Chapter 42 – The Substitute Paper Figure Nears Advancement

“I wonder how many bowls I can eat at full throttle—thirty, fifty, or eighty?”

This question soon found a preliminary answer.

As his Cultivation Method realm advanced, his body underwent a transformation. Before Mu Lin could fully express his joy, a ravenous hunger surged from the depths of his heart.

—Energy in the world is conserved, and the principles of energy conservation also apply to realm advancement and physical transformation.

Normally, after mastering the Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art to the third realm, Mu Lin’s Mana Cultivation would also reach Spirit Awakening Peak. At that point, with ample Mana as an energy supply, he wouldn’t feel such intense hunger.

But Mu Lin was not normal—his Cultivation Method realm far exceeded his Cultivation Level. The gap between the two was so vast that even after depleting all his Mana, the energy was still insufficient to compensate for the losses during his physical transformation.

Realizing this, Mu Lin wasted no time and immediately rushed to the Cafeteria.

Once inside, he devoured Spirit Rice Meal like a mouse in a rice bin, eating frantically.

One bowl, two bowls, three bowls, five bowls, eight bowls, ten bowls… In a short time, Mu Lin had already consumed eighteen bowls, and judging by his frenzied pace, these eighteen bowls were likely just the appetizer.

This scene left the chefs and helpers in the Cafeteria twitching at the corners of their mouths. The manager in charge of the kitchen wore a grim expression.

The Dao Palace Cafeteria operated on a contract system. Although Mu Lin was only eating rice, anything with the prefix “Spirit” was far from cheap. Moreover, the Dao Palace had a rule to provide free meals to B-Grade Elites. Essentially, the more Mu Lin ate, the more the manager stood to lose.

Despite his displeasure, the manager ultimately did not intervene. This wasn’t because he believed, as a businessman, in upholding integrity, but because Mu Lin’s plan had succeeded.

Thanks to Mu Lin’s maneuvering, many now knew that he was no longer a poor boy who could be easily bullied—he had “connections.”

The kitchen manager wouldn’t risk offending Teacher Dongfang Ya over some Spirit Rice. He didn’t even consider questioning it.

All of this was part of Mu Lin’s plan.

However, while Mu Lin had planned many things, he didn’t realize that his voracious appetite had inadvertently confirmed something for the kitchen manager:

“No wonder Teacher Dongfang values him… Someone, bring him some dishes.”

In the world of the extraordinary, a big appetite wasn’t a flaw but rather a blessing.

After all, Cultivators were different from ordinary people. Mortal bodies had limits—excess energy that couldn’t be consumed would accumulate as fat, leading to various health issues. Thus, overeating was detrimental for mortals.

But for Cultivators, energy was always in short supply.

Mu Lin’s large appetite meant he had an additional way to increase his Cultivation Level beyond absorbing Spiritual Energy, which was beneficial for his cultivation. Therefore, eating a lot and digesting quickly was considered a unique form of talent.

And it was only natural for a teacher to value a talented student.

‘I’ve seen through everything.’

Believing he had uncovered the reason for Dongfang Ya’s favor toward Mu Lin, the kitchen manager pondered for a moment before sending Mu Lin a few extra dishes. It was a casual gesture, meant to build rapport with this “Prodigy.”

This situation was something Mu Lin had never anticipated, and thus, when the dishes were placed before him, he was utterly bewildered.

“I didn’t order…”

“Young Master Mu, this is a gift from our manager.”

“…”

These words left Mu Lin speechless. After a moment of hesitation, he cupped his hands in a distant salute toward the kitchen manager and then began to eat heartily.

  ”Since you dare to give, I won’t hold back.”

With the spirit vegetables, Mu Lin savored the meal with great relish.

This feast lasted for a full incense stick’s worth of time.

In the end, Mu Lin devoured forty-nine bowls of white rice, and this was only his temporary limit.

He could sense that due to his insufficient mana and lack of energy, the evolution of his stomach had only been partially completed. Now, with the energy replenished, his stomach continued to develop.

“Once fully developed, eating eighty-one bowls in one meal won’t be a dream… Thankfully, snakes don’t need to eat this much every day. Some pythons can go for four or five months after a single meal.”

“Because I rely on hibernation for development, injury recovery, and the absorption of Taiyin Life-Nurturing Qi, my energy consumption is somewhat high. But one meal is enough to sustain me for two or three days.”

After eating and drinking his fill, a satisfied Mu Lin returned to the Formal Class’s training ground.

On the way back, he opened his Attribute Panel to check the status of the Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art after its advancement.

【Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art (Earth Grade, Lower Tier), 3rd Realm Expert (1/8100), Traits: Blackwater Scales, Hibernation, Snake Swallowing Elephant, Water Control, Rain Summoning, Swallowing Clouds Spitting Mist, Riding Clouds and Mist (Black Mist)】

For Mu Lin, progressing from the 2nd Realm to the 3rd Realm meant growing from the infancy stage of the Blackwater Profound Serpent to its adolescence.

As a result, the traits of this cultivation method only saw quantitative improvements, without any qualitative transformation.

“For the Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art, the true qualitative transformation occurs when the serpent turns into an ink dragon. This is a change that belongs to the 4th Realm or even the 5th Realm, which is still quite distant from me.”

With a sigh of emotion, Mu Lin closed his eyes and quietly contemplated his own state.

Then, he discovered that aside from the changes in traits, there was another transformation that was highly significant for other cultivators.

Mu Lin’s upper limit had been broken.

Mortals all have limits. Without cultivating methods or spiritual energy, once they reach their peak, no matter how arduously they train, they cannot advance further.

This is also why athletic achievements in the previous life had their limits.

This world is slightly better, but whether mortals or demon beasts, they too have their own upper limits.

At the 2nd Realm of the cultivation method, Mu Lin’s upper limit was Spirit Awakening Peak.

Unless he broke through the cultivation method, no matter what he did, Mu Lin could not elevate his physical body and mana cultivation to the Gushing Spring Realm—unless he encountered an extraordinary stroke of luck.

Now, this barrier had shattered.

With the cultivation method elevated to the 3rd Realm, Mu Lin’s upper limit had been raised to the Spirit Pool Realm.

In simpler terms, from the early stages of Spirit Awakening to the Spirit Pool Realm, Mu Lin no longer faced any barriers. As long as his mana and physical cultivation improved, his cultivation level would follow suit.

“Some scions of millennia-old families can rapidly elevate their cultivation level on the very day they break through in cultivation method realms by consuming natural treasures. Unfortunately, I only have the Blackwater Profound Serpent Essence Blood bestowed by Teacher Dongfang Ya, and there are only six drops of it. To raise my cultivation level, I can only rely on arduous cultivation bit by bit.”

What troubled Mu Lin even more was that his spirit root talent was third-grade, and consequently, his affinity with spiritual energy was mediocre. Relying on arduous cultivation for improvement meant his progress was not particularly fast.

This was also why Mu Lin said that breaking through the upper limit was extremely important for “others”—he simply had no use for it at the moment.

“Forget it, if I can’t use it for now, so be it. In any case, this is still a good thing for me.”

…

Today, Mu Lin had planned to break through in two cultivation methods. The Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art had already been broken through.

The other one about to break through was naturally the Substitute Paper Figure he had been arduously cultivating for days.

[Substitute Paper Figure (Innate Spell), 2nd Realm Proficiency (802/810), Traits: Clone Illusion, Injury Transfer]

“Just eight more points…”

(End of Chapter)