Chapter 712 – Dreamweaver World 50

Chapter 712 – Dreamweaver World 50

Watching Matina’s demonstration, Mo Lan felt it looked quite simple. Whether it was cutting off a small piece of shadow fragment, quickly flooding it with the Power of Shadow to imprint her mark, or condensing the Power of Shadow into fine threads for stitching — she was confident in all of it. Eager to try, she said:

“Teacher, I understand now. Let me give it a try!”

Matina, who had been about to demonstrate once more at a slower pace with detailed explanations of each step’s key points: “???”

She understood? Just like that, she understood?

According to the Shadow Tribe’s orthodox teaching curriculum, practice in shadow stitching alone required three months of sewing clothes’ shadows first!

Yet Mo Lan had already confidently picked up a teacup, condensing a wisp of the Power of Shadow at her fingertip and probing into the shadow cast by the teacup.

One-third of the shadow fragment was effortlessly separated by her, its edges as neat as if cut by a knife. The entire process was fluid and smooth — even crisper than Matina’s movements by a fair margin.

Matina’s eyebrows rose slightly. Such a large piece — imprinting her mark on it and stitching it back would require considerable time… This was a bit reckless!

She was about to offer a warning when she saw the Power of Shadow surge from Mo Lan’s palm like a tide, washing over the shadow fragment.

Though Mo Lan had secretly channeled her psychic power, infusing it into her Power of Shadow as a hidden boost.

In less than three seconds, the shadow fragment began shifting forms — stretching into thin threads one moment, curling into rings the next — before obediently reshaping itself to match the gap in the teacup’s shadow. Mo Lan pressed it back into place in one swift motion.

Simultaneously, dozens of shadow threads burst from Mo Lan’s fingertips, piercing precisely into the edges of the gap in the teacup’s shadow. Like the most dexterous seamstress threading a needle, they stitched the fragment perfectly back into place in the blink of an eye.

Finally, Mo Lan controlled the shadow now bearing her mark, using it to pull the teacup itself into the air, where it floated steadily before landing in her other hand!

“Teacher, is this how it’s done?” Mo Lan blinked, looking at Matina expectantly.

“Not just ‘how it’s done’ — it’s practically on par with what I could achieve going all out.”

Matina’s voice carried a hint of daze. “If I hadn’t personally conducted your tribe conversion ceremony myself, I’d suspect you were some old master in disguise.”

She let out a long sigh, completely abandoning any notion of teaching step by step. “Just go ahead and try taming the entire teacup shadow!”

Mo Lan’s eyes lit up. This time, she was even bolder, slicing off the remaining two-thirds of the teacup’s shadow in one go.

The shadow in her hands was motionless at first, but the moment she flushed it with the Power of Shadow, it sprang to life, quickly reshaping itself to fit the gap in the teacup’s shadow. In an instant, it was stitched back into place.

The entire process took less than a minute. The teacup’s shadow had become her shadow pet entirely.

Apart from the unavoidable issues — the shadow being somewhat weakened from being cut twice, and fine cracks appearing on the cup itself — there wasn’t a single mistake.

Even these problems were perfectly resolved after Mo Lan poured a generous amount of the Power of Shadow into the teacup’s shadow.

Now the teacup’s shadow was lifting the cup itself, tap-dancing across the table!

“Teacher, it’s so lonely playing by itself as just one shadow! And it’s not convenient for work either!” Mo Lan gazed eagerly at the remaining tea set, already itching to get started. “How about I tame a few companions for it? It’s much more fun to play and work together!”

The corner of Matina’s mouth twitched.

She could see it clearly now — this little monster hadn’t even been using her full strength earlier!

With the level of control she’d demonstrated, she could easily have torn off an entire shadow, tamed it completely, and stuck it back on with power to spare.

“…Do as you please!” Matina waved her hand and turned toward the liquor cabinet. She desperately needed a drink to steady her nerves.

She could scarcely imagine how powerful this little monster’s willpower must be, to imprint her mark instantaneously and seize control of such a large shadow fragment!

As for those overly masterful sewing techniques — compared to her willpower, they hardly even registered.

When she returned carrying the bottle, the scene before her still gave her a start.

Twelve teacup shadows stood in neat formation, performing a pyramid stack. The teapot’s shadow had stretched itself into a comical baton shape, and even the tea tray’s shadow had transformed into a stage, its edges decorated with wriggling shadow frills.

Every piece of tea ware was intact and undamaged, clearly having been repaired.

Most critically, even the teacup shadow she had used for her demonstration had changed owners — proof that Mo Lan’s willpower absolutely surpassed her own.

Matina silently pulled the cork from the bottle and tipped her head back for a long swig.

She suddenly understood why, back when the old man had been teaching her shadow magic, he always wore an expression like he wanted to retire.

Being shown up by your own student didn’t feel great either!

“Teacher, how was that? That counts as successful taming, right?” Mo Lan spun around excitedly to ask.

“Not just successful — you’re practically qualified to be my teacher.” Matina said helplessly.

“How could that be! I’ve only learned to tame the shadows of still objects — I haven’t learned anything else yet!” Mo Lan said hurriedly, her eyes brimming with eagerness to learn. “Could you teach me more? Like how do you raise those shadow bugs of yours?”

“Shadow bugs, huh…” Matina thought for a moment and said, “That involves the separation and taming of non-sentient creatures’ shadows. Once a non-sentient creature’s shadow is successfully tamed, it retains the original body’s appearance and some of its behavioral traits, so you need to pay attention when selecting materials.

For shadow bugs, you need to find actual bugs and separate their shadows. Either living or dead ones work — living bug shadows are a bit harder to tame after separation, but they’re more lively once successfully tamed. Dead bug shadows are harder to separate, but they’re rather rigid after taming. You should try both to feel the difference for yourself.”

Mo Lan nodded in agreement. She had read about this in books too, of course, but hearing her teacher explain it in person was a different experience entirely.

“However… bugs, whether dead or alive, we don’t have any at home. Come on! I’ll take you to the shadow general store to broaden your horizons!”

The old woman thought to herself — it was time to let those old fogies in the village get a look too. She shouldn’t be the only one getting her ego bruised!

Shadow Village had only one shadow general store. Mo Lan had seen information about it on the Dream Forum — apparently you could buy all sorts of things there, from plates and bowls to biological materials.

What she didn’t know, however, was that the owner of the shadow general store, Leona, was Matina’s lifelong rival and old frenemy since childhood.

Even more coincidentally, Leona’s daughter, little Leah, had just turned fifteen this year, and had recently begun learning the very same course on taming non-sentient creatures’ shadows.

Previously, every time Matina visited the general store, she had to endure Leona showing off — sometimes subtly, sometimes not — about what a genius her daughter was.