I made the entire cultivation world cry

Chapter 231 The Way of Painting (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"I didn't expect the Shen family to be so skilled not only in physical training but also in painting."

Elder Zhu Mingzong stroked his beard in admiration, but his gaze swept across the room meaningfully.

Shen Puning stood amidst a mountain of beast corpses, covered in blood, the ink on his brush still wet, and surrounded by several still-present ink-wash beasts.

She threw her head back and laughed loudly and freely, as if years of pent-up frustration had been swept away.

Several female elders of the Shen family looked embarrassed and exchanged glances.

Who doesn't know that the Shen family has only practiced the barbarian body-refining methods for generations? Because of the customs of the Northern Xuan, they have only recently begun to control martial arts-type demon spirits.

Painting paths? That's just children's play.

Shen Hongxiu slowly stood up, gazing at his daughter's carefree smile. In a daze, he seemed to see the little girl who used to jump around on the training ground many years ago. Back then, Ning'er also laughed loudly without any restraint.

When did her Ning'er stop laughing like that at home?

Shen Hongxiu's lips tightened, and before she could speak, Shen Jingshuang hurriedly grabbed her mother's arm.

"Mother!" Shen Jingshuang's fingertips trembled, her voice extremely low, "Let Ning'er... be happy this once."

Shen Jingshuang's eyes were full of heartache for Shen Puning. She only understood Jiang Yi's words that day today.

Ning'er has indeed been working hard to prove herself, even at great risk, to show that she can do it.

If her family members still cannot understand Ning'er's inner turmoil, it will push her into an even more dangerous situation, trapping her in a constant struggle to prove herself.

What Ning'er has never wanted is pampering and indulgence, but rather the approval of her family!
“Shuang’er,” Mu Yanping sighed, “you’ll hurt your mother’s feelings by doing this. She’s not an unfeeling person.”

If we're talking about understanding, it's Mu Yanping, her husband, who truly understands Shen Hongxiu. She may appear cold and hard, but she has a soft heart.

Shen Hongxiu closed her eyes briefly, and seeing that the female elders were about to speak, she suddenly raised her hand to stop them.

"The Demon-Fighting Ceremony has a clear winner and loser."

Shen Hongxiu's voice was deep and solemn, echoing throughout the entire venue.

"Shen Puning slew twenty-six demons, and deserves to be ranked first!"

As soon as he finished speaking, thunderous cheers erupted from the stands.

Lin Nuanyang screamed and threw peanuts and melon seeds, Lin Fenfen shouted at her feet, the female shopkeeper Shen Guiyu smiled with her arms crossed, and the myna bird shouted on her shoulder, "Ningning is the strongest, Ningning is the strongest."

As Shen Hongxiu turned to leave his seat, he caught a glimpse of Shen Puning's stunned expression out of the corner of his eye.

Shen Puning really didn't expect her mother to affirm her in public. She had originally prepared to rebel in public and had even rehearsed the scene of arguing with her mother with Jiang Yi many times.

Jiang Yi plays her mother, and she plays herself.

The first few times, Jiang Yi's words were so sharp that she couldn't even speak. If she weren't cheerful, she might have been driven to suicide by Jiang Yi's sharp words.

After thinking for several nights, she finally figured things out and managed to turn the tables on Jiang Yi.

Now... all that preparation was for nothing!

Jiang Yi noticed Shen Puning's pouty lips, which looked like they could hold an oil lamp, and leaned closer to tease her, "How about I call your mother back and let you rebel a little?"

"Oh! You're so annoying!" Shen Puning scolded playfully, her voice soft and sweet, a stark contrast to her earlier tone.

Jiang Yi stretched her limbs and said, "Remember to give me all the rewards; my appearance fee is very high!"

"Okay, okay, you money-grubber!"

Shen Puning's soft armor was torn and her hair was disheveled, but her spirited demeanor was undeniable, making her look like a victorious little beast.

The two left the arena together, followed by the muffled thuds of servants dragging away the carcasses of monsters. The myna bird flapped its wings and circled in the air, repeating in a shrill voice, "Ningning is the strongest."

Shen Puning couldn't help but throw her head back and laugh loudly, her clear laughter startling the birds perched on the eaves.

Jiang Yi glanced at her and a smile also appeared on her lips.

The Demon-Fighting Ceremony has come to a close, and Shen Puning, the barbarian painter, has become famous overnight, full of pride and high spirits.

……

"Mother, I was wrong!"

Just moments ago, the spirited barbarian painter Shen Puning returned home to find his mother, third sister, and the most senior old woman in the clan sitting in the main hall. Shen Puning was all too familiar with this three-way interrogation.

Her father gave her a meaningful look from outside the door, and she quickly admitted her mistake and knelt down first.

The old woman's dragon-headed cane slammed into the ground. "Ning'er, you have publicly desecrated the traditions of our Wuman tribe today!"

The Shen family fled from the Southern Wilderness and migrated here. Over several generations, although they have abandoned many of the customs of the Southern Wilderness tribe and changed their surname to Shen to better suit this place, they still maintain the traditions and structure of the tribe.

Besides the head of the household, who is also the king, there is also a shaman in the family, who is known to outsiders as the clan elder.

The shaman was in charge of sacrifices in the tribe, and his voice was above that of the king.

Furthermore, the tribe places great importance on tradition and sacrificial ceremonies, and the entire ritual process must not be altered or desecrated in the slightest.

The Demon-Fighting Ceremony is essentially a sacrificial ceremony for their Wuman tribe, using the blood of demonic beasts to worship the barbarian god. The barbarian god reveres strength, not magic.

The old woman was adamant: "Painting is nothing but a trivial skill for entertainment. It's a waste of your talent to have such a strong spirit and not use it. Hand over your brush and scroll, and you're never allowed to paint again!"

