novelraw Chapter 316: Consecutive Elites, [Shared Cultivation] Evolves
Chapter 316: Consecutive Elites, [Shared Cultivation] Evolves
Lin Mo opened his eyes, stood up, and walked out of the room.
Lena had already finished class and come back, sitting quietly on the sofa reading, reviewing what she had learned today.
She was really working hard, and anyone could see that.
Lin Mo didn’t disturb her, but sat down beside her. After Lena finished a passage and noticed him, she smiled and greeted him. Only then did he take the pouch from the Ethereal Ring and hand it to her, “Lena, this is a gift for you.”
Lena froze for a moment, opened the cloth bag, and her eyes lit up.
Of course she could recognize these seeds. She pressed her lips together, watery light shimmering in her eyes.
When she came back earlier and heard Eve and the others talking about today, and that they had all received the “gifts” Lin Mo had bought, she had forced a smile to congratulate them, but inside she still felt sad.
Eve had noticed Lena’s mood, but didn’t tell her directly.
Some things are more surprising when they come from the person themself.
“Thank you, thank you…”Lena sniffed, holding back tears at the corner of her eyes, and happily flung herself into Lin Mo’s arms.
Her small body was warm, trembling lightly against him.
Lin Mo stroked her back with tender affection, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.
“Sometimes you don’t have to put so much pressure on yourself. You work very hard, we all know it, we all see it…so there’s no need to panic. We still have a lot, a lot of time. I’d rather you live happily than be suffocated by pressure that doesn’t even exist.”
Lena stiffened for a moment, then the tears she could no longer hold back soaked the front of Lin Mo’s shirt.
“Waa…waaah…”
She cried loudly. That feeling of being understood and accepted was exactly what she had been yearning for.
Wasn’t it the same warmth Lin Mo had given her the first time they met?
That heart that drew her in, that warmth, had never changed.
“All right, all right, stop crying, everyone’s watching.”
Lin Mo ruffled her hair.
Noticing the glances from everyone, Lena felt a little embarrassed and stood up, head bowed, but still clutching Lin Mo’s shirt hem tightly.
“All right, enough staring, eat.”
Lin Mo nudged her on the butt, lifted Lena into his arms, and walked to the dining table.
There was plenty of time to prepare, so dinner was abundant. Flora, who had already taken her seat, watched the lively scene for a while, took a few bites, and then — on a whim — spoke up, “So, you bought gifts for all of them today?”
“Yeah.”
Lin Mo was busy eating and answered without thinking.
“What about my gift?”
Eve’s action froze.
She looked up at Flora. Flora wore casual clothes, her fiery red hair falling in front of her, a little messy but giving the mature big-sister a languid kind of charm.
What did she mean by that?
It was true Lin Mo had bought things for Finnie and the others, but that was because they were his girls.
After saying it, Flora realized the awkwardness in her words and cleared her throat, adding, “I mean, I’m at least half your mentor. You’re living in my place with your little girlfriends, shouldn’t you give me something?”
“You’re right.”
Lin Mo scratched his head. But he didn’t have anything good to give. After a moment’s thought, he took out the Flame Ring he had removed earlier from the Ethereal Ring.
“If you don’t mind, how about this? It’s not anything special, but it’s the thought that counts.”
“Heh~”
Flora laughed softly and took the ring from his hand. “You sure know how to pick. You even gave a ring. What, want your teacher to be your little companion too?”
That was indeed what he wanted.
Lin Mo didn’t say it aloud, only gave an ambiguous smile.
Flora didn’t push further because the looks from the girls around them had already shifted.
Anyone could tell the relationship between Eve, who had been visiting recently, and Lin Mo was abnormal — a fact Eve and the others had basically accepted.
But Flora, who was their mentor, hadn’t shown any clear sign before. Now a potential new rival had appeared, and she was powerful, naturally arousing caution.
Fortunately, the other party didn’t continue any “advance,” and the atmosphere soon eased.
When Flora left the table, she glanced at Lin Mo with a teasing look, the meaning behind it intriguing.
