Chapter 9 – Fourth-Realm Paper Folding: A Masterpiece

The logical thinking abilities formed in his previous life allowed Mu Lin to ponder many things during cultivation, gaining insight into some of its underlying principles.

However, he soon had no time to dwell on these thoughts.

The effect of the Fish Oil Paste was fading!

As the Fish Oil Paste’s effect diminished, the channel through which Mu Lin sensed the external world was gradually closing.

After just one cultivation cycle, the effect of the Fish Oil Paste completely vanished from between Mu Lin’s eyebrows.

Consequently, he reverted to being a “mortal” unable to sense Spiritual Energy.

“Channels opened through external means dissipate as the effects of those means fade. No wonder Zong Xiu and the others didn’t immediately advance to Sensing.”

After this realization, Mu Lin did not apply the Fish Oil Paste again. One Spirit Stone could only buy one bottle, and one bottle could only be used nine times. Unwilling to waste it, Mu Lin decided to first recall the sensations from earlier, to see if he could rely on those feelings to reopen his connection with heaven and earth. This way, he could save on Spirit Stone expenses.

He closed his eyes and meditated. After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Mu Lin gave up.

He sensed nothing.

Reluctantly, he applied the Fish Oil Paste once more.

Yet, even after this cultivation session, Mu Lin still failed to open a connection with heaven and earth.

Moreover, the repeated applications left his forehead feeling cold and sore.

“After all, it’s an external substance; it affects the body. I can’t continue like this…”

With a sigh, Mu Lin abandoned his attempts to sense Spiritual Energy and instead returned to folding Paper Figures.

“Rustle, rustle, rustle…”

After a session of folding, by the time Dao Palace let out, Mu Lin’s Paper Folding skill had reached the 3rd Realm, Expert (300/360).

“This one progresses quickly. If only Cultivation Method progress could be this fast.”

With a sense of helplessness, Mu Lin tidied up the Paper Figures he had folded. Then, carrying a large stack of white paper, he returned to his residence.

Once home, Mu Lin did not cultivate. Instead, he closed his eyes to rest and recuperate.

Only after resting until late at night, when the Moon rose, did he open his eyes and gaze at the bright Moon in the sky.

“I wonder what effects the Life-Nurturing Qi will have!”

Opening the window to let moonlight stream into the room, Mu Lin, bathed in the moonlight, once again took out the Fish Oil Paste and applied it between his eyebrows.

He intended to cultivate the Taiyin Life-Nurturing Scripture to see if he could cultivate the Life-Nurturing Qi.

The Fish Oil Paste was indeed extraordinary. Upon application, Mu Lin immediately became aware of the surrounding Spiritual Energy.

This time, he also sensed the difference between daytime and nighttime Spiritual Energy.

During the day, Spiritual Energy was mostly warm. At night, it was cool and icy, especially some moon-white specks of light, which gave Mu Lin a particularly unique feeling.

Without hesitation, he drew those moon-white Spiritual Energy particles into his body and guided them to circulate through specific meridians.

After one circulation attempt, Mu Lin… failed.

Compared to the Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art, the circulation pathways of the Taiyin Life-Nurturing Scripture were more complex and intricate.

Moreover, the Fish Oil Paste’s effect had a time limit. Before Mu Lin could complete even one full cycle, the channel between his eyebrows closed. This truly frustrated him.

“No, I mustn’t get angry, I mustn’t get angry… but it’s still so infuriating!”

Thus, in a sullen mood, Mu Lin could only hastily perform a meditation on his Mindscape – Sky Burial City before falling asleep.

Compared to the slow progress of the two spiritual energy cultivation methods, the advancement of Mindscape – Sky Burial City was remarkably swift. After just three meditation sessions, Mu Lin had already raised its proficiency to the second realm, Skilled (303/800).

This speed was only slightly slower than that of the Paper Folding Secret Art.

Meditation consumed mental energy. After each session, Mu Lin needed to rest for half a day before he could meditate again.

As for paper folding, as long as he wanted to, he could grind it to the fourth realm in a single day.

However, since it wasn’t even a spell, Mu Lin didn’t bother grinding it. Instead, he adjusted its priority to the lowest. Whenever he had spare time, he would always focus on other tasks, which was why his paper folding skill remained at the third realm.

“Even though I haven’t put much effort into it, because it’s simple, paper folding should still reach the fourth realm by tomorrow morning…”

Muttering to himself, Mu Lin drifted into sleep.

