Chapter 25: Falling

Yun Mu chose to stop struggling, letting the boundless darkness envelop her until the Painted World became deathly silent.

The Ether representing the Cat Path dissipated directly from the painting after a slight tremor.

There was no great reason for her to make this choice; it was simply because there was one more Path of 【Darkness】 and 【Fallen】 than the 【Cat】 Path.

*Cough, cough*, actually, there was also the reason that she felt the content of the painting had nothing to do with a cat at all.

Intuition told her it was better to choose a Path that was more compatible with the content of the painting.

And just after the Ether of the 【Cat】 Path dissipated, the Ether of 【Darkness】 and 【Fallen】 surged into the painting, and the Ether that originally composed the painting was instantly saturated by these two types of Ether.

However, unlike the area where Yun Mu was saturated by the 【Scarlet】 Path, the Ether within the painting appeared exceptionally stable after being saturated, showing no signs of collapse at all.

The change reflected in reality was that the color scheme of the painting darkened significantly as a whole, giving a hair-raising feeling if looked at for too long.

"This should count as awakening the spirituality of the painting, right?" Yun Mu said, looking at the painting whose aura had changed drastically.

Without any hesitation, she directly cast an Inspect on it.

【Unknown Painting (Blue)】

【Spell Strength +10】

【Oil Painting/Fallen/Darkness/Young Girl/Scarlet】

【Skill: Black Fog】

【Ranged/All Units/Spell Strength】

【Range 8】

【Base Precision 300/Damage Correction -100%/Perception Shielding 220%】

【Perception Shielding: Dodge -50, Precision Correction -30, Skill Precision -60】

【A work created by Painter Yun Mu after a burst of inspiration. After activating the spirituality hidden within the painting, it became a Supernatural Item.】

"Quick, it's time to name it, hurry up and give this painting a name!" Sixin said immediately after discovering the changes in the painting.

"How do I name it, do I just say it out loud?" Yun Mu asked.

"Yes, as long as you say it out loud, because you are the creator of this painting."

"Then..." Yun Mu looked at the young girl swallowed by darkness on the painting and said: "Let's call this painting Falling."

She had wanted to say Fallen, but when the words reached her lips, she felt an inexplicable inability to say them.

It seemed that one could not name a painting after the Paths contained within it, so she had to change it to Falling.

And the moment she named the painting, an invisible link connected her to it.

Majestic Spirituality surged from the painting 【Falling】 into her brain along the link!

Subsequently, the Ether around her began to tremble crazily, and the Ether recording the information of 【Painter Apprentice】 gathered toward Yun Mu at a frantic speed.

【You have obtained the profession 【Painter Apprentice】!】

【Congratulations, you have leveled up! Your current level is: lv5】

【Your Max HP +1, Attack +1, Spell Strength +3, Speed +1!】

【You have obtained the active skill 【Mental Shock】】

【Mental Shock lv1】

【Ranged/Single Target Damage/Spell Strength】

【Range 8】

【Base Precision 105/Damage Correction +10%/Stun 60%】

【Stun: Unable to act for one turn.】

【You have obtained the trait 【Painting Mastery】】

【Effect omitted】

【You have obtained the passive skill 【Spiritual Painting】】

【By consuming Spirit, you can draw three Supernatural Paintings in each battle. Depending on the content of the painting, the effects of the painting will vary.】

【Paintings drawn with this skill can only be used once per battle; after the battle ends, the paintings automatically become invalid.】

【【Oil Painting】 points +3, Path of 【Oil Painting】 unlocked.】

【Oil Painting lv1: Spell Strength +1, Precision Correction +5, all skills related to painting have their effects doubled!】

【All skills or items related to oil painting have their effects increased by 30%】

My scalp feels so itchy, I'm going to grow a brain!

After a large amount of Ether carrying 【Painter Apprentice】 information merged into Yun Mu's body, she not only gained sublimation of her soul and body but also acquired a vast amount of supernatural knowledge related to 【Painter Apprentice】.

This included the usage methods for the spells 【Mental Shock】 and 【Spiritual Painting】, as well as many various painting techniques and experiences.

"Can you feel it, those pieces of knowledge that suddenly appeared in your brain?" Sixin, who had been paying attention to the changes in Yun Mu's expression, said.

"I can feel it," Yun Mu replied.

After a long while, she digested the memories in her mind and couldn't help but ask: "Where did these things come from?"

"Hehe," Sixin chuckled twice, tapped his forehead lightly with his index finger, and said: "This knowledge is the accumulation of human history, a gift from our predecessors, Miss Yun."

"What you did was to redo what the predecessors once did, thereby triggering a reaction from the Ether that recorded the professional information of 【Painter Apprentice】."

"The predecessors were all human, so this Ether information will not be repelled to form a corresponding domain wrapped around you, but will instead merge directly into one with you."

"The specific manifestation is what you just felt."

"How is this done?" After listening to Sixin's words, Yun Mu still asked with a sense of disbelief.

"Just crossing the river by feeling the stones; the first Transcendental were all born by chance."

"In order to study how they became Transcendental, Scholars took the initiative to learn the knowledge that those Transcendental had once learned and do the things they had once done. There would always be a few Lucky ones who could attract the Ether that recorded the information of those Transcendental."

"And as more and more humans became Transcendental, we classified different abilities and then subdivided them into many professions."

"This way, the process of obtaining corresponding supernatural power is simplified a lot, and it is also easier for ordinary people to become Transcendental."

"It has evolved until today, becoming the fruits you enjoy now."

Sixin said this, and could not help but sigh with emotion: "These are all gifts left by predecessors for their descendants."

Listening to Sixin's words, Yun Mu felt as if she could see the figures of generations of human Scholars, struggling unceasingly to research Supernatural power.

Her heart was filled with myriad emotions, but her literary skills were truly lacking, so she could only silently say "awesome" in her heart.

"Alright, that's enough." Sixin clapped his hands, looked at Yun Mu, and said: "Let's stop here for today; I still have work to attend to later."

He led Yun Mu away from the attic on the top floor of the Painter Association, then used an Access Card to control the metal Gate to close.

"Miss Yun, do you have any other questions?"

"Not for now." Yun Mu decisively shook her head and said.

The amount of knowledge she had acquired today had already exceeded the limit; a little more and her brain would overload.

"Fine then, I'm off to work."

"Remember to come here tomorrow to get your ID card from me."

"Wait, what about this bottle of Tonggan Liquid?" Yun Mu looked at Sixin, who was striding away, and suddenly remembered the small green bottle still in her hand, so she hurriedly asked.

"If you like it, it's yours." Sixin waved his hand dismissively.

PS: I feel like the explanation in the main text should be quite clear.

Well, it doesn't matter if you don't understand it; you just need to know that Miss Yun has officially stepped into the Supernatural.

Let me share a little bit of trivia here.

Perhaps observant Partners have already noticed that when a Path infects a human, it causes the Ether structure of the infected part to become disordered, thereby constantly undergoing Collapse and reorganization.

So, is it possible for the human Ether Body to gradually adapt to the infection of a Path and subsequently stabilize its structure again?

This type belongs to benign fusion, rather than being infected.

Becoming a 【Bloodline】 belongs to this type of benign fusion.

As for the issue of still needing to drink blood after becoming a 【Bloodline】.

That is not a problem with the 【Bloodline】, but a problem with the Scarlet Curse!

(End of chapter)