Chapter 557: Again, Just Paint One More

"My 'birds'?"

"Still 'birds'?"

All the master teachers in the room hadn't yet realized that the painted birds were gone for good. They thought Elder Yun was referring to something else, and collectively glanced at his crotch, feeling a chill.

It seemed... Teacher Zhang only gave a lecture. What does that have to do with your 'birds'? And besides, it seemed to still be there! A dignified four-star master teacher, in public, kept asking for someone else's 'birds'... how utterly disgraceful! Many female master teachers blushed, filled with shame. Elder Yun, who studied calligraphy and painting, was extraordinary and graceful, appearing quite proper and suave. They never expected him to be such a lecherous old man!

"No, Elder Yun must be talking about those birds from earlier!" someone realized.

"Huh?" Everyone was stunned.

"It seems these birds, after listening to Teacher Zhang's lecture, came alive and broke free from the painting's confines... they flew away!" The person explained their discovery.

"Flew away? This 'Flock of Birds Soaring' painting is composed of these birds. The most valuable part, the most precious aspect, are these intelligent birds. Once they fly away... only a blank sheet of paper remains..."

"Indeed, that's why Elder Yun is going crazy! This is a calligraphy and painting artwork imbued with spiritual intelligence, worth a fortune..."

"A treasure cherished like life, turned into blank paper... anyone would go mad!"

Hearing the explanation, they finally understood what was happening. Everyone exchanged glances, their mouths twitching. Elders Wu and Bai, standing by the wall, also exchanged a look, their faces contorted. They were just injured and would recover with some rest. But this painting was Elder Yun's lifeline; it was directly ruined. It was a miracle he didn't tear that guy apart on the spot.

"He lectured, and the spiritual intelligence broke free and flew away..." Young Master Ruohuan, who had just been full of pride, thinking it would be easy to get first place, was now crying his eyes out. He had secretly calculated earlier that his lecture could definitely keep the spiritual intelligence alive for over ten minutes. But this guy... directly made the intelligence fly away, never to return...

You've got to be kidding me! Does he have to be so ruthless? If you play like this, how can anyone else compete? If you keep doing this, you won't have any friends...

"Ahem, Elder Yun, calm down, calm down..." Seeing his usually composed old friend about to commit murder, Elder Su hurried forward to dissuade him.

"Calm down? Calm down my foot! This was left to me by my calligraphy and painting mentor. I was hoping to study it daily and break through to become a four-star calligrapher and painter... now, in this state, how can I make a breakthrough?" Looking down at the blank paper on the table, Elder Yun gritted his teeth. "Who said this was just a simple assessment? Step out here, and I'll beat you to death..."

Just as he was going crazy with frustration, he heard the slightly puzzled voice of the young man opposite him: "My lecture wasn't even finished, and these birds were scared away by you... how am I supposed to be timed?"

In truth, it wasn't just Elder Yun who was angry; Zhang Xuan was also a bit upset. This old man is too unreliable! He was lecturing on the Way of Heaven in calligraphy and painting, helping these intelligent spirits gather strength. Logically, once they fully transformed, they could fly freely and stay as long as they wished. Yet, unexpectedly... before he finished, this guy yelled, telling him to stop, scaring all the birds away.

Now this is great. The birds, following the Way of Heaven, flew off to who knows where. How can he be graded? What a loss if he lost because of this! After all, he had put in a lot of effort...

"Still calculating time... The 'Flock of Birds Soaring' painting is gone, what time is there to calculate!" Elder Yun nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood. What on earth are you talking about?! You destroyed my treasure, yet not only do you show no remorse, you're still thinking about your assessment... Do you have a big heart, or is there something wrong with your brain?

"Ahem, Teacher Zhang, you should hold your tongue. The 'Flock of Birds Soaring' painting's value lies entirely in those birds. If they fly away, it means the treasure is destroyed. Elder Yun... it's perfectly natural for him to be in a bad mood!" Hall Master Kang came forward and advised him.

"Treasure destroyed?" Zhang Xuan shook his head. "Since the scroll is still here, just draw the birds back on. What's there to be upset about?"

"That's a sixth-tier artwork, something only a five-star calligrapher and painter can create... it's the only one in Myriad Kingdoms City! Draw it on? You make it sound so easy!" Seeing an opportunity, Young Master Ruohuan stepped forward and reprimanded him. He clasped his hands and addressed Hall Master Kang righteously: "Teacher, the 'Flock of Birds Soaring' painting is ruined. The rest of us cannot continue the assessment. I suggest we change the method for this competition..." The other party's lecture made the spiritual intelligence transcend. If they continued with this assessment, he definitely couldn't win, so he might as well use this chance to excuse himself.

"Indeed... An artwork capable of manifesting spiritual intelligence is unique in Myriad Kingdoms City. Now that it's damaged, the rest of you genuinely can't be assessed..." Hall Master Kang nodded. If he had known this, he shouldn't have let this guy go first. Now, the painting is gone, and the others can't be assessed. The preservation of spiritual intelligence was the best way to assess lecturing. Changing it on the fly, he really didn't know what good alternative there was.

"If absolutely necessary, we could find students for the lecture, blindfold them so they don't know who we are, and even prevent them from recognizing our voices. That would also be fair..." Young Master Ruohuan said.