The next morning, after eating a bowl of Spirit Rice Meal, Mu Lin headed straight to the classroom.

As usual, once seated in the classroom, he first applied Fish Oil Paste and began cultivating the Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art.

After a round of cultivation, his proficiency in the art increased by a few points, but he still had no clue on how to sense external spiritual energy.

Feeling regretful, he could only turn to cultivating Mindscape – Sky Burial City. After solidifying another concept in his mind, he rested for a while, his head throbbing with pain, before finally picking up paper to fold.

“Rustle, rustle…”

With rapid folding, in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Mu Lin had filled the remaining progress, bringing his paper folding skill to the third realm, Expert (360/360).

As before, once the skill proficiency reached its limit, Mu Lin gained some insights as he continued folding.

These insights propelled him, allowing him to grasp the essence of the next realm.

But unlike before, this time, Mu Lin’s insights lasted an exceptionally long time—nearly half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea—before he finally snapped back to reality.

Upon awakening, Mu Lin realized that he now not only knew how to fold paper faster and better but also understood how to fold it with artistic flair—making it aesthetically pleasing, beautiful, and lifelike.

In simpler terms, Mu Lin’s paper folding skill had reached the level of a master, akin to renowned calligraphy or painting masters.

Even the Proficiency Panel acknowledged this.

【Paper Folding, 4th Realm Master (1/1080), Trait: Master’s Work, Lifelike】

“Rustle, rustle…”

While the afterglow of his insights lingered, Mu Lin subconsciously folded a paper figure.

Then, he raised an eyebrow in surprise, realizing that he could perceive a certain feminine grace in the paper figure he had folded. Placing it among other paper figures, he could immediately spot its distinctiveness.

The paper figures he had folded before were clearly lifeless and rigid at a glance.

Only this one was exquisite, unique, elegantly shaped, and brimming with artistic charm.

Placed among the pile of paper figures, it resembled a tiny person quietly slumbering.

“…”

“I never thought I’d become an artist one day. In my previous life, I could have made a comfortable living just from paper folding. Unfortunately, in this world, strength is what truly matters.”

Sighing softly, Mu Lin stopped paying attention to the paper figure and refrained from folding any more.

——After reaching the Master realm, folding Paper Figures no longer counted as effective training for Mu Lin, and thus, it no longer increased his proficiency in Paper Folding.

Through a series of experiments, Mu Lin further discovered that cultivation at the fourth realm of Master was rather peculiar.

He could no longer rapidly accumulate progress in his Paper Folding skill by repeatedly folding the same object.

Instead, he needed to fold different things. Only when he folded these objects to the point of possessing artistic value would it be considered effective training, allowing his proficiency to increase by one point.

Specifically, after Paper Figures, Mu Lin folded a paper flower. Although his first attempt was decent, it was merely decent—lacking the unique beauty of the Paper Figure or any sense of vividness.

As a result, his proficiency in Paper Folding did not increase.

On his second attempt, he folded it better than the first time, but it still failed to evoke a unique feeling, so his proficiency remained unchanged.

Fortunately, with mastery in one skill comes understanding in many. After advancing his Paper Folding skill to the Master level, Mu Lin had learned how to seek beauty.

After one or two practice attempts, on the third try, he finally folded a unique white flower.

The flower, crafted from white paper, bloomed in his hands, exuding a serene and cold beauty, akin to a winter plum blossoming in the harsh cold.

Only then did his proficiency in Paper Folding increase by +1.

At the same time, folding the same paper flower again would no longer boost his proficiency.

This realization made him sigh somewhat.

“After advancing to Master, increasing proficiency has become a hundred times harder than before… But this is to be expected. The realms of Novice, Skilled, and Expert can all be achieved through sheer effort.”

“But Master, whether in Calligraphy, painting, music, or my Paper Folding, is no longer a realm attainable through effort alone. It requires a touch of inspiration and a bit of luck.”

“That’s why there are so few Masters in the world.”

“And Grandmaster, beyond Master, is even rarer—in my previous life, it was difficult for even one to emerge in an entire era.”

“Such scarcity speaks to the immense difficulty of achieving Grandmaster… It’s not something a mere touch of inspiration can accomplish; it requires the tides of an era.”

“Without the Proficiency Panel, even becoming a Master would have been difficult for me, let alone a Grandmaster.”

(End of Chapter)