Chapter 18 – The Blackwater Dark Serpent Art Approaches Advancement
Chapter 18 – The Blackwater Dark Serpent Art Approaches Advancement
Determined to develop in the fields of Talismans and Arrays, he began practicing Calligraphy and Painting to lay a solid foundation.
To his delight, having reached the Master Grade in Paper Folding, he already possessed a foundation for understanding aesthetic principles.
As is well known, mastery in one art leads to proficiency in many others.
With his Master Grade Paper Folding skills, his progress in learning writing and painting was remarkably fast.
Especially in Painting—depicting his Master’s Work in Paper Folding on paper took Mu Lin little time, yet each time he completed such a painting, his Painting experience didn’t increase bit by bit.
Instead, it increased by ten points at a time.
Relying on the interconnectedness of these skills and a small assist from his Proficiency Panel, by the time the moon reached its zenith, Mu Lin’s Painting skill had advanced to the Expert level.
“Paper Crafting can guide Painting ability, and Painting can drive progress in Calligraphy. Without surprises, within three to five days, both my Painting and Calligraphy will reach the Master Grade.”
At this point, Mu Lin sighed:
“Compared to Mystical Arts, ordinary skills are indeed much easier.”
…
Exhausted, Mu Lin drifted into sleep.
Over the next two or three days, Mu Lin’s routine gradually became more structured.
In the early morning, he would rise early to practice the Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art twelve times, converting ordinary Spiritual Energy into Black Mist Magical Power.
After that, he would eat a Spirit Rice Meal.
He noted with admiration that Spirit Rice had a slight healing effect—the swelling pain in his meridians would ease slightly after consuming it.
Upon arriving at the classroom, Mu Lin would first practice Calligraphy, Painting, and Paper Crafting… Only after the discomfort from his morning cultivation had completely subsided would he resume practicing the Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art.
Since this Cultivation Method was exceedingly simple, Mu Lin could devote half his focus during practice to visualizing the Mindscape – Sky Burial City.
In this way, he could simultaneously cultivate his Cultivation Method and practice his meditation technique.
After cultivating for the time it takes two incense sticks to burn, noon would arrive. With his mind and body pushed to their limits, Mu Lin would eat another Spirit Rice Meal and take a nap.
This relied on sleep to recover from physical and mental fatigue.
This nap usually lasted until three in the afternoon. Fearing it would interfere with his evening practice of the Taiyin Life-Nurturing Scripture, Mu Lin dared not practice the Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art anymore.
Thus, the remaining time was spent on writing, painting, Paper Crafting, and… visualization.
However, this time during visualization, he wouldn’t exert his full effort. As soon as his mind grew slightly fatigued, he would rest.
Returning home in the evening, he would sleep for a short while.
Upon waking, he would begin cultivating the Taiyin Life-Nurturing Scripture.
After six cycles, when his meridians could no longer endure but his mind still had some energy left, Mu Lin would once again practice Calligraphy, Painting, and Paper Crafting. By midnight, when the moon reached its zenith, he would meditate again, and upon reaching his mental limit, he would collapse onto his bed and fall asleep.
Such relentless cultivation from dawn till dusk—this was Mu Lin’s day.
This routine wasn’t unique to Mu Lin; everyone else in the classroom was also cultivating tirelessly.
After two or three days of such steady cultivation, an event occurred that once again heightened the tension in the classroom.
Those two Prodigies with first-grade talent had successfully undergone Spirit Awakening in just a few short days, becoming official Disciples of the Dao Palace.
In the same amount of time, they had already awakened and departed, while he hadn’t even succeeded in Sensing Spiritual Energy. Upon realizing this, who wouldn’t feel tense?
“This… we won’t fail the Spirit Awakening and be unable to become Dao Palace Disciples, will we?”
“Don’t scare me, there are still over a hundred days left!”
“I shouldn’t have chosen an Earth Grade Cultivation Method back then…”
The immense pressure caused some to feel anxious and fearful, but there were also those who hardened their hearts and silently trained diligently.
Mu Lin was one of them.
Although he practiced diligently without pause, the gap between people truly couldn’t be compared.
After those two Prodigies with first-class talent succeeded in their Spirit Awakening, it was as if a floodgate had opened.
On the second day, when Mu Lin arrived at the classroom, he was astonished to discover that two more people had succeeded in their Spirit Awakening and had become official Dao Palace Disciples.
On the third day, the noble daughter Yan Yunyu also succeeded in her Spirit Awakening.
The continuous departure of people made the atmosphere in the classroom extremely oppressive.
