Chapter 25: Six Years
The stream gurgled as it flowed. Linley sat cross-legged, holding a flat knife and a palm-sized stone in his hands.
"Start from the basics. Use this small stone to practice..."
On the back mountain of the Ernst Institute, Linley was alone, beginning his study of sculpture under the guidance of Doehring Cowart. As his understanding of sculpture itself grew clearer, Linley also came to realize why the 'Flat Knife' school could enhance spiritual energy in its mid-to-late stages.
Others, when sculpting, needed to use a large array of tools.
Simply switching between different tools for different parts required a great deal of thought and effort, naturally draining both mind and body. Every good piece that emerged was the result of painstaking labor.
The Flat Knife school was different.
The only tool was a single flat knife. There was no need to think about changing tools. Of course, using only one tool made things much more difficult. For example, parts that could be carved with a jade bowl knife would require an almost impossibly precise understanding of the stone's texture when using a flat knife.
Then there was strength.
Large waste pieces needed to be split with an axe. If using only a flat knife, sufficient strength was required.
Mastery of the stone could be sensed through the unique abilities of an earth-element mage. Wrist strength, however, needed training. Linley was already a second-rank mage, and his wrist strength was decent. But it was only enough for small works. For larger pieces, his wrist strength was still insufficient.
But...
For now, Linley was just building a foundation.
******
When the school year ended, Linley returned to Wushan Town.
After the New Year, little Wharton spent only a few days with his brother Linley before leaving for the O'Brien Empire under the care of Steward Hiri. Linley could only watch reluctantly as little Wharton departed. The six-year-old Wharton, crying uncontrollably, parted ways with the ten-year-old Linley.
Time flowed on.
At the Ernst Institute, Linley remained as solitary as ever, spending the vast majority of each day training hard on the back mountain.
As he entered adolescence, Linley's appetite surged, his height shot up, and his physical fitness and strength advanced by leaps and bounds. In the art of stone sculpture, with Doehring Cowart's guidance and his own efforts, he made progress time and again.
...
Spring passed, autumn arrived. Flowers bloomed and withered. In the blink of an eye, three years had gone by.
At a certain waterfall on the back mountain of the Ernst Institute.
"Rumble~~~" The waterfall cascaded down like a curtain of water, crashing into the deep pool below.
Beside the waterfall, Linley held a flat knife nearly thirty centimeters long, carving continuously on a half-human-height stone. The flat knife moved so fast it became a blur. Where the knife passed, stone debris flew off in all directions. The rough shape of the sculpture gradually began to take form.
From morning to evening, the sculpture grew clearer and clearer.
Linley's gaze was completely fixed on the sculpture. At that moment, he seemed to be immersed in nature itself, his heart attuned to the interior of the stone. This wondrous feeling made Linley completely unaware of the passage of time. This state of being fully in tune with nature actually caused his spiritual energy to recover and even grow, brimming with vitality.
Linley himself was unaware of this. He continued to wield the flat knife as if it were an extension of his own arm.
The constant chipping away of stone debris made the sculpture's features more and more prominent. When the sun set, Linley's flat knife finally stopped.
"Whoosh!"
Linley let out a light breath. Stone dust flew into the air, and the entire sculpture was revealed. A rat nearly half a meter long stood vividly before Linley. At first glance, one might think it was a real rat. This caused the little shadow mouse 'Bebe' to squeak noisily from the side.
From start to finish, it was completed in one go!
"What a wonderful feeling." Only then did Linley realize that his spiritual energy had increased by a significant margin.
Doehring Cowart, dressed in a moon-white robe, was smiling approvingly from the side. "Linley, from today onward, you can barely be considered to have entered the gate. You felt that wonderful sensation, didn't you? But your work only captures the form. It could only be placed in the ordinary exhibition hall of the Prux Clubhouse. If you put it out there, it would embarrass me. Destroy it."
"Yes, Grandpa Doehring."
Linley's flat knife flashed several times in succession, and the completed sculpture was cut into a dozen pieces. That year, Linley had finally entered the gate of stone sculpture artistry.
And that year, Linley was thirteen years old!
Day after day, year after year.
Once he had entered the gate of stone sculpture, Linley's spiritual energy progressed much faster. To be precise, Linley reached the second rank at nine and a half, became a third-rank mage at eleven, and became a fourth-rank mage at thirteen!
The higher the mage rank, the more difficult the progression. Logically, going from fourth-rank to fifth-rank should have taken Linley at least three years.
But the reality was—
In the autumn of Yulan Calendar 9996, when Linley was fourteen and a half, he reached the fifth rank. From fourth-rank to fifth-rank, it took only a year and a half—even shorter than the time from third-rank to fourth-rank.
This was the effect of the Flat Knife school of sculpture!
