Curator Maia

Not long after the Ernst Institute began its new term, Hillman arrived at the magic academy to look for Lin Feng.

At the gates of the Ernst Institute, Hillman paced back and forth with a furrowed brow, clearly burdened by a heart full of worries. The management of the Ernst Institute was quite strict, and as an outsider with no power or status, he was not qualified to enter the academy grounds directly.

After a while, Yale and Reynolds, both dressed in sky-blue robes, walked over.

"Uncle Hillman, you've come to look for Lin Feng again." Yale spoke up with enthusiasm.

Hillman had met Lin Feng's three brothers before, and upon seeing Yale and Reynolds, he immediately walked over to ask, "Hello to you both. Why didn't Lin Feng go home for the New Year this time?"

Reynolds, quick to react, chuckled, "Uncle Hillman, Lin Feng is completely focused on his bitter training. He reached the sixth rank as a mage before the assessments at the end of last year. After that, he went to the Magical Beast Mountain Range for further trials. Sigh, he's just too anxious to improve his cultivation; he didn't even attend the year-end assessment. Dixie, on the other hand, reached the sixth rank in this test, and some people are even saying Dixie has surpassed Lin Feng."

As Lin Feng's good brother, Reynolds naturally knew that Lin Feng had long since reached the realm of a ninth-rank magus, but without Lin Feng's authorization, he dared not leak this shocking news. If it were discovered by others, it would cause a massive earthquake.

"The third brother doesn't care about those superficial things. By the way, Uncle Hillman, Lin Feng went to the Magical Beast Mountain Range in the middle of April last year. I estimate he will be back before long. Do you have something important? If you do, tell me, and I will definitely pass it on to him the moment he returns," Yale said politely.

Hillman pondered for a moment, squeezed out a faint smile, and shook his head, "No, there is nothing important. It's just that Lin Feng has always gone home for the New Year in the past. Since he didn't return this time, the family was worried something might have happened to him, so I came to ask. Now that I know Lin Feng went to the Magical Beast Mountain Range for trials, that is enough."

"Don't worry, Uncle Hillman. Once the third brother returns, I will definitely make him go home early so you can rest easy," Yale said immediately.

Hillman shook his head, "No need. Don't rush Lin Feng back. Let him focus on his cultivation in peace. It won't be too late for him to return when he has time; we don't have any major matters back in the countryside anyway. Thank you both, I will be going now."

Yale and Reynolds watched Hillman leave, then turned and walked away with a smile.

Suddenly, "Young Master Yale! Young Master Yale!" a warm voice rang out from afar.

Yale and Reynolds turned their heads to look toward the distance outside the academy. A carriage was parked there, with four armored knights standing beside it. Yale frowned in confusion, "Who is calling me? Oh, it's Austoni." Yale had spotted the face appearing at the carriage window.

Austoni was the first to jump out of the carriage, offering a humble smile to Yale, but then he stood respectfully to the side. At this moment, the carriage curtain was lifted, and a bald old man leaning on a cane slowly stepped down.

Yale and Reynolds exchanged a puzzled look.

"Who is this old guy? He's got quite the air about him," Reynolds whispered.

Yale shook his head and whispered back, "I don't recognize this old man either, but judging by Austoni's demeanor, he must be someone of great importance. Austoni is a high-level manager at the Proulx Gallery; his status is quite high."

Accompanied by Austoni, the bald old man walked over with a smile.

"Little Yale, hello," the bald old man greeted Yale with a smile. "I met with your father not long ago, and he was praising you to me. Haha, Dawson having a son who is a mage like you is indeed something to be proud of."

Yale looked at the bald old man in confusion.

He even claimed to know his father? Was he trying to get close to him?

Austoni immediately spoke up from the side, "Young Master Yale, this is the Director-General of our Proulx Gallery. You may address him as Director Maia."

"No need, you can just call me Uncle Maia. I have had a friendship with your father for several decades," the bald old man said with a warm smile.

Yale was secretly startled.

The Proulx Gallery was a sanctuary of art. It had branches in all the super-cities across the Yulan continent. Never mind other places; just looking at the Proulx Gallery in Fenlai City, the stone carvings within that gallery alone added up to a staggering value.

