yes closed.Ignore, **a naked ignore. Zhong Tao was so angry that he felt like his fur would stand on end due to Xiao Yu's disregard for him.The car soon arrived at the entrance of Jade Spring Mountain...Chapter 556: Momentum

After hearing Hu Laoh's words, these people started preparing. In fact, the contestants weren't as anxious as Sun Director who stood at the front. After all, this competition was related to his future prospects, so he immediately went over when they began their preparations.

Although he didn't understand calligraphy very well, he still focused intently on it.

The contestants closed their eyes in deep thought before opening them and slowly picked up their brushes to start writing on the paper.

When Hu Laoh noticed that these people had started writing, his gaze inadvertently fell upon the old man at table number 27. This elderly person was around seventy years old. After a careful look, Hu Laoh confirmed that this elder hadn't been here before.

This was because Hu Laoh was already retired and came to this activity center every day except for his one weekly large class session. Therefore, he knew most of the regulars who frequently visited, but clearly didn't know this old man.

During the first round, Hu Laoh had also noticed that elderly person’s handwriting, which was quite good. Even though it wasn't the best among those participating in today's competition, it was still top-tier. Seeing this situation made Hu Laoh feel relieved.

A moment ago, he had already discussed with Wu Laoh: if this competition truly determined someone's career prospects, they would have to go along with it, but under the condition that the elderly person’s writing was of comparable quality; otherwise, how could they convince others

Although this competition was an amateur event for their district, everyone had been preparing and putting effort into it early on. If a subpar work were to win, they would never be able to hold their heads up again.

Hu Laoh and Wu Laoh weren't famous calligraphy masters, but in the capital's calligraphy circle, they still held some status. Therefore, if they acted this way, it would make it impossible for them to continue in the calligraphy community.

Twenty minutes later, when Hu Laoh saw the last person put down their brush, he walked forward and said, "Alright, everyone please wait a moment. We will finish evaluating soon!"

This time, because there were fewer people, Master Hu did not send anyone out but had them stay here to watch the evaluation.

Since there were only twenty participants, the three of them didn't split up and instead gave comments on each piece together.

"Senior Xiao, what do you think about this piece" After dismissing two pieces, when they reached the third one, Master Hu frowned and asked Xiao Yu.

This piece was a single character: "人" (person). The strokes were very simple, just one left-falling stroke and one right-stroke, but it also tested one's skill level.

After looking at this piece, Xiao Yu shook his head and said, "The marks of deliberate effort are too obvious. Although the writing is decent, my opinion is that it doesn't pass!"

Hearing Xiao Yu's words, Masters Hu and Wu also nodded slightly; they had been frowning for the same reason just now. The character '人' was well-written but with overly thick marks of deliberate effort.

Xiao Yu and the others had seen this person's previous piece too. It didn't reach the standard of this one, and his strength should be among the lowest in these twenty people, yet this '人' character was better than the two they saw earlier; obviously he often practiced writing this character.

Upon hearing Xiao Yu's words and seeing Masters Hu and Wu nodding in agreement, the author of this piece turned pale and looked at them with a dissatisfied expression: "Isn't my '人' character among the top ten"

"If we consider only this character alone, it can rank within the top ten!" After glancing through all twenty pieces quickly, Xiao Yu said to this person upon hearing his words.

"Then why don’t you let me pass if I’m among the top ten" This person was even more dissatisfied when he heard Xiao Yu's words.

Although he spoke with firmness, looking at Xiao Yu, his gaze wavered. He knew himself best; what they said was correct. When idle, this person often wrote '人' imitating Wang Xianzhi’s style. So among all his characters, the '人' character was the one he wrote best.

"Hehe, didn't I say so Your character shows too much of the influence from copying others, without a trace of your own style. It's clear that you're blindly imitating without any flexibility. Of course, if all your characters are just copies, then this one wouldn't be an issue!"

Xiao Yu chuckled upon hearing his words.

"Uh, well... But you guys didn’t mention this requirement. You only said to write a single character!" The man hesitated with embarrassment after hearing Xiao Yu's remark, obviously hit by the truth in Xiao Yu’s words. However, just moments later, he looked at Xiao Yu and argued again.