"Don't rush, let me discuss with the other elders... Huh? What's going on here..." Hall Master Kang nodded, rubbing his temples, worrying about how to proceed. Suddenly, he glanced over and was startled.

"Teacher, what's wrong?" Seeing his loss of composure, Young Master Ruohuan was taken aback. Following his gaze, he nearly jumped up, choked, and almost fainted on the spot. He saw that the young man he had just reprimanded had, at some point, approached the scroll. He held a brush in each hand, and the previously blank 'Flock of Birds Soaring' painting now depicted flying birds singing in harmony, exactly as it had been before.

"Did all those birds come back?" His voice was a bit hoarse.

"It's not that they came back... it's that... Teacher Zhang just painted them!" Fu Xiaochen's throat was dry.

"Just painted..." Young Master Ruohuan swayed. This was an artwork of the Spiritual Intelligence realm, a masterpiece that only a five-star grandmaster of calligraphy and painting could create... He just drew it with a brush? Is that even real? More importantly... even a five-star grandmaster would need several days of conceptualization, months of refinement, and exhaust all their vital energy to create such a work... This guy, however, finished it before I even spoke two sentences... Does he have to be this fast?

"What brushwork did he use?" Unable to restrain himself, he asked. A painting in dozens of breaths, what technique could be that fast?

"Left-Right Roaming Dragon..." Fu Xiaochen said.

"Used by street artisans... Left-Right Roaming Dragon..." Young Master Ruohuan's vision went black. If you had used some profound technique, fine, I'd admire you... But the Left-Right Roaming Dragon, used by street artisans for mass production, creating... a sixth-tier artwork... Brother, you're not a three-star calligrapher and painter, are you a six-star or even higher level?! It was ridiculous; he had almost jumped with joy when he heard about the spiritual intelligence remaining, thinking the other party would surely fail going first... If he had known he was such a formidable calligrapher and painter, he would never have tried to show off!

"Alright, Elder Yun, I've repainted your painting for you. It seems... it wasn't too difficult!" Zhang Xuan calmly put the brushes and ink back into his storage ring. Seeing Elder Yun yelling and shouting, he thought it was a big deal. It's just a painting, isn't it? If the birds flew away, just paint another one. Is there any need to make such a fuss?

"This..." Elder Yun hurried forward and looked down at the painting before him. After a moment, his lips trembled, and he looked at the young man before him as if he were a monster. This painting was identical to his previous one, not a single difference. If the ink hadn't still been slightly wet, he would have truly wondered if everything before had been a dream. To be able to reproduce it after just one glance—not only was the pattern the same, but the amount of ink used and its distribution were also precisely identical, and the artistic concept was completely the same... How was this done?

One must know that every calligrapher and painter has their own insights. When copying another's work, they usually incorporate their own style, making it difficult to achieve exact replication. Yet, the painting before him not only had the same brushwork weight but also showed no trace of being a fake in its artistic concept... This method was already against the natural order. Even a six-star calligrapher and painter couldn't do this!

In truth, Zhang Xuan's current situation allowed him to copy well, but if he were to genuinely create a painting, he could only barely produce an intelligent artwork. To reach the artistic concept of the 'Flock of Birds Soaring' painting, he was still somewhat lacking. After all, although he had learned much about the Way of Heaven in calligraphy and painting, his true ability was only at the peak of four-star, or early five-star. The reason he could replicate it perfectly was due to the Eye of Insight's effect. The Eye of Insight could perceive subtle changes invisible to the naked eye. When the other party brought out the painting earlier, he observed it carefully, making the reproduction of minute details quite simple. If it weren't for copying, and he were merely asked to create an original painting, it would probably be very difficult for him to complete. However, Elder Yun didn't know this, so he was even more astonished and utterly prostrated in admiration.

"How is it?" Hall Master Kang came forward.

"It's identical to the previous one; we can proceed with the next assessment..." Recovering from his shock, Elder Yun swallowed and said.

"Elder Yun says there's no problem. Teacher Zhang has finished his assessment, you may continue!" Hall Master Kang sighed in relief and looked at the crowd. Since the 'Flock of Birds Soaring' painting was restored, there was no need to go through the trouble of changing the rules back and forth.

"..." Young Master Ruohuan was on the verge of tears. After all that fuss, it was still futile. If he had known, why would he have bothered coming over to spout nonsense... Filled with frustration, he forced himself to undergo the assessment. As a result, due to his state of mind, he performed abnormally, and the spiritual intelligence dissipated after only eleven minutes. Afterwards, Fu Xiaochen, Feng Mosheng, and others also took their assessments. Unexpectedly, Luo Xi made a stunning performance this time, actually lasting twelve minutes, surpassing Young Master Ruohuan's score.

"Alright, I announce the final results. Teacher Zhang, through his lecture, caused the spiritual intelligence to fly out... and it still hasn't returned. He takes first place. I don't think anyone has an objection, do they?" After everyone had finished their assessments, Hall Master Kang looked around.

"No objection..." Everyone's mouths twitched. He lectured until all the spiritual intelligence flew away, and then casually drew a sixth-tier artwork... If he wasn't first, who would dare claim to be?

"Very well then, second place goes to Luo Xi, third to Ruohuan, fourth to Fu Xiaochen, fifth to Feng Mosheng, and sixth to Du Hu..." After announcing the results, Hall Master Kang continued: "Now, we proceed with the fourth round of assessment: understanding of cultivation!"