Translator: Lordbluefire

  “If we include the [Riches and Honor, Solitary Life Painting], there should be seven of them!”

  Lu Zhiruo pursed her lips. Because Sun Mo had helped a little maid copy this famous painting, even though it was his work, he usually didn’t mention it.

  “It doesn’t matter!”

  Qin Yaoguang continued, “It’s too difficult for others to make famous paintings, so every single one of them has to be included. However, Teacher is different. He can draw them whenever he wants!”

  “That’s right!” Ying Baiwu was very proud. “The number of famous paintings under our teacher’s name is enough to crush many famous artists.”

  “Ziqi’s drawing skills are not bad to begin with. Coupled with Great Teacher Sun’s guidance, even if she doesn’t get first place, there should be no issue to get second place.”

  Li Xiu was looking forward to it. As long as Li Ziqi could get second place, the Great Tang would emerge as the champion of the Arts Battle.

  The Painting Battle’s time limit was three hours. During this time, the Qi Emperor wouldn’t let everyone just sit there and do nothing. Otherwise, it’d be too boring. Therefore, he arranged for an art appreciation session.

  The judges for this Painting Battle were three famous artists.

  Zou Yin was good at drawing people and scenes from the streets, especially the beauty portraits. They were the favorites of emperors and young masters of wealthy families. They were also the most expensive ones on the market.

  After all, which man didn’t like beauties?

  In reality, women had all sorts of shortcomings, but the ones in paintings could be perfect and flawless.

  Wang Zan was good at drawing mountains, rivers, flowers, and birds. He was said to be a man who had carved nature on canvases. His whereabouts were also the most indiscernible. He often entered the mountains and forests and would be gone for several years each time.

  This time around, it was only after hearing that Sun Mo was coming did Wang Zan agree to the Qi Emperor’s invitation to be the judge.

  The third person was Zeng Gongnian, who was called Hundred-Hands. It meant that he could draw anything. He was also the oldest famous artist here. He had drawn the most portraits of emperors with his hands.

  “This painting is Wu Daozi’s’ [Child-Deliverance Painting]. I came across it by chance at an art gallery when I traveled incognito!”

  As the Qi Emperor gave his introduction, four eunuchs carefully unrolled a long scroll.

  “Everyone, please appraise it!”

  The Qi Emperor took a sip of wine, a trace of mockery flashing in his eyes.

  The important figures from the four delegations went on stage.

  From the Great Tang’s side, Li Xiu and Han Cangshui went over while Sun Mo stayed at the spectators’ stand.

  To speak the truth, he was not interested in drawing. He could admire art pieces like Mona Lisa and Man with a Pipe. However, he felt that these art pieces weren’t that far off from the prints that were commonly seen on the streets.

  He could tell that artists for pieces like the ‘Along the River During the Qingming Festival’ and ‘The Night Revels of Han Xizai’ were amazing, but that was merely it.

  If Sun Mo had the time, he’d rather spend it on reading comics.

  “Sigh, I wonder who benefited from my hard disk.”

  At the thought of the over 100 gigabytes worth of materials stored in the folder named ‘learning materials’ and how he couldn’t revise them anymore, Sun Mo felt upset.

  “Teacher!”

  Lu Zhiruo poked Sun Mo. “The Qi Emperor is calling for you!”

  “Beloved Subject Sun, hurry up and come on stage to admire this painting!”

  Seeing that Sun Mo was not coming, the Qi Emperor personally came down the stage to call him.

  This treatment made many people’s eyes turn red with jealousy.

  As soon as Sun Mo went on stage, the three famous painters looked over. Wang Zan greeted him, while Zou Yin and Zeng Gongnian did not even cup their hands to him.

  “Hehe!”

  Sun Mo didn’t mind.

  “I’ve long since heard that Great Teacher Sun has several great works. May I know where I can go to see them?”

  Wang Zan smiled. “I went to the Dragon Subduing Academy and had the great opportunity to see The Kite-Chasing Girl. I was shocked by it! Your paintings are no longer just paintings. You’re also teaching and giving students encouragement!”

