Chapter 47 – Paper Figure Curse: Second Realm

“This year’s top spot is definitely mine!”

“Hmm??”

Her plans were proceeding smoothly, yet as she indulged in her fantasies, Yan Yunyu inexplicably felt a hollow emptiness in her heart.

After closing her eyes and pondering for a while, Yan Yunyu identified the reason.

“Because I previously gave him quite a few Spirit Stones and the Demon-Subduing Warrior Painting, Mu Lin holds considerable goodwill toward me. If I invited him, I could likely pull him into my team.”

This was correct—Mu Lin had always regarded Yan Yunyu as a generous patron. If she extended an invitation, the probability of him agreeing was high.

Even now, Mu Lin was planning to participate in the Tower Challenge in a few days, aiming for a good result to join Yan Yunyu’s team.

—She offered too much. To compete for first place, the rewards she put up exceeded even those given by the academy. Who wouldn’t love such a generous boss?

“But now, I’ve practically pushed Mu Lin right into Lingluo’s hands, and the resources she can mobilize are no less than mine. If my plan succeeds and the two team up, Lingluo can satisfy all of Mu Lin’s needs. So, Mu Lin will almost certainly no longer try to curry favor with me.”

Confirming this, Yan Yunyu did feel a bit disappointed. After all, she genuinely appreciated Mu Lin’s Paper Crafting and Painting skills.

But soon, she severed that thread of regret.

“Paper Crafting and Painting are ultimately minor arts. Right now, my top priority is competing for first place.”

“Mu Lin’s abilities are good, but they aren’t worth my utmost efforts to retain him. Trading his favor by pushing him toward Lingluo in exchange for preventing her from contending for first place—this deal is very worthwhile.”

No matter how she thought about it, Yan Yunyu felt Mu Lin’s abilities weren’t crucial. Pushing him away wasn’t a loss, and she certainly wouldn’t regret it.

Thus, her plans continued unchanged.

And all of this, Mu Lin remained completely unaware.

At this moment, he was immersed in the excitement of his Substitute Paper Figure advancing.

At night, Mu Lin’s Main Body practiced the Taiyin Life-Nurturing Scripture. His two substitutes—one practiced Paper Crafting, Painting, and Calligraphy skills… though not purely for practice. The Paper Figures Mu Lin crafted could serve as spellcasting materials, so he had his substitute produce a large quantity of ready-to-use Paper Figures, Paper Horses, Paper Knives, and Paper Swords.

The other substitute practiced the Paper Figure Curse Technique.

Because while cultivating the Taiyin Life-Nurturing Scripture, Mu Lin could recharge the Substitute Paper Figures at any time, allowing him to summon them multiple times in a single night.

With the Substitute Paper Figures appearing in the outside world more frequently, Mu Lin’s practice time for the Paper Figure Curse Technique also extended accordingly.

Coupled with the Proficiency Panel, which ensured that each effective practice session increased his progress by +1, before the night was even over, Mu Lin’s Mystical Art had advanced to the 2nd Realm.

“The 1st Realm (Entry-level) Paper Figure Curse requires the target’s True Name, birth date, and essence blood to be complete before it can be activated. At this stage, the curse can only inflict phantom pain (without the aid of a lifelike Paper Figure).”

“At the 2nd Realm (Proficient), the Paper Figure Curse can genuinely harm the cursed individual. However, at this stage, the curse still cannot directly kill them—it can only cause injuries, illnesses, unconsciousness… Most worldly curse masters reside in this realm, and the curse incidents circulating in the world also belong to this realm.”

“At the same time, the requirements for the 2nd Realm Paper Figure Curse have also been lowered somewhat. True Name, essence blood, and birth date—one of these can be omitted… If my paper figures are used as substitutes, the requirements will be further reduced.”

Mu Lin placed considerable importance on the Paper Figure Curse, mainly because it aligned perfectly with his Paper Artisan Lineage.

—Most Qi Refiners of Mu Lin’s lineage did not engage in direct combat. Instead, they would blow out paper figures to fight the enemies on their behalf.

As summoners, Mu Lin and his kind would cast spells from a distance to provide support.

However, Taiyin Life-Nurturing Qi lacked specific elemental attributes, making elemental spells less effective—at least not as powerful as those cast by elemental cultivators of the same rank.

