Chapter 246 Provocation
Compared to the high-ranking officials and celebrities who were well-known in Lizhou, Lin Rui's appearance was much more low-key.
However, the stunning effect of the landscape painting that blended artistic conception with reality drew a lot of attention to Lin Rui, so many people cast curious glances at him the moment he appeared.
Too young!
I can hardly believe that this young man has such amazing skills in calligraphy and painting!
"My child, we meet again."
When the staff invited him to the judges' table, an elderly man immediately smiled and waved.
"Hello, Grandpa Lü."
Lin Rui responded politely.
This old man was no ordinary person; his name was Lü Jixiao, and he was one of the managers of the No. 1 Pavilion in the world, specifically responsible for reviewing the works of qin (a stringed instrument), chess, calligraphy, and painting.
Lin Rui hadn't expected that this competition would bring Lü Jixiao to the scene.
In his view, neither the Xia family nor any other forces in Lizhou should have such influence.
The only possibility is that the authorities attach great importance to this competition, which is why they sent Lü Jixiao to participate.
Lin Rui thought to himself, but his steps didn't stop. He walked to the judges' table and sat down in a few steps.
Coincidentally, he was sitting to the left of Lü Jixiao.
"Child, let me introduce you. This is Jiang Qingyang."
Lü Jixiao introduced an elderly man on the right.
The other party was clearly aloof; he nodded to Lin Rui in a seemingly polite manner, but his gaze quickly shifted elsewhere.
Lin Rui frowned secretly. He was quite certain that this was his first meeting with Jiang Qingyang, and they had no past grudges or recent conflicts. He really couldn't understand the other party's attitude.
Lü Jixiao seemed oblivious to Jiang Qingyang's attitude, or perhaps he saw it but pretended not to, and instead introduced the other two people to Lin Rui.
“That is Master Hongyuan from the Floating Island.”
Lin Rui couldn't help but look over, and was slightly taken aback.
Monk?
He was dressed in a blue monk's robe and appeared to be around fifty years old. He seemed to be suffering from some kind of illness, which made his face look somewhat pale.
Master Hongyuan seemed to have heard the commotion. Unlike Jiang Qingyang, he turned around, nodded to Lin Rui in a friendly manner, and then made a Buddhist sign to Lü Jixiao, chanting Amitabha.
Then, Master Hongyuan continued to fiddle with the prayer beads hanging from his wrist, chanting softly.
"The one next to me is Yoon Ji-hoon from the Kingdom of Hibiscus."
She looks to be in her forties, but thanks to her good skincare routine, she doesn't look old at all.
Yin Zhixun didn't seem to be very proficient in the Chinese language, so he didn't react much even when he heard Lu Jixiao and Lin Rui talking.
Including Lin Rui, there were a total of five judges in this competition, and a yellow warning line was drawn around the audience.
Regardless of your status, if you are not a contestant, you must stand outside the yellow warning line.
Of course, those who were allowed to enter were not commoners; they cared about rules more than anyone else.
But it was clear that among the guests present were not only local dignitaries and celebrities from Lizhou. Lin Rui glanced around and saw many men, women, and children dressed in floating island and hibiscus clothing. There were even many foreigners with blond hair, blue eyes, or dark skin.
After a routine opening speech by the host, the judges and contestants were introduced.
When Lin Rui was introduced, there was a slight commotion in the room.
Not everyone has the ability or the willingness to put in the effort to investigate Lin Rui's resume, so many people looked surprised when the host recounted Lin Rui's achievements on stage.
Among them were Jiang Qingyang, who initially paid little attention to Lin Rui, and Yin Zhixun.
At the same time, Lin Rui sensed some slightly provocative glances, almost all from contestants from the countries of Floating Island and Hibiscus.
Lin Rui's resume was nothing to them. Having been in Lizhou for so long, they were very clear about the ranking rules for artists in Shenzhou.
So, what gives a newcomer who isn't even a celebrity the right to sit on the judging panel with a group of big shots?
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