The Master Sculptor

In a private room at the hotel.

Each of the four had a cup of tea in front of him. Curator Maia laughed and said, "Austoni saw Lin Feng's work and told me it was on a par with the 'Ten Greatest Stone Sculptures.' Doesn't that mean we have a seventeen-year-old master sculptor? Ha!"

A master represented a certain status: it meant someone had reached the pinnacle of their art.

Ordinary people were usually called masters. For example, Master Proulx.

"A master sculptor?" Yale sounded surprised. "I don't know if Lin Feng's stone sculpture is really that good. My eye isn't discerning enough. But I can say for sure that his work is at least as good as the pieces in your gallery's 'Masters' Hall.'"

"Oh?" Curator Maia smiled. "Well, after all this talk, it would be best to see it for myself. Where is the sculpture? Could I have a look?"

"Of course," Yale said with a smile.

"Little Yale, even if this sculpture doesn't quite reach the level of the 'Ten Greatest Stone Sculptures,' I doubt it's far off. How are you protecting it? Make sure no one steals it," Curator Maia reminded him.

"Don't worry, Uncle Maia," Yale said confidently. "I've put it in a private room inside the Hualie Hotel, and experts from the Dawson Chamber of Commerce are guarding it. Besides, very few people even know it exists."

"You moved it to the hotel?" Austoni exclaimed. The last time he'd seen it, it had been in their dormitory.

Yale curled his lip. "I trust my good brothers, but I don't trust you."

Austoni could only laugh ruefully.

"Uncle Maia, come on. I'll take you to see it," Yale said warmly.

The Hualie Hotel was actually owned by the Dawson Chamber of Commerce. That was why the hotel's senior staff knew Yale's identity.

The private room inside the Hualie Hotel was spacious and even had beds. Three experts had been stationed there to guard the sculpture for the past few days.

"Young Master Yale," the three seventh-rank warriors said respectfully as they stood.

Yale smiled and nodded. "Uncle Maia, take a look." As he spoke, he pulled away the thick cloth covering the sculpture, revealing a large piece depicting five beautiful women. One had a lovable air, another was sweet and innocent, one was reserved and shy, another was warm and captivating, and the last seemed reluctant to part.

They looked almost like real people.

As he gazed at the five human figures, Curator Maia stood there with his mouth hanging open, staring in shock for a long time.

After a long while—

"Magnificent, magnificent." Curator Maia finally came to his senses. "This is at least a master-level work. To carve five figures that look almost real must have taken an enormous amount of effort. The carving alone must have taken a year or more."

Curator Maia knew very well how exhausting sculpting could be.

Especially when creating a stone sculpture. Some master sculptors had even vomited blood and fainted while working, and in history, there had been sculptors who died before finishing their work. This piece had truly been made with every ounce of the artist's heart and soul.

"For a boy of only seventeen to reach this level is truly..." Curator Maia didn't know what else to say. Excited, he moved closer to examine the sculpture. "Whether it can be compared to the Ten Greatest Stone Sculptures will require a careful look from every angle."

As he spoke, Curator Maia leaned close to the sculpture, studying each carved line.

Curator Maia examined every detail of Dream Awakening without saying a word, as if he were entranced.

"Boss Yale, it's been two whole hours," Reynolds said, taking a pocket watch from his coat and checking it.

Yale shook his head and spoke softly. "Don't rush him. Let Uncle Maia take a careful look. Since he's the head curator of the Proulx Gallery, he must be a descendant of Master Proulx. I'm sure his eye for art is exceptional. I wonder what level our third brother's work has reached."

Reynolds nodded slightly.

It took nearly three hours before Curator Maia finally straightened up and let out a long breath.

"I heard this sculpture is called 'Love'?" Curator Maia asked.

Yale nodded. "Yes. Our third brother named it himself."

Curator Maia nodded gently, then looked over the sculpture called "Love" once more. "I have to say, your brother Lin Feng is unquestionably a genius in the world of stone sculpture. You could say he's a genius on a par with Master Proulx."

"Though his work falls a little short of Master Proulx's in the execution of the carved lines, its soul is absolutely on par," Curator Maia exclaimed.

