Chapter 715: Children's Book Stories
When Ning Zhuo reached the top of Dianmo Peak, Chu Xuangui finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But he did not rush to start the test. Instead, he filled the blank space on the rice paper in front of him with brush and ink.
After finishing the paper, he slowly raised his head, facing the dozens of monks at the top of the mountain, and solemnly announced: "The time has come, the test begins."
He drew a line at the sky with his finger, and his magical power condensed into a test question - using the handwriting of a talisman maker, he wrote "Meng Tong Shu Tan".
When this question was asked, all the monks in the field looked at each other in confusion.
So weird!
This question style is very different from previous years!
The content of the test was quite strange. It required students to write a Confucian classic using the stroke techniques used in making talismans.
Meng Tong Shu Tan is not profound, on the contrary, its content is very simple. The so-called Meng Tong means enlightenment children, and it is an enlightenment education book for children.
This is an introduction to calligraphy, mainly covering four of the five major scripts: official script, regular script, running script, and cursive script. Seal script was deliberately excluded because it is too difficult.
The five major fonts, which are the main contents of calligraphy, are aimed at various Confucian works.
Making talismans requires careful attention to the magic, every stroke of the pen, every pause, and other details, the use of talisman paper and ink, and the cultivator's level of understanding of the magic.
Stroke style?
Never studied.
As long as the talisman can take effect, it is considered a success.
"Why use the same brushstrokes used to write talismans to write Confucian works?"
"What exactly does Mr. Chu Xuangui want to investigate?"
"What is the font for making talismans? I have been practicing for decades and have never thought about this question."
These were two unrelated things. The cultivators were confused for a moment as to why Chu Xuangui wanted to link them together.
Bai Jiyun is a contemporary representative figure among the foundation-building Confucian cultivators of Feiyun Country. He likes to travel around and enjoy the beautiful scenery, and can be considered knowledgeable.
He was also puzzled at this moment: "According to legend, when Cang Zu created Chinese characters, he referred to talismans and created the seal script. But Meng Tong Shu Tan only excludes the seal script."
Liu Fushu admired Chu Xuangui deeply and thought to himself, "Mr. Chu's move must have a profound meaning, but I am just too dull to understand it at the moment."
Chu Xuangui glanced at everyone and took in the puzzled expressions on their faces.
This situation was within his expectations.
It's normal to not be able to figure it out.
The real reason why Chu Xuangui designed this strange question was to support Ning Zhuo.
Without waiting for everyone to think, Chu Xuangui took out a brush from his sleeve.
He summoned up his magical power and floated the brush into the air, showing it to everyone.
"The winner of this Feiyun test will receive this Huiyi brush."
Ning Zhuo raised his eyebrows slightly: "Magic weapon level?"
He was quite surprised. He didn't expect that such a huge reward would be given out in just a small Feiyun test.
The monks around him buzzed and engaged in a more intense conversation.
"Oh my god! Am I seeing things? Is this really a pictographic pen?!"
"What's going on with today's little test? Why would Mr. Chu offer such a reward?"
"It's not easy to create a Huiyi brush. To obtain the Heluo jade, the main material of the pen, one must endure a thunder tribulation."
"More than that. This pen is at the magical level, which means it must have passed three tribulations at least."
"The main material is usually Heluo Jade. Surviving the thunder tribulation means surviving the heavenly tribulation. However, one still needs to overcome the earthly tribulation and the human tribulation. Otherwise, it would be impossible to achieve this level!"
Ning Zhuo remained silent.
When he heard the discussions among the cultivators, he immediately realized that he had underestimated the importance of this pen.
Bai Jiyun narrowed his eyes, realizing, "This Feiyun test is extraordinary. He was able to produce the Huiyi Pen. I'm afraid those Jindan-stage seniors will regret it after hearing about it."
Feiyun has held many small tests. The Confucian cultivation group has always had a weak presence in the Wanxiang Sect, and the rewards have never been so great.
"As you can imagine, once this test is over, it will spread like wildfire throughout the Wanxiang Sect and beyond."
Liu Fushu was the most excited.
He stared intently at the pictographic brush in mid-air, clenching his fists. His breathing became heavier, and his eyes were bloodshot. "Rumor has it that the number of pictographic brushes is limited."
"Because monks use this precious brush to copy, they can understand the author's profound meaning from the works and calligraphy. Over time, the accumulation of this knowledge can enhance a certain aspect of their realm!"
"This kind of precious pen can be said to be the ultimate treasure for cultivation. The one in front of me is not a magical instrument, but a magical treasure. For most cultivators, it can be used almost for a lifetime!"
"It is precisely because this kind of magic weapon can increase realms and quickly cultivate masters that it goes against the will of heaven."
