Chapter 100 – Grandmaster-Level Potential: Yan Yunyu's Changing Attitude

The successful inscription brought Mu Lin many insights, which were also reflected on his Proficiency Panel.

After he completely inscribed the Adamantine Force, it transformed into a skill and appeared on his Proficiency Panel.

At the same time, the recent success also turned into proficiency, increasing the progress of the Adamantine Force.

However, unlike other cultivation methods, due to Mu Lin’s profound foundation and abundant insights, his proficiency did not increase by just 1 or 2 points after the successful inscription. Instead, it surged by seventy-three points at once.

【Adamantine Force, 1st Realm Novice (73/109)】

What delighted Mu Lin even more was that after successfully inscribing the Adamantine Force, not only did his progress in this mystical art increase, but his Master Grade calligraphy and painting proficiency also advanced significantly. In fact, both gained considerable proficiency points.

Among them, calligraphy increased by 3 points, while painting increased by 2 points.

“It’s possible to cultivate both simultaneously… Indeed, talismans are fundamentally characters, and formations are essentially diagrams. Inscribing the Adamantine Force also counts as practicing calligraphy and painting.”

After confirming this, Mu Lin did not hesitate. He once again began inscribing the Adamantine Force on a blank sheet of paper.

Thanks to his solid foundation, Mu Lin did not experience the repeated failures typical of ordinary talisman masters during their first attempts.

On his second try, wielding his brush with ease, he succeeded in a single stroke.

This time, Mu Lin’s proficiency in the Adamantine Force increased by 49 points.

73 + 49 already exceeded the proficiency cap for the Adamantine Force, and naturally, this secret method advanced.

“Hum…”

A sharp pain shot through his head as a wave of insights flooded Mu Lin’s mind, deepening his understanding of the Adamantine Force.

Seizing this newfound comprehension, Mu Lin continued inscribing the Adamantine Force.

Once, twice, thrice… seven times, nine times, ten times…

With the control granted by his powerful divine soul, along with his Master Grade calligraphy and painting skills, Mu Lin inscribed the Adamantine Force without pause.

Even more astonishing was his success rate, which reached as high as ninety percent.

Moreover, with each inscription, Mu Lin gained new insights.

On his Attribute Panel, this manifested as progress increases of +21, +33, +42, +19, +17… with each inscription.

Such rapid advancement meant that in just two or three incense sticks’ worth of time, Mu Lin’s Adamantine Force reached the 3rd Realm Expert level.

【Adamantine Force, 3rd Realm Expert (1/6000), Traits: Adamantine Force, Stacking (Maximum Three Layers)】

At this point, Mu Lin’s progress in cultivating the Adamantine Force finally slowed down.

Now, to further increase his proficiency in the Adamantine Force, he needed to successfully stack all three layers.

This realization sparked a profound understanding within him.

“Master Grade calligraphy and painting grant me divine assistance when inscribing talisman formations. However, they are ultimately similar but not entirely equivalent paths. As a result, their assistance to me is slightly diminished by one level.”

In simpler terms, from now on, when Mu Lin inscribes talismans or talisman formations, his Master Grade calligraphy and painting skills will allow him to quickly elevate the realm of the talisman formation to the 3rd Realm Expert level. Beyond that, however, their enhancement for him will vanish…

“No, there’s still a bit left.”

After writing the Adamantine Force a few more times, Mu Lin discovered that with the construction ability of Master Grade Painting, combined with the concept of “intent penetrating the paper,” his success rate in writing the Adamantine Force remained at fifty percent, even when stacking three layers.

Don’t think this is low. It’s important to know that a single Adamantine Force is considered planar drawing, while stacking three layers already gives a three-dimensional feel. The difficulty increases more than tenfold when moving from two dimensions to three.

The Jade Scroll given to him by Master Meng Rui also contained descriptions of this aspect.

According to its records, conventional Talisman Masters at the third realm had only a one in ten success rate when attempting to stack Adamantine Force to the third layer.

That is, out of ten attempts, only one would succeed.

Compared to them, Mu Lin’s success rate was five times higher.

“What a pity. Even if I succeed in drawing it, my proficiency only increases by +1. Or rather, only when I succeed in drawing it does my proficiency in Adamantine Force increase by +1. If I don’t stack three layers, no matter how many times I draw it, my proficiency won’t rise.”

At the first and second realms, Mu Lin could casually draw it once, and his proficiency in Adamantine Force would soar rapidly.

Now, after exhausting all his effort and finally managing to draw the three-layer stacked Adamantine Force, his proficiency only increased by 1 point.

Such a stark difference in growth rate left Mu Lin feeling quite disheartened and somewhat sighing.

While he was dissatisfied, Yan Yunyu, who was beside him, was utterly stunned.

She had been watching intently as Mu Lin wrote the Adamantine Force.

As for his act of drawing talismans and arrays, Yan Yunyu was even more dismissive.

Coming from a merchant family, she inherently believed that things like talismans and arrays were far easier to “buy” with Spirit Stones than to make oneself.

Holding this belief, she watched Mu Lin drawing talismans with the constant thought that he was wasting his time.

After watching for a while, her irritation nearly led her to shout: “Stop drawing! Whatever you lack, just say it, and I’ll buy it for you. Go cultivate instead!”

But in the end, she didn’t shout—in just this short time, Mu Lin had transformed from a complete novice into an ordinary Talisman Master.

He had drawn a usable talisman array.

