More than 500 years ago, Rosenberg, the founder of card theory, first proposed the card theory and successfully made the first card.
Since then, after more than 500 years of development, all kinds of cards had emerged.
Before that, the original prototype of the card existed in large numbers in all kinds of religions, and they were considered a kind of unnatural power.
Until then, there were still many highly skilled card masters and card artisans in some religions, whose origins even surpassed Rosenberg's time. In that regard, their inheritance was even more mysterious and unknown.
But it was Rosenberg's sudden appearance that completely shattered the mysterious halo of the card system.
He systematically studied and elaborated on the structure of the card and invented many cards, such as the power card of today, whose standard structure was first proposed by Rosenberg.
The mysterious halo enveloping the card system was completely shattered, and card science became a new discipline.
About 300 years ago, another great card master, Heiner Van Sant, brought the development of cards into a golden age.
The year Heiner Van Sant was born was exactly 200 years after the year Rosenberg formally proposed the card theory.
The two greatest card masters of the last 500 years seemed to be echoing each other in that way.
The era in which Heiner Van Sant lived was a time when heroes came forth in large numbers.
During those 100 years, countless cards were invented by many genius card masters. Heiner Van Sant was as famous as Rosenberg, and he led the invention of as many as 97 kinds of cards.
During that time, many famous card masters emerged, such as Luo Qi, Chemosich, and so on.
After so many years of development, the card science of today had long been different from what it was 500 years ago.
The whole discipline had become more detailed, with many branches, and the research had become more in-depth.
The card theory of the Heavenly Federation spread to the Mohadi Domain and the House of a Hundred Depths after they established diplomatic relations. The outstanding people of the two domains quickly absorbed it, and according to the characteristics of their own domains, they developed unique card theories suitable for their two domains.
So, the card theory system was further supplemented and expanded, and new cards emerged in an endless stream.
That was a glorious and brilliant era, one that countless people deeply yearned for.
With the continuous development of the card theory system and the appearance of all kinds of strange cards, it became more and more difficult to classify the types of cards.
Until then, there was still no authoritative way to classify them.
However, if he wanted to know what a card was for, the most direct and simplest way was to use it!
Using a card required the use of an apparatus. Coincidentally, the apparatus was also invented by Rosenberg, the originator of the card theory, and was perfected by Heiner Van Sant.
Although the current apparatuses were getting more and more elaborate, and there were more and more auxiliary functions, such as the searchlight on Chen Mu's apparatus, its core hadn't changed in the slightest.
From the outside, the apparatus looked like a rectangular box with three buckles that could be fastened to the arm.
There was a card slot at the top of the apparatus for using cards.
Generally speaking, an apparatus would have at least two card slots, and the higher the grade, the more there would be.
Of the two card slots, one was for basic cards like energy cards, and the other was for cards that the user wanted to use.
To put it bluntly, an apparatus was a device that linked the power card to other cards, with the power card providing the power to stimulate the card, thereby achieving the purpose of using it.
Of course, Chen Mu's apparatus wasn't some high-class thing. What kind of high-class thing could you buy for 200 Oudi?
Chen Mu had very little use for such a widely used thing like an apparatus.
Without any hesitation, he inserted the card into the slot at the top of the apparatus, and picked an unused one-star power card to insert into the slot below.
Having done all that, Chen Mu took a deep breath, and then pressed the activation button on the surface of the apparatus.
"Beep!"
A translucent screen suddenly appeared on Chen Mu, with a line of words on it.
"The power card does not meet the specifications. Please use a three-star or higher power card!"
Three-star power card!
It actually required a three-star or higher power card!
With a face full of astonishment, Chen Mu had already determined that the card was an out-and-out high-class card.
Generally speaking, the higher the grade of the card, the higher the requirements for the power card, and the faster the power consumption.
Chen Mu still had that little bit of common sense.
But Chen Mu was a little embarrassed.
He didn't have a three-star power card on hand, and if he wanted to know what kind of card it really was, he would have to buy a three-star power card.
But the price of a three-star power card wasn't a small number!
The capacity of a one-star power card was a hundred calories, a two-star power card was a thousand calories, and a three-star power card was as high as ten thousand calories.
The standard retail price of a one-star power card was 110 Oudi, which was to say that on average one card was one Oudi.
