Chapter 64 The battle at the tip of the pen

Gu Xu followed the sound and looked.

I saw a young woman dressed in black and wearing a bamboo hat, bypassing the dense bushes, crossing the narrow stone bridge, and hurriedly came to the door of "Siqitang".

"My Majesty, Zhao Xinran, has met the Imperial Master, the Chief Secretary, and Her Royal Highness the Princess..." She bowed to the dignitaries present one by one.

Although her tone was slightly apologetic, there was no trace of restraint in her expression. Instead, she was calm, calm and generous.

"Zhao Xinran..." Gu Xu silently read the name in his heart.

According to his understanding, this casual cultivator who opened a shop in Tongji Square in Luojing City to sell talismans had extremely high attainments in talismans. She has broken through the shackles of books and reached the state of a master who can do whatever she wants.

If nothing else, she should be the most competitive among the three opponents.

As soon as Zhao Xinran finished speaking, the bells of the academy rang melodiously, one after another, echoing in the drizzle, announcing the official start of this battle of Talisman and Dao.

Zhao Xinran smiled sheepishly again.

Theoretically, there is nothing wrong with visiting the scene.

But if everyone else arrives early, it will be a bit embarrassing.

…………

After the bells stopped ringing, the discussion in the academy gradually subsided.

At this time, Dean Li stepped forward and informed everyone about the method of selecting teaching qualifications today.

The four candidates will compete fairly and impartially in the three aspects of "accumulation", "application" and "innovation".

As the recognized authority on the talisman and seal art of the Da Qi Dynasty, the National Master will be the chief examiner of this selection; two experts in the academy who specialize in talisman teaching will also serve as deputy examiners and participate in the final round. selection decision.

After all, whether in the previous recommendation or in today's conversation, the Imperial Master showed a very obvious preference for Gu Xu.

It is naturally impossible for the academy to completely hand over the decision-making power to the National Preceptor.

After hearing the news, Gu Xu looked calm, because these are what he is good at - but he doesn't know how it compares with a long-established Fu Dao master like Zhao Xinran.

Mo Li's expression was a little gloomy.

What the Imperial Master said to Gu Xu just now has already caused ups and downs in his heart.

In addition, his fame in the field of talismans mainly comes from his ability to master hundreds of talismans and seals in books, but he is not good at innovation; if he wants to assess his ability to improve talismans and seals, In terms of ability, he does not have an advantage.

Unknowingly, he held tightly the "Calming Pen" given to him by Dean Li in his pocket, and repeated what he had said before, "There are times when national teachers make mistakes." "I repeated it countless times in my mind.

As for Shen Qiu, he still looked cynical. He first looked at the saints, and then looked at Gu Xu beside him with curious eyes.

It doesn’t look likeIt's not like they're here to compete for jobs, but like they're here to visit Longmen Academy.

When the second bell rang, Dean Li waved his sleeves gently, and four spacious desks suddenly appeared in the empty "Siqi Hall", each with a There is white paper and brushes.

"To be a teacher, you must first have solid basic skills before you can answer people's questions and provide guidance," I heard him say, "So the first link is to examine your knowledge of Fu Dao. Knowledge accumulation.

“You have one hour.

"What you need to do is to answer as many questions as possible within the specified time."

The four of them nodded, and then each sat at a desk. next to.

Today is a rainy day, and the Siqi Hall is dark.

However, just after they sat down, the room suddenly became brighter, as if hundreds of candles were lit. The sound of pattering rain and the rustling of human voices were all isolated.

Everyone’s expressions became serious.

After all, no talisman master would want to be thought by others that his basic skills are not good in this highly publicized occasion.

Gu Xu lowered his head and looked at the white paper on the table.

Then he discovered that the piece of paper was blank and there was no question on it.

Only in its upper right corner, there is a very inconspicuous number "zero" marked in red ink.

Gu Xu originally thought that this piece of white paper was just an "answer sheet" and that additional question papers would be distributed later.

However, the moment his eyes fell on the white paper, light ink marks suddenly appeared on the paper, like ripples on a calm lake.

