Chapter 321- Please Make Up Your Mind: Do You Want to Take It Out or Not?
Translator: BinBin
Editor: Vampirecat
Were they still the cold and prideful, pretentious F4 group? Were they still the high and mighty Four Talents of Sky City in everybody's heart?
"I can't feel your sincerity. Your expression is blank and your voice is flat… Just forget about it. You should find another person for a competition!" Qin Feng scoffed, waving his hand.
He'd discovered the conspiracy of the Four Talents at the restroom. He also knew these four fellows would proactively come looking for trouble with him because of Su Xia Tian's provocation. Qin Feng realized the world was too sinister: he just wanted to be a low-profile flower boy at Sky City. Why did everybody have to target him?
However, Qin Feng relaxed soon after! Well, it wasn't his fault that he was a prodigy brimming with talent! He was simply born to be envied by others!
"Brother Qin Feng, it's our destiny to meet each other today. Can you have a friendly match with me to commemorate the beginning of our friendship?" Although Li Yang spoke with a friendly expression, he was actually angered to death in his heart!
Qin Feng was Su Xia Tian's only companion, so he had to protect her. Since somebody was plotting against Su Xia Tian, Qin Feng couldn't remain indifferent anymore. He then answered Li Yang with a smile. "How do you want to compete with me, Talent Li?"
Li Yang jumped with joy when Qin Feng agreed to the duel. "It's just a simple match. Friendship first, competition second. How about arm wrestling?"
Li Yang's words stirred up the crowd!
Although Li Yang looked harmless now, appearances were deceptive!
His muscle strength and sheer power were the top among the Four Talents. During their debut, many young masters loathed them and challenged them to duels. As a result, countless Herculeans had lost to Li Yang in arm wrestling. Most of the challengers had their arms broken by Li Yang; in the most minor case, someone had his fingers snapped!
Sima Zhao's ill intent is known to all. And now, Li Yang wanted to arm-wrestle with Qin Feng; it was obvious that he wanted to destroy Qin Feng at this point! [TN: Sima Zhao's ill intent is known to all - An ancient Chinese idiom to indicate a person's ill intent is widely known by everybody beside him.]
"Okay! Arm wrestling is good, easy, and straightforward. I like it!"
Qin Feng agreed. He then added, "That ancient clad in a robe is one of the Four Talents, right? Isn't he going to want to have a calligraphy contest with me later? Let's cut to the chase: I'll arm-wrestle with you using one hand and have a calligraphy contest with him using the other. Two contests at a time, it'll be more efficient!"
Everybody's jaw dropped to the floor when they heard Qin Feng's suggestion!
The Four Talents' expressions were malicious when they looked at Qin Feng again. This was because they were certain that Qin Feng had overheard their secret plan. Otherwise, how would he know Zhao Yue Sheng wanted to do calligraphy?
Zhao Yue Sheng got to his feet. He sent a gloomy glare at Qin Feng and said, "Hmph! This elder should fulfill your death wish, then!"
Qin Feng ignored their expressions and sat opposite Li Yang. A tea table on the left side had been cleared and the Four Treasures of the Study were put on it. As soon as Zhao Yue Sheng sat by that tea table, he'd picked up his writing brush and dipped it in ink already! [TN: The Four Treasures of the Study consists of brush, paper, inkstick, and inkstone. A set of stationeries used by Ancient Chinese to write and draw.]
Qin Feng had acquired an Elementary grade Thunder Tiger Fists, Elementary grade piano skill, and Elementary grade calligraphy skill during his first lottery. After that, he got an Intermediate grade car racing skill and Intermediate grade painting skill from the second lottery.
He had never used the Elementary grade calligraphy skill before, so he thought today was the right time for him to use this skill. Otherwise he might grow rusty if he didn't use it for a long time!
Qin Feng clamped his right hand with Li Yang's while holding a writing brush with his left hand, dipping it in ink. Both contests began at the same time. Li Yang brought to bear all his strength as soon as the battle started, planning to break Qin Feng's arm before Qin Feng could write calligraphy. He also planned to retire Qin Feng from the rest of contests!
However, the situation didn't go as he planned. He'd gone all out but Qin Feng's arm was as steady as a hill and didn't budge even an inch. Besides, he also noticed Qin Feng seemingly hadn't use any of his strength yet. Qin Feng didn't even pay attention to his right hand, concentrating instead on writing on the Xuan paper! [TN: Xuan paper - A traditional paper, which originated in ancient China, that has been used for centuries in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam for writing, artwork, and architecture.]
Some voices wafted from the onlookers surrounding them. Su Xia Tian, in particular, was astounded. She'd never imagined a country bumpkin like Qin Feng would be so arrogant and domineering!
Li Yang's right hand bulged with veins; large drops of sweat started to ooze from his forehead!
He was ashamed and annoyed because he heard somebody talking behind his back. He was the powerhouse of Four Talents, an undefeatable entity. How could he meet a monstrous Qin Feng today? He even began to wonder whether this kid stuck his arm to the tea table.
Bang!
A loud noise came from the crowd!
This noise startled everyone. Some jumped a step back while some covered their mouths and screamed!
The battle between Qin Feng and Li Yang was over. Qin Feng had suddenly exerted immense strength and slammed Li Yang's arm into the tea table, embedding his entire arm in the solid wood tabletop. Li Yang couldn't get it out now!
At the same time, Qin Feng had finished his calligraphy and elegantly thrown down the writing brush in his left hand.
