Chapter 125: Chapter 125: Please Stop

Translator: 549690339

If one had to rank the strengths of Jiang Cheng, his learning ability would certainly be among the top few.

Jiang Cheng deeply understood the principle of capitalizing on strengths and avoiding weaknesses. When he knew nothing about muscles and nerves while learning to draw the Muscle Relaxation Talisman, he decisively went to the library to study.

The aesthetic evaluation was no different.

Jiang Cheng knew he was not particularly sensitive to “beauty,” so he sought ways to learn what “beauty” is.

After mastering the essence of “beauty,” he would then use the strong “hands-on ability” enhanced by the Dragon Talisman to bring “beauty” into reality.

With this approach, how could he be afraid of not scoring high marks?

So, the crux of the issue now was to distinguish an “authoritative” version of “beauty.”

If this were on Earth, the problem would be easily solved. All Jiang Cheng would have to do is take a few steps and ask the neighboring art department for an answer.

After all, the Cultivation World’s artistic style was controlled by the art department. Asking them directly would be more reliable than any study.

But now, Jiang Cheng could not contact the art department.

Therefore, he had to attempt to analyze the art department’s interpretation of “authoritative beauty” left in the world of Immortal Gods to find the perfect answer for Lotus University’s aesthetic evaluation.

Beauty is a subjective personal sensation.

“There are as many Hamlets as there are readers,” is to describe the subjectivity of people.

Therefore, “authority” and “beauty” are actually antonyms and should not normally appear side by side.

However, there are exceptions to everything, and there is indeed one person who can be described by both terms.

She is both “authoritative” and “beautiful.”

Most importantly, she is widely recognized for her “authority” and “beauty.”

Yue Linger looked at Jiang Cheng’s painting, her face turning red and then white.

To be honest, Jiang Cheng’s drawing was quite good; he must have repeatedly practiced using the sketch she provided him.

But the issue now was not the skill of the drawing, but the person he drew!

While there are no explicit rules in the Immortal Sect that forbid disciples from drawing the Sect Leader or Elders,

avoidance has always been the most basic form of etiquette in the Cultivation World!

Normally, one wouldn’t dare draw the Sect Leader of the Immortal Sect, let alone call the Sect Leader by their name, without causing complaints about disrespect, lack of decorum, or even irreverence.

Yet, this guy Jiang Cheng has now boldly drawn the esteemed Sect Leader of Taixu Sect right in front of everyone!

“Ling, Ling’er, that 1016, he drew the person from Tai, Taixu Sect, right?” Cheng Bingxin’s voice trembled as she spoke.

“Mhm.”

Although the drawing was not Cheng Bingxin’s work, she already felt frightened on behalf of Jiang Cheng, “He really has, such audacity…”

Actually, the one under the most pressure right now wasn’t Jiang Cheng.

Instead, it was Li Youyuan and the five teachers responsible for grading the aesthetic evaluation.

No matter what, Jiang Cheng could always use the excuse “He’s still a child, he doesn’t understand” to muddle through; after all, he was indeed young and not within the Immortal Sect system.

But it was different for Li Youyuan and the grading teachers.

As disciples of Tongtian Sect, they had to face the Sect Leader of the neighboring Immortal Sect with the utmost respect and sincerity.

If they mishandled the situation, it could easily turn into a significant diplomatic incident among Immortal Sects!

Members of Taixu Sect: We’ve heard that someone from Tongtian Sect has drawn our Sect Leader? Don’t they know to avoid such things? It must be intentional. Let’s go see what this is about.

Due to practice making perfect, Jiang Cheng actually finished his drawing quite quickly. With twenty minutes allocated for the exam, he had still around fifteen minutes left after completing his work.

But these fifteen minutes felt like a death sentence to the teachers!

The five grading teachers could no longer sit still and immediately sought out Li Youyuan.

“Director Li, that, is it permissible to draw that?”

“Director, he’s breaking the rules, right? Hurry up and remove him and that painting!”

