Chapter 282 – I Have Three Hundred Lives—Can You Kill Me Instantly?

The fact that Mu Lin could utter the words “Who can kill me?” was enough to demonstrate the immense power of the Substitute Paper Figure elevated to the Grandmaster Level.

Indeed, its strength had truly surpassed Mu Lin’s expectations and imagination.

Previously, the Master Grade Paper Figure could transfer eighty percent of injuries, mimic Mu Lin’s appearance with remarkable accuracy, and even assist him in cultivation.

However, such Substitute Paper Figures had one major flaw—quantity.

At that time, Mu Lin only had six Substitute Paper Figures, making a total of seven including his main body.

But now, with the Substitute Paper Figure advancing to the Grandmaster Level, this limitation had nearly vanished.

Although Mu Lin still could not create an infinite number of Substitute Paper Figures—each required a Divine Soul imprint, a Mana imprint, and a drop of his essence blood—the constraints had been significantly alleviated.

Limited by his own Mana and Divine Soul strength, Mu Lin could never achieve an infinite number of Substitute Paper Figures, but the quantity restriction had been greatly eased.

“If used for cultivation, I need to allocate my Divine Soul power reasonably, so I can only create thirty-three Paper Figures. But if it’s for transferring injuries, I don’t have to worry as much. In that case, I can create at least one hundred and eight.”

“Wait, I also have the Deity Avatar, which can manipulate Spirit Veins and infuse them into the Paper Figures to offset my Mana consumption.”

“Even if it can’t fully offset it, six to eighty percent is possible. Removing the Mana limitation, coupled with my inherently strong Divine Soul, which has now advanced to Gang Condensation, the number of Paper Figures I can create will be between three hundred and five hundred.”

Three to five hundred substitutes, with nearly complete injury transfer—this meant that to kill Mu Lin, others would have to kill him three to five hundred times.

“Three to five hundred lives! Even in a game with cheats, you only get thirty lives. Now I have ten times that, hahaha…”

“I have three hundred lives! Can you kill me in one hit?”

“Hahaha, hahaha, hahahaha…”

The assurance of his own safety triggered uncontrollable, maniacal laughter from Mu Lin.

He had been suppressed for far too long.

Since arriving in this world, Mu Lin had always felt a sense of insecurity.

While living with his grandfather, he feared being exposed.

At the Anping Dao Palace, he feared being bullied by the children of Aristocratic Families.

Even after coming to the Jade Lake Dao Academy, he worried about being crushed by powerful individuals…

This dangerous and lawless world had kept Mu Lin on edge, but now, with three to five hundred extra lives, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

However, after his wild laughter, Mu Lin quickly calmed down.

“I can’t afford to be arrogant or reckless. I’m far from invincible.”

“Three to five hundred lives are indeed powerful, but Anomaly Sources and Deities are said to be indestructible. They have even more lives than I do—in a game, that would be infinite respawns. But what happened? Anomaly Sources are not the masters of this world, and the Evil God isn’t either.”

Humanity is not without means to deal with such beings.

Can’t kill them? Then seal them away.

In fact, humanity’s sealing methods aren’t even about sealing them whole—they involve dividing and sealing.

By splitting a great or indestructible existence into thousands or tens of thousands of fragments, or by separating their consciousness from their power, immortality becomes an eternal prison sentence.

Neither the Anomaly Source nor the Evil God are invincible, and Mu Lin has even more limitations.

To put it simply, one point alone makes Mu Lin dare not act recklessly.

“The Substitute Paper Figure can only transfer my injuries; it cannot fully restore my stamina, mana, or Divine Soul power to their peak state. Therefore, if I encounter a powerful enemy—even one not overwhelmingly stronger, just a Mortal Shedding Adept—they could truly kill me three to five hundred times, or even thousands of times.”

For true powerhouses, having multiple lives only means they can kill to their heart’s content.

Moreover, while Mu Lin’s Grandmaster-level Substitute Paper Figure is indeed unsolvable for cultivators of the same rank, it holds no significant advantage against skills of the same Grandmaster level.

“Regardless of the type of Mystical Art, reaching the Master Realm is a transformation, and reaching the Grandmaster Realm brings an even more profound transformation. This is true for my Substitute Paper Figure, and it applies to other Spells as well.”

Thinking of this, Mu Lin recalled Sword Cultivators whose Sword Intent remains unextinguished for centuries. If struck by such a sword, even if Mu Lin transferred the injury, as long as the enemy’s will remained unbroken, the injury would reappear on him.

Consider a certain saber wielder who killed a certain hero seven times with a single strike.

There are also curses and corruptions that directly target the soul. When faced with such high-level power, not only can injuries not be transferred, but even death and rebirth cannot erase them.

“Therefore, my Substitute Paper Figure is far from invincible. In fact, without the advantage of aiding cultivation, it wouldn’t even be considered strong among Grandmaster-level skills.”

With these thoughts, Mu Lin’s mind calmed down.

At the same time, he felt no discouragement and remained fully confident about the Grave Lord Inheritance assessment.

“Against Mortal Shedding Adepts or powerful beings with Grandmaster-level skills, I am indeed still weak… but what does that have to do with the Prodigies of the Demonic Sect and Daoist Sect?”

