Chapter 11 – Consuming the Blackwater Dark Serpent’s Essence Blood
Chapter 11 – Consuming the Blackwater Dark Serpent's Essence Blood
Mu Lin’s attitude made the young girl nod in satisfaction, but she did not immediately take the Paper Tower Ship. Instead, she directly handed him a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone and said arrogantly, “This is worth a hundred. It’s yours now, but from now on, you are not allowed to sell the same thing again, at least not within the academy.”
Upon hearing this, Mu Lin was momentarily stunned, unsure of what the girl meant.
‘What does this mean? Preventing classmates from wasting money?’
However, such thoughts only flashed through Mu Lin’s mind briefly. Seeing the girl’s somewhat arrogant attitude, he quickly understood the reason—this girl was so arrogant that she would not allow anyone in the academy to use the same items as her.
She wanted to be the one and only.
This domineering personality was something Mu Lin had not expected, but he did not feel particularly angry about it.
Moreover, in his previous life, custom-made items for wealthy families followed the same logic, so he could understand it to some extent.
Thus, he calmly asked, “Are you forbidding me from selling the same Paper Tower Ship, or all large objects?”
Faced with her domineering attitude, Mu Lin neither got angry, annoyed, nor groveled. Instead, he calmly inquired, which the girl had not anticipated. As a result, she glanced at him before replying indifferently:
“All large objects.”
“Then a hundred Spirit Stones aren’t enough. You’ll have to pay more.”
As soon as he said this, before the girl in front of him could respond, a young man beside her snorted coldly and said, “How dare you! Do you know who you’re speaking to?”
Mu Lin remained unperturbed by this rebuke and simply replied calmly, “I don’t know, but I believe that as a distinguished and elegant young lady from a well-bred and tasteful Aristocratic Family, she would not be stingy when it comes to purchasing a beloved Artwork… Using force and influence to bully others is the behavior of an upstart.”
Although the essence of this world was survival of the fittest, in order to maintain order better and reduce governance costs, whether it was the royal family, nobility, or Aristocratic Families, they all cultivated a good reputation for themselves.
Even wealthy landlords, while driving commoners to ruin and seizing their land, would occasionally build bridges, pave roads, or distribute thin porridge.
Now, if this girl spent a fortune to buy the paper ship and used Spirit Stones to prevent him from making a second one, with some clever publicity, this could be twisted into a heartwarming story.
But being stingy with money and using influence to bully others was something truly contemptible.
As he said, that was the behavior of an upstart, which could easily become a joke among the circles of Aristocratic Families.
Especially stinginess—such a reputation could even affect their ability to recruit talent.
Faced with Mu Lin’s words, the young man who had spoken up first was at a loss for words.
As for the arrogant girl, she looked at Mu Lin once more before asking with interest, “How many Spirit Stones do you want?”
After a moment of silence, Mu Lin replied, “One hundred and eighty!”
This was a price Mu Lin had carefully considered. He knew very well that, under normal circumstances, the large creations he crafted would never sell for thirty or fifty Spirit Stones—three to five was the normal price.
Moreover, there weren’t many people willing to buy them.
With the entire Dao Palace as his market, the maximum amount of Spirit Stones he could earn was, at most, around a hundred.
However, the girl wanted exclusivity, something unique, so naturally, the price had to be higher.
Thus, he increased it by nearly double… He didn’t dare ask for more, as he didn’t want to die.
One hundred and eighty was a reasonable price; anything higher would be extortion. Perhaps, for the sake of face or indifference, he might succeed in extorting her, but he might earn the money only to have no life left to spend it.
Even now, he intended to earn the girl’s goodwill.
“I’m not just taking your money. If there’s anything you’re unsatisfied with regarding this Paper Tower Ship, you can come to me anytime for modifications. Besides, I’ll make three more large-scale creations for you, free of charge. This one hundred and eighty Spirit Stones will count as payment for four items.”