Then, these ink marks condensed together and turned into a neat line of text:

"Please draw the 'Tai Shang Arctic Demon-Suppressing and Ghost-killing Talisman'."

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"The talisman array on this paper is really hidden," Gu Xu secretly sighed after seeing this scene, "Even I almost didn't notice it. If I guessed correctly, it's probably the national master. "

At the same time, a question came to his mind: Which generation of 'ghost-killing talisman' should I draw?

This problem did not bother him for long.

He thought for a while and decided to draw the most original "ghost-killing talisman" in the book.

This is a sure-fire choice.

You must know that the fifth generation "Ghost Killing Talisman" he developed himself has a huge difference in appearance from the original version - what if even the examiner cannot recognize it? Woolen cloth?

So he started writing without hesitation.

The writing brush placed on the table is also a magic weapon. It can leave marks on paper without ink.

After a while, the original "Ghost Killing Talisman" quietly appeared on the white paper.

To be honest, regarding this pattern on the paper, Gu XuIt already feels a little strange.

After all, he has not drawn it for several months since the second generation "Ghost Killing Talisman" came out. If he hadn't had the gift of photographic memory, he might have forgotten it long ago.

When Gu Xu put down the last stroke, a faint golden light suddenly appeared on the white paper.

Subsequently, all the words and patterns on the paper disappeared in an instant, and then a new question appeared:

"Please write down the function of the 'house and house settling talisman' And the corresponding spell."

The red number "zero" in its upper right corner unknowingly turned into the number "one", and its color also turned into light gold, even He even flashed a few times, as if applauding Gu Xu.

"Perhaps this number represents the number of questions I answered correctly." Gu Xu guessed.

Remembering what Dean Li said, "You must answer as many questions as possible within the specified time." Gu Xu thought for a second and then wrote the answer on the paper as quickly as possible: < /p>

"The function of the 'house-calming talisman': affixing this talisman to ordinary people's homes can dispel yin energy to a certain extent, eliminate disasters, and remove bad luck.

"Corresponding spell : The thunder in the sky is Yin Yin, the thunder in the earth is faint, Liujia and Liuding. When you hear the name of my pass, you can't stay. I welcome auspiciousness and bring blessings, and the dragon god will be suppressed forever. "

After finishing writing, the paper once again glowed with a faint golden light.

The number in the upper right corner changed from "one" to "two".

All All the words disappeared, and then a new title appeared on the paper:

"What is the alias and function of 'Ruyi Fu'?" In the process of using it, besides the talisman itself, what other materials are needed? What is the corresponding spell? "

Gu Xu wrote without hesitation:

"'Ruyi Talisman', also known as 'Midstone into Gold Talisman', is a kind of stone that is rubbed with hands to turn it into gold. Golden talisman seal. During the operation, six liang of mercury and six liang of red copper should be used. The yolk of the eggs should be removed, and the gold and silver should be used.

"The corresponding mantra is called the 'Ruyi Mantra', and the content is: 'Heaven and earth are black and yellow, and people's spiritual energy is fine, either bricks or stones, receiving the energy into gold, reporting it to heaven and earth, and giving it to the people.'

"..."

Gu Xu writes quickly on the paper.

His handwriting is elegant and unrestrained, like flowing clouds and flowing water, written in one go.

In fact, with his current level of Talisman cultivation, he basically relies on feeling and free expression when drawing Talisman. He will neither refer to the templates in the book nor follow a specific process. Sometimes he will even make things that look completely different. Irrelevant talismans and spells were used together to achieve unexpected effects.

However, his gift of photographic memory allowed him to keep these basic knowledge firmly in his mind and never forget them.

…………

Next toMo Li's pen also flew quickly.

He knew that in terms of improvement and innovation of talismans, he might not be able to compare with a few others. Therefore, in the "Basic Knowledge" section, which he is best at, he must try his best to answer as many questions correctly as possible to widen the gap with others.

His wrists were already a little sore, his palms were already covered in sweat, and his handwriting had become a little sloppy.

But he didn't realize it.

