Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

Above the incense burner are five pure red pillars, one of which has a flickering flame.

"This painting competition has a time limit. From now on, you esteemed painters have the time it takes for five incense sticks to burn to complete your works. After that, we will invite several elders from the Painting Sect to judge your paintings."

The time it takes for five incense sticks to burn is not very long.

If they had carefully considered their ideas before coming to this venue, this amount of time would have been enough for them to complete their paintings. However, neither the requirements nor the theme of the paintings had been revealed beforehand, and they had only just learned that the painting competition was to depict dragons!

In other words...

They're being asked to improvise!

At that moment, a considerable commotion arose among the sixteen masked artists, with some even criticizing the art gallery for being too inhumane.

With so little time, they're barely enough to come up with ideas for the artwork. How can you expect them to start drawing right away?

That's really going too far!

"This time limit is too short..." Qin Shishi frowned involuntarily from a distance. "Five incense sticks' worth of time is barely enough to come up with a prototype for the painting, let alone start painting..."

Ye Yuchan wasn't very knowledgeable about painting. She tilted her head and stared at Qin Shishi, "It's just painting, does it need to take so long to think about?"

"You haven't studied painting before, have you?"

Faced with Qin Shishi's question, Ye Yuchan nodded honestly.

"Painting is a very delicate art. If we talk about difficulty, among the four arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting, painting is probably the most difficult and the hardest to break through."

Unexpectedly, Fan Luokui suddenly spoke up, taking Qin Shishi's place.

She glanced at Ye Yuchan, who still seemed somewhat confused, and patiently explained, "Painting requires a high degree of control over the painter's wrist and arm. Moreover, in order to maintain stability and control the density and thickness of the painting, they often need to use spiritual energy to forcibly control themselves."

"Of course, some high-level painters are so skilled that they can create amazing works of art without using spiritual energy, but that only applies to high-level painters."

Fan Luokui's words impressed Qin Shishi. "Miss, you seem quite familiar with painting. Could it be that you...?"

“No, I only have a little knowledge of painting.” Fan Luokui shook her head, denying Qin Shishi’s guess, and then her face was clouded with gloom for some reason. “When I was little… that adult once painted in front of me… explaining some things about painting to me while he was painting.”

—That sir?

Qin Shishi blinked, unaware of who the "adult" Fan Luokui was referring to was.

"Hey...you must also be good at painting, right?" she asked again from a different angle.

"No, I've hated drawing ever since."

Qin Shishi looked at her in confusion, "Why?"

"Because that person drew it on my face, and it was drawn so badly that I couldn't get it off no matter how hard I tried. I was laughed at by others for more than half a month before it disappeared naturally."

Everyone: "..."

Ye Yuchan imagined Yin Hanxue drawing a little turtle on Fan Luokui's face, and the scene... was breathtakingly beautiful.

But then again—

Zhang Ruoxue sipped her wine, staring at the pink bunny sitting motionless in place, before slowly sitting up.

"If the time allotted for five incense sticks is very tight, can the teacher manage to finish it?"

"Yes, I can!" Xiao Lin Yuan jumped up and down, saying confidently, "Teacher is super amazing! Although I can't understand what you're saying, I'm sure you can do it."

Ye Yuchan agreed with this, and she was completely at ease with the old rogue's four literary and artistic talents.

after all--

That old scoundrel sitting there wearing a rabbit mask and acting all lewd...

But it was Emperor Wen.

Of course, there were also many discontented voices from inside the venue.

The owners of these voices were mostly relatives, friends, or bosses of the artists on stage. They didn't want their people to underperform due to time constraints and ultimately lose.

Everyone would want a replica of "Dragon Play" worth at least 30 million.

But these complaints were like a breeze to Fairy Hua. She didn't even glance at the complaining painters, completely ignoring their words.

After all, a truly talented artist wouldn't care about a mere five incense sticks.

Between venues.

"Look! The second artist, the one with the silver fox, has started painting!"

Suddenly, someone shouted something.

The next moment, everyone's attention was focused on the silver fox painter of the second scroll. In the blink of an eye, Chen Ran became the focus of the entire venue.

He sprang up from his seat, his right hand gracefully swung in the air in a beautiful arc, the ink brush in his hand rapidly plunging into the pitch-black ink, a proud smile on his handsome face beneath the mask.

Chen Ran could feel the scorching gazes coming from all directions, and this feeling of being the center of attention, like being surrounded by stars, made him feel particularly good.

