51: A purple card worth 30 million

Yao Tianxiao was decisive in his actions.

He didn't waste any words and immediately arranged for manpower.

Two additional Yao Family guards escorted Lu Yuan's still-shaken parents and Homeroom Teacher Qian Jing, who rode in another hovercar and left first.

Before leaving, Yao Tianxiao whispered instructions.

"After you've checked them in and sent them home, the two of you stay behind, protect them secretly, and rotate shifts every twenty-four hours."

"Report any anomalies immediately."

"Yes, Boss," the guard respectfully acknowledged.

Then came the actual cleanup of the scene.

With specialized personnel in charge, bodies were quickly disposed of, and traces of battle were erased as much as possible.

The lingering smell of blood and energy residue in the air also rapidly dissipated under the effect of special tools.

Professional, efficient.

The deep foundation of a large family enterprise was evident at this moment... Not long after everyone left the abandoned factory area.

Several blurry figures appeared on the outskirts of the factory.

They wore unified combat uniforms, masks on their faces, and moved quickly and cooperatively.

The leader raised his hand, signaling to stop advancing.

He squatted down, pinched a pinch of still-warm ash from the ground, and sniffed it under his mask.

"The energy residue is very complex."

"Fourth-tier peak fluctuations... more than one."

Another person walked to the hole in the wall, created by Fierce Tiger's impact, and carefully examined the broken edge.

"The damage is very recent, a brute force impact."

"And... a faint spatial fluctuation? No, it's an afterimage left by high-speed movement."

They slowly entered the warehouse.

Seeing the mess inside, and the nauseating, deeply embedded blurry bloodstain on the ground, the few of them were visibly stunned.

"..."

"..."

"Boss, what... what's going on?" a team member couldn't help but ask, "Are we too late?"

The leader silently walked to where Black Crow was crushed to death, squatted down, and carefully examined the pool of blood and flesh.

"It's Black Crow."

"Crushed to death instantly, without even time to self-destruct."

"There are extremely powerful water and lightning energy residues at the scene."

"There's also the aura of the Yao Family's Xuantian Demon Wolf, as well as at least three other distinct Fourth-tier energy fluctuations."

The team members exchanged glances.

The Black Water Gang, a local snake that had operated in Jiangcheng for many years, just... gone?

By whom? The Yao Family?

"What about the target person?"

"...Not found."

The leader stood up, looking around.

"The scene was cleaned very professionally."

"It seems the Yao Family made a move, and they used strength beyond expectations."

"As for the target... he's probably already been taken away by the Yao Family."

"Mission failed?"

"No, there was just an unexpected development," the leader's voice was low, "Report the situation."

"Emphasize the Yao Family's involvement and the energy residue suspected to be from a gold card."

"Understood."

The figures merged back into the darkness, as if they had never appeared... Inside the silver hovercar.

Yao Xiao sat next to Lu Yuan, feeling the fatigue emanating from him; today's battle had truly opened her eyes.

She hadn't expected the gold card to be so powerful, strong enough to leapfrog and kill the Third-tier peak White Paper Fan!

It even severely injured the Fourth-tier Black Crow!

Although the cost was also very high, consuming nearly 1 million star coins worth of source cards... but it succeeded, didn't it?

Yao Tianxiao sat opposite, legs crossed.

He wasn't looking at Lu Yuan, but at the fleeting night scenery outside the window, and spoke casually.

"Lu Yuan."

"Hmm?" Lu Yuan looked up.

"Those two gold cards of yours..." Yao Tianxiao paused, "How did you get them? Don't worry, I'm just curious."

It came.

Lu Yuan had long expected it.

Anyone seeing a Second-Tier Card Master suddenly unleash two gold cards would be curious.

It was good that he didn't just snatch them directly.

"Beast Hunting Zone?" Yao Tianxiao guessed, "There have been rumors recently that there's something unusual deep within the Beast Hunting Zone, and someone found good stuff."

Lu Yuan smiled.

"Mr. Yao, do you believe in card gambling?"