Li Youyuan was sweating profusely. He knew the rules of the new student evaluation like the back of his hand and could only respond, “In theory, it is permissible to draw it, but our Admissions Office never anticipated that someone would dare to provoke such a taboo and actually draw her out!”

“Stop talking about that, what should we do now?”

“Give him a zero? Warn the other students to not have any crooked ideas?”

“Are you out of your mind? You dare to give someone from the Taixu Sect a zero!?”

“Just say we couldn’t tell, who knows it was him from the Taixu Sect?”

“That won’t do, I’ve looked closely, his drawing is a bit rough, but the essence is there, it’s impossible not to recognize.”

“So, what exactly are we supposed to do now?”

As time ticked away for the examination, the students, who should have been extremely anxious, were now not so nervous.

Because the grading teachers were more nervous than them!

Anxiety doesn’t vanish, it merely transfers.

Once the examination time ended, they had to move on to the grading phase.

The grading phase also had a time limit, and if they couldn’t handle the assessment of Jiang Cheng’s drawing properly, then they would definitely be in trouble when the exams were over!

“The examination time is over! Grading teachers, please score!”

This voice ushered the grading teachers like the messengers of life and death.

The immense pressure from Jiang Cheng’s drawing, like an invisible heavy hand, weighed them down so much that they couldn’t lift their heads.

“What do we do? We must score now!”

“What else can we do now? We have to give him full marks.”

“But he doesn’t deserve it! 1016’s drawing is okay, but full marks seem too fake.”

“You’re not giving full marks? Do you think the person from Taixu Sect isn’t pretty enough? Do you have a death wish!?”

“Stop fussing, everyone. Even if it were Taixu Sect’s own people grading, 1016’s drawing wouldn’t lose half a point. We have nothing to be embarrassed about. Plus, think about it; do you still want to go study at the Taixu Sect’s art academy in the future? Saying ‘have a death wish’ is a bit extreme, but ruining your academic future is entirely possible.”

After a heated discussion among the grading teachers that could rival a deathmatch, the result of Jiang Cheng’s “aesthetic” evaluation was finally revealed!

All five grading teachers unanimously acknowledged Jiang Cheng’s work.

And they all gave him a perfect score of 100.

One teacher even emphasized, “One hundred is the limit of the score, not the limit of this drawing. I believe this drawing has even higher artistic value and recommend the school to protect it carefully and display it in the exhibition hall.”

After Jiang Cheng’s results were out, all the onlookers had a feeling of “unexpected yet reasonable.”

You say it’s outrageous, and indeed it is.

But if you say it’s justifiable, it seems to be.

After all, who wouldn’t give full marks in this situation!

Others give full marks out of appreciation.

Jiang Cheng’s full marks come from awe!

Yue Linger let out a sigh of relief when she saw Jiang Cheng’s score.

She had been worried that Jiang Cheng’s painting was too radical and would be outrightly suppressed by the teachers, causing him to miss the chance to get into Lotus University.

Now that the dust had settled, there were no issues.

Two perfect scores; as long as Jiang Cheng performed steadily, he should be able to easily get into university.

“Do you know that 1016?” Cheng Bingxin asked with wide eyes, leaning in close to Yue Linger.

The scent of gossip was detectable within a five-hundred-meter radius from her.

“Uh, yeah, we’re from the same town, both from Wuyue City,” Yue Linger said, lightly skirting around the subject.

“Oh~” Cheng Bingxin couldn’t tell much else, but she saw an interesting story filled in Yue Linger’s evasive eyes.

Since it was the second-to-last batch, by the time Jiang Cheng finished his exam, the day was no longer young. After packing up briefly, he prepared to head home to feed the snakes.

But just as he left the exam hall, Li Youyuan grabbed him and dragged him to a deserted corner.

Li Youyuan pressed his hands together in a praying gesture to Jiang Cheng, “Brother Jiang, I’m begging you, please stop!”