Two Thousand Points

Fang Jingye, Fang Jingye at the Imperial Academy, stroked his beard and exclaimed sincerely, "Layperson Zhiwei's talent is extraordinary. At the tender age of fourteen, he created two unique painting methods, overturning traditional painting concepts, establishing his own school, and becoming a grandmaster. He is truly unprecedented, and I believe he will never be surpassed. It is my great fortune to be able to learn sketching from Layperson Zhiwei today and to witness the birth of yet another new painting method!"

As he spoke, he bowed deeply to Zhao Ruxi.

"Mr. Fang, what are you doing? Please get up quickly." Zhao Ruxi quickly stepped aside and helped him up.

"Praise her if you want, but don't bow to her. She's so young, she can't accept that. Wouldn't that be too much for her?" Kang Shilin said, his upturned mustache revealing his smugness.

Hmph, don't think he didn't hear the envy, jealousy, and hatred in Fang Jingye.

Fang Jingye, as a painting teacher at the Imperial Academy, had students all over the country. Because of his proximity to the academy, he was able to take in almost all the talented children. Although this old fellow Fang Jingye did not dare to take in seventy-two disciples like the sage, he still had more than a dozen personal disciples and as many as twenty or thirty outer disciples.

He had warned Fang Jingye beforehand that he wouldn't be able to handle too much at once, and told him that it was better to have a few skilled students than a large number of talented ones. But Fang Jingye still couldn't resist taking in any talented children he saw.

Now you know you were wrong, right?

He hadn't taken on any disciples for twenty years, but when he suddenly did, he managed to defeat all thirty or forty of Fang Jingye's disciples, both inside and outside the school.

Fang Jingye, that old fellow, has learned his lesson well.

Fang Jingye and Kang Shilin's words seemed to have triggered something, and everyone present began to praise Zhao Ruxi.

A barrage of compliments came crashing down on her, catching Zhao Ruxi completely off guard. Even though she prided herself on having a thick skin, she couldn't withstand it.

Just as she was about to find an excuse to retreat, she heard the system announce, "Congratulations, host, your Wisdom Points has increased by 2000."

She almost screamed out loud, and quickly covered her mouth with her hand to avoid her mouth being stretched wide open and causing misunderstandings.

Two thousand points! That's a huge windfall!

She was aware of her points. She was only five or six hundred points short of her goal, and if she didn't have those two thousand points, she could earn enough in about ten days by working hard.

Now that these 2,000 points have arrived, I not only have enough points to buy the Agility Pill, but I also have over 1,000 extra points.

It's absolutely awesome!

The system was also stunned by the two thousand points, and it took a while to recover before it started shouting in Zhao Ruxi's mind, "Ahhh, so many points, so many points! This is great, this is great..." Along with its shouts, there were also sounds of somersaults and fireworks.

Kang Shilin himself is not a person who likes to hear flattery. When someone flatters or praises him, not only does he not get his favor, but he also thinks that the other person is a sycophant, which greatly diminishes his impression of that person.

But now that everyone was praising his beloved little apprentice, he felt these words were the most pleasing to the ear, and he never tired of hearing them. So he just sat aside and watched with a smile.

But as he looked at it, he realized something was wrong.

The little apprentice, who had been blushing and modestly saying "No, no," "Not at all," now stared blankly and remained motionless. Kang Shilin quickly said loudly, "Alright, she's just a little kid; she can't handle this kind of flattery. Let's not say anything more."

As he spoke, he tugged at Zhao Ruxi again. "Girl, are you alright?"

"It's nothing." Zhao Ruxi was immediately brought back to her senses by Kang Shilin's loud call.

She bowed deeply to everyone. "Thank you all for your kind praise, Zhiwei unworthy of it. This painting still has many areas for improvement, Zhiwei I would be grateful for any suggestions you may have."

What advice could anyone possibly offer? Even if Zhao Ruxi's paintings weren't perfect, she's surely aware of that herself; she just needs more practice. Besides, she has a master and fellow disciples; it's not their place to offer guidance.

They did see many new painting techniques in the painting and wanted to learn from Zhao Ruxi. However, considering that this was her unique painting skill, and that they couldn't learn without becoming her apprentice, they wisely refrained from asking, even though they were very eager to learn. After exchanging a few more words, they all left.

Only Zhao Ruxi, Kang Shilin, and Wu Zong, the master and his apprentice, remained in the room.

"Girl, practice hard and try to hone your skills to a higher level. When you finish a flawless painting, your master will invite some art lovers to come and see it."

These painters, though not short of money, and some even too proud to sell their paintings, still have their value and status in the art world determined by the price of their works.

Like Zhao Ruxi, who created a new painting style but never sold her paintings or even let others see them, no matter how good or unique her paintings were, she would not gain the corresponding fame and status.

When her sketches were first presented, Kang Shilin showed them off everywhere, showing his appreciation for her talent and his desire to make her famous. Later, she received official recognition from the Emperor and the Court of Judicial Review of Judicial Review. By chance, Kang Shilin took her on as his apprentice and even opened a painting training class. He felt that his apprentice had already gained enough fame, and that going any further would be inappropriate, so he stopped letting her take on painting business.

Gong Cheng initially suggested that Zhao Ruxi paint portraits of the elderly in his family, but Kang Shilin eventually dropped the idea.

If Zhao Ruxi paints a portrait of the Gong family elder and does it well, others will flock to him, all asking Zhao Ruxi to paint portraits of the elders at their homes. Once Zhao Ruxi agrees to one, he won't be able to refuse the others, and he'll be constantly running around trying to please them.

At that time, she will not only have no time to learn to paint and teach others to paint, but she will also get into some unnecessary trouble.

You have to understand that the doors of wealthy and powerful families aren't easy to enter; there's a lot of sordid stuff going on inside. Who knows what might happen to a lone woman going to such a place? Even if she had a maid with her, she wouldn't be able to handle it.

The Earl of Suiping's Residence has fallen into ruin, and Kang Shilin, after all, has neither a title nor an official position, so some people may not necessarily respect him. If he were to encounter someone like Jia Junze, who is clueless and thinks Zhao Ruxi is easy to bully, and tries to lay a hand on her or make a few suggestive remarks, then for the sake of his reputation, he would have no choice but to swallow his pride and suffer in vain. Wouldn't that be incredibly frustrating?

But Zhao Ruxi's new painting style is different now. He can definitely sell his paintings like established painters such as Kang Shilin and Zhou Wenbai. With the gimmick of being the first painting by the founder of the new painting school, he is not afraid that people will flock to it, nor is he afraid that it will not sell for a high price.

As soon as Kang Shilin explained, Zhao Ruxi understood what her master meant.

Even if Kang Shilin hadn't allowed her to do it, she would have found a way to hype up her paintings. Nothing beats the power of hype. Medieval Europe tulips and 20th- Hua Country orchids—weren't they all hyped up this way?