickly to stop that madman.
Five seconds passed.
Zi!
The passageway exit door suddenly opened!
How, how could that be?
Cheng Ying opened her eyes wide, looking at the opened door in disbelief!
Impossible!
The passageway door could never be opened when there were two people in the passageway. That had already been tried countless times, without ever succeeding.
How could the passageway door open?
Cheng Ying was in a trance for a brief moment.
The footsteps stopped at the passageway entrance, and the newcomer had already reached it.
"Chen Mu!" The newcomer's voice was full of surprise and astonishment, which roused Cheng Ying from her trance.
Her gaze fell onto the passageway entrance, where it was Bo Wen.
"Stop."
Bo Wen's voice wasn't loud, but it was full of a bone-chilling coldness as he stared coldly at Chen Mu.
Bo Wen was looking at the youth who was about to leave with a gloomy face, and that was the first time Cheng Ying had seen him look so gloomy.
In her memory, Bo Wen always had a charming and warm smile on his face.
Although she knew Bo Wen's real character wasn't as warm as he appeared, she couldn't help being infected every time she saw his warm smile.
Did Bo Wen have a feud with that youth?
That was the first thought that flashed through Cheng Ying's mind.
Chen Mu had also noticed Bo Wen, but unlike Cheng Ying, there wasn't the slightest change in his expression, which was still emotionless.
Taking an indifferent look at Bo Wen, Chen Mu's brain had determined that Bo Wen's appearance was an unknown factor. Since it was unknown, he didn't think much about it.
Just then, time was of the highest value.
Without any hesitation, Chen Mu jumped out of the passageway entrance.
Bo Wen's appearance would cause the passageway entrance to close, so he only had a very short time.
Chen Mu's decisiveness was beyond everyone's expectations, not even Bo Wen's.
But he reacted quickly, and with a cold snort, he pushed off the ground with both feet and leapt forward.
He knew very well that if he had the slightest hesitation, Chen Mu would disappear from his field of vision.
Once he disappeared, he would very likely disappear forever. The card artisans of the night of the cross were most adept at hiding.
The alarm suddenly sounded, and the probing card appliances had already discovered something unusual.
Seeing that the passageway entrance was about to close, Bo Wen didn't hesitate to jump sideways, braving the danger of being caught in the waist by the passageway door to rush out.
Once he jumped out of the passageway entrance, Bo Wen quickly fell to the ground, but he saw Chen Mu.
Chen Mu had already activated his jet stream card, and was about a hundred meters away from him, flying north.
What fast speed!
Bo Wen was inwardly shocked that Chen Mu had only been a second ahead of him, but he had already activated his apparatus, stopped his fall, and adjusted his direction.
What kind of precise calculation and control would be required for that!
Bo Wen's expression changed slightly, and he was still more certain of Chen Mu's identity as the night of the cross.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Cheng Ying following him out, which surprised him.
But he immediately retracted his attention.
In front of a card artisan of the night of the cross, if he couldn't maintain his focus, never mind revenge, his life could be taken away at any time.
Bo Wen was finally showing his ability without holding anything back!
He didn't know when the apparatus on his wrist had been activated, but his figure paused in midair, and then he suddenly accelerated.
His jet stream card was clearly not some low-grade good, and his flying speed was extremely fast, even faster than the high-speed jet stream card Chen Mu had specially bought.
His whole body was like a cannonball, whistling in the direction Chen Mu was flying.
He had just confirmed Chen Mu's identity when he hurried to Chen Mu's room, when he found it empty.
He immediately realized that Chen Mu might have made a move.
He wasn't clear how Chen Mu had gotten to the base, but he subconsciously thought that Chen Mu was plotting something.
Ning Peng and Ning Yan weren't at the base, and the temporary person in charge there didn't know who he was.
He had planned to rush to the Amay Ning household that very night to find the master of the Amay Ning household.
He hadn't thought he would run into Chen Mu at the number five exit.
Chen Mu hadn't ignored Bo Wen, who was following closely behind him. His adversary was an unknown factor, and his power had exceeded his expectations.
That jet stream card in Bo Wen's hand was certainly a four-star jet stream card.
Only a four-star jet stream card could have such amazing acceleration.
