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

The Golden Word Shackle was one of the most powerful weapons Chen Mu had in his hands. Not only that, but it had increased in importance for him because of the need to do everything he could to cover his identity. Moreover, since his fame in his identity as Qiao Yuan continued to rise, the need for Chen Mu to increase his skill with the Golden Word Shackle had gotten more urgent.

Chen Mu's eyes lit up. Glass was an energy composition he had never seen before, and he became quite interested in it. But he quickly pulled back since that wasn't the time to do any refining and pondering. He put aside the glass with some reluctance, strongly repressing the urge to plunge into researching it. His gaze fell again onto Sang Hanshui.

He had already mastered the other five single-syllable words. Hoop was actually rather similar to bind, except bind was directed at a single objective while hoop aimed at several objectives. But hoop's power wasn't up to bind's.