Chapter 203
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Chapter 203: Calligraphy Advancement to Grandmaster, Trait: Text Retrieval
When Mu Lin picked up the brush to write, he felt a faint glimmer of anticipation.
“Reaching grandmaster in painting gave me the True Meaning Artist ability. What trait will calligraphy mastery bring?”
“Hmm… this one should be stronger. The proficiency ceiling for calligraphy surpasses painting anyway.”
As he pondered, ink flowed from his brush. Each character formed boosted his calligraphy experience.
8093/8100, 8094, 8095…
Time stretched like drying ink while Mu Lin practiced.
Meanwhile, the Mountain Elder of Yuhu Academy found himself cornered.
Demands for reconciliation with Mu Lin piled higher daily.
Yet the stubborn leader clung to his last card: Blood Cherry, Yuhu’s top disciple who leveled up through slaughter. Her Spirit Sea Realm cultivation dominated the entire Southeast Province.
Trouble was, prodigies had tempers. Blood Cherry stood as the most willful.
Others like Mu Lin or Chu Hongxuan still bowed to authority – untested talents needing the Mountain Elder’s goodwill. Not Blood Cherry. Her ancestral relic guaranteed future supremacy, making her immune to political niceties.
When summoned, she scoffed:
“No time for children’s games.”
That’s how she viewed the trial. Cloud City’s Tower of Illusions spawned fake monsters yielding no real power – worthless prey beneath her magical blade. Instead of hunting, she’d claimed a quiet corner for blade meditation since the trial began.
Only the full Bloody Moon’s rise stirred her slightly. Demonic howls echoing through the night finally kindled embers of fighting spirit.
With Blood Cherry refusing to move, the Mountain Elder’s options vanished. Swallowing pride, he sent the Deputy Mountain Elder to negotiate through Yan Yunyu – using intermediaries preserved deniability if talks collapsed.
Words whispered through communication charms made Yan Yunyu smirk.
‘Called it. Yuhu’s desperation confirms my gamble.’
Eyes gleaming like polished jade, she drove hard bargains with the Deputy Mountain Elder.
While their secret talks unfolded, Mu Lin’s brush made its final stroke.
Level 4 Master: 8100/8100.
The characters hummed with awakening power.
As Mu Lin’s skill reached perfection, he instinctively realized what to do next. His hand moved automatically, writing characters once more. While writing, countless insights flooded his mind.
These revelations taught him that words weren’t just symbols – they formed the bedrock of culture and civilization itself. "…Words let humans clearly share thoughts and intentions…" "…Words carry traditions, passing down customs and values through generations…" Their unmatched importance made words humanity’s true foundation.
"Pity I’m not creating divine characters, just improving calligraphy to master level. This understanding barely scratches the surface." Yet even this shallow comprehension brought benefits. His writing would now convey deeper meaning through its beauty, valuable both as art and for crafting talismans.
But such gains paled before words’ true nature in this extraordinary world. Here, concepts held power – mind, soul, even names. As civilization’s cornerstone, words contained supreme might. Upon reaching calligraphy mastery, Mu Lin gained faint access to this power through his proficiency panel – the ability to grasp one Root Word.
"To ‘grasp’ means fully analyzing a character’s essence. Well, ‘fully’ might be ambitious given my current limits." Compared to painting mastery’s "Finishing Touch" that made him a True Meaning Artist, this seemed weaker. Yet Mu Lin remembered the myth of Odin – nine nights hanged on the World Tree, spear-pierced, sacrificing himself to himself until he seized the runes and became God King.
"Odin gained all runes through ultimate sacrifice. I’ve only touched word-power’s edge through calligraphy." The gap was cosmic. Where Odin claimed entire alphabets, Mu Lin could only grasp one limited character from his experiences.
"Wisdom" tempted him first, but proved beyond reach. Accessible words reflected his journey: "Thunder" from his Heart of Thunder, "Molt" from his three serpent skin-sheddings, "Blood" from Bloody Moon knowledge. "Paper," "Person," "Heart" were possible; "God" and "Creation" remained locked.
Mu Lin pondered his choices. Each character pulsed with potential, yet only one could be claimed. His finger hovered over invisible options, mind racing through implications. In this world where words held power, his first Root Word would shape paths yet unwritten.
