Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Ling Si Is About to Fall Apart
"Immortal Seal: Fish Dragon Dance?"
"What is that? What is the Fish Dragon Dance?"
Seeing the excited Mo Lan Dharma Master, Ling Si felt a bit uneasy for some reason and looked at Qing Feng beside him to ask.
"Hey, whatever it is, you’ll definitely win, Junior Sister."
"Even if that plain paper comes to life, it’s still just a blank page. How could it win against you?"
"This is too obviously rigged if that’s the case."
Qing Feng said confidently.
Shu Han, not far away, heard this and said nothing, just smiled quietly with a hint of amusement.
Is the Immortal Seal: Fish Dragon Dance not well-known?
Of course not. The once popular Child Immortal achieved the title by almost sweeping through the entire Confucian path with this calligraphy.
But time has passed for too long, and some of the older generation are reluctant to mention it because the Child Immortal rose by stepping over everyone.
Moreover, the Child Immortal has been particularly low-key in recent years and has never publicly used the Fish Dragon Dance, so most young people haven’t heard of it.
However, anyone who lived through the era of the Child Immortal’s rise will surely never forget it!
"Fish Dragon Dance? Mo Lan, what are you talking about?"
Yi Xian Dharma Master was also shocked to hear this and asked aloud.
Fish Dragon Dance... He still vividly remembers the terrifying scene of countless azure dragons gathering over Central Province City.
Most importantly, he was then on the opposing side of those countless dragons.
Upon hearing those familiar terms again, he couldn’t help but feel an emotional ripple.
"The pinnacle of immortal art..."
Wei Cang, with a look of reminiscence in his eyes, expressed his sentiment.
The youthful vigor of Li Qingchen was truly unattainable.
Back then, faced with the unfairness of the Confucian path and the suppression by Dharma Masters, the whole literary world was bleak and smoky, forcing Li Qingchen to surrender the four immortal arts.
In a final retreat, Li Qingchen conceded.
He stood against the firmament, dropped his brush, and one hundred and twenty-nine immortal seals soared into the sky, endless azure dragons subduing the heavens and earth!
"Can you hold steadily onto what’s mine? Can you grasp it?"
That day, the roar of dragons resounded through Central Province City, and the Great Saint bled bitterly, with the Holy King lying dead horizontally; the vast Confucian holy land was flattened by Li Qingchen in a day.
Since then, it has been the era of the Child Immortal, with all Confucians respecting him alone.
Very few people know that the Child Immortal didn’t achieve his status through reasoning but through conquest!
Su Changqing noticed the somewhat somber atmosphere and looked at Li Qingchen with curiosity, asking quietly:
"Teacher, why do those two seniors seem... well, somewhat scared?"
Li Qingchen heard and smiled indifferently, "Back then, your teacher was young and spirited, having offended some people."
"But after so many years, they should have long since let go. It’s nothing."
Upon hearing this, Su Changqing knowingly nodded.
Young people fight; it’s quite normal.
He and Er Niu have fought numerous times but still maintain good relations now.
"Mo Lan, you mentioned..."
Pausing his words, Yi Xian glanced at Li Qingchen and quietly said, "Why bring up the Fish Dragon Dance out of the blue?"
Although they had reconciled with Li Qingchen, mentioning the past inevitably brought an uneasy feeling.
"It wasn’t me who brought it up, it’s..."
Mo Lan looked at Su Changqing with eyes revealing undisguised shock,
"It’s that young man’s answer sheet, written in the Fish Dragon Dance calligraphy!"
"What!"
Yi Xian was immediately appalled, "Wasn’t his sheet a blank? How could it be the Fish Dragon Dance?"
His shock wasn’t because there were words on the blank sheet, but because he was stunned that there was a successor to the Fish Dragon Dance!
"Impossible!"
Wei Cang shook his head firmly upon hearing this, "The entry requirement for Immortal Seal: Fish Dragon Dance is extremely high."
"One must have never learned calligraphy in their life and their calligraphy must have reached the ’intent’ level to learn it!"
"Could the level of Zhiyu’s calligraphy have reached the ’intent’ level?"
Mo Lan laughed bitterly at this, "It’s indeed not at the ’intent’ level."
Wei Cang and Yi Xian were relieved.
But before they could speak, Mo Lan’s voice rang again.
"The level of his calligraphy is... the Transcendent Realm."
Boom!
Upon hearing this, Wei Cang, Yi Xian, Qing Feng, Ling Si, and others felt like they were struck by lightning, their faces filled with disbelief.