"When we set the rules, we asked for a character that best represents one's style! But your character..." Upon hearing his words, Xiao Yu responded to him.

Back when Xiao Yu proposed this second round rule, it was designed not only to save time but also to reveal someone’s fundamental calligraphy skills. As such, without any hesitation after stating the condition, he explained further.

"Well... You keep talking about style, what is style Write one for me and show your style!" After hearing Xiao Yu's explanation, this man felt choked up momentarily but then angrily retorted.

Hearing his words made Xiao Yu chuckle awkwardly. To ask what style was However, realizing these contestants were all amateurs who barely understood calligraphy fundamentals, he eased up. This particular person had just crossed the threshold of calligraphy by imitating others’ works but was still far from developing a personal style.

"Personal style is about incorporating your insights and understanding into your work. Although we start learning calligraphy through imitation, once you've mastered it to a certain extent, you must integrate your own perspective on characters. This is how one advances beyond the beginner stage in calligraphy!" Xiao Yu said seriously after hearing his argument.

"Haha, talk all you want, everyone can talk. But show me your style by writing a character!" The man scoffed and said with defiance when he heard Xiao Yu’s explanation.

He knew what Xiao Yu was saying made sense but doubted that such a young person like Xiao Yu could have deep expertise in calligraphy, hence his confrontational tone. If the old masters Hu or Wu had spoken this way, things would’ve been different as they were renowned experts in everyone's eyes, unlike Xiao Yu who was relatively unknown and youthful.

"Hehe, may I borrow your brush" Ignoring the man’s taunt, which was a crude attempt at provocation, Xiao Yu simply turned to the young boy with his request.

After hearing Xiao Yu's words, Hu Lao and Wu Lao were visibly shocked, their faces showing a hint of joy. The others, who had never met Xiao Yu and didn't know his background, found it amusing that he dared to act presumptuously in front of Wu Lao and Hu Lao, feeling sad for him at the same time because he was easily provoked.

It should be noted that although Wu Lao and Hu Lao had average fame in Beijing's calligraphy circle, they were regarded as eminent figures with great prestige among amateurs like themselves.

The young boy did not think so. Ever since Xiao Yu took the pen from his hand, he felt that Xiao Yu’s calligraphy should be quite good.

This child, despite being small in stature, was psychologically very mature and extremely intelligent. He didn't believe that Xiao Yu would fall for the provocation easily upon hearing what Xiao Yu said; hence, he handed over a pen from his desk to Xiao Yu and took out an inkstone to grind ink for him.

Xiao Yu did not hesitate but picked up the wolf-hair brush in his hand. After a moment of contemplation, he started writing gracefully.

Though it appeared effortless and light at first glance, Xiao Yu’s strokes were powerful and robust. As if dragons and snakes dancing across the paper, a large character 'Zhen' (Stable) gradually took shape. When the last stroke was completed, an aura emanated from this single character, making everyone's hearts feel heavy.

The contestants around him as well as Director Sun felt their chests tighten slightly. As for Secretary Liu A sense of regret arose in his heart over some past actions that seemed inexplicable to him.

Hu Lao and Wu Lao were different; both had reached a high level in calligraphy, and having spent their lives educating others, they naturally exuded a scholarly aura. Seeing Xiao Yu's writing now left them awestruck beyond measure.

Previously, Hu Lao saw Xiao Yu’s handwriting but found it only showcased his personal style. However, now the lines of Xiao Yu's calligraphy were imbued with righteousness and integrity - an imposing righteous energy that could suppress any evil thoughts.

Hu Lao was stunned by this character, which seemed leagues ahead of the Spring Festival couplets he wrote earlier in the year. If his previous work hinted at a master’s level, then this ‘Zhen’ had transcended to reach near-master status.

Wu Lao now firmly believed that those couplets were indeed written by Xiao Yu but suspected that Xiao Yu hadn't exerted full strength back then; he wondered if Xiao Yu was fully exerting himself now.ed patients, there was an air of mystery about him. Just by taking someone's pulse, he could tell where they were from. Yun Xi looked at Xiao Yu with curiosity as she wondered if the man who worked in...