Chapter 716 Cradle of Vientiane
Liu Fushu caught a glimpse of this scene and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, fortunately! Bai Jiyun made the same mistake as me."
"Hold on, I still have a chance!"
After making mistakes repeatedly, Liu Fushu realized the difficulty of this question.
He had no choice but to grit his teeth, slow down his speed to the maximum limit, and write slowly, stroke by stroke. He overcame his instinct and finally moved forward steadily.
But in doing so, he fell far behind and had no ability to catch up quickly.
Liu Fushu was secretly anxious, but when he saw Bai Jiyun suffer, the pressure suddenly eased a lot.
He immediately felt ashamed. "If Brother Bai wins, I should be happy for him. He's my friend, I shouldn't be gloating over his misfortune. This isn't gentlemanly behavior!"
Bai Jiyun failed more than ten times in a row, and his face turned pale!
He was stunned for a few breaths, exhaled, and simply stopped writing completely.
He frowned and focused, lost in deep thought.
"So this is where the difficulty of this strange question lies!"
"But why did Mr. Chu Xuangui test us this way?"
"The more profound the calligraphy skills, the weaker the cultivators. This is a Confucian Xingyun test, but it favors cultivators with shallow calligraphy skills. Is this fair?"
Bai Jiyun glanced at the monks around him and his eyes fixed on Ning Zhuo.
In his opinion, Ning Zhuo lacked a lingering aura of literature, so he was probably not a Confucian cultivator. However, with his solid talisman calligraphy skills, he had steadily advanced and now held a firm position in second place.
If it were a normal Confucian test, this situation would be almost impossible to occur.
And the first one...
Bai Jiyun's gaze was fixed on Kong Ran.
A thought suddenly surfaced in his mind: "Knowing Pen, Prodigy... Could it be that this Xingyun Test was designed specifically for Kong Ran?"
Liu Fushu would not be aware of this, after all, his experience is too shallow.
But Bai Jiyun is different. He is not just traveling to enjoy the scenery, but traveling around Feiyun Country, seeing countless customs and cultures, and having a good understanding of all aspects of society.
"If I guessed right..." Bai Jiyun turned to look at Chu Xuangui again, a hint of contempt flashing in his eyes, "It's hard to imagine that Mr. Chu Xuangui, who is so well-known throughout the country for his meticulousness, fairness and iron fist, would do this!"
Bai Jiyun gave up directly.
At this rate of progress, even if he tried his best, he would not be able to catch up with the first two.
At this point, the situation is quite clear.
The vast majority of Confucian practitioners fell into the same situation as Bai Jiyun and Liu Fushu.
They made one mistake after another and progress was slow.
The top two are way ahead.
If nothing unexpected happens, the real winner will be decided between these two!
"I'm going to win!" Kong Ran didn't forget to observe the competitors around him. When he found that he was in the first place, he was delighted.
Liu Fushu did not give up and continued to try his best.
Chu Xuangui had no expression on his face.
Ning Zhuo's expression was calm, and he seemed to be taking his time, but in fact he was moving forward steadily, and Kong Ran never left him behind.
After a few more poems, more and more Confucian practitioners realized the huge gap and gradually gave up.
They gathered around to watch and talk about it.
"Who is this boy with a big head?"
“I didn’t expect that in the end, it would be Kong Ran who obtained the Hui Yi Bi!”
"He's a child prodigy, constantly choosing his path. No wonder Mr. Chu Xuangui took out the Huiyi Brush. It's probably because of Kong Ran's arrival."
Realizing that Kong Ran was likely to be favored and included in the core circle of Confucian practitioners of the Wanxiang Sect in the future, these Confucian practitioners began to cheer and support Kong Ran.
Compared to Ning Zhuo, who was obviously an outsider, they preferred this young monk who obviously had a brighter future.
For a moment, the atmosphere was so heated that it seemed as if Kong Ran was certain to be the final winner.
But Ning Zhuo never fell behind and kept chasing.
Kong Ran made a mistake.
His mood was disturbed.
The admiration and expectations of others added a lot of external pressure to his young mind.
If you make a mistake, you have to rewrite it.
Kong Ran had to start writing from the beginning. In the midst of his busy schedule, he turned back to check Ning Zhuo's progress.
Although Ning Zhuo's progress did not surpass him, the previous gap almost disappeared after this mistake.
"Oops!"
"I can't make any more mistakes."
"The pictorial brush must be mine!"
Kong Ran became more and more nervous. He made up his mind, activated his talent, and used his literary energy to perform a Confucian technique.
Cradle of Vientiane!
Ning Zhuo was surprised and looked up at Kong Ran for the first time: "This familiar aura, could it be that his talent is also... precocious?"
Under the influence of Confucianism, Kong Ran's eyes became as clear as water, just like a baby's.