  “Artist Wang is too kind!”

  Sun Mo said humbly.

  “Great Teacher Sun, there’s no need to be humble. When we paint famous paintings, we have never thought about the meaning of education. It’d be just drawing freely when we felt touched and inspired.”

  Wang Zan’s words were referring to the state for most artists.

  “That’s you. I work hard in trying my best to implement teaching into my artworks!”

  Zou Yin interrupted arrogantly. He then cupped his hands at Sun Mo. “Hello, Teacher Sun!”

  Sun Mo raised his brows. This guy might seem to be greeting him, but he was actually giving a demonstration.

  This was because for someone to have the qualification to call Sun Mo + ‘Teacher(Shi)[1]’, they must be a great teacher.

  Of course, Sun Mo was someone who wouldn’t let himself lose out.

  “I think you look familiar. Have we met before when we were undergoing the 4-stars examination at the Ancient Sage Building?”

  Sun Mo cupped his fists together and wore an expression as if he was on close terms with the other party.

  Zou Yin’s expression froze. He felt so awkward that he did not know what to say.

  Although he was a great teacher, he was only a 2-stars one. He had passed the examination back when the requirements were lax, so naturally, he wasn’t qualified to take the examinations with Sun Mo.

  What Sun Mo’s words meant was: ‘Even though you’re already so old, your star-level is not as high as mine. What right do you have to speak with contempt in front of me?’

  “Teacher Sun, don’t make fun of him. There’s only one 5-stars great teacher like you in the entire world.”

  Grand Tutor Su was considered a host as well, so he naturally had to be a peacemaker.

  “There are definitely no precedents, and there’d be no such cases either in the future!”

  Li Xiu laughed and teased upon hearing that. “I’ve seen Sun Mo draw on the spot. To be honest, if he hadn’t wanted to be a great teacher, which caused him to waste a lot of time and effort, his achievements in painting would have been higher. He might have become a Saint Artist of the generation.”

  At this point, Li Xiu looked at Wang Zan. “Great Teacher Sun has a total of seven famous paintings, all of which were completed in the past two years. Other than The Kite-Chasing Girl, you can take a look at the other paintings at the Jinling’s Zheng Manor!”

  The Eldest Princess said this very loudly.

  This was the first time many people had heard of this and they were shocked, the onlookers even more so. They immediately started discussing amongst themselves.

  “Is that true? Seven famous paintings in two years? Even an Art Saint might not be able to produce so many!”

  “A painting can only have the right to be called a famous painting if it produces a Wondrous Blossom state. It’s impossible to fake it, and these are the words coming from the Great Tang’s Eldest Princess!”

  “How I wish I could see them!”

  Some uncultured people who liked to mingle with cultured people to put up a pretense, as well as those who liked paintings started to mumble noisily.

  “Beloved Subject Sun, what do you think of this [Child-Deliverance Painting]?”

  The Qi Emperor asked.

  The reason this famous painting was famous was not just because of its Wondrous Blossom state, but also because it had a deep meaning to it.

  Back then, Wu Daozi’s wife hadn’t given birth to any children even though the two of them had been married for a long time. Therefore, Wu Daozi’s mother had forced him to divorce his wife. Wu Daozi refused, so he brought his wife to Yunyin Temple to pray to Buddha and ask for a son!

  On their way there, there were many women who also came to pray for children. Some of them had failed several times and eventually committed suicide by drowning themselves in a river. Wu Daozi felt overwhelmed with emotions upon seeing this and they were put into this painting.

  A woman’s life and the feelings between a married couple shouldn’t be measured by a child!

  After returning from the Yunyin Temple, Wu Daozi made this famous painting. After his mother had seen it, she came to her senses and no longer insisted on getting her daughter-in-law to give birth to a son.

  This painting was called [Child-Deliverance Painting], but it was actually a painting with a persuasion motive. People who had seen it would use a calmer and level-headed mindset toward childbirth.

  “Interesting!”