“Even with abundant resources, their Mana Cultivation can at most reach Gang Sha Unity. As for their Mystical Art realm, ha, forget Grandmaster—even possessing a single Master Realm Spell would be like their ancestors’ graves emitting auspicious smoke.”

Master Realm and Grandmaster Realm Mystical Arts are not easy to master.

Without high-level power or Grandmaster-level skills, Mu Lin’s Substitute Paper Figure is unsolvable for those Demonic Sect Prodigies. To kill Mu Lin, they would truly have to kill him three to five hundred times.

With such means, Mu Lin could simply wear them down.

Moreover, advancing the Substitute Paper Figure to the Grandmaster level brings far more than just the removal of quantity limits and complete injury transfer.

Beyond that, Mu Lin gained two additional benefits.

One is energy transfer. This trait is rooted in injury transfer, quantum theory, True Name idol power, and other theories. It is a trait Mu Lin deduced through sudden enlightenment while advancing his Substitute Paper Figure.

As the name suggests, it allows Mu Lin to transfer his own power to the Paper Figure.

“According to quantum entanglement theory, when one quantum moves, another quantum instantly follows—there is a mysterious connection between them…”

“…Since the Substitute Paper Figure can transfer injuries, it can naturally transfer energy as well…”

‘…In this world, true names and forms possess power. Calling out a name or drawing the image of a great being can truly allow that great being to transmit power across distances…’

‘…If they can do it, naturally, so can I…’

Based on this insight and extensive reasoning, Mu Lin could now transfer the power within his body between Substitute Paper Figures.

Although this process inevitably incurred losses—greater the farther the distance—Mu Lin didn’t mind. Moreover, this method made him completely fearless of those Demonic Sect Prodigies.

After all, Mu Lin could transfer energy into the Paper Figures, and similarly, the Paper Figures could transfer the energy within them to Mu Lin.

Of course, under normal circumstances, the Paper Figures didn’t contain much energy.

But don’t forget, the Yin Vein of Ping’an Ancient County was still under Mu Lin’s control.

Thus, he could create ten Substitute Paper Figures within his City God Domain, allowing them to continuously refine and absorb the power of the Yin Vein. When Mu Lin needed it, he could directly transfer the power to himself across distances.

Through this method, Mu Lin achieved a form of infinite energy!

‘It’s said that many people spread rumors that without the Spirit Vein, without Ping’an Ancient County, I am nothing.’

‘Hmph, you’re right. But what if I carry Ping’an Ancient County and the Spirit Vein with me? How would you deal with that?’

…

Energy transfer, combined with a stable base, ensured Mu Lin would never lack Mana again.

This trait was incredibly powerful, and another trait was equally formidable.

The fourth and final trait Mu Lin gained from this advancement was derived from Substitute Paper Figure – Others and the Paper Figure Curse.

Well… it also incorporated Mu Lin’s reflections and insights on causality and fate.

Its effect was simple: substitution of death.

But this time, it wasn’t about the Paper Figure dying in Mu Lin’s place. Instead, those who harmed him would die in his stead.

Those who harm me shall suffer sevenfold retribution.

Mu Lin couldn’t achieve this level yet.

But with the Paper Figure Curse, Substitute Paper Figure, and Substitute Paper Figure – Others, Mu Lin could perform a Ritual.

He could use himself as the wedge and the causality of others harming him as the thread to anchor his enemies through Substitute Paper Figure – Others.

Once both sides were anchored, Mu Lin would complete a curse Ritual. From then on, whenever an enemy harmed Mu Lin, the injury would be reflected back onto the enemy.

Although the injury couldn’t be fully reflected, it could still reflect five to eight-tenths (depending on the causal connection between the two).

And as everyone knew, Mu Lin could transfer his injuries to the Paper Figures.

Thus, if someone attacked Mu Lin, he could choose not to resist or even self-inflict injuries to his eyes, ears, mouth, nose, tongue, heart, or head to cause his own death.

In doing so, the injury feedback would instantly synchronize with the enemy.

Then, when the enemy was severely wounded or dead, Mu Lin could transfer his injuries away. If the enemy lacked such an ability, they could only await death.

“This ability is a bit shameless. From now on, only I can attack others; others cannot attack me.”

“Not only can they not attack, but they must also kneel and beg me not to die.”

Of course, this ability, while powerful, is not without limitations. First, it requires Mu Lin to establish a causal connection with others. Only when someone injures or insults him can the thread of causality be formed.

Second, some Grandmaster-level abilities are likely to possess characteristics such as the Adamantine Body, immortality, or being impervious to all techniques.

Faced with such impenetrable golden bodies, Mu Lin’s counterattack cannot harm them at all. Even the thread of causality cannot connect to them.

“Fortunately, this is something I’ll have to consider in the future. For now, I don’t need to worry about it at all.”

“After all, Grandmaster-level characteristics like the Adamantine Body, immortality, or being impervious to all techniques are simply not something Prodigies of my age can comprehend…”

As he pondered this, Mu Lin suddenly froze, realizing something.

“It feels like having a Grandmaster-level ability and fighting other Demonic Sect Prodigies is like an adult beating up a Student—and with weapons, no less.”

“This feeling… is absolutely exhilarating.”

As a member of the Yin Eight Gates, Mu Lin never sought fair duels or evenly matched, thrilling battles.

What he enjoyed most was using strength to bully the weak and overwhelming the few with numbers.

(End of Chapter)