Chapter 14 of Volume 4: Liquefaction

  Renault, George and Yale stared blankly at the stone carving, completely stunned by it. In their eyes, the five human figures in the carving seemed to have come to life.

  The human-shaped stone carving on the far left, with its implicit gentle beauty and soft weakness, is so pitiful.

  The second figurine embodies a lively and lovely charm that is so endearing.

  The third human-shaped stone carving looks like a girl blushing with shame in front of herself.

  ……

  The five people in this stone carving have an independent spirit.

  Lin Lei gazed at the stone carving, but had a feeling as if she was dreaming. These five silhouettes were memories from her dreams, and now she was awake.

  "Lin Lei." Deling Kworte walked over, his moon-white long gown still spotless.

  Lin Lei looked at Deling Kwok Wah.

  Dellin Kowert's face had a hint of comfort: "Stone carving skills, you have reached the height of a master. This stone carving work of yours can be considered as one of the representative works of our 'Pingdao Flow Stone Carving' school. After this time, I suppose you have a deeper understanding of stone carving."

  Lin Lei nodded slightly.

  It wasn't until Lin Lei truly completed this piece that he understood why some stone carving masters only had one or two works that were renowned for centuries. It wasn't that those masters weren't capable enough, but rather... a true masterpiece was something that could be encountered but not sought after.

  For example, Lin Lei can complete the stone carving "Dream Awakening", but if you ask him to carve out another one like this, it's probably too difficult for anyone.

  A masterpiece of stone carving is born, requiring exquisite craftsmanship, wonderful inspiration and passionate strokes. Only with absolute passion, 100% fusion, and unreserved emotions can a breathtaking work be completed.

  Lin Lei has now completed the stone carving 'Dream Awakening', but when will he complete another work comparable to 'Dream Awakening' is unknown.

  However--

  After ten days and nights of carving, Lin Lei's mind had clearly remembered that wonderful realm. In the realm of carving, Lin Lei had actually made some progress. Now, if Lin Lei were to carve another piece, although it wouldn't be as good as the stone carving "Dream Awakening", it would still be much better than a stone carving worth five or six thousand gold coins.

  "Lin Lei, can you feel the change in your spiritual power?" Deling Kwovart smiled triumphantly.

  Lin Lei was taken aback.

  Mental power?

  That surging spiritual power was far more vast than before, its intensity many times stronger than it had been. If Lin Lei's spiritual power ten days ago was a small tree, then his current spiritual power was a towering giant of a tree that pierced the sky.

  "How did it increase so much?" Lin Lei's heart was shocked.

  Delingcourt smiled triumphantly, his white beard twitching: "Tenfold! Your spiritual power has increased terrifyingly in just ten short days, reaching ten times that of ten days ago! In just ten short days, you've caught up with others who have cultivated for decades. Your spiritual power has directly jumped from a beginner sixth-level magician to a seventh-level magician."

  Lin Lei also felt somewhat unbelievable.

  The increase is too much, tenfold!

  "Isn't the effect good? Hmm, my Delinquent style carving is beyond doubt. However... I really do envy you." Delinquent smiled with narrowed eyes, "Lin Lei, you should know that it's extremely rare to merge with absolute emotions and have your soul completely harmonize with nature."

  Lin Lei nodded in agreement.

  If it were easy to get into that state, then 'masterpieces' would probably be quite common.

  "I've been around for nearly thirteen hundred years, and I've only entered that state three times, completing the three works I'm most proud of." A hint of pride flashed across Delinqua's face before he continued, "However, it took me two days to carve each of those three works. In total, just nine days - less than one of your cycles."

  Lin Lei also heard Deling Kuo say that he spent ten days and nights carving it.

  "This state is the fastest way to increase spiritual power in the Heikō style of carving. In that state, it's likely to be thousands of times more than usual! This state is what we've always dreamed of. The longer you can maintain this state, the better, so the bigger the 'stone carving' you do, the more benefits you'll get."