Lin Mo rubbed his eyebrows. Flora’s warm, ambiguous big-sister vibe was completely different from Eve or the initial impression Eve gave.
Combined with that subtle, hard-to-read flirtation, it made his heart race and left him feeling emotionally toyed with.
Night fell, lights bright.
Lin Mo didn’t rush to shower; instead he meditated for a bit.
Mage meditation is like a warrior’s training, a very important way to improve oneself.
Although Lin Mo had faster, more convenient ways to raise attributes and strength, he couldn’t rely solely on the Proficiency Panel.
Having another method to grow stronger couldn’t hurt.
[Primary Meditation Technique] Lv5 (29/180)
As his level increased and meditation efficiency rose, the proficiency gain for [Primary Meditation Technique] noticeably accelerated.
Lin Mo opened his eyes and checked the time. It should be soon.
Sure enough, half a minute later, his door was pushed open.
Although everyone was familiar, generally people would still knock before entering his room, even the carefree Eve.
Only one person would enter directly.
That was Sherfilia.
After all, as a maid, she was often responsible for waking Lin Mo up and tidying his room in the morning.
Sometimes Lin Mo hadn’t woken yet. Knocking to wake him would be boring.
There were many more interesting ways to be woken.
“Please come to the bathroom, Master.”
Sherfilia looked up at him, expression calm, but Lin Mo could tell she was in a good mood today.
Probably something to do with Shirleyas…
The two did share some distant ties; both served the Orsivis household, and rivalry among maids was normal.
Lin Mo walked into the bathroom, and Sherfilia stepped forward to help him undress...
In the blink of an eye, another two days passed.
During these two days Lin Mo hadn’t gone out and mostly stayed home.
Eve still came by often to practice with Ellie and the others, but usually only stayed half a day, spending the other half training on her own.
She worked very hard, but as was always the case, even the most diligent person couldn’t beat someone with a cheat.
She could clearly feel the growing gap between herself and Ellie and Sherfilia, which left her frustrated and often thinking back to the “truth” they had told her.
Clearly, it wasn’t a lie or comforting talk, but reality.
Although it was still hard to believe that such special abilities could exist in this world, Eve admitted she felt envious of this quick and easy way to gain strength — even very envious.
So when Lin Mo appeared in the living room, her gaze would sometimes fall on him, and she would recall the events in that secret realm, occasionally imagining what might happen in the future…
But Eve didn’t jump to conclusions the way Ellie had at first; her thoughts remained at the level of imagination.
Meanwhile she witnessed Ellie and Sherfilia, and Finnie, cross the Elite Level threshold in just a few days, moving from level 10 to level 11.
Besides that, each of them learned skills from Lin Mo.
By now they had quite a few skills.
Lin Mo had gained as well. Although he couldn’t directly take attribute gains from them, the skills Ellie and the others learned from him — some of which he himself hadn’t maxed — increased his proficiency through exchange.
Moreover, the proficiency of the [Shared Cultivation] skill rose significantly. Last night it successfully leveled up to 6, which is the max level.
“Skill [Shared Cultivation] Lv5 (180/180) upgraded!”
“Current skill [Shared Cultivation] Lv6 (Max)”
“Gained base attribute point Constitution +3!”
“Automatically evolved into a new skill — Dual Cultivation!”
“Comprehended skill [Dual Cultivation]! Gained base attribute point Constitution +3!”
[Dual Cultivation] Lv1 (0/10): Through deep exchange, resonance between qi and blood or mana occurs, increasing mutual affinity and providing a random corresponding attribute bonus (i.e., qi and blood exchange randomly boosts Strength, Constitution, or Agility; mana exchange randomly boosts Mana or Spirit). During Dual Cultivation there is a medium chance to simultaneously acquire the other party’s corresponding profession skill (directly obtained, limited to Exceptional-Grade and below). If both parties share a skill, there is a chance to increase proficiency for that skill during Dual Cultivation! After repeated Dual Cultivations, both parties will be able to sense each other’s position and status. After large amounts of Dual Cultivation, the ability “Love’s Arrival” will unlock, teleporting to the target’s side while ignoring spatial seals!
