"Reading books?"
Lu Chen and Yuanyu glanced at one another in bewilderment.
We asked you to paint anything you want, as long as you display your true strength...
Reading books?
What does this have to do with painting?
By the side, Bai Xun and Huang Yu, who were prepared to witness Zhang Xuan display his prowess, were dumbfounded.
To only think of reading books when you are about to paint... Isn't it a little too late?
More importantly... Brother, given your current level, is there any use in reading books?
"Yes!"
Seeing the bewildered gazes of the crowd, Zhang Xuan suppressed his embarrassment.
He was truly out of ideas.
Painting?
He wanted to be an expert who could paint the third level and fourth level in an instant and display his prowess.
But the current him... He couldn't even hold a brush properly. He didn't even know how to use a brush... How could he paint?
The Library of Heaven's Path was capable of seeing through all flaws and duplicating all books for its own use. However, it was impossible for him to become a true master painter in an instant. Unless... he saw enough painting methods to form a unique Heaven's Path manual!
The Library of Heaven's Path was a compilation of the correct methods, allowing him to achieve twice the results with half the effort. It was extremely simple... If it was feasible, he might really become an expert within a short period of time.
"What kind of books do you want to read? Could it be that... you have reached a bottleneck in painting? "
After a long moment, Master Lu Chen couldn't help but ask.
Just like martial arts, there would be bottlenecks in painting as well. Many people were able to reach the third level in just a few years, but there were even more who were unable to reach the first level in their entire lives.
He was truly unable to understand what was going on. After hesitating for a moment, he thought that the person before him might have reached a bottleneck and was seeking a breakthrough.
Otherwise, why would he only read books when he wanted to paint?
These two things were completely unrelated and had nothing to do with each other!
"That's not it, it's... it's that I... am still unable to freely change my state of mind. Every time I paint, I have to read a large number of books to calm myself down. Only then would I be able to produce a painting of higher quality!"
After a moment, Zhang Xuan came up with an excuse.
After all, he couldn't possibly tell them that he didn't even know how to hold a brush properly, and that he wanted to read books... because he wanted to learn...
If he really said this out loud, he would probably be beaten to death on the spot as a lunatic.
Painting was much more difficult than martial arts. To reach the level of Lu Chen and Yuanyu, one would need decades of hard work, countless scraps of paper, and innumerable brushes to achieve it. To want to learn everything just by reading a few books...
Wasn't this a dream?
Even if you want to lie, you have to find a more reliable one …
"A good piece of work is related to one's state of mind, luck, and opportunities. You're so young. If you can't adjust your state of mind, it'll be difficult for you to produce a good piece of work."
Master Yuanyu nodded his head in agreement.
Master Lu Chen didn't object either.
Painting was a form of art, not a fist. How much strength could one exert? Even if one's condition wasn't good, one could still fight with eighty to ninety percent of one's strength.
If he couldn't find the right state, no matter how good the painting was, it would only have form but no spirit. It couldn't be considered a treasure.
"This is a habit of mine … Hmm?"
Just as Zhang Xuan was about to continue explaining, he didn't expect that the two masters wouldn't refute him anymore.
However, he came to a sudden realization.
Art doesn't discriminate between worlds.
Back then, when Wang Xizhi wrote the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion, he wrote it in a drunken stupor. When he sobered up and tried to rewrite it, he realized that he was unable to surpass it. This was the state of mind.
Take Master Yuanyu for example. His most formidable painting was the River Bird Painting. Even if he were to be given a brush and paper, he would definitely be unable to produce it.
Everyone has their pinnacle works, and many aspects are involved in it. It was reasonable for him to say that he wasn't in the right state of mind at the moment and wanted to readjust through books.
"Lu Chen, don't you have quite a few secret manuals on painting in your study? Let Zhang Xuan enter to take a look. We'll wait here for him to readjust his state of mind before displaying his painting skills to us! "
Master Yuanyu said.
"My study?"
The corner of Lu Chen's mouth twitched.
The previous time this fellow achieved a breakthrough, his study was in a complete mess. Even now, he was still traumatized by it.
However, he was also interested to see what level the other party had reached. Thus, he nodded his head, "Un. Ah Cheng, bring Zhang Xuan over!"
"Thank you, master!"
Seeing that he had managed to fool the other party, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. He followed butler Uncle Cheng back to the study.
The previous time he was here, he was looking for Fighter 6-dan Pixue realm secret manuals. This time, he was here to browse through books on painting. Even he didn't expect it.
...
Zhang Xuan walked into the study. The atmosphere in the lounge was a little weird.
"Readjusting one's state of mind through reading... Master Lu, why haven't I heard of such a precedent before?" Huang Yu couldn't help but ask.
As an assistant master teacher, she was knowledgeable. Honestly speaking, she had never seen such a bizarre action in her life.
"Readjusting one's state of mind differs from person to person. It's hard to say." Lu Chen didn't reply. Master Yuanyu pondered for a moment before speaking, "Actually, it has to do with habit. In the past, there was an expert who sold firewood before he became famous..."
"I know. Master, are you talking about Elder Lu Chai?" Bai Xun asked.
Elder Lu Chai's original name was Lu Chuan. As he sold firewood for a living before he became famous, he was known as Lu Chai.
Reaching Tongxuan realm pinnacle, he rarely met a match in the entire Tianxuan Kingdom.
From an ordinary firewood seller to an expert whose name shook the entire kingdom, Elder Lu Chai had always been an inspiration to the younger generation. Many people knew of his deeds.
