Tian Du City.

  Sword Card Master Association.

  Lu Ming heaved a sigh of relief after receiving his sister’s message. Senior Qiu was a good person except for her childish antics that confused people.

  “It’s great that everything is alright!”


  Lu Ming was pleased.

  “Humph!

  “She is a bad person!”


  Xiaobai would not compromise. “That big sister is certainly a bad person! A good person would not be that big!!!”


  “Are you referring to her age or……”


  Lu Ming pondered deeply.

  “Her age!”


  Xiaobai came to her senses and snorted. She went back to the kitchen to prepare papaya porridge for herself.

  Lu Ming was speechless.

  Well……

  The young girl had reached puberty……

  Heh.

  Lu Ming stretched.

  Since he was left alone, he could summarize his returns so far.

  First of all, his realm had increased!

  He had increased from an advanced four-star to a peak four-star! To Lu Ming who had one hundred thousand points of energy, it was a significant increase!

  Right now……

  He was only a few steps away from five-star!

  This should be considered as his biggest return!

  Well……

  As for the rest……

  Lu Ming thought about it, realizing that there was nothing else.

  →_→


  The duration of the assessment was too short. He participated in the assessment to breakthrough to five-star. However, shortly after, something happened, and he had to return to reality after bombing it.

  Oh, that was right. There were the fruits!

  After eating the fruits, he recovered all his energy at an amazing speed. His body was tempered in a very special way. They must have been very precious!

  After all……

  There was a seven-star python there!

  Would a seven-star big shot guard something that was ordinary?

  Lu Ming was certain that to the big shots, the fruits must have been something precious even in the World of Darkness and Shadows! They must have possessed some kind of magical function! Since the lines on the fruits were very similar to that of a basketball, Lu Ming affectionately coined them: jumping basketball fruit.

  It was a pity……

  He did not feel anything special.

  Were they only effective in recovering one’s combat ability?

  He finished all of them in one go!

  Or perhaps……

  They were only effective to seven-star natives in the World of Darkness and Shadows?!

  “It is such a pity.”


  Lu Ming felt a little regretful.

  He got up……

  Afterward……

  He stiffened.

  Just when he got up, his shadow got up as well!

  Lu Ming was dumbstruck.

  Shadow……

  It can get up by itself?!

  Alright.

  When he said that the shadow got up by itself, he was not referring to the normal shadow reflection. Instead the shadow had really gotten up by itself! It stood up just like Lu Ming.

  Lu Ming suddenly felt his mouth turn dry.

  Damn!

  What is going on here?

  Now it seemed that the shadow was a person by itself, standing up just like Lu Ming. It was very strange and mysterious and there was no shadow at his feet.

  Lu Ming was slightly nervous.

  Afterward……

  The shadow did the same thing, looking very nervous.

  Eh?

  Lu Ming’s heart jumped a beat.

  Shush!

  He lifted his hand and the shadow lifted its hands as well.

  He took a step and the shadow did likewise.

  Bam!

  He slapped Xiao-Xiaojian, and the shadow slapped Xiao-Xiaojian as well.

  Xiao-Xiaojian was speechless.

  Damn!

  What did I do to provoke you?!

  “So……

  “The shadow can repeat my movements?”


  Lu Ming was tempted.

  Damn!

  Could this be the power of the basketball fruit?!

  Perhaps its function was to awaken his shadow?!

  In that case, it was too amazing!

  However……

  As a salted fish[1] who had transmigrated, Lu Ming was very calm.

  At this moment, many horror stories flashed across his mind. He had a terrifying idea. The shadows in Qi Dian novels [2. Qi Dian is a Chinese platform offering all kinds of web novels of different genres] and female genre novels would awaken with a consciousness……

  Well……

  He must test it!

  He had to know if the shadow would repeat the same movements as him or……

  It had its own consciousness?

  Bam!

  Lu Ming lifted his hand and slapped himself.

  The shadow slapped itself as well.

  Well……

  Very well.

  Lu Ming was pleased.

  Xiao-Xiaojian was speechless.

  Everyone seemed to be very ruthless now!

  Right then, Lu Ming was still in the midst of more testing. Slapping himself was merely a basic assessment. The next step was to test the shadow’s collaboration with him……

  Hehe.

  Hence……

  Lu Ming did not hesitate to dance a short segment of radio calisthenics.

  Shush!

  The shadow followed suit.

  Lu Ming took a closer look. Well, there was no delay. There was full synchronization.

  Very well.

  It seemed like this was indeed his own shadow and it had no consciousness nor was it pretending to be his shadow. In that case, the basketball fruit could only help in materializing one’s shadow!

  In that case……

  Was it possible to control it?!

  Lu Ming was tempted.

  Shush!

  He tried to control his shadow.

  Buzz—


  The shadow seemed to become his own avatar. He could really control it! He controlled the shadow to swing its arms even when he was standing still.

  It was successful!

  He tried to jump and it was a success as well.

