Chapter 203 – Calligraphy Reaches Grandmaster: Trait—Text Retrieval

As he picked up the brush to write, Mu Lin felt a faint sense of anticipation.

“Reaching Grandmaster in Painting granted me the ability of True Intent Painter. I wonder what trait I’ll gain when Calligraphy reaches Grandmaster?”

“Hmm… this trait should be even stronger, after all, the skill cap for Calligraphy is higher than that for Painting.”

While pondering, Mu Lin continued writing.

With each character he wrote, his Calligraphy experience steadily increased.

8093/8100, 8094, 8095…

Time flowed slowly as Mu Lin wrote.

While Mu Lin practiced Calligraphy, the pressure on the Headmaster of Jade Lake Dao Academy grew heavier.

Too many people had urged him to reconcile with Mu Lin.

However, he was still somewhat unwilling, and he still held one last card.

That card was undoubtedly Xue Ying, ranked first at Jade Lake Dao Academy, who could level up through killing.

Her Spirit Sea Realm cultivation level dominated the entire Southeast Region.

Unfortunately, powerful Prodigies all had their own personalities, and Xue Ying was the exception among exceptions.

Others, whether Mu Lin or Chu Hongxuan, though they were Prodigies, had not yet fully matured, and their futures remained uncertain. Thus, they still had to give face to the Headmaster of Jade Lake Dao Academy.

But Xue Ying was different. With her ancestral heirloom artifact, she was destined to become a powerhouse, so she had no need to give face to the Headmaster of Jade Lake Dao Academy.

When the Headmaster requested her to take action, she bluntly replied:

“I have no interest, nor time, to play children’s games.”

“Playing children’s games”—that was Xue Ying’s assessment of this examination. Due to her lack of interest, she hadn’t even bothered killing monsters at the start of the exam… The monsters in Cloud City were illusions created by the Tower of Illusory Heavens, and killing them would grant Xue Ying no power.

This emptiness failed to ignite her fighting spirit, and she was unwilling to wield her Demon Blade.

Thus, after entering the Tower of Illusory Heavens, she simply found a spot, closed her eyes, and entered a state of blade meditation.

Now, with the Blood Moon full and countless demons howling, her fighting spirit was slightly stirred.

…

Xue Ying’s refusal to act left the Headmaster of Jade Lake Dao Academy completely out of options.

With no other choice, he could only have the Vice Headmaster contact… Yan Yunyu, to negotiate a deal with Mu Lin through her.

The Headmaster did not act directly because he still cared about saving face. Contacting Yan Yunyu instead of speaking directly with Mu Lin was to avoid a breakdown in negotiations—having a mediator left room for reconciliation even if talks fell apart.

The sudden words in her ear brought a smile to Yan Yunyu’s lips.

‘I knew Jade Lake Dao Academy would have a backup plan for the academy examination. I bet right.’

Her eyes gleaming, she immediately began a firm negotiation over interests with the Vice Headmaster of Jade Lake Dao Academy.

While the two secretly conversed, Mu Lin’s Calligraphy skill also reached its final step.

Fourth Realm Master: 8100/8100.

“Hum!”

As the skill reached completion, Mu Lin instinctively understood what to do next.

Subconsciously, he began writing characters again.

As he wrote, countless insights and inspirations flooded into his mind.

These realizations made Mu Lin understand that words were never merely words—they were the key to cultural and even civilizational heritage.

“…Words are the tool for human communication and exchange. With them, humans can clearly express their thoughts and intentions…”

“…Words are the medium for cultural transmission. They enable humans to pass down their culture, customs, values, and more to future generations, ensuring cultural continuity and development…”

The importance of words is unparalleled; it is no exaggeration to say they are the cornerstone of human civilization.

“Unfortunately, I am not creating characters that startle ghosts and gods—I am merely elevating my Calligraphy to the level of Master. This means that although I have grasped the true essence of words, I have only scratched the surface.”

What Mu Lin was grateful for was that even this superficial understanding brought him immense gains.

  One of these gains was that his Calligraphy would henceforth be more beautiful and aesthetically pleasing. Others could also perceive the intent he poured into his characters through his writing.

This characteristic endowed his Calligraphy with extremely high value and provided significant assistance in talisman drawing.

Of course, such gains were merely secondary.

This was a world of the extraordinary, where the mind held power, the soul’s intent held power, and even images and names held power. Naturally, words also held power.

Moreover, as the cornerstone of civilization, the power of words was exceptionally sublime.

Now, with his Calligraphy reaching the level of Grandmaster, Mu Lin had grasped a sliver of the power of words.

Under the constraints of the Proficiency Panel, this faint trace of power transformed into a trait… Mu Lin could pick up a word—a Source Rune.

“By ‘picking up,’ I mean thoroughly analyzing a word, understanding its meaning, and clarifying everything about it… Well, ‘thoroughly analyzing and understanding everything’ is a bit of an exaggeration. Limited by my current realm, I can only strive to comprehend its source.”

At first glance, this trait seemed inferior to the Dragon-Finishing Touch he gained when his Painting reached the Grandmaster level, which made him a true-intent painter.

But Mu Lin did not think so.

He recalled a myth.

“Nine nights I hung on the wind-racked tree.”

“Wounded with a Spear, dedicated to Odin.”

“Myself to myself, on that tree of which none know from what roots it rises.”

“Bread no one gave me, nor a horn of drink.”

“I peered downward, I took up the Runes.”

“Screaming I took them, I fell back from there.”

This spoke of Odin, the chief god of Norse mythology, obtaining the Runes.

Such a great deity hung upside down in the world for nine days and nine nights before obtaining the Runes.

In fact, Mu Lin always felt that it was only after obtaining the Runes that Odin could subdue the other gods and become the king of the Norse pantheon.

From this, one could see the immense power of picking up words—the terrifying ability to master all words, control everything, and become a god-king.

“Unfortunately, in Norse mythology, the World Tree is the foundation that bears all things. Odin sacrificed himself, hung upside down on the World Tree, and obtained nearly all the mysteries of words from it. His Runes were thus comprehensive. But I, having merely reached the Grandmaster level in Calligraphy, have only grasped a sliver of the power of words.”

“The gap between us is too vast, beyond any measure.”

The disparity between the two was not only that Odin could pick up all words while Mu Lin could only pick up one, but also that the words he could pick up were extremely limited.

Upon learning he could pick up words, the first one Mu Lin wanted to pick up was ‘wisdom.’

Although wisdom could not significantly increase his strength, it could elevate his potential.

Unfortunately, characters related to wisdom were completely beyond Mu Lin’s ability to pick up.

The characters he could gather were limited by his own experiences, observations, and knowledge.

“The characters I can currently gather include ‘Thunder.’ This is because I absorbed the power of thunder and condensed the Lightning Heart.”

“‘Molting’ as well. The black snake transforming into a flood dragon involves nine moltings, and I have truly undergone three of them. This experience allows me to gather the character ‘Molting.'”

“‘Blood’ can also be gathered. By gazing directly at the Blood Moon, I gained knowledge related to it, all of which revolves around blood.”

“‘Paper’ and ‘Human’ are also possible…”

“‘Heart,’ ‘Soul,’ and ‘Will’ can be barely gathered, but ‘Spirit’… no, this one cannot be gathered.”

“‘Creation’… also impossible…”

After careful consideration, Mu Lin realized that while he could gather quite a few characters, there were also many he could not.

At this moment, Mu Lin was pondering which character he should gather.

(End of Chapter)