  Sun Mo saw the Child-Deliverance Goddess carrying a baby boy and baby girl in each hand. He recalled that even in the modern era, people had a strong obsession with giving birth to sons.

  “What do you mean by interesting?”

  The Qi Emperor asked.

  Although famous paintings had a Wondrous Blossom state, it was not impossible to forge them. This was because these famous paintings were too famous and there’d always be artists who copied them as part of their learning. After copying them too many times, some of them would occasionally experience a flash of inspiration that would give birth to a famous painting.

  For example, Sun Mo’s [Riches and Honor, Solitary Life Painting] was also a forged art piece.

  “It’s a fake!”

  Before Sun Mo gave his evaluation, he had activated his Divine Sight to confirm it.

  The moment he said this, many people frowned. This was because they had just praised this famous painting. How were they supposed to uphold their reputation when Sun Mo said that it was a fake?

  “Great Teacher Sun, no matter how many famous paintings you have done, you should always be careful and modest when appraising a painting. You should behave as though you’re new and inexperienced. Don’t speak so irresponsibly.”

  Zou Yin lectured him.

  Many officials and great teachers nodded in agreement.

  Sun Mo was too reckless. No one could confirm the authenticity of a famous painting in just three minutes.

  “Just because you can’t do it doesn’t mean that others can’t!”

  Sun Mo glanced at Zou Yin. “Also, I’m a great teacher. I’ll take responsibility for every word I say. If this painting is real, I’ll chop my head off for you to use as a chamber pot!”

  Sssss!

  Sun Mo’s words came on too strong and attracted a lot of attention.

  “Okay, then tell me why you think it’s a fake!”

  Zou Yin said sarcastically.

  “The theme of the [Child-Deliverance Painting] is to let people drop their obsession of wanting to give birth to a son. This forgery has done that, but it’s still lacking a little.”

  Sun Mo explained, “It lacks a kind of doting love for women.”

  “Doting love?”

  Everyone was puzzled.

  “Wu Daozi and his wife shared a close relationship, growing old together, sharing the same bed when alive and the same tomb when dead. Therefore, in his version of the painting, there is also the apologetic and loving feelings he has toward his wife. Look at this painting. The woman who is kneeling and praying for a child should be Wu Daozi’s wife. However, she doesn’t look any different from the other women who are praying for children.”

  Sun Mo smiled. “If I were the one drawing my wife, I would definitely put in a lot of effort into drawing her!”

  Everyone fell silent. Sun Mo’s words made sense.

  Zou Yin and Zeng Ying exchanged a glance, unable to think of any rebuttal words.

  “Should I refute that?”

  Zou Yin hesitated.

  At this moment, the Qi Emperor clapped.

  Pa pa!

  “Haha, as expected of Beloved Subject Sun. You are right!”

  The Qi Emperor laughed. “That’s right. This painting is not Wu Daozi’s [Child-Deliverance Painting], but is a copy that I painted.”

  “What?”

  Everyone was shocked.

  “I didn’t expect Your Majesty to have such unparalleled talent!”

  Li Xiu was indeed used to the palace life and was the first to offer compliments. She even wore a look of admiration on her face.

  The others quickly reacted and offered their flatteries too.

  “Haha!”

  The Qi Emperor was happy and he couldn’t help but pat Sun Mo’s shoulder. “If it wasn’t for your sharp eyes, This Emperor’s famous painting would be able to fool the others and pass off as the real thing!”

  “It was luck!”

  Sun Mo said humbly.

  In reality, the reason Sun Mo could determine the authenticity of this famous painting was because of the Qi Emperor’s attitude.

  Given the Qi Emperor’s status, it wouldn’t be a problem for him to take out a real piece. But that wouldn’t be interesting, would it?

  Since the Qi Emperor had an unbridled personality, he would definitely take the opportunity to make fun of everyone. Moreover, he had asked everyone’s opinions on this art piece several times. The answer was clearly laid out.

