# Chapter 1: Stone Sculpture Work (Part 1)
The spring sunlight was warm and comfortable, and the youths of Dormitory 1987 were gathered in the courtyard.
Yale, George, and Reno were all chatting amongst themselves. Yale and George were now sixteen years old, while Reno was fourteen. The three had grown rapidly in height as well. Even the shortest, George, was over 1.6 meters tall, while the tallest, Yale, was an astonishing 1.9 meters.
"George, don't try to fool us. Even the youngest has lost his virginity, and you and the third brother are still pretending? How about this—at the end of the month, you and the third brother go to 'Jade Water Paradise' in Fenlai City. I'll cover the expenses. I guarantee you'll be comfortable, and I also guarantee the girl will be a virgin. How about it?" Yale said, holding two small stone dumbbells as he exercised his chest muscles, a playful grin on his face.
These two small stone dumbbells probably weighed twenty or thirty jin each. Normally, Linley wouldn't even glance at them.
George smiled and said, "Big brother Yale, don't force me. You go to Jade Water Paradise, and the third brother and I will drink outside. Isn't that fine?"
Reno curled his lips and added, "George, you're not even a man."
George could only smile bitterly.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded from outside the courtyard. Yale put down the two small stone dumbbells and looked toward the courtyard entrance, saying, "It must be the third brother. Come on, let's get ready to eat—" Halfway through his sentence, Yale's words came to an abrupt halt.
They saw Linley carrying a massive boulder on his shoulder. The stone was a full meter tall and definitely weighed several hundred jin.
Yet Linley appeared relaxed as he carried the boulder into the courtyard. Yale, George, and Reno stood dumbfounded. Linley casually placed the several-hundred-jin boulder in a corner of the courtyard. The heavy thud of the stone hitting the ground made the three of them flinch.
"What the hell is this? Third brother, I know you're strong, but how can you be this strong?" Yale stared at the boulder. "Is this thing hollow?" As he spoke, Yale walked over, wrapped his arms around the boulder, and tried to lift it.
"Hmph!"
Yale strained with all his might, his face turning red, but the massive stone didn't budge an inch, as if it had taken root.
"Big brother Yale, don't waste your strength. You can't move it," Linley said with a smile.
Yale's physical strength wasn't even at the level of a first-tier warrior. How could he possibly move it?
Reno's eyes widened as he looked at the boulder. He let out a few exclamations of wonder, then turned to Linley and asked curiously, "Hey, Linley, why did you bring such a big rock to the dormitory? Ah, I know!" Reno's eyes lit up. "I've seen powerful warriors use huge boulders for weightlifting to train their bodies. Are you planning to do weightlifting too, Linley?"
"A stone this big could crush me into a meat patty," George said, looking at the boulder and exclaiming in amazement. Then he looked at Linley with confusion. "Third brother, what exactly are you going to do with this big rock in the dormitory?"
Linley smiled at his three good brothers and uttered two words: "Stone sculpture!"
According to Doehring Cowart, Linley's stone sculpture work had already entered the halls of mastery. Carving a stone sculpture took a long time—usually one or two days wasn't enough. In the past, he could casually leave his works on the back mountain without caring if they got damaged, but now things were different.
"Stone sculpture?"
Yale, Reno, and George all stared at Linley in surprise.
"What, surprised?" Linley looked at his three brothers.
Reno quickly said, "Not just surprised—extremely surprised. We've been brothers for six or seven years now, but we've never seen you carve anything. Are you planning to start learning stone sculpture from today?"
Linley smiled. "Who said I'm starting to learn today? I've been practicing carving on the back mountain for over five years. And this time, after I finish this piece, I plan to send it to the Proulx Guild Hall for exhibition and see if I can sell it for some money."
To raise enough gold coins to send his younger brother Wharton and the steward Hiri to study in the O'Brien Empire, the Baruch family's wealth had been nearly drained.
But even so, Hogg was overjoyed.
