Chapter 86
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Chapter 86: The First Possibility of Breaking Through to the Spring Fountain Realm
Pursuing invincibility now was undoubtedly an ambitious goal. What left Mu Lin with mixed emotions was discovering, after the time it took a stick of incense to burn, that this ambition might actually succeed.
He had broken through.
At twelvefold speed, Mu Lin’s magical cultivation reached the Awakened Realm in mere minutes. Though he’d been nearing this breakthrough, the speed still caught him off guard.
This breakthrough allowed Mu Lin to calculate something crucial: with Substitute Paper Figures and sufficient Moonlight Dew, he could progress from the early Awakened stage to full Qi Practitioner within one month.
Ordinary cultivators faced bottlenecks when reaching full Qi Practitioner. They needed three-realm mastery of their cultivation methods to advance further. This was why people said "magic flows easy, realms resist climbing" – human limits constrained effortless growth.
While cultivation could push boundaries, each breakthrough only slightly expanded one’s limits. Thus, Qi Practitioners needed both magical cultivation and comprehension of natural laws to elevate their cultivation methods. These methods bridged humanity and nature – advancement required method progression after hitting bottlenecks.
This applied even to basic ascensions like Taoist Child becoming A-level cultivator. At higher stages like Condensing Essence and Refining the Evil, mere comprehension proved inadequate.
The Way of Heaven reduces surplus to aid deficiency.
Human ways exploit deficiency to feed surplus.
Condensing Essence and Refining the Evil meant cultivators couldn’t break limits alone – they needed natural essences to expand their capacities. But such heights remained distant for Mu Lin.
Currently, Mu Lin focused on the minor bottleneck between full Qi Practitioner and A-level cultivator. Joy surged as he realized his true strength lay not in average Spiritual Roots’ slow cultivation, but in advancing cultivation methods!
"Vitality of the Living only needs 3,300 proficiency points to reach Level 3 from Level 2. At my current rate, this won’t even take a month!"
This wasn’t arrogance. Substitute Paper Figures functioned as his clones. When they returned after cultivation sessions, they merged refined magical energy and method insights directly into him. Thus his proficiency grew sevenfold faster than normal – slower than his twelvefold magical gains, but still extraordinary.
"Each session gives 1 proficiency point. Sevenfold speed means 7 points per attempt… 3,300 points for Vitality of the Living? I’ll grind that in under a month!"
"With no cultivation method bottlenecks, I’ll likely reach full Qi Practitioner and naturally advance to Spring Fountain Realm within a month! Even if Ji Xue’s magical cultivation accelerates, bad luck could trap her at bottlenecks."
"So I might become the first Spring Fountain breakthrough!"
Mu Lin’s eyes blazed with excitement. For the first time, he truly understood – the path lay not ahead, but beneath his feet.
"Substitute Paper Figures are too powerful… And Lingluo’s Moon-Devouring Toad helped tremendously. Without her Moonlight Dew, I’d never progress this fast."
"I’ll repay her properly someday…"
…
As his magical cultivation skyrocketed, Mu Lin spent the following days radiating joy.
Even though Ji Xue had improved her strength recently and matched Mu Lin’s results in the Tower of Illusions, Mu Lin’s joyful expression remained unmistakable.
Not even being pushed out of the Hidden Dragon Rankings bothered him.
Yes, Mu Lin had been removed from the rankings after just five days.
This was expected. The Great Spirit Dynasty housed over a billion people with endless talents, and the Hidden Dragon Rankings were open to all Taoist Palaces—making the competition brutally fierce.
After skipping days of tower challenges, it’d have been stranger if he hadn’t been overtaken.
Still, whispers spread through the class after his fall from the rankings.
“Told you Mu Lin just got lucky. Once the real geniuses stepped up, he dropped like a stone.”
“Ninety-third place might be his life’s peak moment.”
“True prodigies aren’t something a cold clan’s disciple like him can measure up to…”
Yet none of this rattled Mu Lin.
He kept cultivating methodically, showing no urgency to reclaim his ranking.
“Every second I spend training makes me stronger. Why would I waste time challenging the tower now?”
Ignoring the gossip, he devoted himself entirely to cultivation—day after day, night after night.
His magical cultivation surged through this relentless hard practice.
Another week passed.
By now, class leaders Ji Xue and Yan Yunyu were already assaulting the Tower of Illusions’ Fifth Floor.
As Mu Lin continued avoiding the tower, more classmates began doubting his potential.
Even some teachers shared this view.
Mu Lin remained unbothered.
He basked in the thrill of his rapid growth.
He’d have gladly continued this way forever.
But trouble comes unbidden—like wind that blows despite still trees.
The inevitable arrived one evening as Mu Lin walked home after training.
A maid intercepted him on the path.
“Yan Yunyu wants me? For origami artworks? Not interested.”
“It’s not that.”
The maid—Xiaoxue—leaned closer. “This concerns Miss Chu Lingluo too. You’d better come.”
Seeing her grave expression and knowing the Taoist Palace grounds were safe, Mu Lin reluctantly followed.
Inside Yan Yunyu’s quarters, he found not just the class beauty, but also a noblewoman in palace attire.
Her striking resemblance to Chu Lingluo froze Mu Lin where he stood.
This was clearly Chu Lingluo’s kin—and nothing about her posture suggested friendly intentions.