  Sun Mo had stolen a few glances at the Qi Emperor. When he saw the pleased expression on the Qi Emperor’s face, he understood. After all, the Qi Emperor was not so superficial that he would be pleased just because he had a famous painting. It was unless this famous painting had been created by him.

  “This is my first famous painting!”

  The Qi Emperor immediately started introducing how he had an inspiration outburst that afternoon.

  Everyone actually did not want to hear this, but there was nothing they could do. After all, the other party was the Qi Emperor. Some of them even curried up to him!

  “F*ck, that was close!”

  Zou Yin raised his hand and wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. It was fortunate that he did not continue to refute Sun Mo arrogantly. Otherwise, he would have been embarrassed.

  “What a pity!”

  Zeng Gongnian felt regretful. Actually, he could tell that the painting was a fake. He didn’t say it because he wanted Zou Yin or Wang Zan to say that the art piece was a real one. When the time came and he revealed this fact, their reputations would drop drastically and his would rise as a result.

  However, Sun Mo had spoiled everything.

  “Amazing!”

  Zeng Gongnian sized Sun Mo up and couldn’t help but praise him in his heart. His reputation was really well deserved.

  Next up was the time to appreciate paintings and treasures. The Qi Emperor finally could bring out the treasures he had collected and show them off.

  Even some wealthy people had their horizons widened, let alone the commoners. After all, this was a collection carefully picked out by an emperor.

  Sun Mo was so bored that he felt like sleeping until the Qi Emperor said this.

  “Beloved Subject Sun, is there anything you’ve taken a liking to? You can pick one!”

  After the Qi Emperor said that, the entire group of people stared at Sun Mo.

  Did the Qi Emperor have to admire him this much?

  “Your Majesty, these are just worldly possessions. There’s no need to pay too much attention to them. You should focus your energy on more meaningful things!”

  Sun Mo tried to persuade him. He wanted to say that there was no way to take these things along when one died. But on second thought, these collections might end up being buried with the Qi Emperor so he could not be bothered to say it.

  (Speaking of which, if I marry Jiang Yuzhen, these collections will probably end up mine, right?)

  “Great Teacher Sun, This Emperor has benefited from your teaching!”

  To be able to be an energetic little bee at night that could do it seven times, the Qi Emperor did not dare to berate Sun Mo. Instead, he humbly accepted his teachings.

  Without realizing it, more than an hour had passed and Xiang Zhao was surrounded by crumpled paper. He couldn’t draw famous paintings, so he scratched his head gloomily.

  “Forget it, the others probably won’t be able to draw a famous painting either. If that’s the case, I’ll just need to draw a high-quality piece with a slightly higher meaning to win!”

  Xiang Zhao decided not to pursue perfection anymore. But right at this moment, spiritual qi suddenly gushed on Wei Wu`an’s side.

  “What?”

  Xiang Zhao was shocked. Usually, when such a phenomenon occurred, it meant that the Wondrous Blossom state had been achieved!

  The people in the arena were also alarmed. All of them looked over.

  “Wei Crown Prince has produced a famous painting?”

  Everyone immediately wanted to rush over and take a look, but they were stopped by Sun Mo. “Don’t disturb him, or else the famous painting might end up failing midway!”

  “Damn it, why are you interfering? Why aren’t you letting them come over?”

  Wei Wu`an was displeased.

  This was his scheme. He had cheated to create the phenomenon of spiritual qi gathering. His plan was to cancel it when everyone came over, using the excuse that everyone had disturbed him and that was why the famous painting failed to materialize. However, Sun Mo had stopped that from happening.

  “Could this guy have seen through my scheme?”

  Wei Wu`an was depressed. He was just thinking of what to do when the same situation happened at Xia Taikang’s side.

  [1] The term ‘laoshi’ (old/elder teacher) has been mentioned before…… In this story’s context, it is a much more respectful way of addressing someone compared to simply using the word ‘shi’ (teacher).

  Chapter 1208: Our Journey Should Be the Great Ocean of Stars!

  Translator: Lordbluefire

  “Yet another famous painting?”

