The Glamorous Comeback of the Ousted Heiress

Chapter 156: Mr. Chou, who doubts life, goes crazy criticizing Lianlian_1

Wrist strength is the most basic of fundamentals.

Men and women are naturally different, so when Qiu Xuezheng first saw Bai Lian’s calligraphy, he thought it was the work of a male.

It was evident from her solid brushwork, but now, as Qiu Xuezheng watched Bai Lian remove the chunk of metal the size of an egg and calmly place it aside, he felt an urge to swear for the first time despite his usual composure in practicing calligraphy!

He wasn’t Chen Ju; he didn’t deal with Iridium or even recognize it.

Looking at the silvery-white metal, he could only think of iron and alloys; judging by its size, it seemed to weigh more than half a jin, which was already enough to make him question his life’s choices.

“This isn’t, your hand…” Qiu Xuezheng began to speak, unable to restrain himself, “You’ve been carrying half a jin of iron in your hand…”

As he spoke, he reached out to pick up the Iridium Bai Lian had set aside, wanting to weigh it himself. As soon as he got a hold of it, Qiu Xuezheng’s half-spoken sentence stopped abruptly.

“Classmate Bai, how heavy is this?” Qiu Xuezheng couldn’t tell and simply turned his head to ask.

His face was almost expressionless as he asked.

Bai Lian placed the Iridium down, lifted her brush again, and upon hearing the question, she tilted her head slightly and casually replied, “Just two jin.”

“Just, just two jin?” Qiu Xuezheng couldn’t believe it.

Do you know what you’re saying?

“Yeah,” Bai Lian dipped her brush in ink and seeing Qiu Xuezheng’s hesitant expression, she raised an eyebrow: “Is there a problem?”

Qiu Xuezheng looked at Bai Lian’s serene and slightly calm face.

How could she be so calm saying that?

“The best method to practice wrist strength is by hanging sandbags and practicing balance every day,” Qiu Xuezheng looked at Bai Lian and exhaled slowly: “But very few can truly do it. To my knowledge, even Xie Jinyun can only manage to practice with a one-jin weight, and even then, he is extremely outstanding. Even so, he only practices with that weight and doesn’t carry it around all day like you, Classmate Bai, this…”

Before meeting Bai Lian, Qiu Xuezheng had only heard of a few people in the Traditional Calligraphers Association who practiced writing this ancient way.

The current president of the Traditional Calligraphers Association is one of them.

Anyone who practices writing with weights in the calligraphy world leaves a brilliant mark, but only those few masters practice this way.

Yet Qiu Xuezheng never expected to encounter someone in Xiangcheng who practiced writing with hanging weights.

And it was two jin!

He looked at Bai Lian, eagerness and anticipation apparent in his eyes.

This time, at the Orchid Pavilion Awards, Xiangcheng…might indeed secure a place.

“I see.” Listening to Qiu Xuezheng’s explanation, Bai Lian just smiled faintly.

Two jin?

Bai Lian didn’t understand Qiu Xuezheng’s shock; this was how everyone used to practice writing, and the martial artists carried sandbags heavier than hers, with two jin being just the starting weight she practiced with.

It was very normal for martial artists to endure hardship.

She had just become accustomed to this body, so she had used only two jin.

In the past, her teacher, wanting to temper her character, had her wear a one-jin weight from the age of six, moving to two jin when she was seven!

As time went on, the weight she bore on one hand increased exponentially.

So, the current two jin were just the beginning, and she was far from reaching her peak…

In her view, it wasn’t that heavy at all.

As Bai Lian thought this, she began to write another “Xiang” character.

Without the restraint of the Iridium, her strokes were swift, almost effortless, a “Xiang” character as if a crane danced into the sky appeared before their eyes. She loved the subtlety of concealing the sharpness within the strokes, creating a thunderous yet unmanifested power with just a single character.

Qiu Xuezheng hurriedly reached out and picked up the paper.

He then carefully blew the ink dry.

“Teacher Qiu,” Bai Lian placed her brush into the washing pool, cleaned it, and set it aside, then she picked up the Iridium, lowered her gaze and methodically strapped it onto herself, “Do you think this could win second place if I submit it?”

She was not quite sure about the current level of calligraphy research or if her wrist strength had returned to its peak.

“Never mind second place,” Qiu Xuezheng placed the paper properly, his eyes flashing as he looked at Bai Lian, “I think you might even win first place this time, I’m a bit eager to see the selection at the Orchid Pavilion Awards!”

The calligraphy circle places great importance on the triennial Orchid Pavilion Awards, having already predicted the winners of the first place early on.

Especially the competition between Xie Jinyun and Xu Yajun.

But Qiu Xuezheng felt that this time…

Bai Lian might just be the dark horse to shine at the Orchid Pavilion Awards!