Chapter 154 – Mana Surges: Yongquan Late Stage

Although he had the idea of gathering the power of the stars to condense the armor of the Starry Sky Lord, unfortunately, Mu Lin’s Ziwei Emperor Star Power was too little, and his rank was still too low. Even a bronze-level armor was beyond his ability to condense.

Therefore, after indulging in such fantasies, he turned his attention to the improvement of his mana cultivation—this was the foundation of Mu Lin’s strength.

For the next few days, Mu Lin focused all his attention on this.

The extraordinary effects of the Big Dipper Seven Stars Purple Tenuity Array, combined with his relentless efforts, caused his cultivation level to rise steadily.

After a few days, he broke through the Gushing Spring Early Stage and reached the Gushing Spring Mid Stage.

Once his mana had advanced, Mu Lin did not hesitate in the slightest. After stabilizing his cultivation slightly, he took out the Spirit-Boosting Pill given by the Dao Palace and swallowed it.

—For ordinary people, the best time to take this pill would naturally be when breaking through from the Gushing Spring Late Stage to the Spirit Pool, as it could help cultivators overcome the bottleneck between Gushing Spring and Spirit Pool in one go.

However, the situation was different for Mu Lin. For someone whose cultivation method realm far surpassed his mana realm, bottlenecks simply did not exist. What troubled him was always how to refine more mana.

“As long as my mana reaches the required level, my cultivation level will naturally follow!”

Guided by this belief, Mu Lin naturally chose to take the pill early and enjoy the benefits sooner.

“Boom…”

As the Spirit-Boosting Pill entered his body, Mu Lin felt as if he had swallowed a bomb, with a torrent of power erupting within him.

Fortunately, although this power was continuous, it remained within Mu Lin’s control.

“Big Dipper Seven Stars Purple Tenuity Array, activate!”

“Substitute Paper Figures, refine it for me!”

With the assistance of the six paper figures and his lofty rank, Mu Lin not only refined the Spirit-Boosting Pill but also minimized its wastage to almost nothing.

This perfect utilization meant that Mu Lin’s final cultivation level was not merely at the initial stage of Gushing Spring Late Stage but had advanced well beyond it, reaching more than halfway through the late stage.

“With my current cultivation level, in another half month to a month, I’ll be able to advance again…”

At this thought, Mu Lin paused, feeling that his rate of advancement was somewhat frightening.

At first glance, advancing once every half month was indeed terrifying, but upon careful consideration, it was also quite reasonable.

After all, Mu Lin now consumed Moonlight Dew and Dawn Purple Qi daily, so his cultivation speed already surpassed that of ordinary rogue cultivators.

In addition, he had six substitutes and the assistance of the Big Dipper Purple Tenuity Array, which accelerated his already rapid progress by more than tenfold.

Under such circumstances, it would be unreasonable for Mu Lin’s cultivation speed to be slow.

This was also why the disciples of Aristocratic Families advanced faster than ordinary rogue cultivators and left them far behind.

Of course, even for the disciples of Aristocratic Families, their cultivation speed could not maintain such a high rate indefinitely.

—Humans have limits. Cultivation is not just about refining mana but also about advancing in realm.

If their cultivation method realm cannot rise, no matter how much mana they accumulate, they will remain stuck at a certain stage, unable to progress further.

In fact, due to the powerful cultivation methods of Aristocratic Families, they might spend even more time stuck at a certain stage than ordinary cultivators.

This requirement for enlightenment is also why ordinary cultivators have not been completely eliminated and why Aristocratic Families have not gained control over everything in the world.

“Realm is everything. Fortunately, my realm is advancing rapidly!”

“From now on, when I deal with scions of noble families, it will no longer be as the weak fighting the strong, battling across realms.”

“From now on, they will be the ones with lower realms and weaker mana, while I will be the strong one.”

Thinking this, Mu Lin felt a surge of excitement. He eagerly anticipated the moment when he could overwhelm those scions of noble families with his cultivation level.

However, such fantasies were quickly dismissed by Mu Lin.

He remembered something: ordinary scions of noble families would indeed be surpassed by him.

But those with hidden trump cards, like Xue Ying from Jade Lake Dao Academy—who was innately compatible with spirit tools and inherited their ancestors’ legacies—their cultivation speed was no slower than his own cheat-assisted progress.

“Damn… Even with my cheat, I still have to cultivate step by step. They receive their ancestors’ power and can ascend to the heavens in leaps and bounds. That’s even more excessive than me. Fortunately, the blessings of their ancestors have limits, and I will eventually surpass them.”

…

Cultivation, cultivation. While Mu Lin diligently cultivated without pause, time swiftly passed during his arduous training.

Soon, it was three days before the Southern Eastern Region Joint Examination.

On this day, while Mu Lin was deep in his cultivation, Dongfang Ya came to the training ground and informed them of the specific steps of the examination.

What made Mu Lin frown was that for the Southern Eastern Region Joint Examination, he would not be taking it at Anping Dao Palace but would instead have to go to Jade Lake Dao Academy.

