Liu Fushu caught a glimpse of this scene and couldn’t help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, fortunately! Bai Jiyun made the same mistake as I did."
"Hold on, I still have a chance!"
After making consecutive mistakes, Liu Fushu realized where the difficulty of this test lay.
He could only grit his teeth and slow his speed to the utmost limit, writing slowly stroke by stroke, overcoming his instincts, and finally making stable progress.
But by doing this, he was left far behind and had no ability to catch up quickly.
Liu Fushu was secretly anxious, but seeing Bai Jiyun in trouble, his pressure was suddenly greatly reduced.
He immediately felt a sense of shame: "If Brother Bai wins, I should be happy for him. He is my friend, and I shouldn’t take pleasure in his misfortune. That is not the behavior of a gentleman!"
Bai Jiyun failed over a dozen times, his entire face turning white!
He froze for several breaths, exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, and simply stopped writing altogether.
He frowned deeply, falling into contemplation.
"So the difficulty of this strange question lies here!"
"But why did Chu Xuangu set the test like this?"
"The deeper the calligraphy skills of the cultivator, the weaker they become. This is Feiyun’s Confucian small examination, yet it favors cultivators with shallow calligraphy skills. Is this fair?"
Bai Jiyun glanced around at the cultivators, his gaze fixing on Ning Zhuo.
To him, there was no Literary Energy surrounding Ning Zhuo, indicating he was likely not a Confucian Cultivator. Yet, relying on solid talisman strokes, Ning Zhuo made steady progress, now securely in second place.
In usual Confucian small exams, such a situation was almost impossible.
And the first place...
Bai Jiyun’s gaze fixed on Kong Ran.
Suddenly, a thought surfaced in his Divine Sea: "Ideograph Brush, Divine Child... Could it be that this Feiyun small exam was designed specifically for Kong Ran?"
Liu Fushu wouldn’t have such awareness, being too inexperienced.
But Bai Jiyun was different; he wasn’t just traveling for leisure but was exploring the Flying Cloud Country, witnessing countless customs and profoundly understanding various aspects of society.
"If my guess is right..." Bai Jiyun turned to look at Chu Xuangu again, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes, "It’s hard to imagine someone as meticulously fair and iron-fisted as Chu Xuangu would do such a thing!"
Bai Jiyun gave up directly.
At this pace, no matter how hard he chased, he couldn’t catch the top two.
At this point, the situation was quite clear.
The vast majority of Confucian cultivators found themselves in the same predicament as Bai Jiyun and Liu Fushu.
They kept making mistakes, progressing slowly.
The top two were far ahead.
Without surprise, the true winner would be decided between these two!
"I’m going to win!" Kong Ran did not forget to observe the surrounding competitors. When he discovered that he was in first place, he was overjoyed.
Liu Fushu did not give up, still doing his best.
Chu Xuangu remained expressionless.
Ning Zhuo appeared calm, seemingly unhurried yet steady, never allowing Kong Ran to pull away significantly.
As more poems passed, more and more Confucian cultivators realized the vast gap and gradually gave up.
They gathered to watch, discussing animatedly.
"Who is that boy with the big head?"
"Unexpectedly, it ends with Kong Ran acquiring the Ideograph Brush!"
"He’s a Divine Child, always choosing his path. No wonder Mr. Chu Xuangu presented the Ideograph Brush; it’s likely because of Kong Ran’s arrival."
Realizing that Kong Ran was likely being considered for inclusion into the core circle of Confucian cultivators of the Myriad Images Sect in the future, these Confucian cultivators began to cheer and shout for Kong Ran.
Compared to the clearly outsider Ning Zhuo, they favored this juvenile cultivator with a seemingly brighter future.
For a moment, the atmosphere grew lively, as if Kong Ran had already indisputably become the ultimate winner.
But Ning Zhuo never allowed the distance to grow, maintaining a chasing posture.
Kong Ran made a mistake.
His state of mind was disturbed.
The surrounding adulation and expectations added much external pressure to his young mind.
One mistake required a complete rewrite.
Kong Ran had to start writing from the beginning, turning in his busy state to check Ning Zhuo’s progress.
Although Ning Zhuo had not surpassed him, the prior gap almost vanished with this mistake.
"Oh no!"
"I can’t make another mistake."
"The Ideograph Brush, it must be mine!"
Kong Ran grew increasingly anxious, steeling his mind, urging his innate talents, consuming Literary Energy, and casting a Confucian Skill.
Myriad Phenomena Cradle!
Ning Zhuo, surprised, looked up at Kong Ran for the first time: "This familiar aura, is his innate talent also... Early Wisdom?"
Under the enhancement of the Confucian Skill, Kong Ran’s eyes became as clear as water, as innocent as an infant.
His memories were compressed to the lowest layer, and the whole person resembled a newborn, facing the world for the first time. Observing the surroundings with first-time encounters, receiving constant inspiration and guidance.
Thus, his prior calligraphy foundation no longer disturbed him.
Kong Ran’s writing speed increased by another three parts compared to before.