And that was only secondary.

The important thing was his status. As the Director-General of an art sanctuary, Director Maia associated with the highest-ranking figures in the Yulan continent; even many Saint-level experts had friendships with him. How could such a person be underestimated?

Furthermore, the Proulx Gallery's own armed forces were also extremely strong; otherwise, how could they protect so many precious stone carvings?

"Uncle Maia," Yale said humbly.

The bald Director Maia looked at Reynolds beside him, "And this is?"

"This is my good brother, Reynolds," Yale introduced him immediately. Reynolds also said politely, "Greetings, Director Maia."

Director Maia nodded slightly. From every move Reynolds made, he could sense that Reynolds had received an excellent upbringing from a young age.

"Uncle Maia, may I ask what brings you here today?" Yale inquired.

Although he was asking, Yale already had a guess in his heart: "It's probably for that stone carving of the third brother's, Love." Before the Ernst Institute went on break last time, because Lin Feng hadn't sent any stone carvings for a while, Austoni had come to inquire.

And when Austoni arrived at Lin Feng's dormitory, he had happened to see that stone carving displayed inside.

Upon seeing it, Austoni was stunned.

As a high-level manager of the Proulx Gallery, Austoni had a very sharp eye. He determined at a glance that this piece by Lin Feng was absolutely a pinnacle work in the world of stone carving, and it was definitely qualified to be ranked among the "Ten Great Stone Carvings" of the world.

Most importantly, this stone carving of Lin Feng's was very large; one piece was comparable to five of others' works.

Just like oil paintings, the price of a stone carving is related to its size. After all, a work of such massive volume must have consumed much more effort. Those five consecutive stone figures, which looked as if they were real people, had already reached a realm that contained a unique soul.

Seeing the carving was like seeing five beautiful, living women.

Looking across the entire Yulan continent, stone carving masters were extremely rare. And this stone carving by Lin Feng had already surpassed the average master and was qualified to be ranked alongside the greatest stone carving grandmasters in history, such as Proulx, Hopkinson, and Hoover.

Nowadays, those recognized as "stone carving masters" indeed produced very good works that possessed a unique charm and could shake the soul.

However, their works were still a notch inferior when compared to figures like Proulx and Hopkinson, who could be called "grandmasters." Although it was only a small gap, it determined the difference in status.

The history of stone carving spanned hundreds of thousands of years, and most works from hundreds of thousands of years ago had been washed away by the long river of time. Only a very small number of works made of special stone materials had been able to survive until today. Therefore, of those rated as the "Ten Great Stone Carving Grandmasters," nine were from within the last hundred thousand years.

And since the unification of the Yulan Empire, from the year 001 of the Yulan calendar to the present, only two people had been able to stand alongside their predecessors: Proulx and Hopkinson.

As for Hoover, he was a master from a hundred thousand years ago. One of his works, the Blood-Eyed Bristle Lion, had survived to this day due to its special material, which also cemented Hoover's permanent fame.

In the last ten thousand years, only two stone carving grandmasters had been born. Of course, Proulx was the most formidable in history; he alone had three works ranked among the "Ten Great Stone Carvings." Not every one of the "Ten Great Stone Carving Grandmasters" had works ranked among the "Ten Great Stone Carvings."

This was merely a later assessment of the artistic level of their stone carvings, which were on par with the Ten Great Stone Carvings.

A new grandmaster of stone sculpture had been born. And he was merely a youth of only seventeen years old!

This was a truly shocking affair, and it was precisely what had caused the head curator of the Proulx Gallery to rush over from the Proulx Gallery of the Dark Alliance.

"No rush. Let us find a private room in the hotel so we can have a nice, quiet talk." Curator Maia, however, did not seem particularly anxious.

A grandmaster of stone sculpture?

What a joke!

Austoni's eye for talent was decent, but stone sculpture, an art with such a long history, required an incredibly sharp and discerning eye to be fully appraised. For instance, the representative works of a master sculptor and those of a grandmaster sculptor both reached the level of containing a unique spirit and soul.

How to determine whether this piece qualified someone to become a grandmaster of stone sculpture was an extremely profound field of study.