In the days that followed, Lin Yun faced countless failures daily.
He tried heaps of fusion combos, but none clicked—wrong mixes just trashed the sculptures.
Unwilling to give up, he kept at it!
This exploration stretched five months in the One Thought Clarity Tower.
Five months, racking up failures in the tens of thousands.
He’d even ditched Fire Mystery, pairing others, but still no dice.
“Only Fire and Thunder Mysteries together sort of work, but the effect’s too wild!” Lin Yun muttered.
“Five months, just chuck it in?” A rare flicker of discouragement crossed his face.
“Chirp chirp!”
Right then, Little White’s voice piped up in his head.
She was calling from inside the Green Vine Gourd.
Hearing her, Lin Yun left the tower and let her out.
Little White had grown to half a person’s height.
During retreat, every few days, Lin Yun paused to rest, clear his mind, and adjust, letting Little White out to feed and play.
She’d scoff spirit crystals, then nap.
In that sleep, she grew and leveled up.
Lin Yun envied her—sleeping to gain strength.
“You little glutton, your appetite’s ballooning, anyone else raising you might not keep up,” Lin Yun chuckled, handing her 100,000 spirit crystals.
“Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp!”
Little White’s eyes lit up at the pile, thrilled, and she dug in.
“Slow down, no one’s nicking it,” Lin Yun laughed.
She polished off the heap quick, stretched lazily—ready for another snooze.
“Off you go, sleep,” Lin Yun waved.
“Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp!” Little White chirped encouragement—keep going!
After all this time, Lin Yun got her gist, and she understood him, knowing his training had hit snags.
“I’ll keep at it, go on,” he said.
He sent her back to the gourd, then returned to the tower.
Feeding Little White had lifted his mood, reset his thinking.
“Wait, I could carve different parts with different mysteries—no need to fuse them all!” His eyes sparked.
He’d been stuck on fusion, boxing himself in.
With that, he decided to test it!
Five months of flops had taught him how each mystery played in carving.
For a human statue, he’d use Water Mystery for the eyes, Wind Mystery for the cloak, Fire Mystery for the body, Thunder Mystery for the nose and hands.
No fusion—just solo use!
Knife danced, scraps fell.
Twenty minutes later, he stopped.
A statue with a lively vibe stood before him.
Its eyes shimmered, captivating.
“It works!” Lin Yun grinned ear to ear.
His Fire Carving Flow had evolved!
“Keep going!”
Eager, he grabbed fresh stone, refining this method.
Now, he’d hammer out which mystery fit each part best, perfecting his new technique!
Three months later.
He set down his knife.
Another statue—no, an artwork, a masterpiece!
Three months of tweaking, and his new carving style took shape.
His skill hit a new peak.
And his soul-sense? It soared.
“Divine ninth-rank soul-sense, not far from super-divine,” he smiled.
Just as he finished, his soul-sense ticked up to divine ninth-rank.
He was chuffed—not just for the soul-sense, but for breaking new ground in carving!
“This retreat’s been twelve months in here, over two outside, not far from three,” he murmured.
The tower’s time dilation was his ace.
Without it, three months outside would’ve just bumped his Body Refining—none of this.
“I’ve got two more months in here, let’s push soul-sense to super-divine first-rank!”
Set on it, he dove back in.
Zhu Clan sourced his carving stones—plenty to spare.
…
Meanwhile.
Mo Clan estate.
“Father, still no shot, he’s holed up in Zhu Clan, not stepping out, we can’t touch him,” Mo Yangrong griped.
Last time, Lin Yun nabbed him, fleeced Mo—he burned for payback.
They’d plotted poison or assassination—Soul-Devouring Toxin, Curse Poison, Witch Venom—stuff that’d drop even top cultivators.
But Lin Yun stayed put in Zhu Clan—no chance.
“Heard he’s in the Martial Exam, probably training for it, if he takes first and heads to the capital for the national round, we’re out of moves,” Clan Leader Mo’s gaze darkened.
They knew a Dongyuan win sent him to the empire as a prefecture champ.
The empire recruited those—no way they’d dare kill him after that.
Slaying a champ? The empire would notice one missing, investigate—consequences they couldn’t handle.
“Father, we’ve got to stop him winning, no prefecture title, no capital trip, then we’ve got him!” Mo Yangrong said.
“I’ve got a plan, no matter how tough he is, he won’t snag this prefecture crown easy!” Clan Leader Mo smirked coldly.
