Jian Sheng: "..."
Do you know how much harm such actions have caused my young heart!
I feel like I've jumped from one pit into another, deeper one.
"Alright, I'll study diligently and practice painting too."
Jian Sheng drooped her head dejectedly.
But she quickly lifted her head, her eyes shining, and asked,
"If I fulfill all the requirements, can I go out and play by myself?"
Cheng Qiye couldn't help but think of the massive workload of the studio members and shivered.
He encouraged her, "It's good to have dreams, Sheng Sheng, keep it up!"
Not catching the oddity in his words, Jian Sheng nodded vigorously.
To avoid school, she would go all out!
Meanwhile, on the second floor of the studio, in Chinese Painting studio No. 216.
Su Liu was explaining the techniques of Chinese painting to the students below.
At the same time, he assigned homework.
"Gongbi emphasizes form, while xieyi emphasizes spirit."
"While that is said, as the two major schools of Chinese painting, Gongbi and xieyi ultimately converge."
"Gongbi, at its extreme, utilizes ultimate techniques to create vivid interpretations."
"And although xieyi emphasizes artistic conception, it requires sufficient understanding of the subject being painted, knowing its structure."
"Once everything is familiar, with the landscape within the heart, one can then capture its form and imbue it with spirit."
"Today's assignment is to meticulously copy the 100 line drafts that have been distributed, copying each one 20 times."
"Once completed, collate them into a book, and I will check them during my class next week."
Immediately, wails erupted from below.
Someone raised their hand and asked,
"Teacher, for us who study xieyi painting, is it possible to imbue our works with soul without practicing these?"
Su Liu's eyes flickered momentarily.
He replied, "Of course, there is a way."
The student's body trembled, and they immediately perked up.
What way?
Su Liu replied, "First, sufficient observation and meticulousness."
"Before painting, one already has the form and spirit of the subject in their mind, and knows how to paint it."
The student's hopeful expression visibly deflated.
Unwilling to accept this, they continued to ask, "Is there anything else?"
Su Liu sank into his memories, recalling that little girl who seemed not to belong to this world.
"And then, there is when your talent is sufficiently high."
"Even if you've never painted before, even if you're painting something imagined from thin air."
"You can still create works that shake people's hearts!"
"No technique, all soul!"
The room erupted in discussion.
Those who were selected through layers and admitted here all considered themselves to have decent talent.
But in the eyes of Teacher Su Liu, they were still just ordinary.
They couldn't imagine what kind of genius would warrant such praise from Teacher Su Liu.
A young man in the second row nudged the refined, spectacled youth beside him with his elbow.
"Qing Ge, do you think the second type of person Teacher Su mentioned truly exists?"
The spectacled youth was Mu Yuanqing, the student with the best grades and the greatest talent among this batch of trainees.
His abilities were even among the top few among all the young generation in the studio, across all factions.
Even more admirable was that Mu Yuanqing had not neglected his academic studies while learning painting.
Mu Yuanqing naturally became the leader of their Chinese Painting department.
Mu Yuanqing showed the same reminiscent expression as Su Liu.
The young man was still mumbling.
"These teachers have done things like this before."
"It's just to suppress our arrogance and tell us that there's always someone better."
"It's entirely possible that they've fabricated a genius now."
"In any case, I don't believe such people really exist."
"Otherwise, if after studying for so many years, we still can't compare to someone who casually paints based on talent, then we might as well stop studying altogether."
"Because regardless of effort, we can never surpass such naturally talented individuals."
Mu Yuanqing looked at him with a complex expression after listening.
He stated with conviction, "Teacher Su isn't lying to us; such geniuses truly exist!"
The young man looked at him in surprise.
He couldn't understand why Qing Ge, who was always so intelligent, would be swayed by Teacher Su's words, which sounded like deceiving children.
At this moment, a knock sounded from outside the classroom.
Su Liu's eyes lit up upon seeing the person who entered.