Upon hearing this, Mu Lin immediately asked Dongfang Ya, “Teacher, aren’t the Towers of Illusory Heavens in each region interconnected? Can’t we enter the examination venue from the Tower of Illusory Heavens at Anping Dao Palace?”

Due to their close relationship and Mu Lin being considered the ace of Anping Dao Palace, Dongfang Ya gave a detailed explanation in response to his question.

“You can enter, but Jade Lake Dao Academy is leading the organization of the Southern Eastern Region Joint Examination not only to assess the disciples’ results but also to promote Jade Lake Dao Academy and even recruit you all. That’s why they specifically set the examination location at Jade Lake Dao Academy.”

After speaking, noticing Mu Lin’s reluctance, Dongfang Ya advised, “If I were you, I would obediently go there. Jade Lake Dao Academy is vast and well-established. Besides the Tower of Illusory Heavens, they also have time chambers, spirit qi pools, Thunder Hell… and other extraordinary places. During the Southern Eastern Region Joint Examination, these treasures will also be open to you. Going to Jade Lake Dao Academy will bring you many benefits.”

Hearing this, Mu Lin was indeed inclined to go.

However, Dongfang Ya’s explanation also made Mu Lin realize something… Jade Lake Dao Academy’s invitation was a good thing for prodigies like him.

As for Jade Lake Dao Academy itself, they could promote themselves and potentially recruit geniuses like Mu Lin, making them the winners.

But Anping Dao Palace risked losing prodigies, which was a significant loss. Mu Lin couldn’t understand why Anping Dao Palace would agree to such a purely disadvantageous arrangement.

He voiced his confusion directly.

Before Dongfang Ya could answer, Yan Yunyu beside Mu Lin chuckled and said, “Hehe, the Headmaster of the Dao Palace is unwilling, but they can’t stop it.”

“Jade Province is like a minor auxiliary capital. The surrounding regions look to Jade Province as their leader and rely on them in various aspects. Even though they know Jade Province is trying to recruit the prodigies from their own regions, under the pressure of the greater cause of joint examinations and promoting disciples’ growth, they have no choice but to comply.”

Hearing this, Mu Lin had no further questions.

After giving instructions and leaving some preparation time for Mu Lin and the others,

Early the next morning, Dongfang Ya released a flying boat and took Mu Lin and the others, heading toward Jade Province.

Quite a few people were going this time. Besides Mu Lin’s team, Jing Yeming, Zhou Liang, and others had also formed a team to participate in this assessment.

Having no intention of paying them any mind, Mu Lin took his first rest on the flying boat.

At the same time, he gathered Ji Xue, Chu Lingluo, and Yan Yunyu together to discuss how to handle the upcoming assessment.

Of course, while it was called a discussion, it was actually meant for Ji Xue to hear. Yan Yunyu and Chu Lingluo were already familiar with Mu Lin’s combat style and admired him immensely, so they would do whatever he said.

“I can use Paper Figures to disguise ourselves. Once we enter the assessment, I’ll have our Main Bodies hide underground and let the Paper Figures do the fighting.”

As he spoke, Mu Lin took out a Paper Figure·Ji Xue and blew on it casually.

With a soft “whoosh,” a Ji Xue with an icy demeanor appeared inside the cabin.

Looking at the lifelike Paper Figure before her and sensing its identical aura to her own, Ji Xue was momentarily stunned. For some reason, her face flushed with embarrassment.

Fortunately, she regained her composure quickly and promptly asked, “What do I need to do?”

“Wait… My Paper Figures may not deceive everyone, nor can they eliminate all threats. When the enemy discovers us and gives chase, that’s when you’ll need to strike as a surprise force.”

“Understood.”

With their battle strategy settled, over at Jade Lake Dao Academy, a group of people had gathered at the academy’s entrance to welcome the arriving disciples.

Among them were ordinary Dao Academy Students, as well as members of the top-ranked teams.

Since they were from the same Dao Academy, everyone was familiar with one another. While waiting for Mu Lin and the others to arrive, they began chatting among themselves.

“Hua Xingyu, what are you doing here? Scouting for information for your captain, Yan Zhanpeng?”

“Pfft…”

The young man holding a folding fan couldn’t help but laugh.

“Are you trying to kill me with laughter? Or do you think we’re like your Yuan Ce team, scouting for information? Our opponents have always been the Prodigies in our class. What’s the use of gathering information on outsiders? They pose no threat to us whatsoever.”

“…”

The words were incredibly arrogant. Upon hearing this, the other person fell silent.

But it wasn’t because of Hua Xingyu’s arrogance—rather, he felt that his own captain was being overly cautious.

“Indeed, if we want to compete for a high ranking, our team’s opponents have always been our classmates. Outsiders are no threat.”

Thinking this, Lin Qi from Yuan Ce’s team also grew curious about why Hua Xingyu had come.

(End of Chapter)