  Everyone stared at Xia Taikang and exclaimed in shock.

  If it wasn’t for Sun Mo’s reminder, everyone might have inadvertently disturbed Wei Wu`an and prevented the birth of a famous painting. So now, everyone had learned their lesson and didn’t gather over at Xia Taikang’s area.

  “If there are no unexpected incidents, the champion would be Prince Taikang!”

  Zou Yin was someone from the Great Xia, so he naturally would speak for their crown prince.

  Everyone nodded in agreement!

  Usually speaking, as long as one could invoke the Wondrous Blossoms Realm, they would be able to suppress others. There was no exception even if their opponent was a famous artist.

  “That might not be for certain. The time hasn’t ended yet, maybe others can also produce a famous painting!”

  The Qi Emperor argued.

  Zou Yan was a famous artist and had a certain status in society. Commoners would not dare to refute him, but the Qi Emperor clearly wasn’t a commoner.

  “Your Majesty is correct!”

  Although Zou Yin’s words were being rebutted, he had to endure it and even smile.

  “I feel that Ziqi isn’t bad. Look at how focused she is when she’s painting.”

  The Qi Emperor was a classic example of loving someone’s dog because they loved someone. He transferred his admiration for Sun Mo onto the little sunny egg.

  “Your majesty!’

  Grand Tutor Su felt helpless and reminded in a low voice.

  (You are the emperor of the organizing country, so you shouldn’t display your likes and dislikes so easily.)

  Zou Yin’s face stiffened. He wanted to say that famous paintings weren’t so easily produced but at this very moment, spirit qi started to gather around Li Ziqi.

  This…

  Zou Yin was stunned. After that, he felt a lingering fear and joy for not making the statement in his mind. Luckily, he didn’t say anything or his face would be smacked.

  “Haha, what day is it today? There are actually three famous paintings being produced?”

  Wang Zan was greatly joyful.

  The Qi Emperor also felt somewhat impatient as he wanted to quickly admire the painting. He simply loved to admire zither, chess, painting, calligraphy, flowers, birds, and bugs.

  Three hours later, the participants gradually finished their paintings.

  Although there were princes and princesses who felt that their work wasn’t bad, their work was simply trash compared to famous paintings. They weren’t even qualified to be compared.

  “From the looks of things, the champion should either be Taikang, Ziqi, or Wu`an!”

  The Qi Emperor walked over.

  “Your Majesty, I’m not convinced!”

  A prince of Wei Country walked out with large strides.

  “Although I didn’t produce a famous painting, this painting was created through all my efforts and it contains an extremely high inner quality. I feel that it is qualified to be compared to the others!”

  As the prince spoke, he lifted his painting to show everyone.

  Si~

  Many people inhaled a breath of cold air when they saw the painting.

  Wasn’t the concept of this painting a little too tragic? Hunger swept over the land, while children and women lay dead on the roadside with countless locusts flying in the air.

  This fellow even painted scenes of people exchanging their kids for food!

  “This is my ‘Song Dynasty Hunger Painting’, could it be that the concept within isn’t lofty enough?”

  The prince argued, “I hope that all major characters here can lower your status to look at the life that these poor people are leading.”

  “The three of you, what do you think?”

  The Qi Emperor glanced at Zeng Gongnian and the other two.

  “Since Great Teacher Sun is a great teacher and also a famous artist, I think he will be better suited to answer this question.”

  Zeng Gongnian dug a hole for Sun Mo.

  If he didn’t answer this question properly, he would have to offend people.

  “Yeah, Great Teacher Sun, would you please answer it?”

  Wang Zan urged. However, he had no malicious intentions and only wanted to hear Sun Mo’s unique perspective.

  As for Zou Yin, he stood to the side and glanced over coldly, preparing to ‘stab Sun Mo’ at any moment.

  “I feel that the current painting world has detoured from the correct path. Why do we have to judge the quality of a painting based on whether or not Wondrous Blossom is invoked?”

  The prince continued to ask.