  Lin Lei acknowledged in her heart.

  The stone carving 'Dream Awakening' is a giant stone carving that carves out five figures, which is a rare large-scale stone carving.

  "But when inspiration and passion come, there is already a sculpted model in the brain, no choice at all."

  Lin Lei also understood in her heart.

  It was as if I saw the giant stone, saw those textures, and with my own emotional reasons, five human figures naturally emerged in my mind. When that passion came, I forgot about the world, forgot about myself, only knowing the stone carving!

  All spirit, all emotion, is in the stone carving.

  When entering that state, there is no other mind to think 'I want to refine a giant stone sculpture', it's impossible to be distracted, once distracted, that state will be destroyed.

  "Lin Lei, I'd like to ask you, what's the name of this piece?" asked Deling Kworte.

  "It's just a dream." Lin Lei replied.

  Dellin Quord nodded slightly after a moment's consideration: "Not bad, good name."

  The rare heavy snow had stopped long ago, and the sky was a vast expanse of white. The entire back mountain was covered with a thick layer of snow, enough to reach knee-deep. Such a large snowfall is relatively rare. After the snow, the temperature also plummeted.

  Yale, George and Reno set up a tent next to him in the cold weather. Yale ordered some servants to bring food over and they kept watch on Lin Lei like this.

  At this moment, all three of Yale were amazed by Lin Lei's work.

  "Yale, the old three have all succeeded in carving, what is he still doing standing in front of the stone statue?" Reno said with some concern, they had no idea that Lin Lei was communicating with Delingkorvath's soul, and Delingkorvath existed in a spiritual form, which they couldn't see.

  Yale shook his head slightly: "I don't know either, but Lao San's work is absolutely comparable to Master Prucks'."

  At least in Yale's eyes, Lin Lei's work is so shocking to the soul.

  "Yale's first, second and fourth."

  Lin Lei's voice suddenly rang out, which made Yale, George and Reno three people slightly stunned. Reno even excitedly shouted: "Lin Lei, you finally spoke up, eleven days, eleven days! You haven't eaten or drunk for eleven days!"

  Lin Lei stood still in front of the giant stone for a day, and carving took another ten days and nights, indeed eleven whole days.

  If it were ordinary people, they would have died of starvation and dehydration after eleven days. Even a fourth or fifth-level magician would be weak and feeble after eleven days without food or water. But Lin Lei now only feels slightly hungry, his body doesn't feel any discomfort at all.

  Because of entering that special state, and being in perfect harmony with nature, the earth element and wind element constantly flowed into his body to replenish energy consumption, and continuously improved Lin Lei's physique.

  "It's been eleven days, yeah, I'm a bit hungry." Lin Lei said with a smile.

  "Are you hungry?"

  George rushed into the nearby tent and took out two large boxes wrapped in fur, which was used for insulation. He unwrapped the fur to reveal iron boxes inside. Opening the two iron boxes revealed a sumptuous feast.

  "Wait a minute, how come we're having dinner without drinking?" Yale burst out laughing.

  Lin Lei watched his three good brothers, one busy putting away the dishes, another preparing to serve rice, and the other pouring wine. Seeing their busy appearance, Lin Lei suddenly felt a warmth in his heart.

  Eleven days of accompanying himself like this, how could Lin Lei's heart not be moved?

  Lin Lei buried everything deep in his heart.

  "Eldest brother, second brother, fourth brother, we have been good brothers all our lives." Lin Lei said firmly in his heart.

  "Old three, come on, eat quickly." George said warmly.

  "Good."

  Lin Lei and his three good brothers started eating and drinking on the vast snowy mountain, laughing and chatting with each other nonstop. The shadow mouse 'Bei Bei' also started eating and drinking excitedly beside them.

  After eating.

