Fang Xiang

This is both a work of science fiction and an exploration of the meaning of life, love, literature and art. Brainpower is no longer the main ingredient for being human in this far distant future world.  Spirituality, physical balance, and diligence all come together as integrity for Chen Mu, the Card Apprentice.  The cards which Chen Mu masters in his own scrappy way, distill all the powers of the cosmos –  human and nonhuman –  into something that is not a book, not technology, and neither art nor magic, but is these and more.  Learn about these strange cards, which can embody everything you might imagine for the future of technology, but also a future beyond technology which promotes the best, and sometimes the worst, from mankind’s past.

The Card Apprentice

Among those under Chen Mu were Lu Xiaoru, the bar-browed man, Crow Feather, Happy Padding, and Lucky Xi. They had been making the fastest progress—especially Lu Xiaoru. Her strength had been somewhat beneath that of the bar-browed man, but ever since Chen Mu had explained the secrets of the sound beam card to her, the increase to her strength had been the most rapid.

Among all of them, only she had gotten that treatment. All the others had had to hone their skills with their cards by themselves.

The bar-browed man was an exception. Chen Mu hadn't made many changes to his card, but the guy was a thoroughgoing battle genius. Especially in the circumstance of training with so many aces, his abilities surged rapidly. Of course, the other important reason was that Wei-ah seemed to have taken a shine to him and had occasionally been giving him a few pointers.

Wang Ze’s Determination