Shen Puning opened her eyes wide, "No! I like painting, and I haven't given up on Mangu, so why can't I learn to paint?"

The old woman said angrily, "No matter how realistic your painting is, it is not a real demon and cannot possess the power of a real demon. The barbarian gods of my Wuman tribe have carved out a territory and protected our tribe, not by relying on these fake tricks! If you still want to stay in the tribe, abandon the way of painting and concentrate on cultivating the power of barbarian bones."

Shen Puning suddenly stood up from the ground and stared directly at the old woman without any politeness.

"Do you know why my clan fled from the Southern Wilderness to here? It's because there were inflexible old fools like you in our clan!"

Upon hearing this, not only Shen Jingshuang's eyes widened, but even Shen Hongxiu looked at Shen Puning in astonishment.

Shen Puning stood with her hands on her hips, exuding an aura even stronger than that of an old woman.

"You call yourself a barbarian god? The barbarian god you worship is just a loser who got beaten to the ground by an ancient Qi cultivator! Instead of learning something powerful, you kneel down and fawn over this trash, which is why you, old man, can't even form a Golden Core. In the cultivation world, strength is paramount. What right do you have to point fingers at me!"

"You! You! You you..."

The old woman pressed her hand to her chest in anger, her hand trembling as she pointed at Shen Puning.

"enough!"

Shen Hongxiu slammed his hand on the table, and Shen Puning trembled all over, then knelt down with a thud, bowing his head and admitting defeat.

"Mother, I was wrong."

I dare you next time.

That felt so good, haha! So that's how satisfying it was when A-Yi used that line to roast her before!

"Shuang'er, help the elder down to rest first. I will handle Ning'er's matter myself."

Shen Jingshuang and Shen Puning exchanged a glance, shook their heads reproachfully, and then forcibly dragged the old woman away.

The Shen family of Beixuan is not like the barbarian witches of the Southern Wilderness. Their traditions and rules are only respected when they are in their own interest.

After everyone left, Shen Hongxiu got up and helped Shen Puning up from the ground.

“There’s no need to apologize all the time. You haven’t done anything wrong. It’s always been your mother who’s been blinded by clan rules.”

Shen Puning suddenly felt a lump in her throat, "Mother..."

Shen Hongxiu smiled as she rubbed the ink stains that Shen Puning's hands hadn't completely wiped clean. She suddenly realized that those little hands that used to tug at her clothes when she was little could now hold a pen and draw thousands of troops.

“As the head of the family, I have a heavy responsibility. Sometimes I may be strict and take out my anger on you when it shouldn’t be directed at you… I think that although Ning’er was as dirty as a little wildcat today, her genuine smile was more beautiful than anything else.”

"Oh dear, Mom... how can you be so... cheesy..."

Shen Puning sniffed, her eyes burning.

Shen Hongxiu looked intently into Shen Puning's eyes, "Can you tell your mother why you insist on learning to paint? Is it to prove you're not a child anymore, or do you genuinely enjoy it? What exactly do you want to paint?"

Shen Puning lowered her head and thought for a moment, then took out the Myriad Manifestations Scroll from her person and spread it out on the table. It was completely blank, with nothing on it.

"Mom, do you know when I get most excited when I'm painting?"

Shen Hongxiu pondered, "When a painting is finished?"

Shen Puning looked at the blank page of the Myriad Manifestations Scroll, which had nothing on it. "No, it's when I'm about to pick up my pen that anything can appear on this paper."

"In my view, the way of painting is to be undefined and all-encompassing. What you paint is never important; what matters is accommodating all possibilities. I especially love this feeling."

Shen Hongxiu's eyes suddenly widened, his Dao heart trembling at Shen Puning's words.

Shen Puning continued, "I don't want to live a life that you've arranged for me, and I don't want to know what my future will be like just by looking at my mother and sisters. Before, in the Azure Emperor Palace, the Azure Emperor's phantom asked me, 'Can those who rely on their parents' protection but forget their parents' kindness achieve success?'"

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while now. When I ran away from home last time, I really thought that I didn’t want this barbarian bone, or even everything from the Shen family. I was going to forge my own path, even if I was battered and bruised. I didn’t want your arrangements. But Ayi reminded me that some things are not mutually exclusive. The contradiction is in my own heart.”

"What I want to prove is not the way of painting, but my own ability. I don't have to sever ties with my family to achieve a result. I don't have to get rid of my barbarian bones to do anything else. It's not that I'm unwilling to support the Shen family. I just want to do it in my own way."

“You can deny me, but you can’t deny my principles. You can love me, but you can’t live for me. I’m greedy. I want you, I want my principles, and I want both me and the Shen family to have unlimited possibilities.”

Shen Hongxiu lowered his head, his eyes downcast.

"I never thought that after living for so many years, I would not be as insightful as you, my child. It is not too late for my Ning'er to enlighten me today."

If the Shen family continues to adhere to old rules and regulations, blindly pursuing the power of barbarian bones and past traditions, they will only be repeating the old path of the barbarian god in the future.

Ning'er wasn't wrong to scold him. The Barbarian God is indeed a loser, and the Shen family's future should also explore infinite possibilities.

"Enough, enough. I'm old and stubborn, and my ideas may not be right. In any case, the Shen family won't collapse without you. I won't care about you and your sisters anymore. Go do what you want to do. In the future, whoever wants to be the head of the family can come to me. If no one wants to, I'll give the Shen family away."

"Haha, Mother, you're the one who's reluctant to let go! Don't worry, my sisters and I will support the Shen family together, we definitely will!"

　I'm heading home today, and this is the last chapter I've prepared. I'll update on time tomorrow, so don't worry!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)