Chapter 685 - The Entire City Wears Armor of Golden Armor
thout considering their thoughts, he walked over directly to recruit him."What nonsense, are you taking an exam or something" Xu Yandong in Yu Rong's dormitory, who didn't know about Xie Wanjun's pres...Chapter 685: The City Clad in Golden Armor
"If you have elders, then come over," Hao Ren replied.
"Oh!" Xu Ke nodded and took out his scroll from the bag to hand it to two calligraphy club members holding a long ladder.
The two members picked up Xu Ke's scroll and hung it from above.
“When autumn comes on September 8th, my flowers bloom as all others wither. The overpowering fragrance permeates Chang'an, the city clad in golden armor.”
Xu Ke used a large hanging scroll, each character about two fist sizes big, full and robust, especially the character for “kill” which stood out even more strikingly.
This poem was reportedly written by Huang Chao, an ancient rebel leader. It seemed to have no issues, fitting perfectly with the early autumn after the Mid-Autumn Festival.
But given Xu Ke's Golden Dragon identity, reading this poem felt very inappropriate. Young dragon cultivators who saw Xu Ke’s poem had their expressions change slightly.
The brushwork in the calligraphy combined with the poetic imagery exuded a strong aura of killing intent.
The city clad in golden armor… This implied that the Golden Dragon faction would conquer Donghai City!
"This student's handwriting is excellent," the principal turned to look at Xu Ke’s calligraphy and praised it.
“Thank you for the principal's compliment,” Xu Ke smiled sheepishly, like those students who dare not speak directly with school leaders, walking away in a distant manner.
Hao Ren looked up at Xu Ke’s poem, gritting his teeth.
My flowers bloom as all others wither. The Golden Dragon lineage always feels superior to other dragon palaces; even the Donghai Dragon Palace is not spared this feeling of superiority.
The Golden Dragon cultivators崇尚終極武力 (note: there's a repetition in the original text, it reads "崇尚終極武力" twice which I assume should be removed or replaced), in their pursuit of cultivation levels, even their own lives are not valued. How much less would they care about others' lives—As long as someone offends the Golden Dragons, regardless of right or wrong, there's only one word: Kill!
“President, do you want to take this down” A vice-president nominated by Lu Qi approached Hao Ren and asked softly.
"Forget it, just leave it up," Hao Ren waved his hand.
Xu Ke’s piece seemed to carry a hint of arrogance and provocation. But Hao Ren wasn't one without tolerance; as Xu Ke was part of the calligraphy club, and on the surface there weren’t any issues with this poem, he decided to leave it hanging.
Strength is proven through combat, not by argument.
"Sir!"
While Hao Ren was momentarily distracted, Lu Linni and Lu Lili, wearing a blue and green skirt respectively, walked in from the door and cheerfully ran up to Hao Ren. Following them slightly behind was Xie Yujia.
Their morning classes had ended, and although they initially wanted to help Hao Ren, he already had enough assistance, so they didn't intervene.
Now that their afternoon classes were over, they came to see how the club activities were going.
The principal smiled at Lu Qing when he saw his two granddaughters appear. Lu Qing looked helpless; it was obvious these girls liked Hao Ren, and there wasn't much he could say about it.
The Lu sisters didn’t care whether they addressed the president or vice-president; they pulled Hao Ren aside to admire their favorite works of art. As Hao Ren didn't want to be with the principal, having the Lu sisters around actually got him out of a bind.
Those girls who had been staring at Hao Ren saw that the two Lu sisters flanked him on either side, while Xie Yujia, another gentle and beautiful girl, stood behind them. They knew they couldn't break into this group, so they could only sigh inwardly.
Over a thousand pieces of calligraphy with different styles would take at least a day to view one by one. The Lu sisters had high tastes and didn’t comment on every single piece; only those that caught their fancy were discussed.
Xie Yujia practiced calligraphy when she was young, but the exhibited works far surpassed her level, so there wasn't much for her to do except admire them.
What she admired more about Hao Ren was his leadership and ability to rally people. Getting over five hundred students involved and putting up over a thousand items in the library's main hall was unprecedented.
However, Hao Ren managed this large-scale event within two morning classes. Everything was organized meticulously. The calligraphic works seemed haphazardly arranged but actually created clear pathways between them so that each piece could be closely observed or quickly glanced at.
Hao Ren had everything under control and exuded the bearing of a general.
"Yujia, here..." Seeing Xie Yujia look back at him, Hao Ren caught up to her and placed something in her palm.
Amidst the black-and-white ink paintings, Xie Yujia's delicate face and graceful figure were highlighted, making her appear even more beautiful with a classical charm.
Xie Yujia opened her hand to reveal a red jade ring.
The color was warm yet unassuming, like a ruby resting quietly in the palm of Xie Yujia's fair skin.
"This is..." Xie Yujia slightly raised her eyelashes.
"A finger guard for archery to protect your fingers." Hao Ren explained.
