Proulx Gallery

Hualie Hotel, the most luxurious dining establishment within the Ernst Institute, was where Yale was treating his guests today. The four brothers of Dormitory 1987 were gathered for a meal at this very hotel.

The first floor of Hualie Hotel.

The floor of the hotel was as bright and polished as a mirror, and a row of beautiful waitresses stood there respectfully, ready to take orders at any moment.

There were quite a few men and women in student uniforms inside Hualie Hotel. Most of those who could afford to consume here possessed significant financial strength; a casual table of dishes here would cost dozens of gold coins. If it were Lin Feng, he wouldn't be able to afford it.

The grade tournament had just ended, and most of the students in the entire hotel were discussing it. Most of the people here were young adults, but among them was one table occupied by four children.

"Thinking about this grade tournament just makes me feel unlucky. It was so close, just a hair's breadth away and I could have entered the semifinals. Maybe I could have even secured one of the top three spots," Reynolds said with great dissatisfaction. Among the four brothers, Reynolds was the youngest, as well as the proudest and most confident one.

Yale laughed, "It is a real pity. I didn't expect that Land would end up taking first place."

George smiled and didn't say much.

George was a good-natured person who hardly offended anyone.

"Land?" Lin Feng hadn't expected that, just like the plot in the original book, it would end up being this Land who took first place. If his guess was correct, the next part of the plot should be him beating this top-ranked Land into a pulp, right?

To be honest, since he started learning magic, Lin Feng had never fought anyone; he had only killed a few pheasants and wild rabbits. Thinking that he would soon be using magic to spar with someone, Lin Feng felt an indescribable excitement.

In order to fight Land and test the feeling of using magic to bash someone, this act had to be played out.

"Land? Right, I've heard you guys mention him. Is he that new student in our batch who has super-grade elemental affinity and spiritual energy?" Lin Feng did remember the name "Land."

George nodded with a smile, "Yes, that's him. His talent was high to begin with; even before he started cultivating, his innate spiritual energy reached the requirements for a level-two mage. This year, he just accumulated enough magic power. With the strength of a level-two mage, it isn't difficult to win first place in the first-grade tournament."

"What does relying solely on talent count for? When it comes to talent, can he compare to our institute's number one genius, Dixie?" Yale curled his lips, "I really look down on that Land. He just won the first-grade tournament, but Lin Feng, you didn't see it—the smug look on his face after he won. I really wonder what he'd be like if he won the fifth or sixth-grade tournament?"

The higher a mage goes, the harder it is to cultivate.

Therefore, among the thousands of students at the Ernst Institute, most were in the higher grades, and the competition in the tournaments for the higher grades was even more intense.

Reynolds also nodded, "I find him very annoying too. Our institute's top genius, the third-year Dixie—what kind of demeanor did he have after winning the third-grade tournament? The gap between the two is just too big. Besides, our first-grade champion isn't even really him, Land."

"Right, Third Brother, you didn't participate. If you had, heh heh," Yale chuckled.

The dialogue was not much different from the original story, and their unscrupulous discussion finally provoked the dissatisfaction of Land, who had just arrived at the hotel.

The following scenes were even simpler: the conflict escalated, and it had to be resolved through combat.

Opening the ring, competing, and the stakes were still ten thousand gold coins.

The result of the match was naturally without suspense. After Lin Feng easily beat Land until even his own mother wouldn't recognize him, he walked away with the ten thousand gold coins.

"Second Brother, Third Brother, Fourth Brother, tomorrow is the end of the month. My father's people are coming tomorrow, and I can arrange carriages and guards. How about the four of us go visit the Holy Capital?" Yale proposed.

"The Holy Capital?"

Reynolds, George, and even Lin Feng all had their eyes light up.

The Holy Capital, "Fenlai City," was not just ordinarily prosperous.

"The Holy Capital, that sounds great! I traveled from the O'Brien Empire to the Ernst Institute and only stayed in Fenlai City for two days; there were many places I didn't have time to visit," Reynolds said quickly.

George and Lin Feng also nodded.

"There are quite a few places in the Holy Capital. Tomorrow, I'll take you all to have your eyes opened," Yale said mysteriously.

The next morning, the four brothers of 1987, along with Beibei, followed Yale's father's caravan to Fenlai City.

Under the protection of the guard Cass and three others, the four brothers of Lin Feng toured Fenlai City.

"Hey, where should we go now? There are plenty of fun places in Fenlai City. The East City of Fenlai has many places for luxury consumption and even beautiful women to serve you, while the West City of Fenlai has many halls of art, such as the famous Proulx Gallery." Yale was very familiar with Fenlai City.

"Beautiful women to serve us? Good, good, let's go to the East City of Fenlai!" The young but precocious Reynolds' eyes immediately lit up.

"It's still morning; those places only get interesting at night. Of course, we can go now," Yale said with a smile.

Lin Feng was still somewhat resistant to those places, so he said, "Yale, forget it. What would it look like for a group of kids like us to go there? You mentioned the Proulx Gallery just now? This Proulx Gallery is actually named after Master Proulx; it must be extraordinary. Let's go take a look."

Proulx was the greatest figure in the history of stone carving in Yulan.