The most important thing was that Bo Wen had shown his hostility toward Chen Mu, and Chen Mu had categorized him as an enemy in the first instant.
Chen Mu's mood hadn't been shaken at all, and he was still as objective and calm as ever.
If he didn't respond, his adversary would catch up to him in five seconds.
And if his adversary were to launch an attack, it would be at least 1.2 seconds later.
That was pretty objective data to judge.
In the initial acceleration phase of flight, when the acceleration was the highest, the main functions of the body would need to bear the high load brought on by the acceleration, and it would also need to adjust the balance of the flight. So, it would be very difficult for a card artisan to launch an attack at that stage.
Although the four-star jet stream card Bo Wen was using could accelerate even more violently, it also put a greater load on the body during the acceleration phase.
To launch an attack under that kind of condition would require terrifying power.
Although Bo Wen was strong, he was still quite a distance away from that level.
Chen Mu immediately made adjustments after making that judgment, and the perception in his apparatus rapidly changed.
In less than 0.6 seconds, he had already finished switching cards.
In the state of breath control, Chen Mu's ability could be maximized to the point of exceeding his usual level.
Under normal circumstances, it would take 1.2 seconds for him to switch cards.
That value would already be considered outstanding among mid-grade card artisans.
However, 0.6 seconds allowed him to forcefully advance to a whole new level.
The power of the Breath Control Technique was evident at a glance.
He switched from the high-speed jet stream card to the big mud fish card.
Competing with the speed of a four-star jet stream card was a stupid thing to do.
Although the four-star jet stream card was fast, how could Chen Mu not understand its weakness as a card master?
The faster it was, the harder it would be to turn.
Moreover, Chen Mu was a close-combat card artisan, even though he was still a novice.
But don't forget that Chen Mu's score in close-range dodging and evading training was a frightening one.
Chen Mu's perception once again made contact with the big mud fish jet stream card.
Without needing to think, he could only see Chen Mu suddenly drop in altitude, and fly at a shocking speed toward the residential area below.
Bo Wen immediately responded, pressing down a little in the direction of his flight.
His reaction was very quick, and if Chen Mu hadn't changed his direction, he would have been able to intercept Chen Mu in two seconds.
And the direction he had just chosen could suppress a fairly large area, so that no matter which direction Chen Mu flew in, he wouldn't be able to escape the range of his control.
Not only that, but a blood-red moon-shaped wavy blade appeared in his palm, ready to be fired at any time.
It was the blood sharp card!
Since he was flying, Bo Wen had chosen a three-star card, so that he could control it a little more precisely.
At that time, he didn't need to pursue lethality, but he needed accuracy, so he chose the blood sharp card.
Chen Mu probably hadn't thought that the card he had just made would be immediately used to hit him. That world was really marvelous.
Twenty-three seconds!
Twenty-three seconds had already passed in the state of breath control, and the whole operation had been perfect up until then, with the only exception being Bo Wen's appearance.
From the time the passageway door had opened until then, there hadn't been more than three seconds.
But in those three seconds, whether it was Chen Mu or Bo Wen, they had both put on a stunning performance.
By comparison, Cheng Ying, who was in hot pursuit, was a lot inferior.
She didn't have Chen Mu's amazing control, and she didn't have the four-star card that Bo Wen was using.
Although she had some power, she was naturally overshadowed by those two strongmen.
She gritted her teeth in hot pursuit, not daring to get too close.
She had her own considerations as to why she had braved the danger to chase them.
No matter what, the card that had opened the passageway door was hers.
Although that youth's power was outstanding, she didn't believe that anyone could escape from the Ning family's domain.
The power of the Ning family had long since been deeply implanted in the mind of Cheng Ying, who had been born in Amay City.
If that youth had finally been caught, although it would have been her card that had been taken, it would have been a very troublesome matter if the Ning family wanted to pursue it.
If she really couldn't stay at the base because of that, she wouldn't have been able to bear it.
The Ning family base was the only way she could think of to make herself stronger.
Being from an ordinary background, she knew how hard it was to get such an opportunity, which made her cherish it all the more.
No one knew what kind of thirst she had for power under her straightforward and unrestrained attitude.
She didn't want to give up, which was why she had braved the danger to chase them.