"The total number of Huiyi pens existing in the world at the same time has never exceeded ten thousand! Every subsequent Huiyi pen that is created will bring disaster. Only by overcoming this disaster can the treasure be successfully refined."
"And the difficulty of making each Huiyi brush is getting higher and higher."
Liu Fushu was an expert in calligraphy, and was well-versed in all the world's famous brushes. Among the thirty-six great spiritual brushes, there was a wonderful and insightful brush, ranked twenty-seventh.
The so-called Sanliu Great Spiritual Hair is the most famous treasure pen in the world of cultivation from ancient times to the present. The lowest quality is the spiritual treasure level!
All the Huiyi brushes in the world are made by imitating the Zhongmiao Huiyi brush. Although they are imitations, they are rare because of their scarcity. As long as Confucian scholars have the opportunity, they will pursue them with all their might!
Kong Ran's eyes were bright, his chest was heaving, and his breathing became rapid: "Baby, my dear baby!"
"This time, I made the right decision to join the Wanxiang Sect."
"Many people have said that I have a connection with Confucianism and have urged me to specialize in it. Now it seems as if this pen has been waiting for me to arrive here. Is this fate?"
Although Kong Ran is very young, he has very mature thinking.
Even though he was too young and had less experience than others, he was aware of the political implications of the ideographic writing.
"This kind of magic weapon is only used for daily cultivation, but its value far exceeds that of ordinary offensive magic weapons."
"I'm afraid there is only this one branch in the entire Wanxiang Sect."
"Whoever obtains him will undoubtedly be recognized by the Wanxiang Sect's Confucian cultivation circle as a promising newcomer with a bright future!"
"If I get this brush, I'll be one step ahead of everyone else right from the start."
"No, it's more than just one step. It's simply many times, many times more!"
Chu Xuangui saw the changing expressions of the crowd, all of them attracted by the treasure he had brought out, and smiled in his heart.
Afterwards, he put his fingers together like swords, urged his magic power, and condensed a passage of words in mid-air, which were eighty-eight characters of "Yong".
"Copy the 'Children's Book Stories' I gave you. The fastest one, and the one that meets the standards will be the best."
"But if there's even one mistake in the process, all the previous work will be wasted, and we'll have to start all over again from the first word of the chapter."
After quickly explaining the rules, Chu Xuangui announced without waiting for anyone to ask questions: "The Dian Mo Peak Feiyun test has officially begun!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ning Zhuo took the lead, mobilizing his magic power and forming words out of thin air.
The monks were shocked when they saw this and immediately followed suit, vying with each other.
Almost everyone started at the same starting line, but after a dozen breaths, someone was ahead of the others, and the lead increased rapidly.
It’s Liu Fushu!
This young monk came from a poor family and had been practicing calligraphy diligently, and this was the skill he was best at.
It is because of this outstanding point that he has accumulated considerable fame.
The first chapter of "Mengtong Shu Tan" is the song of the eight virtues of the character "Yong".
When it comes to calligraphy, you must learn the character "Yong".
The song of the eight virtues of the character "Yong" not only explains the key points of writing the character "Yong", but also promotes the principles of Confucianism.
A little bit of kindness
Two horizontal swords like righteousness level the border
Three upright staffs supporting the sky
Four hooks like a sword of wisdom returning to its target
…
"Meng Tong Shu Tan" is widely circulated in the world of cultivation, and almost all children study this book when they learn to write.
Liu Fushu was the first to finish writing the eighty-eight characters of "Yong". He was just warming up and it was very easy.
Upon seeing this, Chu Xuangui immediately stretched out his other finger and used his magical power to write out of thin air, writing a poem in official script.
In addition to the eighty-eight characters for "Yong" (eight characters in Chinese), "Meng Tong Shu Tan" contains twenty-two poems in each of the following scripts: official script, regular script, running script, and cursive script. Each poem is not only easy to recite, but also serves as an excellent calligraphy practice.
Now, the poem written by Chu Xuangui is the third one in the official script poems.
Exactly——
The silkworm's first move is to lead the Nahaisang,
The rhyme of Yan Caiyun's tail is deeply hidden.
Open the stone gate horizontally to suppress the dragon and elephant,
Bamboo and silk have been carrying the teachings for thousands of years.
Liu Fushu knew this poem so well that he only took one look at it and then started writing.
He was about to make great progress when he made a mistake on the third character, and the strokes no longer met the test standards.
He had to start over from the very beginning of the poem.
Soon, he made a mistake on the seventh word and had to start over again.
Then he made another mistake on the fifth word.
Three mistakes in a row made him stuck on the first line of the poem and he never passed.
Liu Fushu was stunned and could not believe what was happening before his eyes!
"What's wrong with me?"