Compared to the old [Shared Cultivation], the chance to obtain skills rose from “small” to “medium,” and previously only skills below Excellent-Grade could be acquired; now Exceptional-Grade skills can be obtained.
But the most important part is the newly added function.
Repeated Dual Cultivation allows sensing position and status; massive Dual Cultivation can even directly teleport, and it ignores spatial seals!
This means that even if Lin Mo entered some secret realm and encountered danger or couldn’t find an exit for a long time, he could directly teleport back to Ellie and the others through this function.
After unlocking this function, he could enter secret realm explorations without worry, boldly and confidently.
This was great, really great…
Lin Mo smiled broadly, though he wondered how many times “massive” actually meant.
He’d slowly experiment later.
Lin Mo scratched the big tail draped over him, poked his ears that tickled his neck, and called Ellie up.
“Wake up, little lazy wolf. Today’s important.”
“Mm~”
Ellie responded but clearly had no intention of getting up. She snuggled deeper into his arms, little hands clawing around.
Lin Mo caught the mischievous little hand. Although he wanted to try the new skill, today was for real.
They were leaving for the Violet Empire this afternoon to attend the Academy Grand Competition. This morning they had to use the “Ice Mist Flower” they obtained in the secret realm on Ellie.
She had now broken through to Elite Level, and with Lin Mo’s help, should be able to handle the flower’s medicinal effect.
In the end, Lin Mo had to tug Ellie off with some effort, grabbed her tail and put her on the floor. After sitting for half a minute, she sulked and slowly changed clothes.
Lately this little wolf seemed more spoiled than before, when she had been different.
After breakfast, in Flora’s courtyard, Lin Mo had Ellie sit in the center and took out the Ice Mist Flower.
In an instant a biting cold spread out. Lena in the living room sneezed and shivered all over.
Lin Mo asked everyone to keep their distance, but curiosity is human nature, so a few of them huddled together watching with intrigued faces.
No problem though. After Flora, who hadn’t gone out today, joined, she casually waved and formed a fire elemental magic barrier to block the chill.
Lin Mo had already told Ellie about the Ice Mist Flower, so she looked solemn, both expectant and nervous, staring at the flower.
“Start.”
Ellie took the flower from Lin Mo’s hand. The instant she touched it, ice formed on her palm and rapidly spread up her arm, threatening to freeze her shoulder and even body.
Before that could happen, Ellie swallowed the flower whole.
In an instant her face went pale, frost gathered in her hair.
Lin Mo tried to touch her; she was frighteningly cold.
Soon, fur started to grow on Ellie’s body…
Previously some of her Ice Wolf Clan bloodline had already awakened. When the cold invaded her body, that dormant bloodline instantly flared up to resist it.
Lin Mo carefully probed with his mana.
During the struggle, the power from the Ice Mist Flower was clearly being slowly absorbed by Ellie’s bloodline.
Because her bloodline had partially awakened beforehand, the process went relatively smoothly. The ice wolf bloodline kept strengthening, and Ellie’s aura grew more powerful…
But her condition looked worse.
That was exactly what Lin Mo intended.
He held Ellie’s freezing wrist, channeled mana to resonate with the fire elemental, and controlled that warm magic, cautiously moving it over Ellie’s body surface.
He couldn’t let the fire element interfere with Ellie’s absorption of the Ice Mist Flower, but if he allowed the process to continue unchecked, Ellie might freeze solid and die from the clash of two cold forces.
So he had to use the fire element to maintain Ellie’s vital signs and wait for the absorption to finish.
This was clearly not an easy task. It required extremely strong control over magic and elements — something even Flora couldn’t do.
If anyone at the academy could, it would be Elvish, the vice president who had walked into the Transcendent Level years ago.
However, Lin Mo himself could do it as well, so there was no need to trouble him.
After all, this required relatively close contact.
Ellie’s bloodline revival continued, and the observers at the far end of the living room, including Eve who had just joined, watched tensely…