His memories were relegated to the bottom layer, and he felt like a newborn baby, facing the world for the first time. He observed everything in front of him as if he were meeting it for the first time.
Although Kong Ran was too young to attend school, his father was one of the prime ministers of Feiyun State, holding a high position of power. Kong Ran was also talented, so his father valued him and hired a teacher to come to his home to help him with his studies from a very young age.
Therefore, although his calligraphy skills are not as good as those of Liu Fushu, Bai Jiyun and others, he also has a solid foundation.
Now, with the blessing of the cradle of Confucianism, everything around Kong Ran was seen for the first time. Besides being novel, they also became the enlightenment of the child, bringing him constant inspiration and guidance.
In this way, his previous calligraphy foundation will no longer interfere with him.
Kong Ran's writing speed was three times faster than before.
After a moment, he distanced himself from Ning Zhuo again, and the distance became larger and larger.
The monks were surprised and started discussing it enthusiastically.
“Is this talent?”
"Rumor has it that Kong Ran possesses a gift for early intelligence, and now it seems to be true!"
"With such talent, Kong Ran will definitely be the winner this time."
There were bloodshot eyes in Liu Fushu's eyes. Seeing Kong Ran writing faster and faster, he finally gave up in dejection.
Such an advantage was so huge that Liu Fushu had no hope of catching up.
At the same time, he had a similar thought to Bai Jiyun: "This Xingyun test is different from the previous ones. The questions are strange, and the prizes are too high. Could it be that this is really to guide Kong Ran and lead him onto the path of Confucian cultivation?"
At this time, there were no monks participating in the event anymore.
After Kong Ran used his natural talent to perform magic, he was so powerful that all the cultivators could see the situation clearly and stopped their attacks.
Only Ning Zhuo did not stop.
This lasted for a while, and the cultivators became impatient when they saw that the gap between Ning Zhuo and Kong Ran was too big, but Ning Zhuo had no intention of giving up.
"Is it necessary to continue like this?"
"Face the facts. Your opponent is a gifted prodigy!"
"I understand this big-headed boy. After all, he once saw hope of winning, but when Kong Ran showed his true potential, hope turned to despair. The gap was so huge that he couldn't accept it for a while."
"Humph, he's not a Confucian cultivator at all, he's purely an outsider. He's participating in this Confucian cultivator Xingyun trial out of interest, just for fun. With this kind of background, how dare he try to snatch the treasure from my Confucian cultivators?"
"That's a bit biased. Kong Ran isn't a true Confucian cultivator."
"But Kong Ran is only at the Qi Refining stage, while this young man has already established his foundation. Since he has already established his foundation and chosen the path of cultivation, why be greedy and try to take advantage of the Confucian cultivation path?"
"Yes, that's true."
The discussions of the monks reached Ning Zhuo's ears. It was obvious that they did it on purpose, but Ning Zhuo seemed to be deaf and continued to do his own thing.
Chu Xuangui nodded secretly when he saw this scene. Apart from anything else, this state of mind alone was already excellent for someone of Ning Zhuo's age.
At this point in the Xingyun test, Kong Ran was far ahead, but Chu Xuangui remained calm and not at all panicked.
Of course, he also knew Kong Ran's information, including his early intelligence and natural talents, which were all part of his plan.
Chu Xuangui remained calm and continued to use his magic power to condense poetry.
As he recited one poem after another, Kong Ran's face became paler and paler, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and his entire upper body began to shake.
He can't hold on any longer!
Using your talents not only consumes physical energy and magic power, but also mental energy.
In the past, he had used the Universal Cradle to assist in his studies, but he had never been able to maintain it for so long.
The heavy burden pushed him to his limit, and Kong Ran had to take the initiative to stop his natural practice this time.
His head was dizzy, and there was a golden light flashing in his vision. He barely turned sideways to look at Ning Zhuo, his body and mind chilled: "Why is this guy still insisting?"
Kong Ran began to make mistakes frequently.
His condition was so bad that he had to write a line of poetry at least seven or eight times before it met the standards and barely passed.
A whole poem has at least four lines.
So much so that for every poem Kong Ran wrote, Ning Zhue wrote four or five.
Under such circumstances, Ning Zhuo began to catch up steadily.
All the monks were speechless.
Many people did not expect that the situation would reverse in such a later period.
"Yes, although Kong Ran is a child prodigy, he is only in the Qi Refining Stage after all."
"Compared to the Foundation Establishment Stage, his foundation is too weak to fight a protracted battle."
"What a pity! If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have given up!"
All the monks turned their eyes to Ning Zhuo with complicated expressions.
thump.
After a while, Kong Ran could no longer hold on and fainted on the spot.
Bai Jiyun and Liu Fushu rushed over to support and revive him.
Kong Ran's body collapsed, and he watched Ning Zhuo surpass him with his tired eyes.
