The Martial Artist Turned Movie Mogul
Chapter 523 - 522. An ordinary little prodigy

Chapter 523: 522. An ordinary little prodigy

Old Peng similarly shut down five or six pages of surrender, tilting his head and pondering for a moment.

"Hmm—if I were to use the way young people speak nowadays, that would be... a ’bloodbath’?"

"..."

Impressive yet cryptic.

In fact, after the flamboyant operation last night of completing traditional Chinese painting in fifteen minutes and calligraphy in five, about ninety percent of the original hundred challengers chose to surrender.

Of course, the remaining ten percent hadn’t watched the live broadcast.

In a university dormitory in Yun Province far away, when Song Qingyuan clicked the surrender button, his roommate was greatly puzzled.

"Hey, why did you surrender? Didn’t you say you were confident before?"

"Yeah, yeah, you’re the little genius of Yun Province, and you have Professor Fang’s guidance. You’re even aiming to be a seeded player in the national competition!"

Just like that, surrendering?

Song Qingyuan had an eerie expression, "You guys have no idea... just how terrifying the opponent is."

"How terrifying, exactly?"

"He, he, he’s not human!"

Every time Song Qingyuan thought about the scenes from last night’s live stream, he felt his whole body shiver, "That ’give and take’ person, when not making a move, it’s already unbearable, but once he does, it’s like he’s mercilessly grinding us all into the ground, treating us like a soccer ball being fiercely rubbed!"

Compared to their works, they weren’t even on the same level; they were completely subjected to the other party’s ruthless dimension-reducing suppression.

"In short, this challenge was utterly pointless."

"So you..."

Seeing him deeply distressed, a cross between heartbroken and listless, his roommates intended to say something to console him.

Song Qingyuan looked out the window at a 45-degree angle, filled with sorrow, "Alas, I’m just a mediocre little genius after all."

Roommate: "..."

Excuse me, may I beat him up?

***

As time went on, by ten o’clock, the National Calligraphy and Painting Association finally tallied the rankings for this Challenge Beyond One’s Level.

Old Li took a printed A4 sheet up to the chairman’s office on the upper floor.

"Master Bai, according to the tally, among the over ninety individuals who surrendered in this challenge, the highest rank for traditional Chinese painting was 32nd, and for calligraphy, the highest was 17th."

"Let me see, who all are there."

Master Bai obviously maintained a high level of enthusiasm for this matter, briefly scanned the list after taking it, and noticed several familiar names.

"So many participants from the capital are included? Huh... and Xiao Chen’s student?"

Old Li smiled awkwardly, not wishing to speak.

Truth be told, his emotions were quite complex: ashamed because a prized pupil of his close friend had surrendered and, on the other hand, faintly proud because the victor was a judge appointed by the Association.

In his many years of work, it was the first time he experienced such a blend of two diametrically opposed feelings, like being put through a meat grinder.

Lucky for him, he rarely went online; otherwise, he would have known that netizens could vividly encapsulate his current state with two words—’balls aching.’

"Master Bai, what do you think... how should we handle this matter afterward?"

The elder across from him cheerfully put down the list, leaning back leisurely in the wooden armchair. He didn’t answer the question but instead brought up another matter.

"Are you all curious about why the Association’s official website posted a set of rules regarding the Challenge Beyond One’s Level yesterday?"

"Yes, ever since our Association was established, there has never been a phenomenon of multiple people challenging the same person at once. But that explanation of the rules... it did indeed solve the current problem well."