Chapter 41 – Blackwater Dark Serpent Art Advances: Snake Swallows Elephant

After his exclamation, seeing the flames burning in the Yaksha’s eyes, Mu Lin’s heart finally relaxed.

Those flames were the manifestation of the Dominion Heart Lamp. As long as the flames did not extinguish, the Yaksha would remain forever under his control.

Once he confirmed this, Mu Lin checked the progress of its corruption.

“One-fourth… By the time of the Tower Challenge, it should be fully corrupted.”

…

Cultivation, cultivation, eating, cultivation… Although he was thick-skinned and unafraid of ridicule, if possible, Mu Lin didn’t want to embarrass himself. Thus, he never relaxed for a moment, engaging in high-intensity cultivation every day.

After two or three days of such cultivation, a moment of joy arrived for Mu Lin.

Another of his cultivation methods had advanced, and this time, it was two of them.

However, just as Mu Lin was resting and preparing to restore his condition to perfection before advancing, something unexpected happened.

Teacher Dongfang Ya brought a young girl to the Formal Class’s training ground.

If it were just a girl being brought over, Mu Lin wouldn’t have been too surprised—although he had entered the Formal Class, the Dao Palace’s hundred-day assessment was still ongoing. Anyone who succeeded in Spirit Awakening could join the Formal Class.

What surprised Mu Lin was that he didn’t recognize the girl.

And soon, he realized that not only did he not know her, but others were also unfamiliar with her.

“Who is this?”

“Was there a girl like this in our year?”

“So beautiful…”

“I actually feel a sense of familiarity with her…”

The arrival of the girl sparked a buzz of discussion among the disciples of the Formal Class.

Seeing this, Teacher Dongfang Ya clapped her hands and said, “Let me introduce you. This is Chu Lingluo, your new classmate… Lingluo had some matters to attend to earlier, so she didn’t enter the Dao Palace with you. However, she has already succeeded in Spirit Awakening outside. Also, she has a First-Class Spirit Root.”

As soon as the last four words were spoken, the impending controversy vanished without a trace.

Joining the class directly without undergoing the assessment would indeed be annoying, but a First-Class Spirit Root was an exception. With such talent, there were almost no weaklings.

Even Mu Lin, who targeted and mocked those with Second-Class Spirit Roots, had no confidence against those with a First-Class Spirit Root or higher.

The strong were welcomed everywhere, especially by Mu Lin and the others, who would be heading to a life-and-death battlefield in three years. They welcomed the arrival of the strong even more, as it was a guarantee for their own lives.

Two subsequent events further increased the Formal Class disciples’ acceptance of Chu Lingluo.

One was that this beautiful girl was lively and polite.

“My name is Chu Lingluo. I will work hard to keep up and cultivate together with everyone.”

After Teacher Dongfang Ya’s introduction, Chu Lingluo sweetly bowed to Mu Lin and the others, smiling as she encouraged them to strive together.

Such a gesture might seem ordinary, but it was important to note that the other two outstanding girls in the class were quite different. One was as cold as ice, aloof and unwilling to talk or interact with anyone, even undertaking the Tower Challenge alone.

The other was arrogant, haughtily treating many as subordinates.

Compared to these two, Chu Lingluo, who was equally outstanding but innocent, lively, and adorable, naturally won more favor from everyone.

Another reason for everyone’s acceptance was that Chu Lingluo… knew Yan Yunyu.

“Cousin…”

That single address immediately made many realize that she too was a noble daughter from a prominent family—the kind whose marriage could save one thirty to fifty years of struggle.

Consequently, the crowd surrounding her in welcome was especially large.

This scene left Mu Lin utterly speechless, reminding him of the disdainful reception he had received upon his arrival.

“The gap between people truly is vast.”

After this sigh, Mu Lin no longer paid her any mind. The girl was beautiful and came from immense wealth, but it had nothing to do with him—she and he existed in completely different worlds.