"Ah, my pictographic pen!" His eyes rolled back and he fainted again in anger.
Chu Xuangui slowly stopped his magic power and no longer condensed the calligraphy out of thin air.
He looked at Ning Zhuo expressionlessly.
The monks were silent for a while.
After a few breaths, Chu Xuangui nodded slightly and said calmly, "You are the winner of this Xingyun test. What's your name?"
Ning Zhuo bowed respectfully and gave his name with a slightly trembling voice to show his slightly excited emotions.
"Okay." Chu Xuangui took out a token on the spot and handed it to Ning Zhuo along with the calligraphy pen.
Then, he looked around and said in a deep voice, "In the past, Cang Zu created characters and left behind an ancient seal tablet. This tablet is a national treasure of Huazhang State and is open to the public. We have always been looking for someone who meets the requirements to inherit it."
"However, countless Confucian cultivators, whether they were geniuses or powerful, were defeated by the ancient seal tablets."
"Although we are in the Wanxiang Sect, we are qualified to recommend you."
"Not long ago, I was talking with a friend and came up with something: I think Cang Zu created characters by imitating the shapes of talismans and creating the ancient seal script."
"Since the Confucianists can't do it, why don't we follow the origin of Cang Zu's creation of characters and start with talismans?"
After hearing this, all the Confucian practitioners showed a look of sudden realization.
Chu Xuangui's face showed a complicated expression as he looked at Ning Zhuo: "You are not a Confucian cultivator, but that doesn't matter. I hope you can make good use of this Huiyi brush to improve your talisman-making skills. It would be even better if you can also study Confucian classics."
"In the future, if you have learned enough and are confident, please bring the token to me. As long as you pass the assessment, I will recommend you to go to Huazhang Country and try the ancient seal tablet."
Bai Jiyun's brows relaxed. "I see! As expected of Mr. Chu Xuangui, I was judging him by my own standards."
Liu Fushu secretly clenched his fists: "What a pity! I missed this opportunity, and also missed the chance to touch the ancient seal tablet."
"Mr. Chu Xuangui is worthy of being a senior Confucian scholar. He has always been fair and impartial. He did not deliberately favor Kong Ran because of his precocious intelligence and talent."
"The fact that he gave victory to an outsider in this Xingyun trial is enough to prove his character and integrity!"
Kong Ran is still in a coma.
Ning Zhuo saw that Chu Xuangui's words easily convinced the public and completely cleared his suspicion. A gleam of light flashed in his eyes and he thought to himself: "How amazing! I learned something, I learned something."
Ning Zhuo bowed to Chu Xuangui again, thanked him and praised his character.
Chu Xuangui didn't want to get too close to Ning Zhuo, so he told everyone to study hard and turned to leave.
Without the presence of Senior Jindan, the atmosphere at the top of the mountain suddenly became relaxed.
Many Confucian practitioners gathered around Ning Zhuo and took the initiative to make friends with him.
Ning Zhuo never refuses anyone who comes to him, always smiling, humble and friendly, giving people a feeling of being bathed in spring breeze.
Finally, he took the initiative to walk up to Bai Jiyun, Liu Fushu, and the unconscious Kong Ran: "Three fellow Taoists, our meeting this time is truly predestined."
"It's lunchtime now, how about I host the party? Would you three fellow Taoists honor me?"
Bai Jiyun and Liu Fushu looked at each other and nodded at the same time: "Yes."
The place where the three people were entertained was the Qingshi Cave Mansion.
Ning Zhuo introduced the chef, Qing Chi and Gongsun Yan to the three of them, which caused Bai Liu and Kong to look at each other again.
Ning Zhuo's clothes were ordinary, but he was accompanied by three attendants. Also, his speech and manner made it obvious that he was not from a humble family.
San Xiu's evaluation of Ning Zhuo immediately rose one level.
Even without using his signature dark dishes, the chef can still make delicious meals.
Bai Jiyun and Kong Ran were fine, but even though Liu Fushu was secretly enduring, he couldn't help but eat a little more.
After three rounds of drinks, Kong Ran took a bite of a chicken leg and finally spoke: "Fellow Daoist Ning Zhuo, are you interested in selling that Yibi Brush? My father is one of the current prime ministers of Feiyun Kingdom. If you are interested, just name your price!"
Ning Zhuo shook his head. "The Huiyi Pen can improve one's realm, but I have no intention of using it. However... I have a close friend who is gifted and intelligent. Daoist Kong Ran seemed to use his talent to perform a ritual before. I wonder if this method could be sold?"
"If it works, this golden elixir will serve as a deposit."
The three cultivators couldn't help but shrink their pupils, their gazes fixed on the Ghost Dao Golden Pill in Ning Zhuo's hand.
(End of this chapter)
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