binnovel Chapter 142 Fighting between Dragon and Tiger
Chapter 142 Fighting between Dragon and Tiger
Chapter 142 Dragon and Tiger Clash
A fleeting flash of inspiration caused Ye Ru's hand, which was holding a pen, to suddenly hover in mid-air. Then, thinking about the "Return to the Countryside" poem and the Slender Gold style calligraphy, he seemed to understand something.
The Slender Gold style is a type of calligraphy created by Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji. This style is characterized by its lively brushstrokes, strong and vigorous lines, and slender yet full-bodied appearance. Its large characters are particularly elegant and graceful.
Because its strokes are relatively thin and firm, the brushwork is exposed, and the traces of movement, lifting, and pausing of the brush can be clearly seen, making it a very unique style of script. It is also a highly individualistic script in the history of calligraphy.
Tao Yuanming's "Returning Home" is also distinctive, showing the author's indifference to fame and fortune and his noble character of retiring to the countryside.
Therefore, when individual words and phrases are paired together, they may complement each other perfectly, like adding wings to a tiger.
"Hmph, the title of champion in this children's national competition will definitely be mine!"
Xiao Wenqi took a deep breath, picked up the third-grade writing brush given to him, and began to write:
"Let us return..."
Xiao Wenqi also chose small regular script, and with the blessing of the third-grade Wenbao brush, the number of instruments on the stone table increased to ten in just a short while.
Since a full stack is one hundred, even ten stacks is enough to put you far ahead of everyone else.
Ye Ru, meanwhile, was pondering how to write the Slender Gold style calligraphy.
Although the Slender Gold style is just a type of regular script, the characters have a strong structure, which is not much different from the style of Wei and Jin literati.
The strokes of the Slender Gold style are slender and firm, like steel wires and bamboo joints, resembling orchids and willow leaves. Although the strokes are delicate, the lifting, pressing, pausing, and the concealment and revelation of the brush tip are all precise and complete. It is like a small sparrow with all its vital organs. Ye Ru had only touched upon it in his previous life, but had not gone into depth.
Because he could now vaguely determine that Xiao Wenqi in front of him could not be a child scholar; at the very least, he must have been a successful candidate in the imperial examinations before participating in the competition.
Moreover, the opponent's calligraphy skills have been honed far more than mine. Only by taking a surprise attack and using unconventional methods can I possibly win this match.
Just as Ye Ru was troubled, the Siku Quanshu suddenly turned to the chapter of "Returning Home" and the font of this chapter was automatically changed to the thin gold font.
Seeing this, Ye Ru was overjoyed, never expecting that the Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries) would have such a function.
Looking around, Kong Hexuan had fifteen chips, Meng Qingyang and the others each had ten, and Xiao Wenqi had actually reached twenty!
"There is no time limit for this round of the competition, so I can write at a slower pace."
Ye Ru pondered for a moment, then picked up the Wolf Wind Brush and infused it with his own energy, making the brush slightly firmer.
Writing in the Slender Gold style requires long, sharp wolf hair, and for now, this is the only method he can use.
"Return home! My fields are overgrown with weeds. Why not return? Since I have allowed my heart to be enslaved by my physical form, why should I be sad and grieve alone..."
After the first paragraph was written, the number of tallies on the stone table began to slowly rise.
"Hmph, want to surpass me? Dream on!"
Xiao Wenqi's eyes turned slightly cold. With a wave of his hand, a completely red ink block appeared in his hand, from which the faint sound of a wolf howling could be heard.
As soon as the ink block appeared, the ink in the entire area began to tremble, which startled everyone, and Ye Ru's expression also changed.
"It's actually Wolf Blood Ink!"
Upon seeing the red ink blot, Chen Tianjian exclaimed in surprise.
Wolf Blood Ink is a specialty of the State of Jin. In the eastern part of Jin, there is a wolf demon tribe, and near this tribe is a branch of the Gong family, which specializes in producing wolf blood ink for those who have passed the imperial examinations or above in Jin.
Using wolf blood ink can increase the power of calligraphy by 20%!
Xiao Wenqi ground the bright red ink block into ink and added it to the ink. The original ink began to change and eventually turned bright red.
The howl of wolves echoed across the sky.
Xiao Wenqi gave Ye Ru a provocative look, then dipped his brush in ink and continued writing. At the same time, the number of chips on the stone table increased rapidly.
Fifty-one, fifty-two...
The scholars below held their breath. If the number of candidates from the Yanhuang Kingdom was less than that of Xiao Wenqi, they would surely lose the third round.
"I wonder if Ye Ru can surpass Xiao Wenqi in this third round. If not, all the efforts in the previous two rounds will have been in vain."
Wen Xiang frowned, his gaze fixed on Ye Ru as he wrote stroke by stroke. He felt uneasy, as Ye Ru only had thirty chips, far fewer than Xiao Wenqi.
"Let's hope so, Ye Ru always manages to surprise us."
Chen Tianjian also gripped the railing of the podium tightly.
The competition continued smoothly, and Xiao Wenqi's score had reached seventy-eight.
boom!
At that moment, a red lamp on a stone table suddenly lit up.
That was the sign of completion. Everyone turned their gaze to it, and saw Kong Hexuan take a deep breath, staring at the number of chips: seventy-eight... seventy-nine...
It slowly rose to eighty-two before finally stopping.
Kong Hexuan's final score: eighty-two!
boom!
Another red light came on, and Fan Ziling's count reached eighty before stopping. When he saw the count on Ye Ru's stone table, he couldn't help but laugh, because Ye Ru had only reached forty.
Ye Ru ignored Fan Ziling's sarcasm and instead began writing in the slender gold style of "Returning Home".
Xiao Wenqi had already written the last paragraph, but at this moment, he suddenly closed his eyes tightly, and his pen paused for a moment. But then he started writing rapidly again. As he wrote, a gust of wind and thunder accompanied by the howl of wolves suddenly resounded on the Xuan paper, which shocked many people.
"Two realms of calligraphy? Iron strokes and silver hooks?"
Wen Xiang's eyes widened in shock.
boom!
The next moment, Xiao Wenqi's Xuan paper suddenly burst into flames, and then the number of chips on the stone table increased rapidly, finally breaking through ninety in the astonished eyes of everyone!
And then, the Xuan paper began to gradually emit mist.
"Haha, the words have turned into mist, this crown is mine!"
When Xiao Wenqi finished writing the last few words of this article, the number of competition chips reached ninety-eight!
"The words turned into mist... The number of chips is ninety-eight, almost reaching one hundred. The highest number of chips in the past was only ninety. I wonder if Ye Ru still has a chance to win."
Chen Tianjian lowered his head and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"I don't know, but all hope rests on Ye Ru's hands. Look at Ye Ru's handwriting. His brushstrokes are swift and unpredictable, slender yet full of substance. You can clearly see the traces of concealed and exposed brushstrokes at the turns. Why is this different from the five official fonts?"
Wen Xiang turned his gaze to Ye Ru's stone table and suddenly noticed that although Ye Ru was a bit slow, his handwriting was completely different from other official handwriting. This made his face suddenly turn extremely shocked.
"Could it be that he's creating his own font?"
Chen Tianjian also turned his gaze to Ye Ru's stone table. When he saw that Ye Ru's "Return to the Countryside" was written with strokes like daggers and strokes like cutting knives, seemingly carrying a murderous aura, he and Wen exchanged a glance, and both of them involuntarily gasped...