Chapter 175: 175 Snake Tortoise? Black Tortoise?_1
Coach Shan Gui said, "Have you ever seen a card degrade?"
Everyone was somewhat surprised. "Can cards degrade?"
Coach Shan Gui nodded affirmatively. "Yes, Snake Tortoise is such a card. It was simply too powerful and was used in matches right away. But the team members felt something was off when they used the Snake Tortoise card. Its power was immense, but it weakened after each use. Later, the International Association, noticing this card’s strong defense, took it under some pretext. Unexpectedly, that evening, Snake Tortoise was downgraded."
"We weren’t the most astonished. That incident scared the International Card Association stiff. After all, what we handed over to them could, at most, be considered a duplicate card. The original card itself was in the hands of the Spirit Card Master who created it, so it was impossible for a copy card to affect the original."
"But the downgrade of Snake Tortoise was a fact. When the Chairman of Frost Moon ascended to that position that year, Frost Moon had invested great effort. However, because of this event, he was saddled with the responsibility and had to retire early. The Empire took the opportunity to sway a portion of the nations within the Association. Overall, there were gains and losses, so we didn’t make this matter public. The downgraded Snake Tortoise became ordinary and naturally could no longer compete in matches. However, it was a rather peculiar card and was categorized as banned without public disclosure, with copyright issues cited as the official reason."
It seems the International Association got greedy and, as a result, ended up being played by Yunxia. The Snake Tortoise was clearly on its last legs; the moment the Association started researching it, it degraded, which in turn terrified the members of the Card Association.
I’ve never seen a card degrade in my lifetime.
Tan Heming was deep in thought. "Was there any problem with Snake Tortoise before it was downgraded?"
Coach Shan Gui explained, "Its power was getting weaker with each use; it wasn’t a problem with the team members. Even in its last match before degrading, it still withstood several attacks from three SSR Cards, which shows how extraordinary and regrettable this card was. It was normal for the International Association to target it."
He shook his head. "Regrettably, after so many years, the secret behind Snake Tortoise’s degradation has not been discovered. We too are afraid of other SSR Cards experiencing this, but fortunately, there hasn’t been any news of other cards weakening after use."
「Meanwhile, other associations were also discussing the incident the Mountain Ghost Association had encountered.」
Wen Jiang was also very interested. The Snake Tortoise card had been around for so long, and she was more familiar with modern matches, where many of these old cards had been replaced or had become outdated.
Now, hearing this name suddenly, Wen Jiang went to search for the secrets of the Snake Tortoise card.
What kind of card would it be, to draw the initial attention of the International Association?
But when she saw the competition video of Snake Tortoise, she couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Zero Egg shared his opinion, "Huh, this Snake Tortoise, why does it look so much like the Divine Beast Black Tortoise that you drew?"
Indeed, the Snake Tortoise before them looked remarkably similar to the Black Tortoise. The Black Tortoise, with its turtle body and serpentine tail coiled around a massive shell, was a legendary terrestrial Divine Beast from ancient times, capable of moving entire cities.
However, compared to the true Black Tortoise, this Snake Tortoise could only be described as superficially similar in appearance—nothing more. The true Black Tortoise possessed a dragon’s head and a turtle’s body, and both its shell and snake tail held their own distinct symbolism. Yet, a Snake Tortoise that merely resembled the Black Tortoise in form—could such a thing actually be created?
Wen Jiang suddenly had an inkling as to why this Snake Tortoise might have degraded.
Was it not the complete Black Tortoise, merely possessing some of its appearance? Was the Card Spirit growing increasingly dissatisfied, or was this simply all it could be?
However, she had underestimated the power of the people in this world.
The fact that the Black Tortoise hadn’t appeared meant there must be hidden information; otherwise, this person couldn’t have created such a similar one. The data Wen Jiang had submitted also contained traces of the Black Tortoise. She believed Yan Moling and the others would quickly realize, after seeing it, that the Mountain Ghost Association had produced a similar card before.
This Card Maker is quite interesting. He must possess information that the Empire does not have.
Zero Egg speculated with some suspicion, "Is this your Black Tortoise? But this Black Tortoise here isn’t as domineering as yours in terms of its divinity."
The Divine Beasts drawn by Wen Jiang invariably displayed a divine beast’s demeanor. In ancient myths, the Black Tortoise was comparable to a city, but this one was clearly still too small.
Wen Jiang still confirmed, "Yes."
She never doubted others’ wisdom; possessing similar information and creating a similar Black Tortoise was only logical.
What she was confident about was the realm she had achieved through her own cultivation, giving her an exceptional advantage in making cards.
Compared to others, Wen Jiang’s first thought was: Copyright is going to be an issue.
This Snake Tortoise was currently with Mountain Ghost. Her original plan included an S Rank stage that would later feature the Four Great Divine Beasts as a linked card set. It seemed that cooperation with the Mountain Ghost Association was now inevitable.
This was an exclusive card of Mountain Ghost; even the Empire didn’t have the rights to it.
However, that was still a matter for the more distant future. Besides, the Mountain Ghost Association wasn’t as rigid as other associations when it came to restorations; if, at that time, someone from the Empire or she herself were willing to restore this card, the Mountain Ghost Association would likely be very happy to see it happen.
Having a powerful SSR Card to anchor their lineup is more important than anything else.
While external discussions speculated on how the Snake Tortoise had been ensnared by the International Association, spawning numerous conspiracy theories, the idea of it actually degrading was too preposterous for most to guess the truth. However, Wen Jiang became thoughtful after watching several matches where the Mountain Ghost Association used the Snake Tortoise card.
She could also tell that the Snake Tortoise’s Card Spirit was growing weaker with each match. Moreover, the Snake Tortoise’s Card Spirit was overly rigid and differed from the Bai Ze and Bi Fang Card Spirits she had seen. Even from a fleeting glimpse, she could determine that these SSR Card Spirits were, in some respects, more sentient than ordinary Card Spirits. Such a rigid Snake Tortoise did not fit the definition of an SSR.
Wen Jiang made a definitive judgment: The Snake Tortoise has encountered some kind of problem that prevents its further use. It could be a trick by the International Association, or there could be an inherent issue with the card itself.
Her guesses were close to the truth. However, having never heard of cards degrading, she hadn’t yet considered that possibility.
Of course, the International Card Association had still taken a severe beating these past few days. Even though it was known that Yunxia representatives were also involved in the situation, and that several major powers were pulling strings against each other, the utterly furious Yunxia People still vented their anger on the Card Association’s official website.
It reached a point where even statements made by the various branches these days would earn them a figurative slap in the face.
The fighting spirit of the Yunxia People was not to be underestimated, and at this time, people from other countries were treading carefully, not daring to make much noise. Wen Jiang’s actions naturally made many people hate her, but those who loved to follow gossip were quite happy. Wen Jiang’s firm stance also brought a new wave of popularity to Mount Flower’s card sales.
The Founding Emperor Card Set officially broke the sales record for card-related merchandise.