Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 546 - Challenge in Painting

Tonight was destined to be sleepless, as Liu Wuxie’s poem had already swept across Mooncave Lake, captivating countless hearts. The line “Fear not that there will be no lack of friends in your path, for who in the world doesn’t know you?” echoed through the night, resonating deeply with people. With every recitation, a thousand different interpretations sprang forth, each person finding their own meaning in the words.

“Brother Liu is truly remarkable to refine a spiritual core so quickly!” Many of Sky Rift Valley’s disciples stepped forward and weren’t furious that Liu Wuxie had stolen the limelight from Hua Chenye.

Since this was a gathering, it was natural for there to be a winner.

Liu Wuxie responded with a calm smile, offering no further explanation for his accomplishment.

With the poetry concluded, they were left with painting, music, or chess, depending on Murong Yi’s arrangement.

“Lady Murong, what’s the next word?” everyone asked impatiently.

Murong Yi stood gracefully and scanned the crowd, her gaze briefly pausing on Liu Wuxie before she addressed the group. “Next, we will proceed with painting. The theme is scenery!”

The word "scenery" brought a wave of excitement. It was broad and open to countless interpretations, whether depicting a person, an object, or the natural world. Each had its own unique scenery, and the challenge lay in how vividly one could capture that essence. Even something as simple as a blade of grass or a stone could embody the theme. The more life and emotion the painting conveyed, the higher its level.

While many people participated in the poetry round, many people chose to give up when it came to painting. They weren’t confident in their skills and didn’t want to embarrass themselves.

After all, Liu Wuxie’s poem made everyone who participated in the first round feel ashamed, and their poems were garbage compared to his.

However, some people began to rub their hands together in excitement, and they were those who were confident in their painting skills. Qiu Baihao was a great example, known for his paintings among the four great scholars.

Each table was set with high-quality paper—not ordinary paper but special paper used for painting.

Liu Wuxie glanced at the paper and didn’t bother moving because he had participated in poetry earlier to win the jade scepter from Yin Jingwu.

As for trivial matters like romance, he had little interest in it. Murong Yi was beautiful, but that was all to it because he already had Xu Lingxue. Even Chen Ruoyan and Jian Xing’er were considered stunning beauties, especially Chen Ruoyan, who wasn’t inferior to Xu Lingxue.

Some people had already begun grinding ink to prepare for painting, and most of them closed their eyes to visualize before painting.

“Young Master Liu, are you not planning to paint?” A voice interrupted Liu Wuxie's thoughts. A prominent heir from Serene Sea City, accompanied by a jug of wine, approached with a smile. Around them, hundreds of people gathered to drink, showing little interest in the poetry or painting competitions.

“What do you want?” Liu Wuxie frowned because he could sense that this person didn’t come with good intentions.

“Nothing much, just curious,” the man replied, casually sitting across from Liu Wuxie and taking a swig directly from the jug.

“It’s dangerous to be too curious,” Liu Wuxie retorted coldly, recognizing this man from earlier, sitting with Qiu Yuan. They were likely cut from the same cloth.

The man didn’t get angry after being exposed by Liu Wuxie. He was thick-skinned and laughed to dismiss Liu Wuxie’s cold dismissal as a joke, “Brother Liu, you’re quite humorous!”

“Speak up. What do you want?” Liu Wuxie didn’t want to waste time with someone like him; he only wanted peace.

“I admire your literary skills, and I wonder if I can have you write that poem again for me to frame it?” The man stated his request for Liu Wuxie to write his poem again. Before requesting, he flattered Liu Wuxie because that poem contained a scholarly aura.

Confucianism had long gone extinct, and there wasn’t even a great scholar in the True Martial Continent. While Liu Wuxie wasn’t a great scholar, his poem contained their style, which was enough.

Though Confucianism had declined, it hadn’t vanished completely, and many people still studied it. If a cultivator of the Confucianism path could obtain Liu Wuxie’s earlier poem, it would aid their cultivation greatly.

"And why should I?" Liu Wuxie asked with a faint smile, his eyes narrowing slightly. Who did this man think he was, demanding a rewrite of the poem as if Liu Wuxie should comply just because he asked?

“Brother Liu, you can name your price. I will agree to any price as long as it’s within my means.” The man didn’t give up and even asked Liu Wuxie to name his price; neither would suffer this way.

"Not interested." Liu Wuxie waved his hand dismissively, signaling the conversation was over.

The man blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting such a firm refusal. Liu Wuxie hadn’t even bothered to give him any consideration. His face darkened, and his voice became sharper, brimming with a hidden threat. "Liu Wuxie, are you really going to refuse me?"

"Do you intend to make a move here?" Liu Wuxie’s smile vanished, replaced by a cold, piercing gaze. A terrifying murderous intent radiated from him, so oppressive that it forced the man to stumble back, crashing into the table behind him. The sudden commotion drew attention from those nearby, who began whispering and glancing over, eager to see what had caused the disruption.

"Who do you think you are, Liu Wuxie? Don’t think yourself so mighty. I'm offering to buy your poem as a favor to you! There's nothing in this world I can’t buy!" The man, now enraged and humiliated after nearly falling, spat venomously, trying to save his reputation after being forced back by Liu Wuxie’s overwhelming presence.

“Isn’t that the Ling Clan’s heir? Why did he start a conflict with Liu Wuxie?”

The crowd was surprised. Serene Sea City had two prominent clans—the Qiu and Ling Clans. While the Qiu Clan was powerful, the Ling Clan held even more influence due to their immense wealth. It was said that they possessed a unique technique for extracting treasures from barren lands, and over the years, this skill had earned them a fortune beyond comparison.