"card gambling?" Yao Tianxiao was stunned, then chuckled, "Are you saying those two gold cards of yours came from card gambling?"

Yao Xiao also couldn't help but let out a giggle, finding Lu Yuan's explanation too outrageous.

"Something like that," Lu Yuan shrugged, ambiguous.

"Hahahaha!" Yao Tianxiao burst into laughter, as if he had heard something extremely amusing, "Kid, your explanation is even more outrageous than if you told me you were the reincarnation of the card God who fell from the sky!"

"gold from card gambling?"

"Theoretically, the probability does exist, slightly higher than the probability of being hit on the head by a Source Power meteorite."

"But two? And they're source cards?"

Yao Tianxiao shook his head, clearly not believing a single word.

"If Mr. Yao doesn't believe it, then so be it," Lu Yuan wore a helpless expression of "I told the truth, but you don't believe me."

Yao Tianxiao's laughter gradually subsided, and he gave Lu Yuan a deep look.

"Fine, everyone has their own secrets."

"If you don't want to say, I won't force you."

"However, kid, I need to remind you of something."

He changed the subject, raising his hand.

Buzz!

A flash of light, and the [Xuantian Demon Wolf] card, radiating a deep purple glow, reappeared in his palm.

The dark blue wolf eyes were lifelike, as if alive.

"Do you see it? A five-star purple beast taming card, [Xuantian Demon Wolf]."

"It was what I got from card gambling when I was young."

Lu Yuan and Yao Xiao both showed surprised expressions.

"When I was young, to synthesize this purple card, I used a total of one hundred and thirty-seven blue two-star or higher beast taming cards as main materials, and countless rare auxiliary cards," Yao Tianxiao's tone was calm, yet it carried a sense of extravagant spending, "According to the prices at the time, the cost of these materials alone exceeded ten million star coins."

"The success rate of synthesizing a purple card is less than one percent."

"I was quite lucky; my wife used over eight hundred blue beast taming cards before she coincidentally synthesized one purple card."

Lu Yuan secretly clicked his tongue.

Over eight hundred? At least a hundred million, right?

And that was just for synthesizing a purple card!

"Synthesizing it is just the beginning," Yao Tianxiao continued, "This is just an initial three-star purple card."

"To raise it to its current five-star, subsequent purchases of star-up materials and special cultivation resources cost me another roughly fifteen million star coins."

"All in all, nearly thirty million star coins for this five-star [Xuantian Demon Wolf]."

"And this is just a five-star purple card."

Yao Tianxiao put away the card, his gaze returning to Lu Yuan.

"Kid, do you understand?"

"The value of a gold card far exceeds your imagination."

"gold from card gambling? Heh heh, unless you were truly the savior of the Card Continent in your previous life."

"However, things are much better now; as secret realms are developed more thoroughly, many initial beasts are of purple card level, and gold cards also appear, but they are still extremely valuable."

"Currently, the highest beast taming cards you encounter on the market are blue quality; purple cards and above can be considered strategic resources."

"For example, Yao Xiao's current source card is only blue."

Lu Yuan was silent.

So, what was the value of his two gold beast taming cards?

Immeasurable.

No wonder he hadn't found any information about gold beast taming cards online before; even at auctions, they were only item cards.

Yao Tianxiao's words were undoubtedly reminding him of the weight of the gold card he had promised.

At the same time, he was indirectly telling him that the Yao Family, in saving him and his parents, had paid not only with favors and risks, but also with tangible resources and a potentially huge cost.

"Mr. Yao, I understand what you mean," Lu Yuan nodded solemnly, "In three days, I will fulfill my promise."

"Good," Yao Tianxiao nodded contentedly, saying no more.

The hovercar stopped in the shadows outside the Venus Tower.

"Dad, I'll take Lu Yuan back first," Yao Xiao said.

"Go," Yao Tianxiao waved his hand, "Be careful."

Watching Lu Yuan and Yao Xiao walk into the Venus Tower, Yao Tianxiao's smile gradually faded, and his eyes deepened.

"Two gold cards..."

"This kid, he has more secrets than I imagined."

...