"That's right, it's Elder Lu Chai. You all know that he cultivated assiduously before he rose to fame, but what you don't know is that he had to readjuster his state of mind before a battle. And the method he used to readjuster his state of mind was to chop firewood. He would often lock himself in his room and chop firewood for an entire day to bring his state of mind to its peak."
"Now that Brother Yuanyu mentioned it, I remember a famous expert a hundred years ago known as' River Razing with a Single Sword ', Solitary Swordsman Wu Jiangping. I heard that he was a bamboo weaver before he rose to fame. Before a battle, he readjusted his state of mind through weaving bamboo weaves. This was the reason why he became so powerful and feared by everyone!"
Master Lu Chen said.
"Indeed, there are many such examples. It isn't strange for Zhang Xuan to readjuster his state of mind, just that..."
At this point, Yuanyu paused.
"Brother Yuanyu, feel free to speak your mind!"
Lu Chen looked at him with a smile.
"While you were painting, I took a closer look at him and asked Huang Yu and Bai Xun about it. I realized that... he seemed to be completely ignorant of painting. In fact... he didn't seem to be able to tell anything at all!"
Recalling the previous matter, Yuanyu shook his head. "Brother Lu, you said that he was able to see through your [Summer-Autumn Painting] and [Chi Xiong Howling to the Heavens], so he shouldn't have such an expression!"
Master Yuanyu was a physician and he specialized in observation. Upon seeing Master Lu Chen's painting, Zhang Xuan was astonished. Even though he didn't try to conceal it, he was able to see through it clearly.
"He doesn't understand? That shouldn't be possible, right? "
Master Lu Chen didn't possess Yuanyu's observational ability, so he found it hard to believe.
This Zhang Xuan was able to see through the layout of his painting the moment he stepped into his residence. After which, he peeled off the xuan paper of the [Summer-Autumn Painting] and saw through the contents hidden within. Furthermore, he even pointed out the flaws in the [Chi Xiong Howling to the Heavens]...
With such an eye of discernment, how could he not know anything about painting?
"That's what I think too. Perhaps, I might have seen wrongly..."
Master Yuanyu shook his head.
Yuanyu was truly curious about Zhang Xuan.
Before entering, Master Lu Chen had described the other party as a person who could not be found on earth and rarely seen in the heavens. This piqued Yuanyu's curiosity. However, after seeing the other party for himself, he was honestly a little disappointed.
Master painters all had a unique disposition to them. Yet, this fellow didn't seem to notice it at all. Furthermore, when he spoke about painting, he was filled with hesitation and hesitation. This made Yuanyu suspect that if not for the sake of his old friend, he would have asked him directly.
If he had really comprehended painting skills that were on par with the both of them, he shouldn't have behaved in such a manner.
"Could it be that... he doesn't know anything at all? Is he faking it? "
A thought suddenly popped into Master Yuanyu's mind and he frowned.
If that was the case, then many things would make sense.
It was precisely because he didn't know anything at all that he tried to reject the other party's request, claiming that he wanted to read books.
It was because he knew nothing about painting that he was perplexed by Lu Chen's painting. In fact, he was even inferior to Huang Yu and Bai Xun.
But that was to be expected. He wasn't even twenty yet. Even if he knew a lot about painting, what level could he have reached?
Most likely, he had investigated his old friend's painting beforehand and intentionally said it out loud. He pretended to know everything, but in reality, he was a scammer.
If that's the case, I'll have to remind my old friend to be careful. I'll have to give him a good reminder later.
"Brother Yuanyu, aren't you going to visit someone in the afternoon? Surely it won't be a problem for you to wait like this! "
Just as he was about to speak, Master Lu Chen's voice sounded.
"Oh, I heard that a master teacher named Yang Xuan came to the capital and solved the problems of Ling Tianyu's wife and Du Miaoxuan. His means are extraordinary, so I would like to take a look!"
Master Yuanyu nodded his head.
Ling Tianyu's wife and Du Miaoxuan were both his patients. He had been trying his best to solve their problems but to no avail. He didn't expect that this master teacher named Yang Xuan would be able to solve them in such a short period of time. As a master physician, he naturally wanted to pay the other party a visit in hopes of receiving his guidance so that he could walk further on the path of medicine.
"Master teacher?" Master Lu Chen was filled with disbelief.
He had always lived in seclusion, so he was unaware of Yang Xuan's reputation in the capital.
"Indeed, why don't we pay him a visit in the afternoon? I know that you have been trying to reach the fourth level in painting but have failed. Perhaps, with the guidance of a master teacher, you might be able to achieve a breakthrough!"
Master Yuanyu smiled.
"Alright, it's settled then. After assessing them, we will leave!" Master Lu Chen nodded his head excitedly.
… … …
Zhang Xuan arrived at Master Lu Chen's residence to assess Huang Yu and the others. However, a young man carrying a spear on his back appeared in the lecture hall. He was Zheng Yang's childhood playmate and good friend, Mo Xiao.
The two of them acknowledged Zhang Xuan as their teacher together and Mo Xiao succeeded. In the end, Zheng Yang became Zhang Xuan's student.
"I just learned a set of spear art a few days ago, so I came over to have a spar with you!"
Mo Xiao's spear trembled and his entire being seemed to have fused with the spear. A sharp aura emanated from him that sent chills down one's spine.
"Alright!"
Zheng Yang also raised his spear and stood there proudly, not showing any fear.
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