"Is this still me?"
"Am I too nervous?!"
Chu Xuangui took in the entire scene. A fleeting glint of light flashed in the depths of his eyes.
This was completely within his expectations.
"Meng Tong Shu Tan" is widely popularized, and basically anyone who has the conditions to go to school will practice it many times.
This is especially true for Liu Fushu. He is so good at calligraphy, he must have spent a lot of time and effort on it.
Every time he practiced "Meng Tong Shu Tan", he would try his best to meet the requirements of each font poem.
For him, these poems were not only fluent in his mind, but he could also write them backwards. He could write these words with his eyes closed; it was ingrained in his bones, becoming an instinct.
But now, when Chu Xuangui released the requirements for the test questions, he did use the handwriting of the talisman maker to write "Mengtong Shu Tan".
This is very difficult for those who practice diligently!
Liu Fushu had already practiced writing these poems to his core. The stronger his instinct was, the more difficult it would be to resist him.
In particular, Chu Xuangui showed off his Huiyi pen before the test began.
This magical weapon-level reward was too great, attracting all the Confucian cultivators to compete with all their might, fearing that they would fall behind others.
In this situation, Liu Fushu, who came from a poor family, would inevitably become nervous and unbalanced, which made it easier for him to make mistakes.
Chu Xuangui glanced at everyone and secretly observed Ning Zhuo.
"Yeah, not bad."
Ning Zhuo had a very good speed and ranked among the top five.
Wen Runyu mentioned some information about Ning Zhuo to her fellow Confucian practitioners.
Therefore, Chu Xuangui knew that Ning Zhuo was better at making talismans than calligraphy. Ning Zhuo didn't know much about Confucianism, and he probably didn't understand the significance of the concept of ideographic writing.
This will help Ning Zhuo maintain a normal mind.
Ning Zhuo needs to keep a calm mind, so that he can behave in this way without revealing any flaws and allow the Confucian sect to promote him to a higher level without any suspicion.
If there is suspicion, not only will the Confucianists be criticized, but more importantly, the plan to help Ning Zhuo will fail.
Therefore, the Confucianists did not inform Ning Zhuo of their specific plan. Firstly, they were worried that Ning Zhuo was too young and might not be able to perform well, so they decided to let him play himself. Secondly, communicating and plotting in advance would easily leave evidence.
Once discovered by someone with ulterior motives, these evidences would put Ru Xiu and Ning Zhuo in huge trouble.
Since this concerns the profits of Baizhi Xiancheng, there will definitely be many people investigating this matter.
The safest way for the Confucian practitioners is to avoid contact with Ning Zhuo, not communicate in advance, and directly conduct the Feiyun test.
This tests the Confucianists' ability to control the situation.
And this is precisely one of the strengths of Confucian practitioners!
Start over again.
Liu Fushu glanced around and found that he was seriously behind.
"No, no, no! How could this happen? I should be the one far ahead!" Liu Fushu became more and more nervous, his eyes were bloodshot and his expression was extremely stiff.
The top three rankings have been stable for a while.
They are Bai Jiyun, Kong Ran and Ning Zhuo.
"Ning Zhuo is in third place... It's reasonable that he lags behind the top two." Chu Xuangui said inwardly.
He knew something about Bai Jiyun, Kong Ran and Liu Fushu.
Every time the Feiyun Conference was held, the various organizations and factions of the Wanxiang Sect would actively recruit new members, and the Confucian cultivation groups were no exception.
They secretly pay attention to outstanding young people and invest a lot of time and energy in them.
Chu Xuangui was not anxious, everything was under his control.
The next moment, he wrote a calligraphy poem out of thin air -
The floating silk thread is entwined with the long and lingering meaning, and the brush strokes back and forth carry the fragrance of dew.
The spring rain is fine and the dry and moist complement each other, and the pen stops and the mountains and rivers continue the brilliant chapter.
Liu Fushu was still writing the previous official script poems, but this one was one of the running script poems.
Many of the monks were slightly stunned.
In order, after official script comes regular script, after regular script comes running script, and finally comes cursive script poetry.
Chu Xuangui suddenly skipped the regular script and went directly to the running script part.
"Okay, now it's time for my expertise." Bai Jiyun was cheered up. His favorite font was running script. At this moment, he still didn't understand the seriousness of the situation.
Sure enough, the next moment he made a mistake on the eleventh word.
He wrote so smoothly that he developed a running script style without realizing it.
So he had to redo it.
Wrong, wrong, wrong again!
Bai Jiyun seemed like a replica of Liu Fushu. He made mistakes continuously and fell directly from the first place in the ranking.
"How could this happen?" The dashing Bai Jiyun was dumbfounded at the moment.
(End of this chapter)
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