"Transcendent Realm?"
"The Transcendent Realm of Immortal Seal: Fish Dragon Dance? Are you joking!"
Yi Xian and Wei Cang immediately grabbed Mo Lan’s answer sheet.
Upon seeing the commonplace but eternally resonant words on the plain paper, the two froze instantly.
Transcendent!
With their scholarly knowledge, they could determine at first glance that this was indeed a Transcendent Realm level!
And the calligraphy connecting the fonts with the Fish Dragon Dance was, without a doubt, unique in the world, the Fish Dragon Dance!
"How could this be..."
Yi Xian trembled as he held Su Changqing’s answer sheet, his eyes full of shock,
"Under the age of twenty, to achieve... achieving transcendence in calligraphy, using the Fish Dragon Dance of all forms for transcendence!"
"Unbelievable, such immense talent exists in this world?"
"The Fish Dragon Dance has found a successor, truly another successor..."
Yi Xian seemed to have thought of something, muttering quietly while trembling.
He seemed to see yet another Child Immortal slowly rising.
One Child Immortal already suppressed the entire Confucian path for hundreds of years until out of breath, and now another comes?
Yi Xian’s expression shifted rapidly, and who knew what he was thinking.
Meanwhile, Wei Cang was already sitting dazedly in his seat, unable to recover for a long time.
He stiffly turned his head, looked at Li Qingchen with a calm expression, and asked dryly:
"Why... Why didn’t you mention it earlier?"
If Li Qingchen had mentioned it earlier, this contest wouldn’t be needed at all.
The ’intent’ level calligraphy of Ling Si was indeed strong, but compared to the transcendence level, it wasn’t even on the same plane.
To take it a step further, even if Ling Si’s calligraphy was at the transcendence level, she would still lose.
Because the opponent’s calligraphy was the immortal art, Fish Dragon Dance.
"I merely wish for my senior brother to lose and be utterly convinced."
Li Qingchen laughed softly, "You are my senior brother after all, so I must exert my utmost effort."
"As for what you mentioned... humiliation? That is nothing but nonsense."
Wei Cang chuckled bitterly, "Since you exerted all efforts, why didn’t you provide your pupil with even one decent set of scholarly tools for this contest?"
"Otherwise, I wouldn’t have made such an error."
Li Qingchen laughed at this, "Because it’s unnecessary."
Wei Cang was speechless, looked towards the quiet Su Changqing beside him, and couldn’t help but sigh heavily.
Indeed, someone who has transcended in immortal art wouldn’t concern themselves with the quality of scholarly tools.
Moreover, without even condensing a noble aura, yet achieving transcendence in calligraphy, his future accomplishments... unforeseeable.
...
The numerous seniors in front of the academy remained silent because of Su Changqing’s single piece of writing,
While Qing Feng and Ling Si felt like their entire world was shattering due to what they overheard.
"Blank paper... No wonder it’s blank paper."
"With Transcendent Realm calligraphy, how could someone as mundane as me comprehend it?"
"But... Who could have imagined a junior brother under twenty years old would transcend in calligraphy?"
The shock in Qing Feng’s eyes hadn’t faded even until now.
Once he snapped out of it, he immediately approached Su Changqing and deeply bowed,
"Junior Brother... it was my foolish eyes that couldn’t recognize, please forgive my earlier crude words."
Qing Feng was much older than Su Changqing, yet at this moment, his stance was as low as dust.
He clearly understood that although Su Changqing lacked even a thread of noble aura, his accomplishments in the Confucian path could only be admired.
"Senior Brother, there’s no need for such formality!"
Faced with this, Su Changqing was immediately flustered, hurriedly reaching out to support him,
"Even if my senior brother’s guidance had mistakes, as your junior, I should still accept it. Where’s the logic for a senior brother to bow to his junior?"
Qing Feng felt even more ashamed upon hearing this. He had encountered many literary prodigies, but none as down-to-earth as Su Changqing.
Thinking again about his previous words, he couldn’t help but feel like burying his head in the ground.
And.
While Qing Feng felt shameful, Ling Si seemed to be on the verge of breaking apart.
She stood dumbfounded for a long time, isolated from the entire world.
Even now, a question remained unresolved in her mind.
"A prodigy in Transcendent Realm calligraphy... why would they need connections?"
Thinking about encouraging a prodigy in Transcendent Realm calligraphy as someone who had just stepped into the ’intent’ level,
Arrogantly proclaiming she would go easy?
Ling Si’s face flushed instantly, and her eyes welled up.
This...is just too much!