Body Exercises?

Having lived a life of wandering since childhood, Chris was somewhat malnourished in his early years. However, after his living conditions improved, his body began to become more robust. Although his physique may not seem particularly strong on the surface, he actually has excellent physical health and rarely falls ill.

However, when Chris tried to perform one of the movements, he found it exceptionally difficult. It required a great deal of strength in the lower limbs, which was not his strong suit. After repeating the movement several times, his legs became as soft as jelly. Chris wasn't sure if he was actually performing the movements correctly, but the soreness in his legs was very real.

Chris tried all eighteen movements, but he could only complete three of them. Moreover, he noticed that whenever he accurately performed one of the movements, the corresponding mannequin would immediately dim. If his movement was not exactly the same as the one demonstrated by the mannequin, it would not change at all.

Aside from this change, no matter how much Chris tried, there was no other alteration in the surroundings. Exhausted from the effort, Chris's biggest problem was no longer how to complete the eighteen movements, but how to exit this illusion. The void around him was empty; besides the eighteen mannequins, there were no other indicators.

Could it be related to these eighteen mannequins?

Chris quickly dismissed this idea; all eighteen mannequins were illusions. Perhaps he needed to complete all eighteen movements? Chris smiled wryly; if that were the case, he would be in trouble! These eighteen movements would require considerable practice to successfully complete, not something he could manage at the moment.

Breaking the illusion? That was out of the question. With such a sophisticated illusion, it was impossible for him to break it on his own.

So where might the key to exiting this illusion?

Recalling various legends about high-level illusion cards, Chris began to sweat coldly. If he couldn't find this key point, he faced only two possible outcomes. One possibility was that the energy card powering the illusion would be depleted, causing the illusion to dissolve automatically. The other was that he would perish from thirst or starvation before the energy ran out. A drop of sweat slid down his nose and fell into the endless black void below.

Chris Wood, who had never encountered such a danger before, did not panic. This was not the first time his life was at risk. During his childhood of wandering, he faced many dangers besides hunger and cold. Stray dogs could be deadly to homeless children, and ruthless human traffickers saw them as easy prey.

Yet, he had never felt so helpless in the face of danger. To him, this illusion card represented the pinnacle of illusion card mastery, an unreachable height. For a novice card maker who had just learned to make one-star illusion cards, this was something to be looked up to but never surpassed. This sense of danger was not only external but also rose from the deepest part of his heart.

Chris forced himself to stay calm. He believed that the purpose of creating this card could not be to trap the user to death within the illusion. If that were the case, the illusion would be filled with various lethal attacks, rather than the calm environment he was currently experiencing. It could only mean that he had not yet found the key to exiting the illusion.

Having not received formal training in card making, it was clearly unrealistic to solve this problem using only the knowledge he had acquired. After pondering for a while, Chris decided to use a simple method: the process of elimination. He would systematically eliminate each option, as there weren't many elements in the illusion.

But he had already interacted with nearly everything in the illusion earlier, and nothing had responded. So where could the key be?

The void, the mannequins, or himself!

Chris had a sudden flash of insight. Yes, he had been ignoring one possibility—himself! In the entire illusion, besides the void and the eighteen mannequins, there was also himself!

Chris's gaze fell on his wrist, and he was startled to see the degree meter clearly visible on his wrist! Almost instinctively, Chris pressed the activation button on the device. With a whoosh, the scenery before him changed, and Chris found himself back in his familiar room.

With his legs giving way, Chris let out a deep breath of relief and collapsed onto the ground. He was utterly exhausted! He didn't even have the energy to move a finger. Attempting those eighteen movements had drained most of his strength, and the mental tension afterward had only made it worse. Both his body and mind had endured a severe test.

Exhausted, Chris fell asleep right there on the floor.

Chris was once again awakened by hunger! The feeling of waking up hungry was absolutely awful. He particularly despised the sensation of hunger, likely a lingering shadow from his past life of wandering.

He wasn't picky about food—as long as it filled him up, it was good enough. Opening the fresh food cabinet, a blast of cold air hit him in the face. The core of the cabinet was powered by a cooling card, which kept the food fresh. Although it was inexpensive, the monthly energy consumption was considerable.

Cards like the cooling card in the fresh food cabinet and the heating card in the thermal pot aren't high-level—they're just one or two stars—but they've become indispensable in people's daily lives. These cards can be mass-produced industrially, which also makes them more affordable.

The application of low-level cards extends into every aspect of ordinary people's lives. In the card-making world, there are two undisputed masters: Rosenberg and Haina Vincent. Master Rosenberg was the first to propose card theory and created the world's first energy card and illusion card. Haina Vincent not only elevated Rosenberg's illusion cards to unprecedented heights but also created many other types of cards that were vastly different from Rosenberg's style.

Both of these masters reached the pinnacle of the card-making world. There exists another equally remarkable figure who, in a different way, shines with unparalleled brilliance and is known as the master closest to these two grandmasters!

This was Rozi! Although Rozi's status as a high-level card maker seemed insignificant among the many illustrious card makers in history, he nonetheless sparked an unprecedented revolution in the card world. He dedicated his entire life to figuring out how to connect cards with the everyday lives of ordinary people. Many cards that were once out of reach for the average person became accessible thanks to him.

Fresh food cabinets, thermal pots, hover cars... Rozi always had incredibly ingenious ideas, maximizing the value of seemingly insignificant one-star and two-star cards, which led to a profound transformation in people's lives. This also greatly improved the lives of many low-level card makers who struggled to make a living. His innovations brought him immense wealth, and his business acumen was equally impressive. His fortune grew like a snowball, and within just a few decades, he became the richest man in the entire Sky Federation. Even now, the Rozi family remains one of the most prominent families in the federation.

Rozi was a highly controversial figure. In the eyes of traditional card makers, he was the epitome of someone who deviated from the proper path. At that time, Haina Vincent even mockingly referred to him as a "man reeking of the stench of money." However, to many others, he was an undeniable genius—a different kind of genius. This was precisely how Chris Wood saw him.

Breaking the rule is not something everyone can achieve.

Chewing on the bread, Chris sat down at the table, his gaze once again falling on that mysterious card. The card remained as enigmatic as ever, still shrouded in mystery. He hadn't found any of the answers he sought. He had originally thought that with a three-star energy card, he would finally uncover the true nature of this mysterious card. However, much to his surprise, he was still left in the dark.

The realistic illusion within the card had severed all his connections with the surrounding environment, creating what felt like an entirely different world. It had almost made him unable to find a way out and left him with an overwhelming sense of shock.

It was astounding to realize that illusions could achieve such a level of complexity!

Reflecting on his own illusion cards, Chris felt a tinge of frustration. However, this feeling lasted only a few seconds. He believed that even today, very few people could create such advanced illusions. What followed was a surge of encouragement. Indeed, illusion cards, the most traditional cards in the Sky Federation, were truly remarkable!

Chewing the bread absentmindedly, Chris's mind was filled with the eighteen varied movements. These were definitely not offensive techniques. Although Chris was not a card maker, he was no stranger to fighting from his days of wandering. As a seasoned veteran in such matters, he could tell at a glance that these eighteen movements had no offensive intent.

These movements all seemed somewhat reminiscent of body exercises or gymnastics routines.