"Carved lines?" Yale asked, puzzled.

Curator Maia nodded. "Yes. This piece has a few flaws, but it also has some astonishing strengths."

"The flaws are that some of the concave and convex surfaces, as well as the soft curves, are handled a little imperfectly. But overall, your brother Lin Feng's work is exceptionally coherent. Its visual effect is absolutely comparable to that of several of Master Proulx's works. Most importantly, this sculpture is enormous."

Curator Maia sighed. "Every part of a masterpiece takes an astonishing amount of effort. One careless mistake can ruin the whole thing. Carving a single human figure is already difficult. Lin Feng carved five. What's most admirable is that each figure has its own soul, yet the meaning behind them flows together. If I'm not mistaken, your brother Lin Feng must have gone through a passionate love affair."

With Curator Maia's discerning eye, he could naturally tell what the five sculptures represented.

"Love"—to create such a work was truly astonishing. Curator Maia couldn't help praising it again.

"Curator Maia, what level would you say my brother Lin Feng's work is? Does it measure up to Master Proulx's?" Reynolds asked.

Curator Maia furrowed his brow. "Actually, I'm not entirely sure. Let me put it this way: the carving itself is only at the expert level, but in terms of coherence, it's comparable to Master Proulx's. But there's one thing that makes it exceptional..."

"The carved lines in this work are clean and crisp. From beginning to end, the five sculptures form one perfect whole. That style is so distinctive that I've never heard of or seen anything like it," Curator Maia praised.

Yale asked urgently, "Uncle Maia, what level is this work?"

Curator Maia said helplessly, "I can't be certain. By traditional standards, this should be considered a master-level work. Its unique spirit and soul are beyond doubt; his carving style has already conveyed them."

"Traditional standards?" Yale and Reynolds looked at Curator Maia in confusion.

Curator Maia nodded. "Traditional appraisal methods are standards recognized by everyone over countless years. But I feel that when you look at Lin Feng's work, the whole piece is perfect. You can't sense that anything is lacking."

"The whole point of a stone sculpture is for people to admire it. The viewing experience decides everything. You could say that Lin Feng may not qualify as a master sculptor, but this work will probably fetch a very high price—enough to rank among the 'Ten Greatest Stone Sculptures,'" Curator Maia said with a smile.

He might not be a master sculptor, yet his work could make the Ten Greatest Stone Sculptures. It was truly a bizarre, unprecedented situation.

But Curator Maia had to admit that it might very well happen.

"Oh." Yale and Reynolds nodded.

This was actually one of the drawbacks of the Flat Blade School's sculpting. When using only a flat blade to carve smooth curves across concave and convex surfaces, it couldn't match specialized tools. Lin Feng's work with the Flat Blade might have the effect of an ordinary expert sculptor's work.

Compared to a master sculptor, however, his execution of the carved lines fell short.

But the Flat Blade School had its advantages too. For instance, its coherence. Other sculptors constantly switched tools, but those of the Flat Blade School had to be Earth Element mages, merging their minds with the world around them as they carved. This kind of sculpting could actually improve their spiritual power.

"Where is Lin Feng himself?" Curator Maia asked.

Yale shook his head. "Our third brother is a mage, after all, so he spends most of his time cultivating. He should still be training in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. I don't know when he'll be back."

"In that case, Yale, could you agree on Lin Feng's behalf to let the Proulx Gallery sell this work?" Curator Maia proposed.

"No," Yale replied firmly. "I can't make that decision without our third brother's approval."

"Besides, this work expresses the unwavering love between him and Delia. It's a symbol of their love. I doubt our third brother would ever sell it."

Curator Maia furrowed his brow and continued, "What about exhibiting it, then? Surely there's no problem with letting the Proulx Gallery display it. After all, Lin Feng's previous stone sculptures were exhibited and sold through our gallery."

Yale understood how much the work meant to Lin Feng.

He wasn't even sure whether Lin Feng would agree to let it be exhibited. He didn't want to put him in a difficult position.

"No. I'm only responsible for keeping it safe. We'll wait until our third brother returns before deciding whether to exhibit or sell it," Yale said resolutely.