Swallowing the Stars: Starting with Panlong

Chapter 12: College Life

My days at Ernst College were fulfilling and peaceful.

Lin Yun's life was divided into precise fragments—mornings spent meditating to refine magical power, days spent attending classes in various departments, evenings spent learning earth magic from Delin, nights spent exchanging insights on wind magic with Lin Lei, and late nights spent using his mental powers to deduce what he had learned during the day in the Swallowed Star world. Every day was fully scheduled, with not a single moment wasted.

Such a pace would have driven an ordinary person to the brink of collapse, but Lin Yun persevered and even enjoyed it.

Less than six months after enrolling, his hard work paid off.

It was an ordinary morning. Lin Yun was meditating in the back mountain as usual. The seven magical elements flowed into his body like rivers flowing into the sea. Under the guidance of his mental power, they were refined into pure magical power. Suddenly, he felt a qualitative leap in the magical power within his body, as if an invisible bottleneck had been broken. The total amount and purity of his magical power had jumped to a new level.

Level 5.

From the time he began practicing magic until now, it has only been a little over two years. He has grown from a child who knew nothing about magic into a fifth-level mage. Such speed is astonishing in the entire history of the Yulan Continent.

Delin floated out of the Panlong Ring, sensing the magical fluctuations on Lin Yun's body, and remained silent for a long time.

"Level five." His voice was a little hoarse. "And it's level five in the seventh element."

Lin Lei also sensed the fluctuation and emerged from his meditation, his face filled with surprise: "Lin Yun, you've broken through?"

Lin Yun opened his eyes, a flash of seven-colored light appearing briefly within them, and nodded.

"That's fantastic!" Linley exclaimed excitedly, patting his shoulder. "You're only nine and a half, and you're already a level five mage! No one in the entire history of Ernst Academy has ever achieved that fast!"

Lin Yun smiled but didn't say anything more. He knew that level five was just the beginning. The road ahead was long: level six, level seven, level eight, level nine, and then the Holy Domain… Each step required even more effort.

"Lin Yun, your mental strength growth has started to slow down." One evening, Delin relayed this message to Lin Lei. "It's not that your talent is insufficient, but rather that your cultivation method has encountered a bottleneck. There is a limit to the growth of mental strength that can be achieved solely through meditation. You need a new method to hone your mental strength."

"What method?" Lin Yun asked.

"Stone carving," Delin said. "To be precise, flat-blade style stone carving."

"Stone carving?" Linley was stunned. "Carving stone can increase mental power?"

"This is no ordinary stone carving." Delin's voice became serious. "It is my own unique technique—the Flat Blade Style Stone Carving. This technique is not just about carving, but also a method of cultivating spiritual power. During the carving process, you need to concentrate fully and integrate your spiritual power into every rise and fall of the blade. Over time, your spiritual power will become more solid and pure."

He paused, then continued, "When I was in the Puang Empire, I used this skill to raise my spiritual power to the peak of the Saint Realm. If you want to go further on the path of magic, stone carving is a required course."

Lin Lei and Lin Yun exchanged a glance, both seeing interest in each other's eyes.

"Then where should we learn?" Lin Lei asked.

"I will teach you," Delin said. "However, you will need to prepare your own carving tools and stones. There are many stones here on the back hill; go and find some stones of uniform texture."

"The core of the flat-blade style lies in 'flatness'," Delin's voice came through Linley. "The blade must be level with the stone surface, the pressure must be even, and your breathing must be synchronized with your movements. One cut, no more, no less, just right. You'll start with the simplest geometric shapes—cubes, spheres, cylinders. Only when you can carve a perfect cube can you move on to the next step."

Lin Lei picked up a carving knife and began to try carving on a stone.

"Pfft—" With one stroke, a crooked scratch appeared on the stone, some deep and some shallow, looking extremely ugly.

"No, the pressure is uneven," Delin criticized bluntly. "Try again."

Lin Lei gritted his teeth and continued practicing.

Lin Yun didn't rush to start. He first picked up the carving knife, felt the texture and weight of the handle, then closed his eyes and simulated the entire carving process in his mind. Although he hadn't studied stone carving in his previous life, his understanding of mechanics and geometry far surpassed that of ordinary people. Every face, every edge, and every corner of the cube was a precise mathematical model in his mind.

Then, he opened his eyes and began to make the incision.

A knife.

Stone chips flew everywhere, and a straight, evenly deep, and perfectly carved mark appeared on the stone surface.

Two cuts.

Three knives.

Four cuts.

In less than half an hour, a perfectly square cube with sharp edges and a smooth surface appeared in his hand. Every face was a perfect square, every edge was a straight line, and every corner was a precise ninety degrees.

Delin remained silent for a long time.

"You...you really never studied stone carving before?" His voice was full of disbelief.

"No," Lin Yun shook his head, "I just saw it clearly."

Delin was speechless.

Can you carve a perfect cube just by looking closely? What kind of monster is this?

Little did he know that Lin Yun manipulated objects daily with his mental power in the Swallowed Star world, achieving a level of precision in controlling his power that was already incredibly refined. Combined with his understanding of geometry from his previous life, carving a perfect cube was not a difficult task for him.

"Keep practicing." Delin suppressed his shock. "The cube is just the beginning. Next is the sphere, the cylinder, the polyhedron... We'll learn the next step when we can carve all the basic shapes perfectly."

Lin Yun nodded and continued practicing.

In the days that followed, stone carving became a daily routine for the two brothers.

Lin Lei's progress, while not as dramatic as Lin Yun's, was still remarkably rapid. He was quick to learn, and with Delin's meticulous guidance, he soon mastered the basic techniques of the flat-blade style. A month later, he could carve respectable cubes and spheres; three months later, he was able to sculpt simple animal and plant shapes.