  Several people spectating nearby nodded. They felt that the words of this prince made sense.

  “This Highness, can I ask a question? Have you produced a famous painting before?”

  Sun Mo asked.

  The prince had an awkward expression and shook his head.

  “For myself, I’m a realistic person that always adheres to the principle of things before evaluating them. I wouldn’t speak recklessly if I knew nothing.”

  Sun Mo didn’t use a lecturing tone. Rather, he was casually chatting. “Since you never entered the Wondrous Blossom Realm before, you naturally wouldn’t understand what it entails!”

  The prince was unconvinced.

  “When you said that you created this painting through your utmost efforts, that was a blatant lie. If you were truly focused and gave it your all when creating it, you would surely invoke the Wondrous Blossom Realm.”

  Sun Mo stared at the prince. “And I will be very responsible and tell you a secret. When you can ‘infuse’ your blood, your flesh, your bone marrow, and your soul into your painting, only then would you have the chance to comprehend the Wondrous Blossom Realm. It wouldn’t be possible even if you are the slightest bit distracted!”

  An uproar immediately sprang up in the surroundings as everyone started discussing.

  Zeng Gongnian’s countenance became unsightly.

  (This damnable Sun Mo, why does he have to divulge such a secret? You are a great teacher and don’t have to rely on painting skills to feed yourself, but I’m different!)

  At this moment, Zeng Gongnian wanted to beat Sun Mo to death.

  Wang Zan praised. He recalled his own condition when he produced a famous painting. Things were indeed like what Sun Mo had said.

  “Impressive!”

  Zou Yin sighed. Such a genius truly caused others to feel despair. He had long since discovered this secret.

  The prince grew anxious and blurted out, “Are you correct just because you said so?”

  Sun Mo didn’t feel annoyed. He smiled calmly and placed his hands behind his back. “As someone that produced seven famous paintings before, I feel that even in the entire great teacher world, I have the qualifications to guide others in this aspect!”

  “That’s for sure. Even Saint Artist Wu has only produced 16 famous paintings in his entire life.”

  The Qi Emperor fawned.

  However, the Qi Emperor felt that rather than wasting time on this, Sun Mo might as well use the time to give him a massage. After that, he would summon a bevy of palace maids and concubines over, so both of them could enjoy themselves for three days and nights!

  Mn, the type where they would be fully unclothed!

  “You said that the concept of your painting is too lofty. It’s a pity you made a mistake when you came up. You just want to use this excuse to paint the facade that you are someone who loves the commoners like your own child. If you are truly concerned for these people, you will feel empathy for them. Sadly, let alone having tears in your eyes, they didn’t even turn red!”

  Sun Mo shook his head. “Student, please remember to put up a complete act in the future and train your acting skills to be better!”

  The prince’s expression turned ashen. His thoughts were completely seen through.

  “So this is the case!”

  The audience was then enlightened. As expected, the nobility would always put up an act. After that, they felt even more worship for Sun Mo. How impressive must a person be in order to create so many famous paintings?

  Sadly, they weren’t able to see his work.

  Those high officials that were culture snobs also felt regret. Although they were third-grade and fourth-grade high officials, they had no statuses before Sun Mo.

  “Can we admire the paintings now?”

  Sun Mo reminded the Qi Emperor with a relaxed and carefree expression on his face. However, he was extremely elated in his heart as he had received over 10,000 favorable impression points.

  “Who among you wants to be first?”

  Although the Qi Emperor wanted to hurry up and view Xia Taikang, Wei Wu`an, and Li Ziqi’s paintings, he still had to show that he cared about the others.

  “Allow me!”

  Xia Taikang took the initiative.

  Two officials wore silk gloves and carefully displayed Xia Taikang’s art piece for everyone to see.

  “Masterpiece!”

  Zou Yin immediately started flaunting. After that, he looked at Sun Mo with a gaze filled with provocation. “What does Great Teacher Sun think?”

  “Excellent!”

  Sun Mo nodded.

  “This painting is truly unparalleled in terms of imposingness!”