He glanced at Little Rabbit, the number one artist, who was still sitting there without making a sound, out of the corner of his eye, and immediately sneered.

"Sir, I am but a humble novice, so I will make a fool of myself first!"

With Chen Ran's arrogant words still echoing in his ears, Yun Ping turned slightly and casually glanced at Chen Ran, who was wielding his brush.

He wrote with remarkable speed, as if he didn't need to think about anything, or perhaps he had already envisioned the final form of the painting in his mind. All he had to do now was analyze it step by step and recreate the entire process.

Chen Ran does have some real skills, otherwise he wouldn't dare to come to such a big stage, and he's aiming for the top spot.

With each stroke, ink splashed, and Chen Ran's wrist technique had been honed to perfection. He didn't need the help of spiritual energy at all; a majestic aura emanated from him.

"Ahhhhh—Young Master Chen is so handsome!"

"Young Master Chen is the best in the world! Young Master Chen is so amazing!"

"Young Master Chen! Young Master Chen! Young Master Chen!"

His carefree demeanor earned him screams from many women, mostly from the glamorous ladies he brought with him.

Whether it was spurred on by these female sympathizers or their unwillingness to fall behind was fully ignited, the artists who had previously complained about the short time all picked up their brushes and began to complete their paintings.

Inside the arena, more and more painters began to wield their ink brushes, like generals brandishing sharp swords, treating the ink brushes as their weapons and the scrolls as cruel battlefields, each one racing against time to engage in a duel.

This was a war without bloodshed or death, but in terms of cruelty, it was no less brutal than a real war.

For artists, their paintings are their life. If their paintings are outshone by others, it is as if they have been killed by others.

They will not allow such a thing to happen.

however--

Of the sixteen painters present, fourteen had already picked up their brushes.

The only ones who remained completely still were artist number one and artist number nine.

The number one artist was naturally the sensational pink bunny, while the number nine artist was the only contestant from Bright Peak present.

The young monk Zhuang Hai didn't stare at the blank scroll in front of him, but instead stared intently at the location of the number one painter, Yun Ping.

Why isn't this guy moving?!

In fact, Zhuang Hai had already conceived his own painting in his mind, and he could even paint faster than Chen Ran, but he didn't, because he was confident that he could complete his painting within the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn.

He wanted to see Yunping's skill level; after all, the stakes were high, and it would be ridiculous if he didn't even know his opponent's ability.

But the problem is... why isn't that old bastard moving?!

The little monk glanced at the incense burner in Hua Xianzi's hand. One and a half of the five incense sticks on it had already gone out, leaving only the time it takes for three and a half incense sticks to burn. Could this old bastard be like him, with the ability to finish within two incense sticks?

Not only was the young monk stunned, but everyone else in the hall was as well.

"Hey, why isn't that artist number one moving? Have they gone mad?"

"Could it be some idiot who can't draw at all and just came here to fill in the blanks? Did he think that coming up with a name like that would make everyone notice him? He probably got stumped by this question right away."

"I reckon that's how it is. Hmph, these days, aren't there plenty of useless people who are all talk and no action?"

"Why isn't that artist number nine moving? He looks bald, and his brain doesn't seem very sharp."

—Because the two remained motionless, those who had been mocking the number one painter also dragged the little monk into the conversation.

This infuriated the young monk; he had never been mocked like this before.

It's all because of that idiot! That idiot who never moves and is just wasting time!

Time passed second by second, and Yunping remained motionless, but the little monk could no longer bear it.

Because he doesn't have much time left.

With only two and a half incense sticks left, if he didn't start painting soon, he probably wouldn't have the chance to finish his work.

"Tch, that bastard, he's just wasting my time!"

He stomped his foot in annoyance, then stood up on his seat, picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and began to finish his painting.

As for that idiot who made the bet with me, let him fend for himself!

At the very moment this thought arose...

The first artist, the artist of the pink bunny.

He stood up from his seat.

At that moment, the entire venue fell silent, everyone staring at the artist in the pink mask, anticipating his next move.

However… he touched the storage ring on his right hand, and then, in full view of everyone—

He took out a bucket labeled "Old Altar Pickled Cabbage Beef Noodles" and twisted his neck.

"I'm a little hungry, let me eat something first..."

11. Painting

What is that?

eat?

Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, the artist, for some unknown reason, suddenly cast several spells, pouring scalding hot water into the small, purple-covered bucket.

After a brief moment of surprise, a tangy and spicy aroma wafted from the small bucket.

The aroma was simply irresistible, whetting the appetites of everyone present.

...What the hell?!