Lin Yun's progress repeatedly shocked Delin.

His control over his strength was incredibly precise; every cut was perfectly timed, never wasting a single ounce of energy. His understanding of form was profound; no matter how complex the shape, he could accurately recreate it in his mind. His mental energy was constantly refined during the carving process, becoming more solid and pure, and its integration with magical power became even closer.

More importantly, the increase in spiritual power brought about by the stone carving, combined with the resonance effect of dual-realm cultivation, produced an amazing effect.

After learning stone carving, Lin Yun's cultivation speed increased to a new level.

Every day, his mental strength increased at a visible rate; with each carving, his magical power became more solid; and with each lesson, his understanding of the elements became more profound.

At the age of eleven, he broke through to become a level six mage.

But Lin Yun was not satisfied.

He knew that a level six mage was nothing special in this world; above level nine were the Saints, and above the Saints were the Gods. His enemies were the Holy See of Light, the powerful figures standing at the pinnacle of the world; level six was far from enough.

At the age of twelve and a half, he finally reached the peak of a sixth-level mage, just one step away from the seventh level.

"It's just a matter of finding the right opportunity," Delin said. "Maybe it's a battle, maybe it's an epiphany; it can't be rushed."

Lin Yun nodded, without being impatient. He knew that some things needed time to settle.

His progress as a soldier was equally remarkable.

He never stopped practicing the Qi Gathering Technique, relentlessly practicing it every morning without fail. His basic swordsmanship had reached a level of perfection; he could execute the twelve techniques taught by Hillman with his eyes closed, flawlessly. In addition, the magical benefits to his body—especially the long-term enhancement from the earth magic "Earth Guardian Armor" and the wind magic "Windwalking"—made his physical attributes far surpass those of warriors of the same level.

By the age of twelve, his warrior strength had already reached level four.

In the military, this achievement would be considered equivalent to that of a squad leader. But Lin Yun knew that this was far from enough. In the world of Swallowed Star, the level of a fourth-level warrior was roughly equivalent to the level of a fourth-tier apprentice (a junior warrior), which was just the beginning.

Overshadowed by his younger brother's brilliance, Lin Lei never stopped striving to catch up.

Lin Yun's progress was astonishing, so astonishing that everyone else could only look up to him. But Lin Lei was not discouraged; instead, he took it as motivation to move forward.

Every day before dawn, he would get up to practice magic until late at night. He would repeatedly ponder what Delin taught him until he fully understood it. He would carefully write down the insights shared by Lin Yun and constantly verify and improve them in practice.

At the age of nine and a half, he broke through to become a second-level mage.

At the age of ten and a half, he broke through to become a level three mage.

At the age of twelve, he officially entered the ranks of fourth-level mages.

This pace is a year ahead of schedule compared to the original story.

When Delin commented on his progress, his eyes were full of satisfaction: "Linley, your talent was already outstanding. Your progress in the past two years has exceeded my expectations. It seems that having a talented younger brother isn't such a bad thing after all."

Lin Lei smiled sheepishly.

He knew that his rapid progress was largely due to Lin Yun. His younger brother's existence was like a mirror, constantly reminding him—someone was working harder than him, and someone was stronger than him. He couldn't stop, and he dared not stop.

"Linley, your earth magic is already very solid," Delin said. "Next, I will teach you more advanced earth magic. In addition, you can't neglect your wind magic either; the combination of these two elements will be your greatest advantage in the future."

"Yes." Lin Lei nodded seriously.

For three years, Lin Yun and Lin Lei lived a peaceful and fulfilling life at Ernst College.

Every morning, the two brothers would practice Qi-gathering techniques and basic sword skills together on the back mountain. Beibei would squat on a rock nearby, tilting her head to watch them practice, occasionally chirping as if to cheer them on.

The mornings were dedicated to magic classes for each department. Lin Lei attended earth and wind magic classes, while Lin Yun shuttled between lightning, light, fire, and water magic classrooms. He was always in a hurry, rushing from one classroom to another, hardly stopping for a moment.

At lunchtime, they would eat together in the college cafeteria. Yale, Reno, and George would join them. The five of them would sit together, eating and chatting, discussing the day's classes, college gossip, or joking around.

After afternoon classes, Lin Yun would find a secluded corner to study earth magic with Delin. Although Delin couldn't communicate directly with him, Lin Lei would faithfully relay every word. Earth Shatter, Earth Guardian Armor, Gravity... one earth magic spell after another was mastered through Lin Yun's diligent practice.

In the evening, he would practice wind magic with Linley. The two brothers sparred and corrected each other, and both improved very quickly.

As night deepened, Ernst College was bathed in the tranquil moonlight.

Lin Yun lay on the bed with his eyes closed, his consciousness gently drifting between two worlds.

In the world of Swallowed Star, his other body was meditating cross-legged in a low-rent apartment in Yangzhou. Over the years, his mental strength had grown to the peak of a high-level warrior, only one step away from becoming a beginner war god. His martial arts strength had also reached the level of a beginner warrior. And Luo Feng, under his influence and supervision, was progressing at an equally astonishing rate, far exceeding the level of his peers.

Soon, they will join the Ultimate Martial Arts Academy and begin their formal journey into the world of martial arts.

Meanwhile, in the Panlong world, he and Linley were growing step by step at Ernst Academy. At twelve years old, he was at the peak of level six; at twelve years old, he was a level four mage—such achievements were top-tier even on the entire Yulan Continent.

Three years have passed, and everything is progressing according to plan.

He opened his eyes, looked at the moonlight outside the window, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

At the age of twelve, he exists in two realms simultaneously, reaching the peak of level six.

Life at Ernst College continues, but the real challenges lie ahead.