The price of a two-star power card was one thousand two hundred and fifty Oudi, which was to say that on average one card was 1.25 Oudi.
The price of a three-star power card was as high as 15,000 Oudi, which on average was 1.5 Oudi for one point of energy.
That was also why the use of a one-star power card was the most widespread, since the poor were still the most numerous in the world.
He had always lived frugally during those three years, working day and night, and his total net worth was only 80,000 Oudi.
He was very hesitant to take out 15,000 Oudi all at once.
Having experienced the life of a vagabond since he was a child, he valued money more than most people, since he knew it was the most basic foundation of life.
After hesitating for a long time, reason finally overcame impulse, and Chen Mu decided to put it aside for a while.
He didn't throw away the two pieces of film that were stuck to the card, but he put them away.
The days went back to normal, except that Chen Mu had a new habit. Every day he couldn't help but play with the card in his hand. Every time he looked at the card, he would be immersed in its complex and perfect composition.
But life had to go on, and he hadn't accomplished nothing during that time. He had succeeded in putting the recursive compression composition of a different one-star power card into his own composition, which had once again reduced the cost of making a one-star power card by two Oudi.
That was to say that his daily income was now 50 Oudi more than before.
It could be said that the composition of the one-star power card he was making was already quite different from the standard composition, though it would be hard to see if you didn't look closely.
But who would carefully study a one-star power card that had just been bought?
He took out the attendance card that Uncle Hua had given him last time, and according to the date, it was that day.
The training class was being held in a large building next to the Eastern Wei Academy, and Chen Mu had originally thought that there wouldn't be many people attending. He hadn't thought that when he entered the classroom, he would find it very noisy.
There were all young boys and girls sitting inside, and the young people would naturally quickly mingle together, laughing and cursing in groups of three or five, having a lot of fun.
Chen Mu casually found a seat by the window and sat down.
After so many years of life as a vagabond, Chen Mu had gained quite a bit of experience in observing facial expressions.
With a quick glance, he understood that the family circumstances of those people were probably quite ordinary.
Thinking about it, if their families were rich, why would they send their children to such a low-level training class?
If they were to send their children, they would send them to Eastern Wei Academy.
Looking out the window at Eastern Wei Academy, which was only separated by a wall, he could see everything from his position to the Eastern Wei Academy's sports field.
Neat and clean uniforms, overflowing with confident smiles, and courteous greetings to each other, the style of the Eastern Wei Academy students lit up.
Inexplicably, Chen Mu felt a little uncomfortable, and a little bitterness rose up in his heart.
Withdrawing his gaze, Chen Mu sat there for a while, and couldn't help but laugh when he came back to himself.
What's wrong with me?
Three years ago, I'm afraid I wouldn't have dreamed of living such a life. What else could I not be satisfied with now?
He told himself that he had to be content with what he had, since he was already very lucky!
Having thought that through, Chen Mu once again cast his gaze toward Eastern Wei Academy, still with a faint envy in his gaze, though it was unusually peaceful.
Just then, the instructor walked into the classroom, and it immediately quieted down.
The instructor was a young man in his twenties called Jia Ming.
His looks were average, but his tongue was very sharp.
He started off with a lot of talk, saying that he was a direct disciple of Professor Jia Ziling of Eastern Wei Academy, and that he and Eastern Wei Academy were partners, and that after everyone had finished their studies, finding a job would be a simple matter and so on.
After a round of bragging and encouragement, the eyes of the students below lit up as they listened.
Chen Mu frowned as he listened. His life as a vagabond had given him insight into the ways of the world, which was far beyond what those young girls and boys could compare with.
As he saw it, that instructor was far more like a swindler than a card master.
That boasting took half the morning.
But after half the morning, Chen Mu was disappointed. That Jia Ming was doing exactly what he had read.
Chen Mu had been studying on his own for three years, flipping through no fewer than a hundred or so basic books, many of which he knew by heart.
He even knew that what Jia Ming was reading from was the one hundred fourth edition of Wang Jing's "Introduction to the Basics of Card Theory," which was commonly used by all the academies.
He had flipped through that book no less than ten times, but because his foundation was so poor, there were a lot of things he didn't understand.
He quickly concentrated on the lecture.