"Mm-hmm," Xie Yujia slipped the red ring onto her finger. The emerald and crimson hue complemented her pale skin, making it look like a beautiful large ring.
"Thank you." Xie Yujia looked at Hao Ren and said softly.
"What for If there's anything better, I'll replace it," Hao Ren touched her hair with his hand.
Xie Yujia blushed slightly, tilting her lips up in a sweet smile.
"Master is biased. You give the First Consort a gift but don't give us one." The Lu sisters came over and said.
Hao Ren picked up two fingers and tapped each of them on their foreheads, "Here's your reward!"
“Ah...” The Lu sisters pouted with displeasure all over their faces.
The time was approaching noon when the principal directly had the canteen deliver more than five hundred boxed meals to the calligraphy club members free of charge.
This calligraphy exhibition was the best school activity that the principal had ever seen!
"Hahaha... Principal Liu, you really made a big fuss about such a small school event! Was it necessary to invite us over"
A few hearty-looking bearded men and several elderly gentlemen holding umbrellas walked up the steps. Upon seeing the principal at the library entrance, they teased him.
These were all famous calligraphers in Donghai City who also held honorary titles or senior professorships at other universities in the city. They had received a sudden call from Principal Liu and decided to come over together.
From Principal Liu's phone call, they learned that Donghai University had established a Calligraphy Club and organized an event. According to Principal Liu, it was "extremely wonderful," insisting on their presence to offer guidance, but how could they believe these children would produce any remarkable calligraphy They thought Principal Liu wanted them to add some luster to the school's activities, so with the intention of nurturing the young, they paid him a visit despite the rain.
"Hahaha, I told you it was unnecessary," said Principal Liu, who usually maintained composure, laughing even louder than them. He gestured for them to enter the library.
“Ascending the Stork Tower, this one is written quite well indeed. At least it took a day’s effort.” The leading calligraphy master stroked his beard in admiration of the calligraphy displayed at the entrance before entering the main hall of the library.
From this piece alone, there were some promising talents among the younger generation. These calligraphers nodded in agreement as they proceeded to view more students' works inside and prepared to leave their own brushwork as encouragement for the Donghai University's juniors.
Donghai University’s Fine Arts College was renowned but focused on Western painting styles, not having a solid foundation in traditional Chinese paintings compared to other schools. The calligraphy teachers at Donghai were far from being established masters like those at other universities.
As an enthusiast of calligraphy, Principal Liu often sought these experts for discussions and practice yet always fell short of their level; it was just a casual hobby among friends.
The schools where they taught all had their own calligraphy clubs. Donghai University didn’t have nationally renowned calligraphy teachers but still established a club and invited them to provide guidance, making them think Principal Liu wanted to bask in reflected glory—never mind then; as long as the young generation could appreciate calligraphy, it was their duty as seniors to encourage the juniors from other institutions.
“This...” However, when they were considering what to write, upon turning into the main hall of the library, they were utterly stunned.
A series of calligraphy works, as if floating in mid-air, suddenly appeared before them, like stolen ancient masterpieces from a museum!
The skill level of these pieces was far beyond their imagination! Even they, contemporary calligraphers, might not be able to write at this standard!
The shock they felt was no less than that experienced by President Liu when he first saw the works!
"Hahaha... Aren't these kids' calligraphy pretty decent" President Liu asked them with a smile as they stared in disbelief.
He felt immensely relieved, all pent-up resentment from having his once enthusiastic calligraphy work dismissed by them gone at last today!
I may not have any talent for calligraphy myself, but the students I've nurtured here at Donghai University possess some of the best potential in the country!
The Calligraphy Club at Donghai University is the strongest in the nation!
This is truly face-saving!
Where could other schools possibly acquire over a thousand pieces of such high-quality calligraphic works
The idea of mentoring young talents from other institutions had turned to ash for these calligraphers; how dare they even think about inscribing something for Donghai University now!
Any piece here is better than what they themselves could produce! These calligraphers who often receive requests for their "ink treasures" were almost unable to believe their eyes.
Once they recovered from their shock, they focused on the pieces they liked and began studying them in detail!
A couple of them approached the largest font piece reading "A City Cloaked in Golden Armor", observing it closely.
When they noticed the last character in the second row, "殺" (kill), their hearts jumped; they both took a sudden step back.
Tap! Tap! They were suddenly steadied by someone supporting them from behind.
Turning around, they saw a guy in a white shirt holding them up with his palms on their backs.
"Chairman, many parents of our members have arrived and are waiting outside the library," a young girl ran over to say this to the male student.
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A huge thank you goes out to those who have generously sponsored Xiao Long: , Wild Mountain Maple, Unfurrowed Brow, Angry Orca, Playful Watermelon, Heartbroken Trend, Ning Qi Ning, Romantic Drift 75, Snow Cold Ice Spirit.faction!"Young Master, don't blame Linlin Lily..." Lu L琳琳 pouted."What's going on" Hao Ren frowned and asked them again.Lu 莉Lily and Lu 琳琳 sometimes liked to act mischievously, but they had never over...