Su Yi narrowed his eyes.
Then, without yielding in the slightest, he met the frail young man's gaze and said, "Did you paint this?"
The frail young man smiled. "I had nothing better to do, so I could only paint to pass the time."
Su Yi said, "It's terribly painted."
The frail young man froze, his expression darkening. "What's so terrible about it?"
"An ant is an ant, one kind of living creature in this world. But when you have it pin an entire cosmos beneath one foot, can it still be called an ant?"
Su Yi spoke calmly.
"Why can't it?"
The frail young man frowned and retorted, "My painting depicts how even the lowliest ant may have a chance to stand above the Great Dao!"
Su Yi snickered. "Forget ants. Of the countless living beings in this world, how many can truly trample an entire cosmos beneath their feet?"
Without waiting for the frail young man to retort, Su Yi continued, "Your painting looks grand and imposing, using the small to reveal the great, but in truth, it is hollow and utterly unrealistic!"
As he spoke, he pointed to another painting on the wall. It depicted a fish leaping from the water and swallowing the sun, moon, and stars in a single bite.
"This painting is the same. It appears full of imagination, but it is actually illusory and ethereal, unable to bear close scrutiny."
Su Yi swept his gaze over the other murals on the walls, shook his head, and said nothing more.
The frail young man's expression had already darkened like water, and his eyes were terrifying.
"In the northern abyss, there is a fish named Kun. Its wings are like clouds hanging from the heavens, its body can span and crush the universe, and swallowing