Immortal Creation.

Chapter 716 Cradle of All Things
Liu Fushu caught a glimpse of this scene and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness! Bai Jiyun made the same mistake as me."

"Hold on, I still have a chance!"

After making a series of mistakes, Liu Fushu realized the difficulty of the question.

He had no choice but to grit his teeth, slow down to the maximum speed, and write slowly stroke by stroke, overcoming his instincts, and finally made steady progress.

But this left him far behind, and he lacked the ability to catch up quickly.

Liu Fushu was secretly anxious, but seeing Bai Jiyun suffer, his pressure immediately eased.

He immediately felt ashamed: "If Brother Bai wins, I should be happy for him. He is my friend, and I shouldn't be so gloating. This is not the behavior of a gentleman!"

Bai Jiyun failed more than ten times in a row, and his face turned completely white!

He paused for a few breaths, exhaled a breath of stale air, and simply stopped writing altogether.

He frowned, deep in thought.

"So that's where the difficulty of this strange problem lies!"

"But why did Mr. Chu Xuangui conduct the examination in this way?"

"The deeper a cultivator's calligraphy skills, the weaker they are. This is supposed to be a minor test of Confucianism's Xingyun cultivation, yet it favors cultivators with shallow calligraphy skills. Is that fair?"

Bai Jiyun scanned the surrounding cultivators, his gaze settling on Ning Zhuo.

In his view, Ning Zhuo didn't exude any scholarly aura, so he shouldn't be a Confucian cultivator. However, thanks to his solid talismanic skills, he had been steadily progressing and was now firmly in second place.

In the past, this situation would have been almost impossible for a Confucian scholar to undergo a minor trial.

And the first place...

Bai Jiyun's gaze was fixed on Kong Ran.

A thought suddenly occurred to him: "The brush of understanding meaning, the child prodigy... Could it be that this Xingyun trial was specially designed for Kong Ran?"

Liu Fushu wouldn't be aware of this, after all, he's too inexperienced.

But Bai Jiyun was different. He wasn't just sightseeing; he was traveling through the Flying Cloud Kingdom, experiencing countless customs and traditions, and gaining a deep understanding of various aspects of society.

“If I’m right…” Bai Jiyun turned to look at Chu Xuangui, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes, “It’s hard to imagine that Mr. Chu Xuangui, who is known throughout the country for his meticulousness, fairness, and iron-fisted approach, would do such a thing!”

Bai Jiyun gave up directly.

Even if he tries his best to catch up, he can't catch up with the top two at this pace.

At this point, the situation is quite clear.

The vast majority of Confucian scholars found themselves in the same predicament as Bai Jiyun and Liu Fushu.

They made one mistake after another, and their progress was slow.

The top two are far ahead.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the true winner will be decided between these two!

"I'm going to win!" Kong Ran didn't forget to observe his competitors. When he realized he was in first place, he was overjoyed.

Liu Fushu did not give up and continued to give it her all.

Chu Xuangui remained expressionless.

Ning Zhuo remained calm and composed, seemingly unhurried, but in reality, he was steady and methodical, and never allowed Kong Ran to pull ahead.

After several more poems, more and more Confucian scholars realized the huge gap and gradually gave up.

They gathered around, watching and discussing amongst themselves.

Who is this boy with the big head?

"Unexpectedly, in the end, it was Kong Ran who obtained the brush of understanding meaning!"

"He's a child prodigy, always choosing his path. No wonder Mr. Chu Xuangui took out the 'Understanding Brush,' it's probably because of Kong Ran's arrival."

Realizing that Kong Ran was likely favored and would be included in the core circle of Confucian cultivators of the Myriad Manifestations Sect in the future, these Confucian cultivators began to cheer for Kong Ran and shout for him.

Compared to Ning Zhuo, who was clearly an outsider, they preferred this young cultivator who obviously had a brighter future.

For a moment, the atmosphere was so lively that it seemed as if Kong Ran was already the ultimate winner.

However, Ning Zhuo never fell behind and maintained a chasing posture.

Kong Ran made a mistake.

His state of mind was disturbed.

The adulation and expectations from others added a lot of external pressure to his young mind.

If there's a mistake, it has to be rewritten.

Kong Ran had to start writing from scratch. In his busy schedule, he turned around to look back and check on Ning Zhuo's progress.

Although Ning Zhuo's progress did not surpass his, the previous gap had almost completely disappeared after this mistake.

"Oops!"

"I can't afford to make any more mistakes."

"The ideographic brush must be mine!"

Kong Ran became increasingly nervous. With a determined heart, he activated his innate talent and used his literary energy to unleash a Confucian technique.

Cradle of all things!

Ning Zhuo looked up at Kong Ran with surprise for the first time: "This familiar aura, could his talent also be... precocious?"

Under the influence of Confucianism, Kong Ran's eyes became clear as water, like those of an infant.

