Chapter 787: First Volume, Chapter 787: The Divine Technique Sketch

First Volume, Chapter 787: The Divine Technique Sketch

Zhao Huansu detested Qin Feng deeply, yet could not deny that Qin Feng's governance policies had shattered his previous understanding.

To buy off a lord who was fabulously wealthy across Heaven, one must be prepared to bleed and cut off flesh.

Zhao Huansu was no fool; though ten thousand li silver was a great sum, some money must be spent.

If he spared ten thousand li silver and allowed Qin Feng to continue flaunting himself, he would surely face ruin when the Northern Di King grew enraged.

He gritted his teeth: "Ten thousand it is—if getting rid of this plague can be achieved, I, Zhao Huansu, will bleed today!"

Zhao Huansu sent men to deliver the silver outside the city while also dispatching others to keep close watch on Huijuan Lou.

At this moment, Huijuan Lou erupted in wave after wave of exclamations.

Zhou Yuhai, the guardian of the Fourth Pass, was Yucheng's foremost painter; he knew Qin Feng's poetic mastery had reached the pinnacle, and challenging him in literature was like using a child's tactics against a master.

Thus, the moment he saw Qin Feng, Zhou Yuhai placed a high hat upon him, leaving Qin Feng no choice but to compete in painting.

As long as he could reclaim one victory, Zhou Yuhai didn't care whether it was fair or not.

After all, as long as he won, he could boast about it endlessly.

Zhou Yuhai's own painting, "Stepping Through Snow to Seek Plum Blossoms," drew thunderous applause; just as he felt victory was assured, he saw Qin Feng casually picking up an ink stick and sketching on rice paper—Zhou Yuhai's mouth slowly widened until it could swallow an egg whole.

"This… this is a painting?!"

That cry of shock voiced not only Zhou Yuhai's astonishment but also sent chills through the onlookers, for what Qin Feng was gradually sketching looked utterly like… a divine technique!

Qin Feng focused entirely, recalling his single encounter with Jing Ci Princess, and using his beginner-level sketching skills, assembled countless simple lines into a portrait, occasionally smudging the lines with his fingers to create blur or highlight effects.

To describe Qin Feng's drawing ability as "sketching foundation" was, frankly, an exaggeration.

He had zero foundation—he'd merely taken a short sketching course to impress a girl, to pad his own image.

The girl never fell for him; he just closed his eyes, kicked his legs, and woke up in this world.

Any student who understood sketching would slap Qin Feng hard and scold him indignantly: Qin Feng was defiling sketching.

Though this era had realistic paintings, no matter how realistic, they could not escape the blending of expressive style, especially in portraiture, and the inherent nature of brush painting ensured it could never achieve true realism from the start.

"Finished."

Qin Feng tossed down the ink stick, grabbed a sheet of rice paper, wiped the black ink from his hands, stared at his lopsided portrait, and nodded proudly, utterly delighted.

Even though Qin Feng knew he had not a single artistic cell, even if he lost, he had to try—after all… a man could never say he couldn't do it!

Qin Feng glanced at Zhou Yuhai's "Stepping Through Snow to Seek Plum Blossoms," filled with admiration.

"This painting rivals divine craftsmanship; if it reached future generations, it would be priceless."

Qin Feng turned and looked at his own clumsy sketch, found it absurd, yet kept a calm face.

"My painting isn't bad either—at least it's preschool level."

Qin Feng plopped onto a chair, grabbed fruits and melons from the table, and began eating them, having almost given up hope on this contest.

He'd already passed three challenges—he was satisfied; he wasn't a genius at everything, how could he keep winning?

At this moment, the area around the painting table was packed with people.

Everyone stared at Qin Feng's clumsy sketch, eyes wide with shock.

"This… this fairy portrait… really drawn by Qin Feng?"

"We watched Qin Feng draw it stroke by stroke—how could it be fake?"

"Heaven, it's so lifelike! This isn't a painting—it's a living person! Now I finally understand what 'painting fairy' means…"

Zhou Yuhai swallowed hard, unable to help but sigh: "I've painted half my life and never seen such a painting—it's truly a divine technique."

"This… is Jing Ci Princess?! Identical to the original!"

Zhou Yuhai took a deep breath, pushed through the crowd, rushed to Qin Feng's side, bowed deeply, and paid full reverence: "Lord Qin, allow me to pay my respects—this painting technique is beyond admiration. To call you a Painting Immortal is not an exaggeration."

At first, Qin Feng felt uneasy seeing Zhou Yuhai rush over, fearing he'd come to beat him for insulting his art.

But upon hearing Zhou Yuhai's praise, Qin Feng was utterly baffled.

His… his crappy drawing… could really be called "Divine Technique"?

Yet upon reflection, he understood.

After all, the saying goes: rarity increases value. As a painter, Zhou Yuhai had never seen pure realistic sketching before—his worldview had been overturned, and that was understandable.

In short, this sketch had no value except perhaps for wiping one's backside; if forced to assign value, it created an "information gap," shattering Zhou Yuhai's understanding of "painting."

Thud!

Zhou Yuhai suddenly knelt on the ground, pleading: "Lord Qin, take me as your disciple! If I may learn this Painting Immortal method, I'll serve you as ox or horse!"

Seeing Zhou Yuhai, a true "painting fanatic," Qin Feng didn't hesitate—he refused outright.

It wasn't stinginess; if he taught Zhou Yuhai sketching, Zhou Yuhai's skill and foundation would soon surpass him, and soon the whole Heaven would know how crude Qin Feng's painting truly was.

Qin Feng wouldn't do something so self-sabotaging!

But Zhou Yuhai's kneeling shattered everyone's hopes—if even painting couldn't stop Qin Feng, what could defeat him?

Today's Fen Xiang Wen Tan would surely become a joke for Yucheng.

At that moment, a disguised servant suddenly snatched up the sketch and fled without looking back.

Qin Feng didn't care about the thief—he was listening to Ning Hu whisper in his ear.

"Brother Qin, Yucheng City Lord Zhao Huan just sent word: if you're willing to lose one round, he'll pay you ten thousand li silver as compensation."

"The silver has already been delivered outside the city."

Hearing this, Qin Feng's eyes lit up—he'd joined Fen Xiang Wen Tan only for the fun, not for victory.