  The Qi Emperor sighed.

  All males present felt the same way.

  Xia Taikang drew a palace. Outside it, there were warriors clad in heavy armor, and long spears littered the area like trees in a forest. Inside the palace, at the end of a long flight of steps, there was only an emperor taking a slow walk.

  These stairs weren’t made of stones but numerous corpses. There were corpses of ordinary folks, rich merchants, high officials, and even emperors from rival nations.

  Through the majestic palace gate, one could see that there was a dragon throne inside. Under the dragon throne, there was the country that the Emperor was reigning over and the citizens of the Nine Provinces.

  In terms of painting technique, this painting might be somewhat insufficient. However, the artistic concept was fully displayed. Anyone who saw it would imagine themselves as an emperor that was about to ascend to the throne.

  The entire painting exuded the aura of a regent.

  “Painting something like this with the status of a crown prince isn’t easy at all!”

  Zeng Gongnian praised loudly.

  “Sadly, it lacked an emperor verse!”

  Zou Yin sighed.

  After that, everyone subconsciously glanced at Sun Mo.

  “Teacher Sun, please evaluate this.”

  Xia Taikang implored.

  “Your painting is very well done, but the branding of your personal character is too heavy. It will cause many people to feel ambition birthing in their hearts when they look at it.”

  Sun Mo stared at Xia Taikang. “Your dreams are good, but I hope that you can conceal your strength and bide your time well instead of fully revealing your sharpness!”

  “As for the emperor verse, I won’t suggest that. I’m not an emperor after all and don’t have the mentality!”

  Sun Mo rejected.

  The spectators all nodded. Sun Mo’s words were very correct. The ambitiousness of this painting was too much. Those looking at it would have unrealistic thoughts running through their minds.

  Xia Taikang frowned and felt somewhat unhappy. After Li Ziqi’s hundred poems recital, who didn’t know that Sun Mo was skilled in both calligraphy and painting? He had unmatched poetry talent. It was just an emperor verse, and he definitely would be able to write it if he wanted to.

  He didn’t write it because he didn’t want to write for him!

  “Let’s check out the next painting?”

  Grand Tutor Su suggested.

  “I’ll give up!”

  Jiang Yuzhen conceded.

  Everyone turned to look at Wei Wu`an and Xiang Zhao.

  “I…”

  Wei Wu`an sighed. “I’ll give up!”

  “Ah?”

  Everyone was stunned. (You have produced a famous painting, so why do you have to give up?)

  “Could it be that the famous painting isn’t complete?”

  Zeng Gongnian shook his head. “What a pity!”

  Wei Wu`an had thought of a few humble sentences, but in the end, when he saw Sun Mo’s gaze on him, he wasn’t able to say them.

  It was truly too difficult to cheat Sun Mo’s intelligent eyes.

  “Let’s take a look at Her Highness Ziqi’s painting?”

  Xiang Zhao suggested.

  The little sunny egg had no objections.

  The two eunuchs carefully took Li Ziqi’s painting over.

  After everyone saw it, they were dumbstruck.

  “What is this?”

  Even great teachers with broad horizons were stunned at this moment.

  “My beloved subjects, do you guys know what this is?”

  The Qi Emperor asked. He looked around and his gaze finally landed on Grand Tutor Su. However, Grand Tutor Su shook his head.

  Li Ziqi didn’t care about the thoughts of others. Rather, she was sneaking glances at Sun Mo. When she saw her teacher smiling, her heart finally relaxed.

  In this world, she only cared for her teacher’s evaluation.

  “Ziqi, what is this?”

  The Qi Emperor was curious.

  “The starry sky!”

  Li Ziqi introduced.

  On the white paper, there was a nebula on the upper part. It was mysterious, magnificent, and profound. Because Wondrous Blossom was invoked, it had color. Hence, this nebula fully displayed the mystery of the starry space.

  When looking closer, one could see a blue planet. A human was floating in outer space staring at the nebula in the distance, and the human was as tiny as a particle of dust!