His memories were buried at the bottom, and he was like a newborn infant facing the world for the first time. He observed the world before him as if it were his first encounter.

Although Kong Ran was too young to attend school, his father was one of the prime ministers of Feiyun Kingdom, holding a high position and great power. Kong Ran was also talented and was valued by his father. From a very young age, his father specially hired teachers to come to his home to tutor him in various subjects.

Therefore, although his calligraphy skills were not as good as those of Liu Fushu, Bai Jiyun, and others, he still had a solid foundation.

Now, under the blessing of the cradle of Confucianism, everything around Kong Ran is something he is seeing for the first time. In addition to being novel, they have become the enlightenment objects for children, bringing him a constant stream of inspiration and guidance.

In this way, his previous calligraphy skills would no longer pose a problem for him.

Kong Ran wrote even faster than before, by three points.

A moment later, he distanced himself from Ning Zhuo again, and the distance kept increasing.

The cultivators were astonished and began to discuss it animatedly.

"Is this natural talent?"

"Rumors say that Kong Ran possesses precocious intelligence, and now it seems that this is true!"

"With such natural talent, Kong Ran is bound to be the winner this time."

Liu Fushu's eyes were bloodshot. Seeing Kong Ran writing faster and faster, he finally gave up in despair.

Such an advantage was so great that Liu Fushu had no hope of catching up.

At the same time, he had a similar thought to Bai Jiyun: "This time, Xingyun's small test is different from the past. The questions are strange, and the prizes are too high. Could it really be to guide Kong Ran onto the path of Confucianism?"

At this point, no more cultivators were participating.

After Kong Ran used his innate talent to perform the spell, he was far ahead of the others, causing all the cultivators to realize the situation and give up.

Only Ning Zhuo did not stop.

After a while, the cultivators became impatient as they saw that the gap between Ning Zhuo and Kong Ran had widened too much, and Ning Zhuo showed no intention of giving up.

"Is there any point in continuing like this?" "Face reality. Your opponent is a child prodigy with innate talent!"

“I understand this big-headed boy. After all, he once saw a glimmer of hope for victory, but when Kong Ran revealed his true strength, that hope turned into despair. The contrast was so great that he couldn't accept it for a while.”

"Hmph, he's not a Confucian cultivator at all; he's a complete outsider. His participation in this minor trial of Confucian cultivation is probably just for fun. With such a background, he actually dares to try and snatch treasures from the hands of us Confucian cultivators?"

"That statement is somewhat biased; Kong Ran was not a true Confucian scholar either."

"But Kong Ran is only at the Qi Refining level, while this young man has already reached the Foundation Establishment level. Since he has reached the Foundation Establishment level and chosen the path of cultivation, why be greedy and try to gain an advantage on the path of Confucian cultivation?"

"Well, that's true."

The discussions among the cultivators reached Ning Zhuo's ears, clearly intentional, but Ning Zhuo seemed deaf to them and continued to do as he pleased.

Seeing this, Chu Xuangui nodded inwardly. Putting everything else aside, this state of mind alone was already outstanding for Ning Zhuo's age.

This preliminary test of Xingyun has reached this point, with Kong Ran far ahead, but Chu Xuangui remains calm and shows no sign of panic.

He was of course aware of Kong Ran's intelligence, including information about his precocious intelligence and the methods he used to cultivate his talents; all of this was part of his scheme.

Chu Xuangui remained calm and continued to use his magic to condense the poems.

As he recited the poems, Kong Ran's face grew paler and paler, fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, and his entire upper body began to sway.

He can't hold on much longer!

Using one's innate talents to perform rituals not only consumes physical and magical energy, but also mental energy.

He had used the Cradle of Wonders to help him study in the past, but he had never maintained it for this long.

The heavy burden forced him to push himself to the limit, and Kong Ran had no choice but to voluntarily stop this attempt at using his natural talent.

His head was spinning, and his vision was filled with flashing golden light. He managed to turn to look at Ning Zhuo, feeling a chill run down his spine: "Why is this guy still persisting?"

Kong Ran started making frequent mistakes.

His condition was so bad that he had to write a single line of poetry at least seven or eight times to meet the standard and barely pass.

A complete poem has at least four lines.

As a result, Kong Ran wrote one poem, while Ning Zhuo wrote four or five.

Under these circumstances, Ning Zhuo began to steadily catch up.

The cultivators were speechless.

Many people did not expect the situation to take such a turn later on.

"That's right, although Kong Ran is a child prodigy, he is still only at the Qi Refining stage."

"Compared to those in the Foundation Establishment stage, his foundation is too weak, and he cannot fight a protracted war."

"What a pity. If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have given up!"

All the cultivators turned their gazes to Ning Zhuo, their expressions complex.

thump.

A moment later, Kong Ran could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground.

Bai Jiyun and Liu Fushu rushed over to help him up and revived him.

