Rein, George, and Yeru stared dumbfounded at the stone sculpture, completely overwhelmed by it. To their eyes, the five figures in the sculpture seemed to possess souls—
The leftmost figure radiated a kind of delicate, fragile beauty that was deeply endearing.
The second figure exuded a lively, adorable charm that made one's heart flutter.
The third figure looked like a shy girl blushing right before them.
Each of the five figures in the sculpture possessed its own distinct spirit.
Lin Lei gazed at the sculpture, feeling as though he were in a dream. These five graceful silhouettes were memories from his dreams, and now the dream had awakened.
"Lin Lei." Derinkoort walked over, his moonlight-white robe still spotlessly clean.
Lin Lei looked at Derinkoort.
A hint of satisfaction crossed Derinkoort's face. "Your stone carving skill has reached the level of a master. This piece of yours can absolutely be considered a representative work of our Flat Knife School of carving. After this, I imagine your understanding of stone carving has deepened considerably."
Lin Lei nodded slightly.
Only after truly completing such a piece did Lin Lei understand why master carvers throughout history left behind only one or two works for the ages. It wasn't that those masters lacked ability—it was that works truly deserving of the title "masterpiece" were serendipitous things, impossible to force.
For instance, Lin Lei had managed to complete the sculpture "Awakening," but if someone asked him to carve another piece of equal caliber, that would be asking too much.
The birth of a true "masterpiece" required exquisite skill, brilliant inspiration, and unrestrained passion. Only with absolute passion—pouring in one hundred percent of one's feelings without reservation—could one create a work that truly moved people's hearts.
Lin Lei had now completed the sculpture "Awakening," but when he might carve another work to rival it, he had no idea.
However—
After ten days and nights of devoted carving, Lin Lei's mind had firmly committed that sublime state to memory. In terms of carving mastery, he had genuinely advanced. If Lin Lei were to carve another piece now, while it might not match "Awakening," it would still be far superior to sculptures worth five or six thousand gold coins.
"Lin Lei, have you noticed the change in your mental power?" Derinkoort said with a得意 grin.
Lin Lei was startled.
Mental power?
His mental power was now surging far more vast than before, its intensity many times greater than it had been. If ten days ago Lin Lei's mental power had been a small tree, then now it was a magnificent, sky-reaching tree in full bloom.
"How did it increase so much?" Lin Lei was stunned.
Derinkoort's grin widened, his white beard bristling upward. "Tenfold! Your mental power has undergone a terrifying boost in a mere ten days, jumping to ten times what it was! In ten short days, you've covered ground that would take others decades of cultivation. Your mental power has leapt directly from the early sixth-level mage stage to the seventh-level mage stage."
Lin Lei found it hard to believe as well.
The increase was almost too much—tenfold!
"The results are impressive, aren't they? Hmph, the Flat Knife School of carving that I, Derinkoort, founded—the results are beyond question. But... I really do envy you." Derinkoort's eyes narrowed into a smile. "Lin Lei, you should know that the state of immersing yourself completely in emotion, achieving perfect harmony between soul and nature, is extraordinarily rare. Incredibly rare."
Lin Lei nodded in agreement.
If that state were easy to enter, "masterpieces" wouldn't be so uncommon.
"In my lifetime of nearly thirteen hundred years, I've entered that state only three times, completing the three works I'm most proud of." A flash of pride crossed Derinkoort's face, but then he added, "But the time I spent carving those three works was two days, four days, and three days respectively. That adds up to only nine days in total—less than your single session."
Lin Lei had just heard Derinkoort mention that he had spent a full ten days and nights carving.
"That state is the one in which the Flat Knife School of carving increases mental power most rapidly. While maintaining it, the amplification could exceed a thousandfold that of a normal person! That state is what we dream of achieving. The longer you sustain it, the greater the benefits, so the larger the sculpture you carve, the more you gain."
Lin Lei inwardly agreed.
The sculpture "Awakening" was a massive piece—carving five full figures was a remarkably large undertaking.
Derinkoort sighed deeply. "But when inspiration and passion come, the model already exists in your mind. There's no choice in the matter."
Lin Lei understood this too.
It was like when he had seen that enormous boulder and its patterns, and combined with his own emotions, five figures had simply materialized in his mind. When that passion arrived, the world disappeared, the self disappeared—there was only the sculpture!
All his spirit, all his emotion, poured into the carving.
In that state, there was no spare mental energy to think, "I want to carve a massive sculpture." Distracting oneself was simply impossible—the moment you did, the state would shatter.
"Lin Lei, tell me—what did you name this piece?" Derinkoort asked.
"Awakening," Lin Lei replied.
Derinkoort savored the word for a moment, then nodded. "Good. A fine name."
The rare heavy snowfall had long since stopped. The world between heaven and earth was blanketed in white, and the entire back hill was covered in a thick layer of snow deep enough to reach one's knees. Such heavy snow was quite uncommon. After the snow, the temperature had plummeted.
In this frigid weather, Yeru, George, and Rein had simply pitched a tent nearby. Yeru had sent servants to bring food, and they stood guard over Lin Lei like this.
At this moment, all three of them were marveling at Lin Lei's creation.
"Boss Yeru, Third Brother's already finished carving—so why is he still standing in front of the sculpture?" Rein said with some worry. They had no idea that Lin Lei was communicating with Derinkoort through a soul link; since Derinkoort existed as a spirit, they couldn't see him.
Yeru shook his head slightly. "I don't know either. But Third Brother's piece is absolutely on par with the works of Master Pruxus."
At the very least, in Yeru's eyes, Lin Lei's creation was something that shook the soul.