“Young Master Ling wished to buy Liu Wuxie’s poem, but he was rejected.” Those who were nearby quickly explained the situation.

“Isn’t Liu Wuxie a little too unreasonable? It’s just a poem. What’s the problem with him gifting it to Young Master Ling? He wouldn’t lose anything either way, and this act could even ensure his future safety in Serene Sea City.” Many were baffled about why Liu Wuxie refused Young Master Ling’s request.

“Do you think writing a poem containing a scholarly aura is easy? That may have been a stroke of luck, and he might not achieve it again. After all, that poem was recorded in the Annals of Heaven and Earth.” There were still many people who understood the situation. After all, Liu Wuxie had caused a phenomenon the first time, but the second time could be different.

Otherwise, many others would have flocked to request a copy of the poem, but without the unique scholarly aura Liu Wuxie had imbued into it, what would be the point? They could simply write it out themselves, having already memorized the lines.

“I am not obliged to show you any respect.I don’t want to see you here anymore, so get lost!" Liu Wuxie’s voice was cold and dismissive. He had no interest in arguing with someone like Young Master Ling. Dignity and respect were earned, not bestowed by others.

“Very well, just wait and watch!” Young Master Ling ferociously pointed his finger at Liu Wuxie before storming off. When he returned to his table, Qiu Yuan quickly comforted him.

This was only a small episode, which everyone soon threw to the back of their minds.

Ten-odd minutes later, someone had already begun with their painting.

“Liu Wuxie, do you dare to challenge Senior Brother Qiu?” Yin Jingwu spoke out again, wanting to rechallenge Liu Wuxie in a painting competition this time.

Liu Wuxie looked at Yin Jingwu in disdain. Did this fool think he could turn the tables around after losing in poetry?

“Senior Brother Yin, what are you doing? Since when did Senior Brother Qiu agree to challenge Liu Wuxie?” Many disciples came forward to stop Yin Jingwu because Qiu Baihao had remained silent the entire time.

“Senior Brother Qiu, you can crush Liu Wuxie with your skills. I beg you to issue him a challenge to restore the honor of the Azure Crimson Gate!” Yin Jingwu begged Qiu Baihao. He had lost the jade scepter with a spiritual core, and his heart bled whenever he thought of it.

“Senior Brother Yin is right. This brat repeatedly opposed our Azure Crimson Gate. How would we maintain our footing in the city if we don’t take revenge?” Yin Jingwu’s words won the support of many fellow disciples.

Although they were presumptuous about forcing it upon Qiu Baihao, what they said wasn’t wrong from the Azure Crimson Gate’s standpoint. If they allowed Liu Wuxie to continue with his arrogance, even they all felt they would be humiliated. Thus, more Azure Crimson Gate disciples stepped out to support Yin Jingwu.

Qiu Baihao glanced at Yin Jingwu coldly. No matter what, it was undeniable that Yin Jingwu had used him.

“Senior Brother Qiu, I’m sorry. I don’t have a choice, and I hope you can avenge me as a fellow disciple of the Azure Crimson Gate.” Yin Jingwu trembled at the cold gaze and quickly apologized to Qiu Baihao.

Although they were both in the high levels of the Astral River Realm, they didn’t share the same status because Qiu Baihao’s status was much higher than someone who had touched the threshold of the Nascent Transformation Realm.

“Senior Brother Qiu, please don’t blame Senior Brother Yin. He didn’t have a choice,” Jia Fengmao supported Yin Jingwu.

If Qiu Baihao refused with so much said, the other disciples would think that he was afraid. Yin Jingwu had perfectly enacted his strategy of using Qiu Baihao to deal with Liu Wuxie.

Qiu Baihao knew Yin Jingwu was using him, but he couldn’t refute those words, making him furious. Not to mention, over a hundred Azure Crimson Gate disciples stood on Yin Jingwu’s side.

Only a few disciples couldn’t stand Yin Jingwu’s shamelessness, but the majority quickly drowned their opinions.

“Liu Wuxie, do you dare to compete with Senior Brother Qiu? Hand over the ancient spiritual bamboo shoot if you don’t dare!” Yin Jingwu turned to look at Liu Wuxie with murderous intent after seeing that his scheme had succeeded.

“I have never seen someone so shameless like you in my life. You don’t dare to compete with me and make use of your fellow martial brother? I despise you,” Liu Wuxie sneered.

Many people in the surroundings laughed along with Liu Wuxie because what Yin Jingwu did was truly despicable.

“Liu Wuxie, I admit that I’m inferior to Senior Brother Qiu in painting, so is there a problem for him to compete with you? You must be too scared to bet.” Yin Jingwu didn’t care about his reputation as long as he could get back at Liu Wuxie. If he could humiliate Liu Wuxie, he would kneel and beg Qiu Baihao.

“Sure, but what do you have to offer this time?” If it were another spiritual core, the seed in the desolate world would be able to sprout. At that time, he would have an endless flow of spirituality to transform his body.

“Brother Liu, don’t agree to it!” Shui Huan tried to stop Liu Wuxie, hoping the latter could reconsider.

Liu Wuxie was unaware of Qiu Baihao’s painting skills. However, he frequently interacted with the Azure Crimson Gate disciples as someone from the Sky Rift Valley, and he knew Qiu Baihao’s attainment in painting. He had heard that Qiu Baihao had long reached the level of a master.

There were four grades in painting: adept, outstanding, divine, and transcendent.

Qiu Haobai’s painting skills have long reached divine grade, where every painting was a masterpiece.