Master of Kaidan
Chapter 30 Good News, The Secret Manual is Released

Chapter 30: Chapter 30 Good News, The Secret Manual is Released

After getting the "Opportunity Card," Feng Xue didn’t come across anything decent, so he casually collected some cards with elements, planning to go back and try to bind them to see if he could make a Skill Book out of it.

He wasn’t worried about the elements of the Skill Book; after all, the Assassin’s suit he had brought with him through the journey, except for the clothes, the right Sleeve Sword, and a leather bag, everything else was still in his possession. Each piece of Clothing had the [Assassin] element, and as long as he paired it with terms that seemed to have something to do with skills, it shouldn’t be difficult to put together a Skill Book. The only problem was whether such a phantom object would possess the power of instant learning.

Seeing there was nothing left to scavenge around, Feng Xue stepped over bodies about to be decomposed by the junkyard, carrying a bag full of cards towards the exit.

...

Feng Xue left late this time, and all the exits of the refuse dump were already crowded. Protecting his backpack, he waited in line for over half an hour before finally reaching an Appraiser’s window. Without thinking, he dumped everything from his bag onto the counter.

The Appraiser glanced at the items on the table, gave Feng Xue a look that said ’you’re an idiot,’ then said emotionlessly,

"Appraisal 2,600 tower, give him six bricks—keep the rest for myself (because of the gemstone’s premium buyback, you can get two-tenths)."

"How come it’s so little?" Feng Xue secretly rejoiced but put on a disbelieving face and asked, "Cards may not be valuable but I have a Diamond and an engine here! And this is a D-round engine!"

"I know it’s a gemstone; the two thousand five hundred tower is for the gemstone. This engine... *tsk*, take it or leave it!" The Appraiser rolled his eyes. The young guy next to him, being kind-hearted, explained further,

"This engine has no external interface; it can’t replenish energy externally. With other engines, at least we can drive them with [Identity], but this is basically worthless as scrap metal. Those 100 tower are the price for these hundred-some cards; at least they can still be written on..."

"I refuse to believe it!" Feng Xue grumbled, "I won’t sell it. It’s okay if I take it away, right? And, no, I don’t want the gemstone."

"Sure, of course!" The Appraiser replied indifferently, used to dealing with such people and couldn’t be bothered, while the young guy beside him said formulaically, "For the premium gemstone purchase, 500 tower. Together with the cards and one engine, the total value is 100 tower. You need to pay 150 tower, getting back 350 tower. No problem, right?"

After saying that, the young guy didn’t even wait for Feng Xue’s response. He took three bricks and a fifty-tower coin, placed them on the counter, and gestured for Feng Xue to take them.

"Even though I’ve made a profit, why do I feel so sour inside?" Feng Xue grimaced, shouldered his backpack, and left the refuse dump. This time the collected elements weren’t many, but they were all quality stuff, and he couldn’t wait to transform them into phantom objects!

However, even in his eagerness, Feng Xue didn’t go straight home after leaving the refuse dump but went to the commercial district to buy some small items like needles and thread, as he didn’t have a bookbinding machine. To turn a stack of cards into something that could be considered a "book," he still needed some tools.

...

"I did it!" Two hours later, Feng Xue looked at the palm-sized "booklet" in front of him and finally let out a long sigh of relief. There was a definite difference between card paper and book paper, and binding them into a volume was more troublesome than he had imagined. Even the traditional binding method of punching holes and then tying them was a hassle to categorize the result as a book.

After ruining several attempts, Feng Xue finally managed to create something that resembled the real deal. Although it was still a jumble of nonsense in the view of his Golden Finger, at least it was already identified by the Golden Finger as a whole.

And being a whole meant it could be Refinished.

Taking a deep breath, Feng Xue entered the refurbishing page. Unlike when he had just traversed, his Golden Finger now stored quite a few elements.

But considering he wanted to craft a Phantom Secret Manual, what he needed to consider first wasn’t success on the first try but to minimize junk terms as much as possible.

Based on past experience, Refining was guaranteed to embed the selected terms into the item, but correspondingly, depending on the amount of [Identity] input, it might also generate several new terms or alter existing ones.

So, Feng Xue’s approach was multiple small quantities.

"I have the [Assassin] label; the [Assassin] term should be the most suitable... Since it’s a secret Manual, this [Learning] I got from the blackboard should be useful. Then, I need to consider the type; I want something applicable in Combat... Adding the [Combat] label shouldn’t be wrong, hmm, and then add [Sensitive] to expand the advantage..."

Feng Xue didn’t expect to succeed in one go, so the elements he chose were also mostly those with a relatively high reserve. As time went on, more cohesive terms appeared in the booklet, which was originally full of nonsense.

The moment Feng Xue added the fourth element into it, an anomaly eventually occurred.

The codes in the booklet bound from cards began to twist, Transform, and conflict with each other. Though Feng Xue had only put in a bit of [Identity] into this Refining process, several terms sprung up in a row.

Feng Xue watched the changing terms, almost choking with anticipation, but saw that one term seemed to be [Drawing], and as another took shape, the whole book also changed, from its rough card form into a classical, thread-bound look. And the final term seemed to be...

[Incomplete]?

"F*ck! Don’t mess this up for me!"

Feng Xue looked at the large word ’Incomplete,’ nearly afraid to open his eyes. But, since the book had already become a phantom object, what was done was done. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and then looked at the thin thread-bound book—

Name: Phantom Object· Stepping Sky Song Secret Manual

Elements: [Assassin], [Learning], [Combat], [Sensitive], [Drawing], [Mysterious], [Secret Manual], [Incomplete]

Description: Sentences have images; words reveal shapes, neither too much nor too little, perfectly capturing the Star Formations of the heavens into the text, imprinting it upon the spiritual platform, thus purifying the spirit and heart, formless yet as if strolling above the Nine Heavens—a marvelous Cultivation Technique. (Book information: ○×××××)

Notes: Reading? Write one yourself...

...

Feng Xue looked at the book, and his heart sank. What even is this?

Good news: He’s got a secret manual.

Bad news: It’s incomplete!