...
In the spring of Yulan Calendar 9997, this was Linley's seventh year at the Ernst Institute. That year, Linley was fifteen years old.
Dressed in a sky-blue robe, Linley walked along the paths of the Ernst Institute. On his shoulder stood the adorable little shadow mouse 'Bebe.' Even after six or seven years, Bebe's size hadn't changed at all.
Now, Linley stood a full one meter eighty tall. He naturally exuded a calm, steady aura. The constant refinement of his body by earth and wind elements, combined with his uninterrupted training and the unique advantages of his Dragonblood Warrior lineage, had given Linley the strength of a fourth-rank warrior.
He could easily lift boulders weighing hundreds of jin and shatter rocks with a single punch.
The study of the Flat Knife school had also caused Linley's spiritual energy to continuously improve since he was thirteen.
At the beginning of Yulan Calendar 9997, Linley entered the fifth year of the Ernst Institute, the same grade as the institute's top genius, 'Dixie.' Dixie had taken three years to go from fourth-rank to fifth-rank, but the hurdle from fifth-rank to sixth-rank had always eluded him.
Fifteen years old, fifth-rank mage!
Linley and Dixie could indeed be called monstrous talents. However, in the minds of most people, Linley was even more monstrous. After all, judging solely by the institute's test results, Linley seemed to have gone from fourth-rank to fifth-rank in just one year.
Linley's astonishing rate of progress amazed everyone.
Linley and Dixie were jointly recognized by the entire institute as the 'Two Peerless Geniuses of the Ernst Institute.'
"Look, it's Linley. Two years ago he reached fourth-rank, and last year he reached fifth-rank—just one year! That's incredible. I bet Linley will reach sixth-rank before Dixie does."
"Linley trains hard on the back mountain every day. I heard Dixie has also started training on the back mountain recently. He's probably influenced by Linley."
"Very likely. With Linley's terrifying rate of progress, he might even surpass Dixie and become the top genius of our Ernst Institute."
...
Many people on the path saw Linley and began whispering among themselves. The two recognized geniuses of the Ernst Institute were always surrounded by onlookers and gossip wherever they went. But even with his formidable strength, Linley still refused to participate in any grade-level arena competitions.
"Genius?" Linley smiled wryly to himself.
Linley never considered himself a genius. His strength came from nearly uninterrupted hard training every day, six years of persistence at the institute, and Grandpa Doehring's meticulous guidance. That was how he had achieved his current level.
"But my strength still can't match Bebe's." Linley glanced at Bebe beside him. "Bebe, what rank have you reached now?"
"Squeak squeak~~~" Bebe grinned at Linley and communicated through their soul link, "I don't know. I haven't fought other magical beasts. Anyway, you're no match for me, hehe~~" Bebe was quite pleased with himself.
Completely indifferent to the admiring gazes and chatter around him, Linley calmly walked out of the Ernst Institute's back gate and entered the back mountain, resuming his training as usual. Six years of unwavering effort—this was the reason for Linley's success.
Linley moved swiftly and gracefully through the forest. The little shadow mouse 'Bebe' followed him, chattering through their soul link. "Boss Lin, when are we going to do the Magical Beast Forest trial? You've reached fifth-rank now, so you can start the trial. I, Bebe, can finally show off my skills!"
"No rush." Linley's reply was brief.
"How disappointing. I'm a magical beast, but I've never once been to the Magical Beast Forest. How tragic." After six years, Bebe's ability to express himself had grown much stronger.
"Quiet. If you keep making noise, I won't roast meat for you today." As soon as Linley said this, Bebe immediately shut up.
As Linley moved through the forest, Doehring Cowart floated gracefully beside him, watching Linley with a gratified expression.
"Linley." Doehring Cowart suddenly spoke.
Linley turned his head, smiled at Doehring Cowart, and communicated through their soul link, "Grandpa Doehring, is something the matter?"
Doehring Cowart smiled and said, "Based on your recent works, I can officially tell you that your stone sculpture artistry has now entered the hall."
Linley's eyes lit up.
This Grandpa Doehring of his had a peculiar habit: any sculpture that didn't meet the standard had to be destroyed even after completion. As Doehring Cowart put it, "Leaving such works in the world would disgrace our Flat Knife school and disgrace me, a dignified Saint-level Grand Magus."
Because of this, Linley had to destroy many works that could have been sold for money.
"Entered the hall? Grandpa Doehring, do you mean..." Linley looked at Doehring Cowart with surprise.
Doehring Cowart nodded approvingly and said, "Yes. From today onward, your stone sculptures don't need to be destroyed after completion. They are worthy of being preserved. Of course, you can also send your works to the Prux Clubhouse to be sold, to spread the reputation of our Flat Knife school and earn some gold coins on the side."