Painting One Hundred and One: Crushing Defeat

Rising to fame in a single battle—that was precisely the story of Sang Sang.

In literary contests, talent was paramount. While prodigies with perfect affinity were rare, they did occasionally appear. Yet, those who paid attention to Sang Sang were mostly ordinary folk hoping for offspring.

In the first martial contest, Sang Sang’s innate combat talent and her unique use of runes sent ripples through the artist community, but they were mere ripples.

It was only after the second martial contest that Sang Sang truly became famous.

At twelve or thirteen years old, she became the youngest Grandmaster Painter ever recorded.

Dean Qinghe was baffled. Even with a Heavenly Law Pill, one needed a solid foundation, profound experience, and extensive knowledge to break through to the Grandmaster level. For a child barely a dozen years old, inexperienced and innocent of the world, to surpass that level, they would have to consume the Heavenly Law Pill as if it were candy.

Unless the child had awakened memories from a past life at birth!

Only a Creator—like the sovereign of the Sacred Palace—could fashion a body capable of bearing the intense awakening of soul memories at the moment of transformation.

After the second round of the martial contest, eleven Grandmaster Painters remained. Only five needed to proceed to the Royal City. These eleven would battle one-on-one to determine the top five with the highest winning rates. Historically, the top three finishers automatically earned the right to challenge in the next competition. They could choose one of the five qualifiers to challenge; a victory would claim that spot, while defeat would turn them into a mere tool for literary contest revival.

Sang Sang went undefeated, seizing first place.

To her, it felt almost like bullying children—somewhat unworthy of the victory. She was gentle when the opponent held back, but if the opponent fought ruthlessly, she would retaliate in kind.

For instance, one of the city lord’s senior officials, perhaps seeking revenge or hoping to boost their city lord’s chances, chose to wager life for life, attempting to turn Sang Sang into a mere revival tool for this competition.

Her response left a deep impression. Others might not have noticed, but at least the Lord of Red Leaf City, when facing her, adopted a peaceful and friendly sparring mode. They even claimed a bond because of their shared name, fighting without any real animosity.

Take the elder official who had consumed the Heavenly Law Pill aiming for a comeback. He silently ignored Sang Sang, as if his previous words had been swallowed by a white wolf, opting instead to seize the safest fifth place challenge and successfully entered the Royal City qualifiers.

Dean Qinghe was deeply unsettled. As last season’s top scorer, he had encouraged Sang Sang to compete as a Grandmaster Painter, believing she had the skill to elevate Qinghe Painting Academy’s rank. But he never imagined she was truly aiming for first place—and that he himself would lose.

Losing would have been bearable, but during the fight, he clearly felt she was holding back.

Losing to a little girl, and even while holding back still losing—if his skin weren’t thick enough, he wouldn’t know where to put his face.

He hoped that when Sang Hongye arrived in the Royal City, her momentum would remain unstoppable, shaming those lofty old relics and pulling them down from their pedestals. Then his swollen face might fade into obscurity.

While the Red Leaf City team had just set out, the Royal City had already received the lists and results from the eight hundred main cities. As an established metropolis, Red Leaf City consistently had competitors in the top fifty and was naturally under close scrutiny.

“San Hongye, thirteen years old, dual champion in literature and combat?!”

“What’s going on with Qinghe? How could they lose to a child?”

“Judging by the name, could she be Red Leaf City’s secret weapon? And she’s a student of Qinghe Painting Academy? Looks like Red Leaf City’s lord and Qinghe Academy have joined forces.”

“Here it is—Sang Hongye’s detailed info. Royal Family Jade Disk? Ridiculous. My teacher at the clan house said just two days ago that no new Royal Family-level talents have appeared in fifteen years. Suddenly, here’s a thirteen-year-old royal? Haha, who gave her that title?”

“Still, she’s Grandmaster level. Even if her royal status is fake, nobility is undeniable. I heard Red Leaf City recently got Heavenly Law Pills… Could there be many? Are they feeding them to children?”

On the road, the Red Leaf City contingent met those from Wishful City. Enemies meeting, their eyes fiery with resentment. Both sides’ large flying mounts took combat stances as the city lords exchanged forced smiles.

Sang Sang’s gaze landed on the resurrected Soul Reanimator. Next to him stood a grim-faced old painter with a sidelong glance who somewhat stole the spotlight.

A Qinghe Academy teacher whispered, “That’s the head of the Bi family. They say his thirteenth son was injured by you.”

Sang Sang withdrew her gaze. “Must be wealthy to support thirteen children.”

“Fifteen,” the teacher elaborated as Sang Sang showed interest. “Big families are like that. They typically have five or six children born through transformation, all works of Grandmaster painters. Their spiritual affinity is naturally good. They pick one to train intensively; if others succeed, great; if not, they become managers. The Bi family’s thirteenth son was their chosen one, but it seems this time they brought the ninth young master instead. The thirteenth is likely abandoned now.”

Dean Qinghe snorted beside them, “Raising children as ordinary creations—that’s all the Bi family can manage. But they’re decent compared to some families. Some are even worse, collecting infant paintings to mass-produce children through transformation, only selecting one or two outstanding ones. The rest are abandoned—the slums are filled with such children.”

Throughout the journey, as the two city lords exchanged barbs, Sang Sang’s dual championship became the spearhead of their attacks. Wishful City mocked Red Leaf City’s elite losing to a child. Those who knew understood the child was exceptional. Those who didn’t thought the Grandmaster Painters shamelessly went easy on her just because she was supposedly royal.

Red Leaf City’s people could only seethe, thinking: You’ll see once you face her—we didn’t hold back!

The Royal City sat at the continent’s central brush tip, stretching a thousand li by a thousand li. Towering square walls enclosed it, while outside lay numerous small towns and villages. Plains cultivated with pigment herbs stretched beyond. From above, it looked like a splendid rainbow unfurled across the land, breathtakingly beautiful.

The main venue for the Painting Combat Competition was the Danxia Painting Academy in the Royal City. Nearly a hundred thousand wild painters from the eight hundred central cities and various towns poured in, and the Painting Combat Village sprouted unique buildings one after another.

Due to limited space, the buildings were tall, but this did not affect the Grandmaster Painters’ privilege of having their own private courtyards. Only the breeding pools had to be shared, which was somewhat inconvenient.

Dean Qinghe stood beneath a corridor waiting for Sang Sang. “Ready? I’ll take you to register at the Painter’s Association.”

Sang Sang asked, “Is registration necessary? What happens if I don’t register?”

Qinghe frowned. “No real problem, but registered painters get free supplies and a monthly stipend. Unless someone is discontent with the association, almost everyone registers.”

Sang Sang said, “If there’s no problem, I won’t go. I don’t lack spiritual crystals. My strength needs no one’s validation. Those who want to know can come find me personally.”

Qinghe was silent for a moment, then smiled, “Fine. That way, those curious about your true power won’t have any records to check—they’ll just have to guess. Let me take you around the city. There are some good art supply shops in the Royal City that you won’t find in Red Leaf City. If you have the means, buy more for your collection.”

(End of excerpt; next update scheduled for 8 a.m. tomorrow.)