51: Challenge

The first time Shi Li stood before the Monster Training Ground of Li Card Hall, he realized what 'bigger' truly meant.

The training field at Show Card Hall, in his opinion, was already quite large, but this one was ridiculously huge, at least two or three times the size of Show Card Hall's.

But thinking about it, it made sense; there were so many more two-star LV5 demons here than at Show Card Hall, so naturally, there would be even more demons of other levels.

More demons naturally required a larger space.

Having grown accustomed to free entry, he almost forgot to buy a ticket this time.

The fees for Gold Card Players and Silver Card Players were different: Silver Card Players needed 300 cubic coins, while Gold Card Players needed 600 cubic coins.

The former was 100 more expensive than Show Card Hall, and the latter was 200 more expensive.

After paying the fee and providing his rank information, Shi Li smoothly entered the main hall.

His first action upon entering the hall was to find an unoccupied spot to disguise himself.

Among the cards Xiu Qingshan gave him, besides the consumable [Mental Recovery], there was also one permanent-hold card.

[Rank Disguise]: Activating this card allows a Gold rank to be disguised as Gold 1.

After all, Gold 4 was considered a master in any training field in this city, making it hard not to attract attention.

After using it, Shi Li appeared as Gold 1 in the eyes of outsiders.

However, this item card only worked for Gold ranks, and if the observer's rank was too much higher than his, they would easily see through the disguise.

In addition, to prevent his overly young face from drawing attention, Xiu Qingshan had specially prepared a face mask for him.

This was a common piece of equipment for Card Players when moving outdoors, protecting against mosquitoes and sandstorms.

Many people in the hall were similarly dressed, so Shi Li didn't stand out.

"With these two things, I shouldn't be noticed."

Shi Li walked out confidently.

"Let me see where to start first."

He looked at his phone, checking the information, and quickly made a decision: "Let's start with this area, the habitat of the Crystal Pangolin."

The information Xiu Qingshan provided included detailed maps and the distribution of LV5 two-star demons, which was quite convenient.

"Brother, please stop."

He had only taken two steps when he was stopped by a man in his early twenties.

"Hmm?"

Shi Li's gaze sharpened.

The rank displayed clearly above the other person's head was Gold 13.

This must be someone from Li Card Hall.

Because non-Li Card Hall Card Players above Gold 5 couldn't enter this hall.

Had he been discovered so quickly?

"Hello, my name is Zeng Hong, and I am the exclusive sparring partner for the training field."

The man had an enthusiastic smile on his face: "I can team up with you and take you to challenge LV5 two-star demons."

It turned out to be a false alarm.

Sparring partners were a common sight in training fields.

They would charge a fee to accompany clients to hunt high-level demons.

Because, for demons of the same star level, higher-level demons often had a higher drop rate.

Any cards dropped during the battle belonged to the client, including character cards.

However, the drop rate for character cards was pitifully low, entirely depending on luck.

"How do you charge?"

Shi Li asked curiously, his voice rough.

Show Card Hall didn't have this service yet due to insufficient foot traffic.

"2000 cubic coins per hour."

"No, thank you."

Shi Li turned and left upon hearing that.

How long would he have to hunt demons to earn 2000?

Why don't you just rob someone?

"Tsk, looks like a pauper."

Watching Shi Li's retreating back, Zeng Hong curled his lip.

Just then, an experienced sparring partner from Li Card Hall walked over with a young man who was Gold 1.

"Teacher Zeng, I've brought you some business."

The old sparring partner had a wry smile on his face and introduced to the client: "Teacher Zeng is an elite Card Player from our Card Hall's Level 3 Alien Territory pioneering team, and also our strongest sparring partner here.

He can definitely meet your requirements."

"You are Teacher Zeng? I've heard of you."

The young man's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

"This boss wants to hunt Crystal Pangolins, and I really can't handle it, so I can only ask for your help."

The old sparring partner explained.

The Crystal Pangolin, widely recognized as the most troublesome two-star demon in this training field.

They preferred to live in groups, and their distribution density was very high.

The demon's attributes were very ordinary, with no special mechanics, but its stat panel was the most headache-inducing type: high attack and thick health.

It's important to know that demons with specific mechanics usually had their own advantages, and their own mechanics could also easily become a breakthrough point.

As long as a deck specifically designed to counter their mechanics was used, hunting would be particularly easy.

The Crystal Pangolin's unadorned high stats made it the most difficult to deal with.

Because it completely tested the strength of the Card Player's deck.

"If I bring someone along for that thing, it really won't be easy to deal with."

Zeng Hong was also slightly hesitant when he heard the hunting target was this.

That thing had too much health, and his deck's tactics weren't known for high attack.

So even if he fought alone, it would take some effort, let alone bringing someone along.

It's important to know that in this team-up mode, the client had to deploy at least 1 character card.

This meant Zeng Hong could deploy a maximum of 3 character cards, which would somewhat affect the card game.

"Okay, but the efficiency won't be very high."

But in the end, Zeng Hong still agreed.

A Crystal Pangolin sparring request—no one else here could likely take it besides him.

"Thank you, Teacher Zeng!"

The young man was overjoyed.

As for the price of 2000/hour, both parties happily agreed.

It's worth noting that the average price for other sparring partners here was around 1500/hour.

The other party clearly looked like someone who wasn't short on money.

So, amidst the envious gazes of the sparring partners, Zeng Hong led the young man into the training field.

"There are two routes to the Crystal Pangolin, which one should we take?"

After exiting the large steel gate, Zeng Hong asked for the client's opinion.

"The direct shortcut saves the most time, but it requires traversing mountains and rivers, and the path is quite difficult.

The artificially constructed road is slightly more circuitous and passes through more demon activity areas."

To facilitate Card Players' movement, there were specially constructed and maintained paths within the training field.

However, for safety and other reasons, no vehicles were allowed here except for staff.

"Let's take the road."

Hearing about traversing mountains and rivers, the young man immediately gave his answer.

As a Gold Card Player who was purely built up by money, he actually didn't enjoy outdoor activities.

"Alright."

Zeng Hong had no objections; after all, the more time spent, the more he earned.

He really liked this kind of client.

So the two walked onto the flagstone path, and in less than ten minutes, they encountered a demon attack.

"Caw!!!"

A large bird with a hooked beak descended from the sky.

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