"Master Proulx? I've heard of him too. They say one of his works was once bought for a high price of several million gold coins. That piece seems to be called 'Hope.' Several million gold coins... my god, he really was rich," Reynolds exclaimed from the side.

George smiled confidently, "From prehistoric times to the present, there have been countless stone carvings passed down in the world of stone carving. Among them, the top ten stone carvings are each worth millions of gold coins. And among those top ten, Master Proulx alone created three. He can be considered the greatest figure in the history of stone carving!"

"Let's go, let's take a look," Lin Feng said immediately.

Proulx Gallery.

As the premier gallery in the world of stone carving, it had branches in several of the top major cities in Yulan. The Proulx Gallery occupied a vast area, and most of the people entering and leaving were those who considered themselves cultured.

At the Proulx Gallery, if you wore several magic diamond rings on your hands, people would likely only look down on you and mock you for having no class.

Art, culture!

These were the most important things here.

The ticket for the Proulx Gallery was one gold coin per person.

Music that sounded like flowing water and tinkling bells drifted out from the Proulx Gallery, making people feel a sense of inner peace after hearing it. People were streaming into the gallery—nobles, noblewomen, and beautiful young ladies, all dressed with great taste.

As for the commoners, they would feel a sense of inferiority in front of the Proulx Gallery.

The four brothers of Lin Feng, along with the four guards including Cass, walked directly onto the plaza in front of the Proulx Gallery. Anyone with a discerning eye, seeing the Ernst Institute uniforms on the four brothers and the Green-eyed Thunder Eagle on Cass's shoulder, couldn't help but become humble in their attitude.

"Uncle Cass, you come in with us. The other three can wait outside," Yale ordered casually.

Lin Feng and his three companions, along with Cass, stepped into the Proulx Gallery. In the center of the gallery's main hall stood a tall stone statue of a human figure; this statue was the work of the master of the stone carving world, Proulx himself.

The entire Proulx Gallery was extremely quiet.

Almost everyone, regardless of their status, spoke in hushed tones for fear of disturbing others.

Yale, Reynolds, George, and Lin Feng gazed at the various stone carvings on display, feeling in their hearts that these works were truly magnificent.

Seeing these carvings, Lin Feng subconsciously compared them to the bronze and wood carvings of his previous life, but the result surprised him. He discovered that in terms of form, spirit, and charm, these stone carvings were a cut above. Although he did not know how to appreciate such sculptural art, his instinct alone allowed him to clearly perceive the superiority of the former. Because of this, Lin Feng, who had previously been indifferent toward stone carving, set aside his contempt after seeing these works.

"The exhibition halls of the Proulx Gallery are mainly divided into three sections: the Ordinary Gallery, the Expert Gallery, and the Master Gallery. This Ordinary Gallery is where stone carving enthusiasts send their works to be appraised and priced. The exhibition period is one month, after which the highest bidder wins. These works are relatively common, mostly worth a few gold coins, with the excellent ones fetching a few dozen at most."

Yale smiled as he introduced them: "The Expert Gallery is different. It is divided into individual exhibition rooms, with each room containing the works of a single expert. To be generally called an expert, one's stone carving skill must be publicly recognized, and their works are typically worth around one thousand gold coins."

"As for the Master Gallery, that is even more impressive. Located in the innermost part of the gallery, it houses the works of only a few masters. The prices for a master's work are terrifying; any single piece is worth tens of thousands of gold coins, and some of a master's most famous works can fetch hundreds of thousands," Yale explained in detail to his three brothers.

Walking through the quiet and spacious Proulx Gallery, listening to the tranquil music, Lin Feng felt immersed in an ocean of art. At this moment, Doehring Cowart rarely emerged from the Coiling Dragon ring, and he, too, began to appreciate the surrounding stone carvings.

"Truly trash, truly trash. What kind of standard is this? How dare they put this out for people to see?" Doehring Cowart said with dissatisfaction.

Hearing this, Lin Feng couldn't help but find it amusing. Given Doehring Cowart's status as the founder of the Flat Blade School, it was only natural for him to have such an assessment of these carvings.

Amidst Doehring Cowart's constant sighs and disparaging remarks, Lin Feng gained little else other than beginning to doubt his own level of appreciation.

When the four brothers returned to the academy entrance, they suddenly heard, "Lin Feng."

A familiar voice rang out. Lin Feng turned his head and couldn't help but show a look of pleasant surprise: "Uncle Hillman."

Seeing his Uncle Hillman here, Lin Feng recalled the purpose of his visit. It must have been discovered that Wharton's bloodline concentration had reached the requirements for a Dragonblood Warrior, and Hillman had come specifically to share the good news.

The plot continued to develop as it did in the original story. After Lin Feng handed over the magic crystal card containing the 9,900 gold coins he had won from the bet with Land to Hillman and chatted for a while longer, Hillman turned back toward Wushan Town.

Watching Hillman leave, Lin Feng felt a sense of emotion: "Wharton is also walking his own path to becoming a powerhouse as destined. I hope that, just like in the original story, he can study happily in the O'Brien Empire and eventually win the heart of a beauty."

Shaking his head, Lin Feng walked into the academy.