To be honest, Yan Yunyu looked down on ordinary Talisman Masters and Formation Masters, considering them destined for a life of toil, working for others.

However, what she despised and looked down upon were only ordinary Talisman Masters.

“He actually succeeded, and so quickly… Hiss…”

Taking a sharp breath, Yan Yunyu looked at Mu Lin with a sense of awe.

Chu Lingluo had no contact with worldly affairs, and Mu Lin had lost part of his memory due to the Xiaohuo Lantern demon. As a result, both were unfamiliar with many common knowledge. But Yan Yunyu was different.

Having received family education and trained in the family’s shops for several years, she clearly understood that in this world, whether it was alchemy, talisman drawing, or artifact forging, mid- to low-level practitioners had no bargaining power due to their sheer numbers.

Some pills or low-level Magical Artifacts could even be mass-produced by major Aristocratic Families, further lowering the status of mid- to low-level production practitioners.

“If you won’t do it, there are plenty who will”—this phrase also applied in this world.

However, while mid- to low-level alchemists and artifact forgers were not highly valued, the situation reversed at the advanced level.

Since high-grade magical artifacts cannot be mass-produced by machines, and high-grade artifact forgers and alchemists are extremely rare—at least scarce within the entire cultivation world—high-level professionals have become a scarce resource.

More crucially, this is an era of turmoil.

In such times, items like elixirs, magical artifacts, and talisman arrays are matters of life and death. Most Qi Refiners, after earning spirit stones, might forgo luxuries, neglect their families, or even go without food and drink, but they must purchase elixirs, magical artifacts, and talismans.

Even if it means spending every last coin.

Their scarcity and irreplaceability, coupled with the critical nature of what they produce, make high-level production professionals indispensable.

Yan Yunyu knew very well that some shops could stand as firm as a mountain simply by hiring a single high-level professional to oversee operations.

During her training in her family’s shops, she had witnessed many commercial battles where various connections were used to poach high-level production professionals from competitors. If successful, the Yan Family could bring down a century-old establishment overnight.

High-level production professionals had already earned the Yan Family’s attention.

However, the Yan Family was a powerful clan, and for Yan Yunyu, high-level professionals were merely valued as key assets.

But key assets, no matter how valued, could never stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the leaders.

What shocked Yan Yunyu was that Mu Lin was not merely a high-level professional.

Watching Mu Lin make tremendous progress with each stroke of his brush, Yan Yunyu was horrified to realize he was advancing toward the Master Grade.

“Hiss…”

A Master—especially in artifact forging, alchemy, or talismans—was someone even the Yan Family held in high regard.

If Yan Yunyu met such a person, she would respectfully and sweetly address them as “Uncle” or “Aunt.”

Just look at the treatment of Puppet Master Meng Rui. To secure a spot for their children to study under her, many wealthy parents would visit her personally.

Even Chu Lingluo’s mother was referred to by Puppet Master Meng Rui as “that woman,” without fear of the remark spreading.

It could be said that a Master Grade production professional was a treasure trove, a strategic-level figure. Such a person was already qualified to marry Yan Yunyu.

Of course, Mu Lin was not yet a Master. Even if he truly elevated his Adamantine Force to the Master Grade, it still wouldn’t count.

A true Talisman Master needed to be an expert in many talismans and capable of drawing high-grade, even top-grade talismans. Mu Lin was still far from that level.

However, although Mu Lin had not yet reached that realm, his rate of progress was astonishingly fast.

With her discerning eye, Yan Yunyu had no doubt that Mu Lin would inevitably reach that level.

And this stirred other thoughts in her mind.

“Perhaps, achieving Dao Palace First isn’t my only path. The foundation of the Yan Family lies in commerce. With Mu Lin, a future Master, assisting me, I could also earn the recognition of the Yan Family Clan Elders and control my own destiny by managing shops.”

As she thought this, before any joy could surface, a bitter expression appeared on Yan Yunyu’s face.

Her idea was sound and feasible, but due to her previous actions, her relationship with Mu Lin was strained.

And this filled her heart with deep regret.

‘Damn it, I shouldn’t have judged Mu Lin so hastily back then…’

While feeling regretful, Yan Yunyu also noticed Chu Lingluo beside her. This melancholic little girl lifted her spirits somewhat.

‘At least I’m not the only one who misjudged him. I still have a chance to make amends.’

Thinking this, Yan Yunyu immediately took action.

Seeing that Mu Lin had finished drawing a talisman, she promptly spoke up: “Young Master Mu, please wait a moment. I suggest you draw the talisman array on talisman paper.”

Faced with the stack of talisman paper Yan Yunyu produced, Mu Lin felt not joy but wariness:

“What are you trying to do?”

His guarded demeanor made Yan Yunyu sigh inwardly, but she soon replied calmly: “Young Master Mu, you need not be so deeply wary of this humble servant. I admit I have done many things unfavorable to you in the past, but I had no choice. If I didn’t strive for first place, I would have become a mere tool for my family. Unwilling to meet such a fate, I had to fight—by any means necessary.”

“However, that was before. Now, this humble servant and you, Young Master Mu, are bound together. Helping you is helping myself. Therefore, Young Master Mu, you need not be so guarded. I would never harm you.”

PS: Update adjustment: From now on, there will only be two chapters per day, but each chapter will be 3,000 words long. The total word count remains at a minimum of 6,000 per day, same as before.

(End of Chapter)