Chapter 57: Attending Symbol Making Class with Miss

 

Not long after, the four elders arrived in the courtyard.

 

She elegantly pinned up her black hair, which had strands of silver, and wore a brownish-green dress, giving her the appearance of a dignified and graceful lady.

 

"Grandmother."

 

"Aunt."

 

Lu Changsheng and Lu Miaoge immediately bowed to the four elders.

 

"No need for formalities, please have a seat."

 

The four elders had a gentle and kind expression as they waved their hands.

 

Then they looked at the two and said, "Changsheng, Miaoge, show me the symbols you have been practicing recently."

 

Upon hearing this, both of them took out their symbol-making tools and began drawing symbols.

 

Lu Changsheng was still drawing the Fire Cloud symbol that he had revealed before.

 

After all, when he revealed himself as a first-grade intermediate symbol master, his success rate was only about one or two percent, so he still needed practice.

 

The four elders looked at the symbols drawn by the two and saw Lu Changsheng meticulously and steadily drawing the Fire Cloud symbol, showing a hint of surprise.

 

Then, under the gaze of the four elders, Lu Changsheng successfully completed the Fire Cloud symbol.

 

"Changsheng, you should have a success rate of about sixty to seventy percent when drawing the Fire Cloud symbol now, right?"

 

After watching Lu Changsheng draw the Fire Cloud symbol, the four elders showed a pleasantly surprised expression and praised him.

 

Lu Miaoge, who was drawing symbols beside them, heard this and couldn't help but tremble, causing the symbol she was drawing to fail. Then she looked at Lu Changsheng with astonishment on her beautiful face.

 

She knew that Lu Changsheng had become a first-grade intermediate symbol master two months ago.

 

It had only been two months, and he had already achieved a success rate of sixty to seventy percent for the first-grade intermediate Fire Cloud symbol.

 

His talent in symbol-making was simply terrifying.

 

She couldn't help but think back to three years ago when she accompanied Uncle Fu to assess Lu Changsheng when he became a symbol apprentice.

 

At that time, she had already noticed that Lu Changsheng had a higher talent in symbol-making than herself.

 

But she never expected that Lu Changsheng's talent in symbol-making was even higher than she had imagined, much higher.

 

In just over three years without anyone's guidance, he had become an intermediate symbol master.

 

Now, under the guidance of the four elders, the Fire Cloud symbol, which originally had a success rate of only twenty percent, had its success rate increased to sixty to seventy percent in just one month.

 

This progress was simply terrifying.

 

Even though she had always been calm and had already started trying to draw high-grade symbols to challenge becoming a high-grade symbol master, at this moment, she couldn't help but feel a sense of loss and frustration in front of Lu Changsheng.

 

She pursed her lips, suppressed the disappointment and frustration in her heart, and took out another piece of symbol paper to draw symbols.

"Thanks to Grandmother's guidance last time, I have been practicing at home during this period, which is why I have achieved this success rate."

 

Lu Changsheng nodded and said.

 

He didn't know that his actions had caused Lu Miaoge to feel frustrated.

 

The talent he displayed in the Fire Cloud symbol this time was something he had planned beforehand.

 

Under the pretext of the guidance and teaching of the four elders, he accelerated the display of his talent in symbol-making.

 

"Very good, very good. Grandmother can see that you don't have much problem with the Fire Cloud symbol now."

 

"The only issue is that the flow of spiritual energy is not smooth enough when drawing the lines during the transitions."

 

"But in this aspect, as long as you practice more in your daily life and become more proficient, it will be fine."

 

Upon hearing Lu Changsheng's words, the four elders praised him repeatedly.

 

Then, the four elders continued to say to Lu Changsheng, "Today, Grandmother will teach you how to draw the Wind Travel symbol."

 

The Wind Travel symbol, like the Fire Cloud symbol, is a first-grade intermediate symbol.

 

In terms of difficulty, it is slightly higher than the Fire Cloud symbol.

 

"Thank you, Grandmother."

 

Lu Changsheng respectfully said.

 

He didn't care about what symbols to learn or practice. He simply followed the arrangements of the four elders.

 

One reason was that he didn't mind, and the other reason was that it was a condition of the spiritual contract with the Lu family.

 

He had to obey the arrangements of the Lu family and learn and practice the corresponding symbols.

 

"The Wind Travel symbol is different from the Fire Cloud symbol. It emphasizes the concept of softness, not only in the strokes but also in the output of spiritual energy, giving it a sense of roundness."

 

"And there is a crucial point in the Wind Travel symbol, which is that during each transition, the strokes should be smooth, and the output of spiritual energy should be continuous and 'bounce'."

 

The four elders explained the key points of the Wind Travel symbol to Lu Changsheng.

 

Then, they drew a Wind Travel symbol on the spot, allowing Lu Changsheng to sense the fluctuations of spiritual energy on it and draw the symbol lines accordingly.

 

"Yes, Grandmother."

 

Seeing this, Lu Changsheng nodded and picked up a stack of white paper from the table, familiarizing himself with the strokes of the symbol lines.

 

When drawing a new symbol, it is usually done on white paper first to familiarize oneself with the strokes of the symbol lines before attempting to make the symbol on symbol paper.

 

If one were to start practicing with symbol paper right away, it would be a waste because they would definitely fail at this stage.

 

Of course, Lu Changsheng was an exception.