  He could really manipulate his shadow!

  Although he was somewhat clumsy!

  Therefore……

  The essence of the fruits was to make the shadow come alive?!

  But in this case, how was it different from Shadow Manipulation? Didn’t those who entered the World of Darkness and Shadows use this method?!

  This fruit……

  Lu Ming pondered for a moment and he felt that things were not that simple.

  Perhaps……

  He should try to launch an attack.

  Shush!

  Lu Ming made a move and the Original Card appeared.

  The shadow did the same thing and there was a shadow of the Original Card.

  Afterward……

  Shush!

  Lu Ming launched an attack.

  Bang!

  The Original Card swept over the wall, leaving a deep mark.

  Bang!

  The shadow swept over the wall, leaving a deep mark as well.

  Shush!

  Lu Ming widened his eyes in shock. The force of the attack was the same!

  Shadow was made of nothingness. One could not touch it nor feel it. The so-called attack should be simply a shadow. However, over here……

  Lu Ming was taken aback.

  He seemed to have transformed.

  This was no longer a simple shadow but a special product.

  Buzz—


  He lifted his hand and touched his shadow.

  He easily went through it.

  However……

  He could clearly feel that he had touched something. Lu Ming was certain that if he continued his research, he would be able to have more control over whether the shadow was nothingness or it could be touched!

  Perhaps, he could even modify its appearance??

  In that case……

  It would be too frightening!

  Lu Ming was stunned.

  Shadow……

  He would be very powerful if shadows had their own abilities and could not die!

  “The fruit is impressive!”


  Xiao-Xiaojian exclaimed. “Fortunately, you are the one who obtained them.”


  “Can you elaborate?”


  Lu Ming was curious.

  “If Zhang Xiaopang had the fruits, he would sleep with his shadow,” Xiao-Xiaojian exclaimed.

  It had heard of the legendary past of Zhang Xiaopang.

  Well……

  If one could easily control one’s shadow and modify it, it wondered who Zhang Xiaopang would modify it into.

  “Perhaps he would modify it to become you dressed in female clothes.”


  Xiao-Xiaojian was gloating.

  Lu Ming was silent.

  Why……

  Why did he have a feeling of nausea all of a sudden?

  Damn!

  Why must it bring up that fatty at this time?!

  Forget it.

  The study of the shadow would take a lot of time. Lu Ming thought about it and decided not to research it further. He had just returned from the World of Darkness and Shadows and there were many things that he needed to do.

  Hence……

  Lu Ming simply quit.

  Afterward……

  The shadow did not go back to its original place.

  Alright.

  The shadow stood on the same spot, doing the same actions as Lu Ming.

  Lu Ming was speechless.

  “Go back now!”


  Lu Ming pointed to the ground.

  The shadow pointed to the ground.

  Lu Ming frowned.

  The shadow frowned as well.

  Lu Ming was speechless.

  The shadow was speechless as well.

  There seemed to be a problem.

  “Can’t you control it?”


  Xiao-Xiaojian was curious.

  “Only a little.”


  Lu Ming made another attempt. “I am able to control it to do simple actions, but not complex movements.”


  Hence……

  The man and the sword eventually got rid of the shadow after some research.

  Well……

  Lu Ming went out.

  The shadow was forced to stay at home.

  “This seems a bit idiotic.”


  Lu Ming gave a deep sigh.

  “This is very idiotic.”


  Xiao-Xiaojian sighed as well.

  It realized to its dismay that its shadow was gone as well……

  To hell with it!

  It had yet to be hooked up with Xiao-Xiaobai and it was already incomplete……

  However……

  This did not stop them from going out.

  This was after all the cultivators’ world. Some people went out with glowing heads, and some floated in the air, practicing flying……

  Some walked about while singing, condensing a ball of light to bounce back and forth. One glance and one could tell he was practicing the control of energy…… Everyone was very hardworking!

  This was the true face of the world!

  This was after all Tian Du City!

  The cultivation scale and overall abilities were far above Qing Ming City!

  Not everyone idled around!

  The vast majority of people in Tian Du City, spent almost all of their time cultivating!

  Therefore……

  It was not a big deal to go around without a shadow.

  “Come, let’s go out!”


  Lu Ming went out in a domineering manner.

  Wow—


  A basin of water was splashed over him.

  Lu Ming was speechless.

  “Oh, I thought you were a ghost.”


  The cleaner apologized, sounding embarrassed.

  Lu Ming was speechless.

  Calm down!

  Calm down!

  He was a cleaner. He seldom cultivated and had weak abilities. He should not take issue with him.

  Afterward……

  He just arrived at the entrance of the association and was targeted by security. “Are you the president? Hold on a second. Please don’t move around. I’ll call to confirm……”


  Lu Ming was speechless.

  Very soon……

  After verifying Lu Ming’s identity, the security guard was reassured.

  There was no choice.

  He was very suspicious at seeing a president without a shadow. He had to verify his identity.