He didn’t let his arrogance make him too fearful to pursue his interests, nor did he greedily demand more. While quoting the price, he also left himself a way out. Mu Lin had considered nearly every aspect, which prevented the girl from getting angry.
Thus, she calmly said, “Fine. Xiao Xue, pay him.”
“Also, for the second paper creation, I want a luxurious palace garden, something extravagant, with artificial mountains, ponds…”
“I’ll do my utmost!”
…
Having earned one hundred and eighty Spirit Stones and with most of his Paper Figures sold, Mu Lin no longer felt like staying in the classroom.
As he was extremely hungry, he went to eat, and along the way, Zong Xiu joined him.
After looking Mu Lin up and down several times, Zong Xiu sighed with emotion, “I never imagined you had such skill, surrounded by so many noble children… If only I had your ability.”
While he marveled, Mu Lin rolled his eyes.
“Paper Folding, no matter how skilled, is still just a minor craft. Your Spirit Root Talent is far more enviable.”
“Heh, that’s true… But your luck has arrived too. Yan Yunyu, the girl from earlier, is the legitimate daughter of one of the Four Seas Pavilion’s leaders. If you can win her favor, even a little something from her would set you up.”
“…I’d rather not. There are countless people vying for the attention of these noble daughters, and I don’t want to clash with them.”
“You’re too lacking in ambition…”
As they talked, the two ate at the cafeteria.
Now that he had money, Mu Lin generously enjoyed two bowls of Spirit Rice Meal.
At the same time, he wasn’t afraid of being robbed or anything of the sort.
The Dao Palace had order; robbing others was something that simply couldn’t happen here. With so many immortal elders around, they wouldn’t just stand by and watch.
Moreover, Mu Lin wasn’t without backing—he still had a grandfather outside.
Provoking a cultivator from the Yin Eight Gates, even for a family disciple, wasn’t a trouble they’d want to invite.
After enjoying the meal, now that he had money, Mu Lin gritted his teeth and exchanged for a drop of Blackwater Profound Serpent Essence Blood.
“Since I’ve decided to cultivate the Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art, it’s better to take this essence blood sooner rather than later.”
“Besides, although the main effect of the Blackwater Profound Serpent Essence Blood is to strengthen the body and alter one’s bloodline, there’s also a chance it could help me sense external Spiritual Energy.”
Filled with anticipation, Mu Lin went to the Dao Palace’s shop.
To his dismay, a single drop of essence blood cost one hundred and three Spirit Stones.
“I’m still so poor!”
Though it pained his heart, Mu Lin still made the exchange. In fact, he even felt fortunate that the Blackwater Profound Serpent Essence Blood was available here. Otherwise, he would have had to write to his grandfather and ask him to purchase it elsewhere.
However, with the support of the imperial court and noble families, the Dao Palace not only offered high-quality essence blood but also refined it with various medicinal herbs, allowing it to better integrate into the body.
The Profound Serpent Essence Blood from other places simply couldn’t compare to that of the Dao Palace.
Amidst his sighs, Mu Lin returned to the classroom and immediately consumed the essence blood.
Then, his expression twisted in agony.
“Hiss…”
“It hurts so much!”
As the Blackwater Profound Serpent Essence Blood entered his body, it felt like a bomb had exploded within him.
The violent energy surged like tidal waves, relentlessly assaulting his body and mind, causing the veins on his body to bulge one after another.
The excruciating pain made Mu Lin unable to hold back his cries.
However, the next moment, his voice was silenced.
Ma Daoren, who had been in the classroom all along, took action. With a single cast of the Silence Art, he prevented Mu Lin’s voice from being heard.
And as he watched Mu Lin’s body contort in agony, this seemingly unkempt Daoist Practitioner sighed softly before casting a Spring Return Art on him.
“Hum…”
(End of Chapter)
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Grandmaster’s work.
It is still referred to as grandmaster’s work instead of master like a suspect. Unless it is on purpose this time to represent how they can’t recognize the difference but I don’t know because of the typo in the previous chapter