Under these circumstances, those who could remain unaffected were already very few.
And Mu Lin was one of them.
Every day, although he was exhausted, the expression on his face remained consistently cheerful.
And on this day, feeling happy, he even directly ate two bowls of Spirit Rice Meal.
This scene made Zong Xiu, who was eating with him, somewhat admiring.
“Brother Mu, your mindset is truly good.”
Mu Lin: “Because I never expected to achieve top grade, others’ promotions naturally don’t affect me… By the way, Brother Zong, why do you look so dejected? No matter what, this matter shouldn’t affect you, right?”
“How could it not affect me.”
Eating the food in his mouth, he said with a bitter expression: “I too once hoped to become a Prodigy. With Second-Class Spirit Root talent, to be mentioned alongside top-grade geniuses, and then gain the favor of noble daughters, the regard of wealthy young ladies… I had the whole script planned out, but now there’s no hope at all.”
It must be said, this was a fat man with dreams.
After chatting a bit more, Zong Xiu asked curiously: “Speaking of which, Brother Mu, I understand that you have a good mindset and aren’t affected, but why do I feel like you seem especially happy today?”
“Happy… I’ve sensed Spiritual Energy.”
This was a lie. What truly made Mu Lin happy was that his Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art was about to advance.
Unlike the Taiyin Life-Nurturing Scripture, the Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art had reached Earth Grade quality—and only Earth Grade Low Rank at that—because it relied on external aid: the Blackwater Profound Serpent Essence Blood.
This made the difficulty of cultivating this method not particularly high.
As a result, the proficiency cap for the Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art at 1st Realm Novice was only 108 points total.
Over these days, Mu Lin had already raised his proficiency to 1st Realm Novice (103/108).
As long as he practiced a bit more in the afternoon, this Cultivation Method would advance to the second realm.
Mu Lin was very much looking forward to what changes reaching the second realm would bring him.
In anticipation, time passed quickly, and soon it was afternoon.
He took his unshakable nap as usual to recover some energy. After waking, Mu Lin didn’t start cultivating immediately; instead, he first glanced at his Attribute Panel.
【Host: Mu Lin】
【Cultivation Level: Qi Drawing】
【Divine Soul: Gushing Spring Early Stage】
【Cultivation Methods:】
【Taiyin Life-Nurturing Scripture (Earth Grade High Rank), 1st Realm Novice (27/360)】
【Mindscape – Sky Burial City (Earth Grade High Rank), 3rd Realm Expert (13/13600), Traits: Solidification, Soul Spirit Manifestation, Sky Burial Power】
【Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art (Earth Grade Low Rank), 1st Realm Novice (103/108)】
【Skills:】
【Paper Folding, Level 4 Master (179/1080), Trait: Master’s Work, Vivid and Lifelike】
【Calligraphy, Level 3 Expert (719/910)】
【Painting, Level 3 Expert (701/810)】
After carefully reviewing, Mu Lin noticed that compared to Paper Folding, although Calligraphy and Painting were also ordinary skills, their proficiency caps were higher.
Moreover, unusually, the cap for Calligraphy was even higher than that for Painting.
“There must be some secret hidden within,” he thought.
After pondering for a moment, Mu Lin set this aside.
The reason he didn’t dwell on it further was that he believed, regardless of what secrets Calligraphy and Painting held, he could uncover them by persistently grinding his way through.
At this moment, Mu Lin was more focused on the advancement of the Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art.
“I hope to obtain a good trait…”
With a silent prayer, Mu Lin began his cultivation.
(End of Chapter)
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Host: Mu Lin]
[Cultivation Level: Qi Attraction]
[Divine Soul: Yongquan Early Stage]
[Cultivation Methods:]
[Taiyin Life-Nurturing Scripture (Earth Grade High Rank), 1st Realm Beginner (27/360)]
[Mindscape Sky Burial City (Earth Grade High Rank), 3rd Realm Expert (13/13600), Traits: Solidification, Soul Manifestation, Sky Burial Power]【Blackwater Dark Serpent Mortal Shedding Art (Earth Grade Lower Tier), 1st Realm Novice (103/108)】
【Skills:】
【Paper Folding, 4th Realm Grandmaster (179/1080), Trait: Masterpiece, Vivid and Lifelike】
【Calligraphy, 3rd Realm Expert (719/910)】
【Painting, 3rd Realm Expert (701/810)
Funny how long this took to show up considering how much systems get spammed every few chapters. Though two cultivation arts don’t have a space between them