Chapter 21 – The Young Master with Kidney Deficiency?

The significant increase in the probability of being rated as a Class B Talent greatly delighted Mu Lin.

Soon, he discovered that his gains from this night were not limited to just that.

After several rounds of Hibernation, upon waking in the morning, Mu Lin found that his strength had increased considerably.

“Bang!”

Clenching his fist and observing his slightly bulging muscles, Mu Lin estimated the extent of his strength increase:

“At least a thirty percent increase.”

While pleased by this, a wave of doubt also arose in his heart.

“Why is this happening? I remember the Taiyin Life-Nurturing Scripture doesn’t have the ability to enhance the physical body.”

“In fact, the formation of Taiyin Life-Nurturing Qi even absorbed a portion of my essence.”

At this point, Mu Lin couldn’t help but think of his grandfather. Despite being a Cultivator, his grandfather was extremely thin—not just thin, but also gave off a sickly, weak impression. From time to time, Mu Lin would see his grandfather coughing.

Moreover, Mu Lin had accompanied his grandfather in interacting with other Paper Artisans, and nearly every Paper Artisan he had met appeared pale and sickly, with a kind of “kidney deficiency” beauty.

These observations, along with his grandfather’s explanations, made Mu Lin aware that as the inherited secret scripture of Paper Artisans, the Paper Crafting Scripture not only lacked a body-refining Cultivation Method, but the formation of Taiyin Life-Nurturing Qi also required the blending of the Three Treasures of Essence—essence, qi, and spirit—to produce that breath of “living qi” that animates Paper Figures.

This constant depletion without replenishment was the reason most Paper Artisans appeared pale and seemingly “kidney deficient.”

To address this issue, most Paper Artisans would also practice body-refining techniques.

For instance, Mu Lin, when in the Dao Palace Library, instead of choosing Talismans, Arrays, or Curse Arts—things that could enhance the power of Paper Figure Techniques—he immediately went for the Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art, a body-refining technique, precisely to compensate for his own shortcomings.

However, the Paper Crafting Scripture was ranked as Earth Grade High Rank, and the two Cultivation Methods it contained were also Earth Grade High Rank. Such high-grade techniques were not easy to come by, which meant that even if most Paper Artisans practiced supplementary methods, their physical strength still lagged behind their Divine Soul and Mana.

Since the formation of Taiyin Life-Nurturing Qi required all Three Treasures of Essence, Paper Artisans would still appear pale and “kidney deficient” even after practicing body-refining techniques.

Now, having officially begun his cultivation, Mu Lin had harbored such concerns.

He had originally thought that as long as he wasn’t excessively weakened, it would be acceptable. But now, far from being weakened, he had actually grown stronger—something Mu Lin had not anticipated.

Unable to find an explanation, Mu Lin pondered deeply and eventually arrived at a conclusion—Hibernation.

“The injuries I sustained were merely meridian swelling and pain, yet for such injuries, I needed to Hibernate for an hour each time and consume three large bowls of white rice. This was clearly excessive.”

“If my speculation is correct, Hibernation not only recovers injuries but also promotes my growth… Well, it’s probably only me who experiences this.”

Hibernation would restore the Blackwater Profound Serpent to its most perfect state.

Mu Lin’s realm and Cultivation Level were mismatched—his realm was high, but his Cultivation Level was low. This had already expanded his limits.

His most perfect state should be after successfully achieving Spirit Awakening, with his Cultivation Level matching his realm. Currently, he lacked the energy to elevate his Cultivation Level to that point.

Therefore, during Mu Lin’s Hibernation, aside from repairing injuries, the remaining energy was mostly absorbed autonomously by his body, strengthening his physique.

The Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art is a body-refining cultivation method, and both the spiritual energy and vital energy within the spirit rice meal are precisely what this technique requires.

Thus, Mu Lin could grow stronger simply by eating.

The only regret was that progressing from Qi Drawing to Spirit Awakening demanded an enormous amount of energy, which was why Mu Lin still felt hungry even after consuming three large bowls of rice each time.

“…So, the spirit rice I eat is all absorbed by my body, not used to recover from meridian injuries?”

This realization left Mu Lin speechless. However, considering that once his body absorbed the energy, both his strength and his qi and blood would greatly increase, he didn’t feel upset. Instead, he thought this was quite good.

…

Hibernation, to some extent, was akin to deep sleep. With it, Mu Lin no longer needed to sleep.

Or rather, hibernation had replaced his sleep.

Last night, he had cultivated throughout the entire night, but after a period of hibernation, he awoke feeling refreshed and energetic.

  Maintaining this high-spirited state, Mu Lin returned to the classroom and began cultivating the Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art.

“Hum…”

…

In the following days, Mu Lin continued this routine: cultivating the Taiyin Life-Nurturing Scripture at night and the Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art during the day.

During breaks in his cultivation, he would also practice the visualization technique, Mindscape – Sky Burial City, or engage in writing, painting, and paper folding.

With so many things to cultivate, even with hibernation replacing sleep, Mu Lin still felt pressed for time and gradually became busier.

Despite his busyness, Mu Lin noticed a change in the class atmosphere—growing anxiety.

Nearly every day during this period, some students successfully achieved Spirit Awakening, becoming official disciples of the Dao Palace and moving to the adjacent classroom.

Each departure, while bringing joy to the individual, instilled a sense of urgency in the others.

This tense and anxious atmosphere… the Dao Palace did nothing to alleviate.

Mu Lin understood the reason. Anomaly Evil were mostly terrifying and difficult to deal with; some were completely unkillable, while others could drive people mad or cause mutations by inciting negative emotions.

This forced those like Mu Lin, who would soon be on the front lines, to maintain a calm mindset, free from anxiety or panic caused by external factors.

The current anxious atmosphere was also a form of screening.

If one couldn’t remain composed in a safe environment, who could rely on them on a life-and-death battlefield?

Therefore, not only did the Dao Palace not ease the atmosphere, it actively intensified it somewhat.

Fortunately, such actions had almost no effect on Mu Lin—watching his cultivation method proficiency grow bit by bit filled him with both motivation and confidence. Thus, the class’s anxiety couldn’t touch him at all.

However, his habit of eating eight meals a day, each consisting of three large bowls of white rice, earned him a nickname—Rice Bucket.

“…”

“Fine, call me whatever you like.”

Fully focused on cultivation, Mu Lin had no interest in arguing with others.

His diligent cultivation, along with a little help from the Proficiency Panel, brought him many gains.

First, his cultivation methods: both the Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art and the Taiyin Life-Nurturing Scripture were steadily progressing.

Next was Mindscape – Sky Burial City.

Daily meditation ensured that this technique’s progress was also not slow.

Now, Mu Lin’s dwelling has transformed into a two-courtyard compound, with dozens of additional items inside the rooms. Meanwhile, horses and cranes have also been visualized by Mu Lin.

Even the warrior figures, he has visualized halfway.

Incidentally, at present, when Mu Lin visualizes inanimate objects and stabilizes them, he only gains one point of proficiency.

However, if he visualizes living creatures such as horses, cranes, and birds, he earns ten points of proficiency each time.

Of course, what contributes most to the proficiency and power enhancement of the Cultivation Method “Mindscape – Sky Burial City” is the Burying Heaven Power.

After visualizing horses and flying cranes, Mu Lin once had a sudden idea to channel the power of the Sky Burial City.

Then, he was horrified to discover that under the influence of the Burying Heaven Power, his mindscape courtyard not only echoed with faint, elusive weeping and scattered ghost money all around,

but the living creatures he had visualized also underwent bizarre transformations!!

(End of Chapter)