  Lu Ming was speechless.

  Calm down!

  He was just the security guard.

  It was normal for him to spot problems!

  He should be relieved that the security guard was being dedicated to his job and he was not playing games……

  Forget it.

  Lu Ming sighed.

  He finally went out without the shadow tagging along. He could discuss the on-campus job fair with his disciples. After the graduation season, there should have been some recruits!

  Hence……

  Lu Ming called everyone to the conference room.

  “Master, where’s your shadow?”


  Zhao Yunshan was very sensitive to shadows.

  “I have thrown it inside the bedroom,” Lu Ming replied randomly.

  Everyone was shocked.

  Could shadows be treated that way?!

  But Zhao Yunshan seemed very calm.

  According to his conjecture, since his master could enter the World of Darkness and Shadows, he must have mastered Shadow Manipulation!

  Hence……

  He explained it to Li Haoran.

  “I see.”


  Li Haoran and rest had heard of this ability before.

  It was just that according to the rumor, one needed at least ten years of cultivation for the shadow to be detached from the body! Their master had already reached the point where his shadow could leave his body!

  Sure enough, he was their master!

  Hence……

  He thought about it and added a yet to be activated panel to the association, “Shadow Section”, so that his master could release related information anytime he wanted.

  Lu Ming was speechless.

  Damn!

  It turned out that he was practicing Shadow Manipulation!

  Thankfully Zhao Yunshan had brought up the topic. All the problems could now be explained. He could also account for why he went to the World of Darkness and Shadows……

  He was a good disciple!

  Lu Ming patted Zhao Yunshan on the shoulder, feeling gratified.

  “Yunshan, did we recruit many people this time?”


  “Yes.”


  Zhao Yunshan’s expression turned serious. “I saved their lives. They will definitely give priority to the Sword Card Master Association. But I don’t know if they will stay with us!”


  That was their biggest problem at the moment!

  Could they make them stay?

  So what if they did not have a seven-star and above cultivator in the association?

  This problem had been solved!

  Zhao Yunshan came up with the excuse that there was an elder in the association who wished to keep his identity a secret. This was a perfect solution to the problem. However, the Sword Card Master Association did not have a strong foundation and was not as powerful……

  These were problems that still had to be solved.

  Therefore, when compared to those large associations, it was of no help even if they had a slight advantage! These advantages were not sufficient for the students to give up joining the big associations!

  This feeling……

  Lu Ming totally understood.

  Given the same treatment, would one choose to go to Tencent[2] or a small private company?

  The answer was obvious.

  However……

  Interestingly, there were a lot of people who chose to join small companies every year. What was the reason? This was because their salaries were way higher than Tencent’s!

  No matter whether those people were serious in joining or not, the small companies indeed offered a high salary!

  Therefore……

  Many people joined them.

  And this was how the Sword Card Master Association could solve its problem.

  Hence……

  He personally told a similar story to spur the disciples.

  “I understand now.”


  Xiao-Xiaojian suddenly understood. “This story tells us that regardless of whether the students are serious in joining us or not, the priority is we should trick them into joining the Sword Card Master Association first!”


  Lu Ming was speechless.

  Damn!

  He did not mean that!

  Bam!

  He slapped Xiao-Xiaojian and sent it flying on the wall.

  “I understand now.”


  Li Haoran spoken up. “What Master means is that we have to show that we are more capable than other average associations and people will come to us!”


  “Right.”


  Lu Ming was pleased.

  Look, this was his disciple!

  The on-campus job fair was simple.

  Thinking of making the Sword Card Master Association stand out?

  Very well.

  As long as they could prove that they were much stronger than other associations…… they did not need to do anything and people would be queuing to join them!

  This was what Lu Ming wanted!

  Furthermore……

  He wanted talented people!

  They had to be talented for the equalization ability to be useful! Some people might be powerful but lacking in talents. He did not need them!

  “Haha.

  “Remember.

  “The Sword Card Master Association is not a place for any Tom, Dick or Harry……”


  Buzz—


  A cold aura swept across in his mind.

  Lu Ming stiffened.

  “Brother Cat, I am not referring to you…… It’s true!!!”


  However……

  At this moment.

  At the door, a ragged figure slowly stepped into the association. The security guard at the door did not even notice him.

  “Who is that?”


  Lu Ming’s acute senses told him that there was a strange aura.

  Bang!

  The person who looked like a beggar suddenly knelt down. “Master, trainee disciple Li Ergou[3] is back!”


  Lu Ming was dumbstruck. Li Ergou?!

  Well……

  He indeed had a cat and a dog in his association now!

  [1] Salted fish: Chinese Internet Slang for a boring and idle person with no ambitions.

  [2] It is a Chinese multinational conglomerate holding company founded in 1998, whose subsidiaries specialize in various Internet-related services and products, entertainment, artificial intelligence and technology both in China and globally.

  [3] Gou in Chinese refers to a dog.