  "Yale, old man, can you help me keep this stone carving? Lin Lei stood up and looked around, the surrounding area was a vast expanse of snow. "I went to the Magic Beast Mountain Range for training when I was 15 years old. According to reason, at the age of 16 in July and August, I should also go out for training, but at that time because of Aries' relationship, I didn't go for training. Now I have decided to go to the Magic Beast Mountain Range and train well for a period of time."

  Yale, George and Reno were all stunned.

  "Lao San, are you going to the Monster Mountain Range?" Yale hurriedly asked, George and Reno also hurriedly asked.

  In their view, Lin Lei had just experienced a blow and now had eleven days without eating or drinking. He had just improved his mood a bit and was about to go to the entire Yulan Continent's most ferocious place, 'Magic Beast Mountain Range'. This couldn't help but make Ye Ru and the other two worry.

  Lin Lei smiled and said: "Alright, don't worry about me. I'm very rational now. If I still hadn't walked out of the shadow, I would have destroyed this stone carving 'Dream Awakening'."

  Turned to look at the stone carving 'Dream Awakening'.

  Looking at this stone carving, Lin Lei seemed to see his past year's life, and now Lin Lei's heart was more peaceful than ever before.

  "That's just a memory, just one setback in life. Because of Alice, my cultivation pace has slowed down, and now I can't delay any longer." Lin Lei smiled slightly at the three from Yale, shouldered his own package, "I won't return to the academy, I'll set off directly."

  "Big brother, second brother, fourth brother."

  Lin Lei's eyes focused on his three good brothers, and he smiled slightly. "Really thank you guys, I'm so glad to have brothers like you."

  After finishing speaking, Lin Lei carried his backpack and took Beibei with him, trudging through the snow towards the east.

  Yale, Reno and George watched Lin Lei's figure getting farther and farther away until it disappeared in the snowy sky.

  ******

  In the midst of the Demon Beast Mountains.

  Lofty trees, dense thorns, disorderly wildflowers and weeds, withered fallen leaves, the entire Magic Beast Mountain Range is still so primitive. Lin Lei sat cross-legged in a clump of grass, absorbing the earth and wind elements from the outside world to refine his magical powers.

  Lin Lei's spiritual power had reached the realm of a 7th-level magician, but his magical power was still at the level of a 6th-level.

  Lin Lei has been in the Monster Mountain Range for a whole month now.

  This month, Lin Lei occasionally killed some magical beasts. At other times, he was either studying the seventh-level wind magic 'Flight', or meditating to cultivate his magical power.

  Ernst Magic Academy doesn't teach magic above level 7. However, 'Flight' and 'Floatation' are almost a simple extension of it. Lin Lei has been experimenting with the spell for flight based on books about wind system magic principles in the academy library.

  After a whole month of trial, Lin Lei was able to fly freely between heaven and earth.

  Although Lin Lei didn't know whether the magic spell he had researched was the same as the unified "Flight Spell" of the outside world, but at present, his flight speed was quite satisfactory.

  ——————

  From a sixth-level magician to a seventh-level magician is indeed a big hurdle, but the most difficult part of this hurdle is the improvement of spiritual power. Lin Lei's spiritual power has now been improved, and the refinement of magical power only requires enough time.

  Lin Lei's elemental affinity was all super-grade, and his magic force refinement speed was extremely fast.

  Shadow mouse 'Bebi' looked around cautiously beside Lin Lei, carefully protecting him as he sat cross-legged and quietly refined his magical power.

  Lin Lei's body inside the chest mouth in Dan Tian position.

  The yellowish-brown fog and the bluish-green fog had already become terrifyingly dense, yet still, the yellowish-brown gas and the bluish-green gas continued to enter the middle Dan Tian. As the density grew greater and greater, finally...the fog in the Dan Tian reached an extreme limit.

  A drop of yellowish liquid water bead and a drop of green liquid water bead appeared in Lin Lei's middle Dantian.

  Right after that, yellowish and bluish droplets of liquid water appeared more and more, from one to ten, a hundred, a thousand...

  The difference between a 6th-level magician and a 7th-level magician is that... magical power begins to liquefy!

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