Maybe she wouldn't be of much use, but she had hoped that by expressing her attitude in that way, she would be able to gain more of the Ning family's favor.
But after witnessing those three seconds of confrontation between the two of them, all of her thoughts had been thrown out of the window, leaving behind only the exquisite adaptations between the two of them just then.
Too awesome!
In those short three seconds, the skill and adaptations that the two of them had displayed could be called textbook classics.
In those three seconds, the two of them had fought several rounds. Although they didn't look like much, and there wasn't any dazzling brilliance in their adaptations, the skill that each one revealed was enough to make the so-called aces on the base die of shame.
As she saw it, Chen Mu's judgment of timing was frighteningly precise, and the speed at which he switched cards could be called terrifying.
But Bo Wen's reaction was as fast as lightning, and his adaptations were also impeccable.
She was looking enviously at the two of them in front of her. Only that kind of power could be considered powerful!
They were a lot more powerful than she was.
In those short three seconds of confrontation between the two of them, no matter which side she had been on, she would have ended in defeat.
She didn't dare to get any closer, since a contest at that level wasn't something she could get involved in.
But she wouldn't stay far away, since a contest at that level wasn't something she could see just because she wanted to.
There were so many things she could learn from witnessing such a contest with her own eyes.
When she saw Chen Mu suddenly diving down to the residential area below, she was puzzled at first.
But she suddenly remembered the series of freakish scores on the screen in the training field about the close-range dodging and evading training.
Her expression changed a little!
It was exactly the same as what Cheng Ying had thought, and Chen Mu was going to take advantage of that.
But before that, he needed to be able to safely enter the complex terrain on the ground.
In the state of breath control, his mind was extremely calm, and he had calculated every factor.
In that state, he could bring all of his power into play, for example, one of the skills he was good at, midair tactical maneuvers.
If Chen Mu were to evaluate it himself, midair tactical maneuvers wouldn't be considered a skill he was good at.
As he saw it, the difficulty of the midair tactical maneuvers he had learned was only 70.
If 80 was considered excellent, then 70 wouldn't be considered high. That was what Chen Mu was thinking.
In the state of breath control, Chen Mu's thoughts were extremely focused, and he naturally wouldn't think about such irrelevant things.
The reason he had chosen that skill was because he had calculated that he would have to use it to evade his adversary's attack before he could land on the ground.
He judged that during that time, Bo Wen would certainly launch an attack on him.
In midair, Chen Mu suddenly did a spiral tumble and drift.
His body could be seen to suddenly rotate, and his body suddenly drifted downward in a very strange trajectory.
Having just locked onto Chen Mu and getting ready to release the wavy blade in his hand, Bo Wen suddenly lost his target, and he hurriedly controlled his perception to withdraw. The red wavy blade in his palm trembled slightly, and a very fine ripple appeared, but in an instant, it had once again firmly stayed in his palm.
But with the breath in disorder, he had almost lost control of his perception, which was a very uncomfortable feeling!
He was astonished beyond compare, since the Ning family had been doing research on the night of the cross for almost every generation, and although there wasn't much information accumulated in the family, he could still see some clues.
The two most powerful skills of the night of the cross were the cross, and the other was breath control.
Of those two, one was an attack, and the other was stealth. When the two were used together for assassination, it was really hard to defend against.
But there wasn't a single piece of information in all the information that indicated that the card artisans of the night of the cross were good at close combat.
Although Lord Ning Xuan had been killed by the cross at a very close distance, that didn't mean that the cross was a kind of close combat skill.
The cross was the most famous skill of the night of the cross, and it was also what the Ning family understood the most about the night of the cross.
It was formed from the energy emitted by the cross card into a cross-shaped energy composition, which was extremely powerful.
But the cross card was a classic long-range attack card.
And most of the assassination cases of the night of the cross were ambushed in the dark shadows, where the cross card would be used to deliver a fatal blow.
He had never heard of a card artisan of that school fighting at close range.
But the tactical maneuvers in the air were content that would be learned by a classic close-combat card artisan.
Moreover, the spiral tumble and drift was a highly difficult maneuver in the air with a difficulty of 70 points, which only the most orthodox and most determined close-combat card artisans would practice.
Could it be that the night of the cross had kept up with the times?