Kong Ran's body went limp, his tired eyes wide open, as he watched Ning Zhuo surpass him.

"Ah, my ideographic brush!" He rolled his eyes and fainted again in anger.

Chu Xuangui slowly stopped using his magic, no longer conjuring up calligraphy from thin air.

He looked at Ning Zhuo expressionlessly.

The cultivators fell silent for a moment.

After a few breaths, Chu Xuangui nodded slightly and said calmly, "You are the winner of this Xingyun Trial. What is your name?"

Ning Zhuo bowed respectfully, his voice trembling slightly as he announced his name, thus revealing his slightly excited emotions.

"Alright." Chu Xuangui immediately took a token and handed it to Ning Zhuo along with the writing brush.

Then, he looked around and said in a deep voice, "In the past, Cang Zu created characters and left behind the Primordial Seal Script Stele. This stele is a national treasure of Huazhang Kingdom and is open to the outside world. We have always been looking for a suitable successor."

"However, countless Confucian scholars, whether they were geniuses or great masters, all failed and perished before the ancient seal stele."

"Although we are in the Myriad Manifestations Sect, we are qualified to make recommendations."

"Not long ago, I had a conversation with a friend and gained some insights—I think that Cang Zu created characters by imitating the shapes of talismans, thus creating the ancient seal script."

"Since the Confucian scholars are ineffective, why not follow the lineage of Cangshan's creation of characters and start with talismans?"

Upon hearing this, all the Confucian scholars showed expressions of sudden realization.

Chu Xuangui looked at Ning Zhuo with a complicated expression: "You are not a Confucian cultivator, but that doesn't matter. I hope you will make good use of this comprehension pen to improve your talisman-making skills. If you can also study Confucian classics, that would be even better."

"When you have completed your studies and are confident in the future, come to me with your token. As long as you pass the test, we will recommend you to go to Huazhang Kingdom to try your hand at the Ancient Seal Script."

Bai Jiyun's brows relaxed: "I see! As expected of Mr. Chu Xuangui, I was judging a gentleman by my own petty standards."

Liu Fushu clenched his fists: "What a pity! I missed this opportunity, and also missed the chance to come into contact with the ancient seal script."

"Mr. Chu Xuangui is indeed a senior figure in Confucianism, always fair and just. He did not deliberately favor Kong Ran because he valued Kong Ran's precocious talent."

"The fact that he gave the victory to an outsider in this small test of Xingyun is enough to prove his character and virtue!"

Kong Ran is still in a coma.

Seeing how easily Chu Xuangui's words had convinced the public and completely cleared him of suspicion, Ning Zhuo's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He thought to himself, "Wow, amazing! I've learned something new."

Ning Zhuo bowed to Chu Xuangui again, expressing his gratitude and praising Chu Xuangui's character.

Chu Xuangui, however, did not want to get too close to Ning Zhuo. He instructed everyone to study hard and then turned to leave.

With no Golden Core cultivators present, the atmosphere at the summit immediately became more relaxed.

Many Confucian scholars gathered around Ning Zhuo, taking the initiative to befriend him.

Ning Zhuo welcomes all who come, always with a smile, humble and friendly, giving people a feeling of warmth and comfort.

Finally, he took the initiative to walk up to Bai Jiyun, Liu Fushu, and the unconscious Kong Ran: "Fellow Daoists, it is truly fate that we have met this time."

"It is lunchtime now, so how about I treat you three fellow Daoists to lunch?"

Bai Jiyun and Liu Fushu exchanged a glance and nodded simultaneously: "Alright."

The banquet for the three was held at the Qing Shi Cave.

Ning Zhuo introduced the cook, Qing Chi, and Gongsun Yan to the three, which caused Bai Liu Kong and the other two to exchange glances again.

Ning Zhuo's clothes were ordinary, but he had three servants by his side, and judging from his speech and manner, he was clearly not from a humble family.

Sanxiu immediately raised his opinion of Ning Zhuo by one level.

Even without his signature culinary disasters, Chef Lao can still make delicious dishes.

Bai Jiyun and Kong Ran were one thing, but even though Liu Fushu tried to restrain herself, she couldn't help but eat a little more.

After a few rounds of drinks, Kong Ran took a bite of a chicken leg and finally spoke up: "Fellow Daoist Ning Zhuo, are you interested in selling that calligraphy brush? My father is one of the prime ministers of the current Feiyun Kingdom. If you are interested, just name your price!"

Ning Zhu shook his head: "The 'Understanding Brush' technique can increase one's cultivation level, but I have no intention of using it. However... I have a close friend who possesses precocious talent. It seems that Fellow Daoist Kong Ran used his talent to perform magic before. I wonder if this technique is for sale?"

"If it's feasible, consider this golden pill as a deposit."

The three cultivators' pupils constricted, their gazes fixed on the Ghost Dao Golden Core in Ning Zhuo's hand.

(End of this chapter)