For this reason, Mu Lin and his peers did not rely on elemental spells for support. Instead, they utilized the close connection between Life-Nurturing Qi and living beings to cast curse techniques that targeted the human body.

“More importantly, curse techniques do not require facing enemies directly. They can be used to scheme against opponents from dozens of miles away.”

The Yin Eight Gates were feared and had been passed down for so long for good reason.

When fighting cultivators of the Paper Crafting Lineage, it was common to expend great effort shattering the Paper Artisan’s paper figures, only to look around and find no trace of the Paper Artisan themselves.

[Paper Figure Curse, 2nd Realm Proficiency (47/810), Trait: Reduced Requirements]

……

  After his cultivation session, Mu Lin hibernated for a while to recover from his injuries.

Then, with a somewhat pale face (due to excessive blood loss from practicing curses), he made his way to the classroom.

To his surprise, shortly after he sat down, Yan Yunyu arrived with Chu Lingluo, who had transferred schools the day before.

“Why are they here?”

Mu Lin was puzzled, and Chu Lingluo was equally confused.

Just as the latter was about to ask, Yan Yunyu’s words left her stunned on the spot.

“This young master is named Mu Lin. He is the one you’ve been dreaming of day and night.”

“Dreaming of day and night? Sister, what are you talking about? I haven’t… Ah!!”

Yan Yunyu’s deliberately misleading words initially left Chu Lingluo uncomprehending. By the time she realized what was meant, an even more astonished expression appeared on her innocent face.

“Could he be the master you mentioned, skilled in paper crafting, painting, and calligraphy? But how is that possible? Young Master Mu is so young…”

Chu Lingluo looked utterly incredulous. Yan Yunyu did not laugh at her for this—had she not seen it with her own eyes, she would not have believed that Mu Lin, at such a young age, could create such exquisite artworks.

‘But precisely because he is young, my plan has a chance of succeeding.’

Thinking this, Yan Yunyu smiled and said to Chu Lingluo, “Hard to believe?”

“No… but Young Master Mu is too young…”

“Indeed, he is young. But little sister, you must understand that geniuses exist in this world.”

Having said this, Yan Yunyu turned her gaze to Mu Lin and said with a smile, “I recall you still owe me a large creation. My sister is very fond of the artworks you fold. I’ll transfer this right to Lingluo.”

Mu Lin had no major objections to this transfer.

“Very well. After the assessment in a few days, I’ll help you create it. In the meantime, you can think about what kind of creation you’d like.”

Mu Lin had a clear sense of priorities. He understood well that cultivation level was his foundation, while paper crafting, painting, and the like were merely supplementary pursuits.

Therefore, Mu Lin decided to focus on cultivation first, postponing the creation of large-scale artworks until after climbing the tower.

Regarding this, Chu Lingluo… had no objections.

“Alright, we’ll follow Master Mu’s decision… By the way, Master, I’d like to ask, why does your Grand View Garden feel incomplete?”

“Hmm? You can actually tell.”

After a moment of surprise, Mu Lin spoke candidly without hesitation:

“My skill is insufficient. The most perfect state of the Grand View Garden should be one garden, one scene, one master, but my current level isn’t enough to craft the imagined Twelve Beauties…”

Due to her love for art, Chu Lingluo held great respect for Master Mu, and their conversation flowed smoothly.

However, while Mu Lin and Chu Lingluo agreed to the delay, Yan Yunyu did not.

The reason she had pushed Mu Lin toward Chu Lingluo was to use him as a “burden” to tie her down. Now, while Chu Lingluo still had no teammates, was the best opportunity.

If Mu Lin delayed the creation for a few days, and during that time, Chu Lingluo was recruited by Jing Yeming, all her plans would be ruined.

Thus, before Chu Lingluo could finish speaking, Yan Yunyu stepped forward.

She did not resort to threats—she was not truly foolish. Clever, even somewhat cunning, she knew how to motivate Mu Lin.

With a “thud,” a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone was slapped onto the table by Yan Yunyu.

Casually pushing the Spirit Stone toward Mu Lin, she said calmly:

“My younger sister adores your creations and cannot wait a moment longer. As her elder sister, I wish to fulfill her wish. Young Master Mu, I wonder if this sincerity is sufficient?”

“…”

(End of Chapter)