 

But in front of the four elders, he naturally behaved as if he were honestly learning.

Later, the four elders looked at Lu Miaoge, who was making talismans, and saw that her talisman drawing had failed again.

 

Knowing that Lu Miaoge was not familiar with the talisman she was drawing, they spoke up to explain the key points.

"Miaoge, this Golden Light Shield talisman emphasizes the use of strength as the main focus and softness as the supplement. The brush strokes should be soft yet strong, and the spiritual power output should also be strong and forceful."

 

"When you make the first stroke, the brush strokes and spiritual power should be like iron wrapped in cotton. When the first fold of the talisman line turns, you should have a bit of a 'retracting' intention, and the spiritual power should have a 'releasing' intention. After the ninth fold, the spiritual power needs to be continuously outputted."

 

The process of making talismans becomes more difficult and complex as the grade of the talisman increases.

 

There are very strict rules for every stroke and every line.

 

There are many techniques involved in just the act of writing, such as using strength, combining strength and softness, combining softness and strength, and balancing strength and softness. It is very complicated.

 

The Golden Light Shield talisman that Lu Miaoge was drawing belonged to the first-grade high-quality talisman, which was very complex and comparable to a medium-grade talisman.

 

"Yes, Fourth Elder."

 

Upon hearing this, Lu Miaoge nodded and her delicate face showed a focused expression as she continued to bend down and draw the talisman.

 

However, halfway through the drawing, smoke appeared on the talisman paper again, indicating another failure.

 

"Miaoge, you applied too much force when outlining the talisman lines, causing a clash with the spiritual power, which is why it failed."

 

"Come, feel my spiritual power and strength."

 

The four elders spoke up and pointed out the mistake.

 

Then they held Lu Miaoge's hand and slowly drew the Golden Light Shield talisman.

 

Lu Changsheng also glanced over in their direction.

 

He could tell that the four elders were indeed skilled in talisman making.

 

At least they were very familiar with the Golden Light Shield talisman.

 

Otherwise, it would be impossible to guide someone in drawing talismans in this way.

 

"Miaoge, try again with this feeling."

 

After the four elders finished drawing the Golden Light Shield talisman with Lu Miaoge, they spoke up.

 

"Yes, Elder."

 

Lu Miaoge nodded lightly and then tried to draw again.

 

But she failed again halfway through the process.

 

Seeing this scene, the four elders didn't say anything.

 

They just encouraged her, saying, "It's okay, practice more and familiarize yourself with it."

 

For a talismanist, this was very normal.

 

If they succeeded after just a few tries, becoming a talismanist wouldn't be so difficult.

 

After a while, the four elders saw that Lu Changsheng was also familiar with the Wind Walk talisman, so they said to him, "Come, Changsheng, you also draw the Wind Walk talisman for me to see."

 

"Yes, Grandmother."

Upon hearing this, Lu Changsheng immediately started to draw the Wind Walk talisman.

 

But he also failed when he was about one-fifth of the way through.

 

He was a genius, but not to the point of being abnormal.

 

If he succeeded after just one or two tries, it would be too astonishing and could lead to trouble.

 

"Your hand is steady, and your brush strokes are steady, but your spiritual power was a bit rushed just now."

 

"At this step, you should have a bit of a 'relaxed' intention in your hand, and the spiritual power should gently 'wrap' around the brush strokes."

 

"Come, feel my spiritual power and strength."

 

After watching Lu Changsheng finish drawing, the four elders spoke up.

 

Then they also stepped forward and held Lu Changsheng's hand, slowly drawing the Wind Walk talisman stroke by stroke.

 

Although there was a saying that men and women should not touch each other, in the eyes of the four elders, Lu Changsheng was just a junior, their grandson-in-law, so they naturally didn't pay attention to such things.

 

During this process, Lu Changsheng could clearly feel the strength and flow of spiritual power transmitted through the four elders' palms.

 

"At this step, your hand should be 'relaxed', the spiritual power should 'wrap' around the brush strokes, with a bit of 'rebounding' intention, and the wrist should lightly 'shake'. Finally, complete it in one go."

 

"Try again."

 

The four elders spoke kindly to Lu Changsheng and then let go of his hand.

 

"Okay, Grandmother."

 

Lu Changsheng nodded, but didn't start drawing immediately.

 

Instead, he took out a gourd from his storage bag, took a sip of the wine inside, and then continued to draw.

 

This was the White Jade Hundred Flowers Wine, which had the effect of restoring spiritual power and calming the mind. It was helpful for his talisman making.

 

He didn't need the wine to calm his mind, but he needed it to restore his spiritual power.

 

The four elders didn't say anything about this.

 

They also knew that Lu Changsheng was only at the third level of Qi Refining and couldn't draw many first-grade medium-quality talismans. He needed the help of spiritual wine to restore his spiritual power.

 

Then, under the watchful eyes of the four elders, Lu Changsheng failed when he was about one-fourth of the way through.

 

"Your spiritual power didn't wrap around the brush strokes and condensed into one point. Try again."

 

After watching, the four elders gave their comments.

 

In this way, the morning passed with the guidance of the four elders.

 

During this morning, both Lu Changsheng and Lu Miaoge failed to successfully draw new talismans.

 

But they had also gained an understanding of these talismans and grasped the essence of them. The next step was to go back and familiarize themselves with them and practice more.

 

(End of this chapter)