I Can See Your Combat Power

What truly astonished everybody was that shortly after the first gilded invitation was sent out, a response was already presented before Xiao Zheng.

“No!”

These two bluntly stark words were used to reply within the invitation envelope, while the slanted handwriting conveyed the sender’s casual approach to writing the reply. Faced with such a response, Xiao Zheng could only respond with a bitter smile. Although he had been prepared for rejection, the direct refusal, without any courtesy exchange, was a first for him.

His invitations were rarely rejected in the past not only because he was the eldest son of Xiao Jinlin but also because he was Xiling’s top businessman. Whether out of reverence for the Xiao Family patriarch or consideration for benefits, the young lords of Xiling were always willing to maintain a good relationship with him, but this approach proved to be completely ineffective when faced with Tang Luo.

On the grand departure of the largest pleasure boat in Xiling, Tang Qingshan arrived, as did Xiao Ziyu, and even Mi Hou. Only Tang Luo was nowhere to be seen. Xiao Zheng, disappointed, waved his hand signaling to set sail.

Even though the first prince was absent, the appraisal meeting must go on, right? He was fully aware that this was likely the last appraisal meeting in Xiling. His brotherhood with Mi Hou was also reaching its end. He would use this grand event as a memorial.

Xiao Zheng, next to Mi Hou, raised his wine cup: “Here, Brother! Let’s drain this cup.”

As the host raised his cup, the festive revelry on the flower boat officially kicked off. For the sons of Xiling, it was an elaborate fifteen-day banquet with companions by their side.

But not all the sons of Xiling were driven by lust; some more genuinely sought distraction, and there was none other than Xiao Ziyu.

Xiao Ziyu, who once believed himself to be unparalleled among his peers, was stunned by his defeat. It caused great dissatisfaction within this warrior who had awakened the bloodline of the Fire God.

Having mastered the Xiao Family secret skill, Monument Dragon Diagram, to the eight-dragon level, Xiao Ziyu had once thought nothing of the world’s heroes. But now he had been put in his place by Xu Lao.

He was sure that his opponent hadn’t used any bloodline ability, and he had only beaten him solely based on his skill. Even the initial frenzied panic was just a deliberated move on his part. His opponent simply wanted him to use his maximum strength and then defeat him.

This kind of despair made him question, had he practiced false martial arts? Why was the Spiritual Power that could burn away everything useless against Xu Lao? These days, he had been pondering over this question, consequently, losing focus on his training, which is why he accepted the invitation to come and relax.

The flower boat has five floors, with the first two floors being furnished as rooms and the top three serving as exhibition halls. Xiao Ziyu wandered around in an area dedicated to calligraphy and paintings.

Because he had activated the Fire God bloodline, there was a time when Xiao Ziyu often could not control his anger until his instructor asked him to practice calligraphy, suggesting that it could tranquilize his mind. Since the day that he transcended mortality at the age of eighteen, he had spent ten years being accompanied by the art of martial prowess and calligraphy.

Having immersed himself in the skills for ten full years, not only had it allowed him to gradually control his emotions, but he had also made remarkable achievements in calligraphy and painting. The primary reason he agreed to this event was that Xiao Zheng had told him that there would be some famous artwork on display.

However, his disappointment had only grown stronger as he continued his tour. Ever since Huang Ting’s wandering life after leaving home, no great calligrapher worthy of mention had emerged in Xiling. Neither in penmanship nor in lyrical creativity could any work inspire admiration. The resulted creations lacked spirit and form! Even many of those calligraphers’ skills were inferior to his. Many of them only stayed under a master for a few years then dared to exhibit their works, solely to gain fame.

Another piece titled ‘Lingjiang’ caught Xiao Ziyu’s gaze Only to discover, the writer was none other than Huang Xian, son of Huang Ting. However, the work made him shake his head disapprovingly.

In creating a piece, regardless of the style, it must possess the essence and substantiality. While the former refers to the nib, the latter refers to the hair brush. The essence is the spirit of the ink, and the substantiality is the ink itself. The ink provides form while the spirit adds color.

The so-called masterpieces should include the spirit, energy, bone, blood, and flesh. All these elements should be unified. The final piece must be a meaningful work of art. However, the piece displayed before him was the last one before the climax, yet Xiao Ziyu was filled with disgust.

The hall was divided into two halves, and each half had two passages: one at the front and one at the back. The masterpiece was placed in the center of the hall, framed and placed in a glass cabinet for guests to admire. Most of the time, these pieces are valuable items. Many of the Lord’s sons, who accompanied them, would buy a few of these pieces to return and frame at their homes. After all, several tens of gold pieces were nothing but a month’s expenses for them, and after buying the paintings and learning a few comments, it could convincingly cover up the fact that they were country bumpkins, which was very delightful.

The last piece, however, would not be easily available for purchase. After all, Xiao Zheng, being the number one auctioneer of Xiling, was fully aware that only the goods that were highly sought after would be priced high. Hence, every great masterpiece of each round was a point of contention among the Sons of Xiling.

To the Sons of Xiling, regardless of the quality of the other works in the exhibition, the last piece is certain to be extremely fine. So they would go all out to struggle for it. This is not, of course, because they were truly willing to spare no expense for the piece. Instead, they tend to carry on a struggle and then graciously admit defeat. This would give them sufficient face.

Like when a son of a certain family, who is a great lover of the craft, would not hesitate to spend a million to bid for the masterpiece. Unfortunately for him, another son of another family would possess deeper pockets. This “another family’s son” usually belonged to the daughter of a famous family. Just needing this minor episode would ensure the sons of smaller families have something to talk about. Such as “This son once vied for the masterpiece with another lord, but I lamented that my strength was lacking and the masterpiece fell into the hands of the boor. It’s just like throwing a pearl into the dust. What a tragedy, what a tragedy.”

The sons of these distinguished families are indulged in pleasure but also care about their reputation very much. They look forward to such boasting opportunities every month.

The historical examples of weak warriors challenging stronger ones and being defeated are numerous. Consequently, the ladies were smitten with them. In this way, the sons would possess both face and substance, and also popularize a painting, establishing the reputation of the last round of the appraisal meeting. Xiao Zheng would even encourage such encouraging contests.

Originally, Xiao Ziyu was also somewhat looking forward to this blockbuster. However, after seeing half a storehouse of rubbish, it really was hard for him to muster interest in the final piece, assuming it was nothing more than an output from a famous artist from the surrounding cities, as had often happened in the past. As great calligraphers and painters were hard to find, they had to make do with old objects to fill space.

He had already walked half the storehouse and just wanted to have a glance at the last painting before turning back. Once he had made up his mind, he lifted his gaze and saw that the transparent display cabinet housing the final masterpiece was already surrounded by zealous followers. They were all gentlemen of noble appearance, having lofty discussions.

“This painting can truly be termed matchless. This young master has never seen such an exquisite piece before. It is so lifelike, really lifelike.”

“And this verse is extraordinarily heroic. I wonder what great master would be able to pen down such words as would shake one to one’s core.”

“And look at this cliff and the red clouds, which clearly represent the Red Cloud Mountain of our Xiling. I am pleasantly surprised to find such great beauty in this clearly defined peak of Xiling.”