Li Wang was trying hard to pull his arm out of the wooden table. He was in so much pain that he yelped every time he moved his arm. However, nobody noticed his condition as everyone's attention was focused on Qin Feng's and Zhao Yue Sheng's Xuan papers!
Zhao Yue Sheng was renowned as the Master of Calligraphy in Sky City. Last year, a calligraphy master praised his calligraphy skill at a calligraphy exhibition in the provincial capital, and due to the recognition of that calligraphy master, he had been catapulted to fame.
His calligraphy was so popular that some rich and power in Sky City paid large sums for his inscription. Now, Zhao Yue Sheng had finished his calligraphy as well. There were only four characters on his Xuan paper—
Ignorant and illiterate plebeian!
These four characters were written using orthodox regular script; these characters were neat and the strength used were uniform!
These four characters seemed to have grown out from the Xuan paper. The ink marks were substantial, and the strokes were natural and unforced, vivid and lifelike!
Everybody knew these four characters were meant to insult Qin Feng. Zhao Yue Sheng didn't pass up the opportunity to insult Qin Feng even though it was a contest. This showed that he was very confident. In his eyes, this contest was merely a game for him to suppress and ridicule Qin Feng!
"Nice writing! Talent Zhao indeed is a genius calligrapher among the younger generation in Sky City. I'd want to collect this masterpiece if we could change the text!"
"Hey! All of us are young masters, so how come the four of you are so talented while we aren't?"
"So handsome! Talent Zhao's handwriting is as good-looking as his appearance!"
……
Those who saw Zhao Yue Sheng's calligraphy couldn't restrain themselves and praised him. Without a doubt, Zhao Yue Sheng really had some foundation in calligraphy. Besides, very few people would write with gel-ink pen nowadays, much less a brush. So Zhao Yue Sheng was just required to show a tip of the iceberg of his penmanship and he could stun everybody!
"Wow! What's this? Even though I can't read a single word, but it feel so… domineering and unrestrained!"
An exclamation rose among the crowd when everybody was busy flattering Zhao Yue Sheng!
Everybody was flabbergasted when their gaze fell on Qin Feng's Xuan paper!
Qin Feng had written a long segment of an ancient poem!
There were hundreds of words on Qin Feng's Xuan paper. Each and every word galloped like horses, wanton and uninhibited…
Qin Feng seemed to have granted them life; they were now galloping and soaring freely on Xuan paper. They were like a magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, or an army battalion fighting fiercely on a battlefield. Even though the handwriting was hard to understand, it could boost the morale of anyone who saw it!
"Wild scribble! It's cursive script!" [TN: Cursive script or commonly known as the Grass script. It's a style of Chinese calligraphy that is written faster than other styles, but difficult to read for those unfamiliar with it. It functions primarily as a kind of shorthand script or calligraphic style. People who can read standard or printed forms of Chinese may not be able to comprehend this script.]
Finally somebody from the crowd was able to recognize Qin Feng's handwriting—it was cursive script, the hardest to learn and master in Chinese calligraphy. This type of script was loose and sketchy; not only did it take years to master this script, it required the calligraphy to have a wild-minded and bohemian characteristic as well!
How could a person write true wild cursive script without a wide-ranging and carefree life experience?
Zhao Yue Sheng was astounded!
He stared at Qin Feng's Xuan paper with a pale expression, unable to accept the truth!
Zhao Yue Sheng never imagined Qin Feng could write such a beautiful and wild script at the same time as he was arm-wrestling with Li Yang!
Furthermore, it was an ancient poem with 150 words. How could he accomplish this amazing feat in such a short time? Not even he, Zhao Yue Sheng, could have done it; he could only write at most 50 words in the same amount of time!
"Aiya! Talent Li, what's wrong with your arm! Who the f*ck did this to you? Didn't we agree to put our friendship ahead of the contest? We battled wholeheartedly; whose heart is so wicked to do such thing to you?" While everybody was stunned by Qin Feng's cursive script, he suddenly looked at Li Yang, who had been putting all his effort into extracting his arm from the wooden table.
The corner of Li Yang's mouth quirked vigorously. He almost ranted in anger!
But he choked it off at last. This was because he knew only Qin Feng could help him remove his arm.
Is this person human or a demon? How come he has such a terrifying strength?!
Li Yang glared at Qin Feng and said, "Qin Feng, help me to extract my arm now!"
With a couple of strides, Qin Feng arrived at Li Yang's side. He then asked earnestly, "Talent Li, do you really want to take it out? I think it's good to have a tea table hanging on your arm when you go out next time. You could sit down and have a cup of tea if you're tired of walking!
"Tsk tsk! Seems like my view is too narrow. People from the city really know how to entertain themselves!"
"You son of a b*tch!" cursed Li Yang in his heart. He then pasted a smile on his face and said to Qin Feng, "That's a good joke, Brother Qin Feng. Anyway, please help me to take out my arm first!"
"Well, since Talent Li insists, I'm glad to give you a hand!"
As soon as Qin Feng finished his words, he grabbed Li Yang's arm with his large hand and pulled it out instantly. It was just that Qin Feng's strength was too powerful; the skin and flesh of Li Yang's arm were scraped by the wood splinters in the tea table. It was so painful that he wailed like a ghost and howled like a wolf!
Seeing Li Yang's anguish expression, Qin Feng slammed Li Yang's arm back into the table again with a bang.
With a puzzled face, he then asked Li Yang, "Talent Li, do you want me to take it out or not? Please make up your mind. You're confusing me!"