Chapter 94: 094 Hou Yi: Strong Control Output_1
In the days that followed, perhaps because of the potential cooperation with Yan Moling, Wen Jiang noticed that the people who had been watching her near her home had disappeared. They must have been sent by the Wu Family. After Wu Fanjia died, the Wu Family had never been at peace, investigating everyone Wu Fanjia had ever targeted. The only hiccup had come with Wen Jiang. Their people had been dealt with.
The Empire had easily investigated Wu Fanjia’s dealings. They were not interested in whether the Wu Family was going mad, only in ensuring that such individuals did not affect Wen Jiang’s presence. Even if Wen Jiang was dangerous, they did not allow any accidents to befall her. Therefore, another extraordinary event took place.
"The Wu Family is being investigated," Zero Egg said with schadenfreude as it watched the news. "The Tax Department is taking action. After all, they have a multitude of issues, and recently they’ve been harassing some of the victims previously targeted by Wu Fanjia. The victims’ families went online to cry, and the matter blew up. Now, with added scrutiny, the Wu Family isn’t going to have any good days ahead."
Zero Egg reflected, "I thought the Wu Family would become a stumbling block in your path just like Wu Fanjia."
"My stumbling blocks are not Wu Fanjia or any individual, but the Nobility and other empires, especially the Nobility."
Wen Jiang analyzed the situation seriously. "This is not an exaggeration. Once Mount Flower releases this deck, it will disrupt the entire competition’s structure. Excessively dominant cards will destroy the current survival of other cards, and the Nobility rely on these cards to earn huge profits in competitions. Good people can see the direction in which the cards are progressing, while selfish people only focus on their own interests. When they realize their interests are being compromised because of me, some of the Nobility will only think of ways to get rid of me."
If she died, these powerful cards would be taken over by the state or have a chance to be absorbed by them, causing no significant impact, and the market would still be controlled by them.
With such an explanation, Zero Egg also felt that Wen Jiang was not being alarmist; it understood some of the vices of humanity and immediately asked, "Will the Yunxia Empire ensure your safety?"
Wen Jiang confirmed, "They will. Foolish people do not get to high positions. The Empire has a longstanding grudge with the Nobility, and they will use me as a breakthrough point. I am willing to go public with my deck and directly encroach upon the Nobility’s card market, which has already placed me in opposition to them. Yan Moling and others will find ways to give me the best treatment as long as I obediently work on cards and participate in competitions."
At this critical juncture, all she had to do was complete the System’s tasks.
She actually didn’t pay much attention to the development of this world. She knew she would be leaving it sooner or later—either perishing completely in another failed Tribulation or moving on to other worlds. She would not stay to be a nanny.
Trivial matters like Wu Fanjia could easily be uprooted by the Empire.
The following days were much more peaceful.
Wen Jiang was busy preparing the deck required by the Mount Flower Association, as the world championship national selection competition was set for November, and Mount Flower had requested the cards by October. It was already August.
The world had changed, and even the temperature began to differ significantly.
July and August used to be the hottest months, but now, as August approached, the weather started to cool down. Taking advantage of the waning heat of the summer, Wen Jiang, inflamed by her own perfectionism, decided to start with the Hou Yi card.
She had wanted to compile a set of decks, but then thought that the Moon Palace set could merge into any system, and others could assemble their own teams, so she decided to create just three cards.
At that time, Mount Flower could also use any of the Four Heavenly Kings to build a deck.
Mainly because every time Changer was summoned, she would cry out, "Where is my Hou Yi?" annoying Wen Jiang to no end.
Since Changer was a beautiful woman, Hou Yi must also be handsome.
The legend of Hou Yi shooting down the suns was deeply ingrained in the hearts of the people. An arrow-based card was unavoidable and an absolute damage dealer.
The sun hung in the sky, unable to move. If Hou Yi could shoot down the suns, the power of his bow and arrow was terrifying indeed.
There was no need to consider other statuses; it was only necessary to portray Hou Yi’s damage output to its extreme.
Hou Yi stood in place, his eyes able to lock onto a Card Spirit, forcing the opposing Card Spirit to stay immobile. Then he would draw his bow and shoot an arrow. The power of this arrow was unstoppable, burning with raging flames, and it would typically blow up the Card Spirit with a single shot.
If an opponent realized something was wrong and wanted to block, fine, then they’d have to block it head-on!
Hou Yi didn’t need flashy Skills, just a single arrow to flatten everything. Therefore, his damage output had to be explosive.
If a Card Spirit was shielding the target, then Hou Yi would switch to lock onto that obstructing Card Spirit, shoot it down with one arrow, and his targeting would continue to the next Card Spirit.
Where was the terror in this ability?
The terror lay in the fact that a target marked by Hou Yi could not move. In other words, he was a high-control damage-dealing card, and his targets could continue to shift.
His damage was quite formidable, with the drawback being his immobility. An A-Rank Card always needs some balance. Wen Jiang’s design focused on his immense damage output, so he essentially had no defense left. Otherwise, if she whimsically created a card maxed-out in attack, defense, and control, would anyone else even need to play? They’d just enter the field and declare GG (game over).
This card could blow up Mo Liqing with a single arrow, making it Mo Liqing’s bane.
But if it was attacked itself, it couldn’t counter, needing other cards for protection. In the early stages, Changer could help with battlefield protection.
At that point, the heaven-defying aspect of linked cards became apparent.
The World Will itself recognized these three cards. After they were created, in the card pool, Jade Rabbit Pestle Medicine, Changer, and Hou Yi—these three cards—had the same pattern in their bottom right corner: a small moon, signifying they were part of a linked card set.
The concept of a linked card set did exist; while common in SSR cards, it was rare among A-Rank ones.
When Changer was on the field, with Changer and Hou Yi in a "sweet state," their attack power would stack even higher, while Changer’s defensive stacking status would surge, enhancing Hou Yi’s defense.
Once Changer ascended, inspired by her, Jade Rabbit would forcibly speed up its pestle work, cutting the time to produce medicated pellets by half.
But Hou Yi would feel an agony beyond tolerance. The Hou Yi who lost Changer would fall into madness, and his attack power would increase.
Wen Jiang estimated that it probably wasn’t a dream for a single arrow to instantly kill three opposing A-Rank Spirit Card Spirits on the field.
The problem was also significant: powerful card Skills needed ample spiritual power. Once Changer ascended, the consumption of spiritual power would grow exponentially. After all, breaking through invisibility and strengthening attacks to apply DEBUFFs to enemy Card Spirits both required more spiritual power.
Similar to Mo Liqing, Hou Yi’s increased attack also required more spiritual power to sustain. Wen Jiang hadn’t calculated exactly how much spiritual power was needed, but she felt that this damage-dealing card might push the upper limits of certain professional players’ capabilities; ordinary professional players might not be able to control it.
To put it simply, if Hou Yi and Changer appeared together and Changer ascended, Hou Yi’s critical point would rise. At this time, some Spirit Card Masters would actually be unable to use him, requiring stronger willpower for support.
Wen Jiang was very satisfied.
She hadn’t even thought about how to hide it and directly submitted both the Changer and Hou Yi cards to the card department for review.
It was time for her System task to be updated.