“Hoo…”

Closing his eyes, Mu Lin focused wholeheartedly on cultivating the Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art.

After two cycles, a “hum” resonated, and a sense of perfect fulfillment flooded into Mu Lin’s mind.

His Cultivation Method had reached the 2nd Realm, Perfection.

[Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art (Earth Grade, Lower Tier), 2nd Realm Proficiency (900/900), Traits: Serpent Scales, Hibernation, Water Control, Black Mist Art, Serpent Transformation]

Perfection was not Mu Lin’s ultimate goal. Upon reaching the limit, he instinctively initiated another cycle of the art.

This time, as he circulated the method, Mu Lin not only absorbed the surrounding Spiritual Energy, converting it into Black Mist Magical Power, but also visualized a ferocious and terrifying Blackwater Profound Serpent churning endlessly in his mind.

“Boom!”

The moment the phantom of the Profound Serpent appeared, it merged with Mu Lin’s soul spirit. Then, a massive influx of information surged from the Blackwater Profound Serpent phantom, cramming itself into Mu Lin’s soul spirit.

—He had once again triggered the Blackwater Profound Serpent’s bloodline inheritance mechanism, receiving a vast amount of legacy.

This time, the information passed down by the Blackwater Profound Serpent was no longer at the infant level but pertained to its growth stage.

“…the art of driving water and mist…”

“Hmm… the Cloud Soaring Art…”

“This is… about devouring food, akin to a talent like the Snake Swallowing Elephant…”

“Ugh…”

The overwhelming rush of information gave Mu Lin a headache.

It took him a good while to digest it all. After sorting and comprehending the information, Mu Lin realized that this inheritance was essentially an upgraded version of the previous one.

For instance, the Black Mist Art had now evolved into Swallowing Clouds Spitting Mist and Riding Clouds and Mist. Now, Mu Lin could not only generate more mist but also manipulate it to soar through the air.

As for Hibernation, the trait itself remained unchanged, but Mu Lin had gained a new ability to complement it—Snake Swallowing Elephant.

As the name implied, this was a powerful ability that allowed Mu Lin to swallow an elephant… or a cow in one gulp.

As is well known, ordinary snakes can swallow prey three to eight times their own size. As a supernatural Demon Beast, the Blackwater Profound Serpent’s swallowing capacity is even more astonishing. While not as legendary as the Ba Snake, which could devour elephants as large as mountains, swallowing food over ten times its own body weight was still effortless for it.

Having refined its essence blood and inherited its talents, Mu Lin’s stomach had also expanded, gaining a touch of spatial wonder. Now, he could devour an entire cow in one go and digest it slowly.

This ability could not be used in combat. The Ba Snake possessed innate gifts, its stomach endowed with spatial capabilities that were extremely difficult to breach, allowing it to swallow living creatures whole.

Mu Lin’s stomach, complete with gastric juices, was not that robust. Rashly attempting to swallow an enemy would be a suicidal move.

However, even though it couldn’t be used against enemies, this ability was still a divine skill for Mu Lin.

The worry he had about his vital essence being consumed too quickly was no longer a concern.

Snake Swallowing Elephant not only allowed Mu Lin to consume large amounts of food but also greatly enhanced his digestive capacity.

And humans could obtain energy from food.

“As long as I eat enough and eat well, the vital essence consumed in condensing Taiyin Life-Nurturing Qi won’t affect me.”

“And there’s Hibernation—this ability requires a large amount of vital essence and physical strength to activate perfectly. In the past, I would always wake up from hunger, but with Snake Swallowing Elephant, as long as I eat enough in advance, I’ll never have to worry about waking up hungry midway again.”

Snake Swallowing Elephant was excellent, but what made Mu Lin even happier was—because he was rated as a B-Grade Elite, the Dao Palace’s Spirit Rice Meal was provided for free.

“So, can I eat to my heart’s content?”

(End of Chapter)