So what if the family was drained? His eldest son, Linley, was a student at Ernst Academy and would surely become a revered great magician after graduation. And his younger son, Wharton, had the potential to become a Dragonblood Warrior.
Hogg could foresee the future glory of his Baruch family!
"The Proulx Guild Hall?" Yale and the others looked at Linley in surprise.
Linley was the pride of their Dormitory 1987. At just fifteen years old, he had entered the fifth grade of Ernst Academy and was jointly known with Dixie as the "Two Peerless Geniuses of Ernst Academy." Yale and the others acknowledged Linley was a genius, but...
Stone sculpture was an extremely profound art.
Many people studied stone carving for decades and could only be considered ordinary craftsmen. As one of the most long-standing artistic traditions, was it so easy to master? And Linley actually dared to think he could get his work exhibited at the highest hall of stone sculpture, the Proulx Guild Hall.
"Third brother, don't let your head get too hot," George joked, trying to comfort him.
"Linley, I'm worried... will anyone actually buy your work?" Reno frowned, his tone full of disbelief.
Yale laughed heartily and said, "What kind of talk is that? Third brother, just go ahead and exhibit. If it's your work, I'll pay ten thousand gold coins to buy it and support you."
"I'm serious," Linley said, taking a flat chisel from his bosom.
"A flat chisel?" Reno exclaimed in surprise. "It looks like you're well-prepared, Linley. I once thought about learning stone carving too. There are many tools for stone carving—flat chisels, round chisels, triangular chisels, jade bowl chisels, axes, and so on. Are you only going to use this one tool?"
Whether it was Reno, Yale, or George, they all had a general understanding of various arts.
Linley didn't say much.
Holding the flat chisel, Linley naturally entered a state of calm and tranquility. He could feel the flow of elemental energy within the massive stone before him. He could vaguely sense the stone's internal veins. Smiling, he immediately swung the chisel.
The blade flashed like a shadow, and the reflected sunlight made Reno and the others squint involuntarily, but they still kept their eyes fixed on the boulder.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
The blade's shadow moved swiftly and gracefully, repeatedly cutting at the same spot. A large chunk of stone debris flew up into the air.
"How is that possible?" Yale stared in shock at the scene. "A piece of debris this big should be chopped off with an axe, yet he cut it off with just a flat chisel. How astonishing must his wrist strength be?" Beside him, Reno and George were completely silent.
Wrist strength?
To achieve the same effortless grace as Linley, with such smooth and natural cuts, required more than just strong wrists.
Linley was as calm as still lake water. The flat chisel in his hand seemed like an extension of his right hand. The chisel moved rapidly, continuously cutting at various parts of the boulder, sending stone debris flying. The natural, flowing grace of Linley's carving was a pleasure to watch.
"Third brother, he..."
Yale, George, and Reno exchanged glances. At this moment, they had a feeling that Linley might truly be a master of stone carving.
Calm, natural, peaceful.
Linley thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of carving. At his current level, he didn't need to think about how much force to apply to any part of the stone. The flat chisel in his hand would naturally achieve perfection. It was instinctive.
Compared to the "Flat Chisel School,"
other schools of stone carving couldn't enjoy this kind of experience. Masters of other schools had to constantly switch between different tools for different parts of the carving, which required a lot of mental effort.
In this state of harmony with nature, Linley's spiritual energy grew rapidly, like grass bathed in spring rain. The feeling of natural growth was exquisite to the extreme—a deep, inner comfort.
Linley's right hand suddenly stopped.
Stone debris flew through the air before finally settling to the ground. The boulder now had the rough embryonic form of a crawling creature.
"What are you three standing there dumbfounded for? Stunned?" Linley turned to look at Yale and the others with a smile. "This is just the roughest preliminary shape. The real work will take much longer. Come on, let's go eat lunch first."
Yale, Reno, and George exchanged glances.
Just from the skill Linley had displayed, they were certain—
"A master," Yale said admiringly.
"A genius," Reno exclaimed in awe.
"A genius among masters," George added.
Even among those who studied stone carving, reaching Linley's level within five or six years was something rarely seen even once in a century.