Chapter 10
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Chapter 10: Selling the ‘Priceless’ Paper Ship
Compared to an ordinary person, Mu Lin was incredibly fortunate. Many talented artists found themselves stuck at the level of mastery for life, unsure of how to progress. For Mu Lin, though the path to grandmaster was hard and tedious, he at least had a clear direction.
“Just keep practicing. And this ‘lifelike’ trait… it might actually be useful for the paper-folding secret technique…”
Curious and playful, Mu Lin spent the following hours folding paper snakes, paper swords, paper trees, paper butterflies, paper cranes, even large paper structures. He also made paper figures and paper flowers…
Ordinary paper figures and flowers didn’t boost his proficiency.
But people varied in appearance, and flowers came in endless forms. Once, Mu Lin cleverly folded a fierce paper soldier—his proficiency rose by 1. He’d found a shortcut.
From then on, he folded paper scholars, paper monks, paper Taoists, paper officials, paper generals…
In a burst of inspiration, he even used a large sheet to craft an intricate paper ship. He filled it with paper figures, paper flowers, and paper lanterns. The result was so artistic that Mu Lin couldn’t bear to throw it away.
“I’ll take this home as a decoration.”
“Grr…”
Only after finishing the ship did Mu Lin notice how late it was. Lunch had long passed, his stomach growling.
He smacked his forehead.
“Got carried away again. Hope the cafeteria still has food… Wait?!”
When he finally looked up, he froze. All his classmates, previously absorbed in quiet practice, were now staring at his paper creations with shining eyes. Some girls had even crowded around his desk for a better look.
“…”
Though surprised, Mu Lin understood—beauty naturally drew attention. The proficiency panel had certified his work as master-level. Even he found it pleasing, so the girls’ fascination made sense.
As Mu Lin hesitated under their gazes, a girl giggled behind her hand:
“Such delicate folds! Who knew Young Master Mu had this talent?”
“That flower looks almost real… no, even prettier!”
“The tiny paper people are my favorite…”
“But the ship is breathtaking!”
“Your skill rivals mortal-world masters, Young Master Mu…”
The flood of praise didn’t delight him—it made him scowl. He disliked attention, and knew youths loved rivalry. So much admiration from girls would surely breed trouble.
Indeed, some boys already glared at him for stealing the girls’ interest.
Luckily, Taoist Palace teachers kept order. As a Taoist Palace student, Mu Lin held status akin to a scholar in his past life. No one dared scheme against him openly.
However, some people still grumbled unhappily, "Hmph, acting all high and mighty!"
"These flashy tricks mean nothing. For Qi Practitioners, true cultivation is what counts."
"Just showing off…"
The girls blocked his view, so Mu Lin didn’t see the mocking comments.
Already sensing trouble, he started planning how to avoid future issues.
As he pondered, a blushing girl spoke up eagerly: "Mu… Young Master Mu, are you keeping these paper crafts? Could you… sell me one?"
She’d meant to ask for it free, but the exquisite origami artworks shamed her into changing her request.
Mu Lin felt awkward taking money. Though needing funds, he doubted his crafts were worth Spirit Stones. Regular silver coins he barely needed anyway, so he nearly offered them freely.
He’d forgotten one crucial detail.
In this feudal era, ordinary civilians struggled in poverty – but only ordinary civilians.
In his past life, people starved while others dined on vegetable tips and duck tongues, spent fortunes on single meals, or bought paintings worth hundreds of silver taels. Cultivation families here matched that extravagance.
With his commoner mindset, Mu Lin never imagined anyone spending Spirit Crystals on paper flowers. Reality proved him wrong immediately.
"Can I pay with Spirit Crystals?"
"?!?"
"You think they’re too cheap? But these are just ordinary…"
The girl’s voice snapped him from his daze. He hurriedly answered:
"One Spirit Crystal each! Take anything from the table. I also take custom orders."
Though Spirit Crystals were just fragmented Spirit Stones with modest value – enough for a bowl of Spirit Rice – Mu Lin eagerly accepted this unexpected windfall.
"I want this paper lily! And this paper figure – oh, the paper general looks fierce!"
"Let me have that general! He’s perfect for…"
"Here’s a crystal! This scholar paper figure is mine."
"That lantern, please…"
To Mu Lin’s surprise, his paper crafts sold like hotcakes.
He partly understood – hadn’t people in his past life splurged thousands on collectibles? But what happened next baffled him completely.
The showstopper was the paper ship dominating the table – a magnificent creation with maidens, scholars, nobles, generals, and glowing lanterns. Mu Lin had skipped lunch to craft this floating masterpiece.
This luxurious paper ship had drawn the crowd initially. Now, everyone clamored for it.
This time, it wasn’t just the girls—even some boys felt their hearts stir.
Someone immediately called out an offer.
The opening bid stood at three Spirit Stones.
The pricing seemed reasonable at first.
But everything changed when a certain person arrived.
The newcomer was the noble young lady who’d awakened her powers just the day before, surrounded by as many followers as top-tier geniuses.
Her first words left the crowd speechless.
"Fifty Spirit Stones. This belongs to me now."
"……"
"……"
"……"
Mu Lin stood frozen like the others, completely stunned.
While they could afford fifty Spirit Stones, spending such wealth on a mundane paper ship seemed absurdly wasteful.
Surprisingly, Mu Lin recovered first.
This extravagance reminded him of his past life experiences.
He’d witnessed art pieces auctioned for astronomical sums. Hadn’t people tipped live-streamers millions for nothing? Did that make sense? Wasn’t it ridiculous?
Yet such things happened daily.
Tipping amounts even reached tens of millions sometimes.
Understanding dawned—this princess-like girl probably considered fifty Spirit Stones mere pocket money.
What truly shocked him was this windfall landing in his lap.
Snapping out of it, Mu Lin blurted: "The paper ship’s yours! Just tell me if you want modifications—free after-sales service included!"
His attitude couldn’t be more accommodating toward this wealthy patron.
Had someone acted haughty over one or two Spirit Crystals, he’d have demanded respect.
Ten Stones? That’d be called strong character.
But fifty? At that point, the customer’s always right.
Pe551
Real