Eighteenth Chapter: A Painting Duel

Qin Yudie saw that Judi was ignoring her words and was still speaking disrespectfully in front of Xu Yan. She immediately stood up and said coldly, "Judi, please leave!"

She hadn't known Judi was such a rude person before. Today, with Senior Xu's arrival, he had revealed his true colors.

"Yudie, why bother? I haven't done anything harmful," Judi said indifferently to Qin Yudie at first, then stared at Xu Yan and asked, "How about it, dare to have a match?"

He had gone all out today. Even if it made Qin Yudie angry, he wanted to compete with Xu Yan to see what tricks this person had that made Qin Yudie treat him with such regard.

"What do you want to compete in?" Xu Yan looked at Judi and asked.

He hadn't wanted to bother with Judi, but Judi was being so aggressive, and he didn't want Judi to continue causing trouble at Qin Yudie's banquet, so he responded.

Seeing that Xu Yan had taken the bait, Judi revealed a mocking smile and said, "This is Yudie's banquet, a Dao battle is a bit inappropriate. How about we compete in painting?"

He was a genius in the Painting Dao, even more so than in cultivation. Before the age of thirty, he had already become a master of the Painting Dao.

Xu Yan smiled. Someone actually wanted to compete with him in painting.

He said, "Then prepare the painting tools."

At this moment, Qin Yudie suddenly spoke, "Judi, you are not worthy of competing with Senior Xu in painting."

Then, she said to Xu Yan, "Senior Xu, you are such an esteemed person, there's no need to agree to him. He is simply not qualified to compete with you in painting."

Judi sneered, "Qin Yudie, he has already agreed, why are you stopping him? Do you think he is inferior to me?"

From Qin Yudie's reaction, he could conclude that Xu Yan couldn't paint. Qin Yudie was afraid Xu Yan would lose too badly, which was why she was trying to stop Xu Yan from competing with him.

"You're talking nonsense. Senior Xu's paintings are unparalleled, while you are just a clown," Qin Yudie retorted.

She knew how extraordinary Xu Yan's paintings were and absolutely would not allow Judi to insult Xu Yan.

In her heart, Judi didn't even have the right to speak to Senior Xu, let alone compete in painting.

"It's fine. Let me see what his painting skills are like," Xu Yan said to Qin Yudie with a smile.

He hadn't encountered anyone skilled at painting besides himself, so he was quite interested when Judi proposed a painting competition.

Judi ordered two sets of painting tools to be brought over, placing one set in front of him and the other in front of Xu Yan.

He looked at Xu Yan and said, "The time limit is fifteen minutes. Let's see whose painting is more outstanding, how about it?"

Generally, painting takes a long time, but his talent in the Painting Dao was extremely high. In fifteen minutes, he could complete a masterpiece.

He had set a strict time limit, intending to make Xu Yan utterly defeated in front of the young talents from various factions in the courtyard.

He wanted to show Qin Yudie that the person she valued so highly was nothing in front of him, Judi.

"No problem, let's begin!" Xu Yan said calmly.

Let alone fifteen minutes, he could complete a painting in just one minute.

"Begin!"

The moment Judi finished speaking, he began to paint. His strokes were fluid and seamless, without the slightest pause, truly a master-level figure with great talent in the Painting Dao.

On the other hand, Xu Yan picked up a piece of fruit and slowly ate it, not starting to paint at all.

The people in the courtyard were all prodigies from major Sects and Families in the vicinity of Tianren Mountain. At this moment, they all felt that Xu Yan, knowing he was no match for Judi, had simply given up on painting.

Otherwise, if both parties started painting, and the gap between their paintings was huge, the one who fell short would lose even more miserably in comparison to the superior artwork.

Mu'er also felt that Xu Yan was being too unreliable. She said, "Senior, if you don't start painting soon, what if you lose?"

She knew Xu Yan was a very powerful senior, but Judi was also a renowned master of the Painting Dao in the Tianren Sect. Therefore, she still felt Xu Yan was being too overconfident.

Xu Yan glanced at Judi, who was painting with full concentration, and said calmly, "Don't worry, I won't lose."

After speaking, he continued to eat his fruit.

Only after slowly finishing the fruit in his hand did he begin to paint.

By this time, half the time had passed, and Judi's painting was also half-finished.

When Xu Yan held the brush and made the first stroke on the scroll, a Dao charm emanated, quietly enveloping the entire courtyard.

Every stroke he made was natural and perfectly placed, pleasing to the eye even for those who didn't understand painting.

For example, Mu'er was captivated, completely engrossed.

Watching Xu Yan paint, Qin Yudie's face unconsciously broke into a beautiful smile.

Unbeknownst to her, Xu Yan had already become a very important person to her.

A few minutes later, both Xu Yan and Judi stopped painting and looked up at each other, their gazes meeting in mid-air.

Judi smiled triumphantly, disdain in his eyes.

Competing with him in painting was truly foolish.

Xu Yan smiled at Judi, then looked at the people in the courtyard and asked, "Everyone, who do you think painted better?"

Judi's painting depicted a young boy learning to paint, his fingers already calloused and injured, yet he hadn't stopped.

He had painted himself as a youth learning to paint. After many years, he could still paint his past self, and it gave people a sense of immersion, as if the young boy learning to paint was right before their eyes.

"Senior Xu, of course, your painting is better. Judi's painting cannot be compared to yours at all," Qin Yudie said.

This was the first time she had seen Xu Yan paint a complete picture from start to finish, as if witnessing the creation of the world. The shock in her heart was indescribable.

Mu'er even ran over to take a closer look at Judi's painting, then ran back to Xu Yan's side and said, "That's right, that's right, senior's painting is better!"

She didn't understand painting, but even without understanding painting, she could tell that Xu Yan's work was far superior to Judi's.

"Impossible, you're just saying that because you're biased towards him, it doesn't count!" Judi roared in anger.

He refused to believe that Xu Yan's painting could be better than his. This piece was already his masterpiece, representing over a decade of effort on the Painting Dao.

He would never allow anyone to trample on his hard work; he was determined to be the winner!

The others in the courtyard had watched Judi paint. Now, they walked towards Xu Yan, wanting to see how his painting turned out.

They were all prodigies from sects and families in the areas near Tianren Mountain. Compared to top sect prodigies like Qin Yudie and Judi, there was still a significant gap.

But Xu Yan was just an unknown person. They were all curious if Xu Yan's painting was truly as magical as Qin Yudie and Mu'er had said.