Looking at the golden numbers in the upper right corner of the white paper gradually increasing, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, revealing a pleasant smile.

Inadvertently, he glanced at his opponents quietly.

He saw the short Shen Qiu thinking sadly, with his feet dangling in the air and biting the penholder in his hand in a very inelegant manner.

He saw Zhao Xinran’s writing brush hanging in the air and not falling down.

He saw Gu Xu put down his pen temporarily and rubbed his wrist.

His smile became even brighter.

"At least it's my home court now." He thought to himself.

…………

The answer process for Shen Qiu and Zhao Xinran was not so smooth.

Although Shen Qiu has good talent, he is very spiritual in the way of talismans. He often gets the appreciation of other talisman masters with some flash of ideas. But he is not a talisman master with a professional background, nor does he have Gu Xu's exaggerated memory and comprehension ability.

As an unpopular concubine, his family rarely paid attention to his spiritual practice.

The head of the Shen family once spent a lot of money to hire famous teachers to teach his brother Shen Hua step by step how to practice martial arts. But Shen Qiu had never been treated like this.

He learned talisman and seal script, half of which he taught himself by reading, and the other half by carrying gifts and making a special trip to the homes of famous talisman masters in Jinling City to ask for their advice.

Because of this, his mastery of basic knowledge and skills is naturally not as comprehensive as Mo Li's; most of the time, he only learns the talismans that are useful to him.

At this moment, he was staring at the topic about "Ruyi Talisman" and fell into deep thought.

"I'm afraid only liars will learn this useless talisman that can turn stone into gold..." Shen Qiu frowned and cursed in his mind.

As a scion of the richest family in Da Qi, Shen Qiu would never take the time to look at such talismans and seals.

I didn’t expect that it would appear in today’s assessment.

Furthermore, according to the mechanism of this white paper, if he does not answer this question, he will not be able to enter the next question.

"Oh, it seems I can only make it up." Shen Qiu sighed.

He wanted to swear, but thinking that the question might have come from a saint, he tried hard to restrain such an impulse.

At the same time, he wrote randomly: "The function of 'Ruyi Talisman' is to 'turn stone into gold', and the materials needed are stone, brass, gold paint, cinnabar, flour......"

After he finished writing, the paper glowed with a faint red light.

The number in the upper right corner changed from "three" to "two", and the color changed from "three" to "two". The pale gold color turned back to deep red, which was as dazzling as blood.

Shen Qiu stared at the number and was stunned for two seconds.

"An answer to a wrong question will result in a deduction. point? Is it so severe? "He couldn't help complaining in his heart again, and at the same time kicked the table leg hard.

…………

Zhao Xinran's answer process was not so smooth either.< /p>

Although she is a well-known Talisman Master in Luo Jingcheng, just like Gu Xu, she relies more on her own feelings when drawing Talisman and almost no longer follows these specific processes.

After not using it for a long time, it will naturally become unfamiliar.

Because of this, she needs to spend a lot of time trying to search for some long-standing memories in her mind when encountering particularly detailed or unfamiliar questions.

…………

While the four people were answering the questions, the Imperial Master, Dean Li and the two instructors from Longmen Academy who were good at Talismanism stood under the eaves outside the door and looked through the window. , paying attention to the performance of the four people today.

At this time, the rain was getting heavier and the sky was getting darker.

The bright light in the house shone through the windows, illuminating their faces. Dyeed golden yellow

One of the two teachers at Longmen Academy was named Fu Tao, with squinting eyes and a big belly - it was Shi Xiaohan who was killed on the Lantern Festival. Jia Xiuguang’s teacher was defeated in one move.

The other was named Du Yuan, who was tall and thin, with thin hair and looked like a bamboo pole.

“Mo Li looked at it. It’s easy to go up there! "Fu Tao commented.

He knew the relationship between Mo Li and Dean Li, and he also knew that Dean Li very much hoped that Mo Li could become today's winner.

So, when he saw Mo Li sitting at the desk writing, he did not hesitate to praise him

Because he believed that Dean Li would like to hear this.