Chapter 22: Prux Hall (Part 2)
Prux Hall.
As the premier hall of stone sculpture, it had branches in all the major cities of the Yulan continent. Prux Hall occupied an extremely vast area, and most of those who entered and exited were people who considered themselves cultured individuals.
Inside Prux Hall, if you wore a few magic diamond rings on your hands, people would likely only look down on you and sneer at your lack of refinement.
Art, refinement!
These were what mattered most here.
Admission to Prux Hall cost one gold coin per person.
The sound of music, like the tinkling of mountain streams, drifted out from Prux Hall, calming the heart the moment it was heard. A steady stream of people entered Prux Hall—nobles, noble ladies, and beautiful young ladies, all dressed with impeccable taste.
Commoners, on the other hand, would unconsciously feel inferior in front of Prux Hall.
Linley and his three brothers, along with Kas and the other three guards, arrived directly at the square in front of Prux Hall. Anyone with a bit of discernment, upon seeing the standard uniforms of Ernst Institute on the four brothers and the Blue-eyed Thunder Hawk on Kas’s shoulder, would involuntarily adopt a more deferential attitude.
“Uncle Kas, come in with us. The other three can wait outside,” Yale said casually.
Linley, the four brothers, and Kas then stepped into Prux Hall. In the center of the main hall stood a tall humanoid stone sculpture, which was none other than the master of the stone sculpture world, Prux himself.
The entire Prux Hall was extremely quiet.
Almost everyone, regardless of their status, spoke in lowered voices, afraid of disturbing others.
Yale, Reynolds, George, and Linley looked at the various stone sculptures on display, feeling in their hearts that these works were indeed exquisitely beautiful.
“The exhibition hall of Prux Hall is mainly divided into three sections: the Common Exhibition Hall, the Expert Exhibition Hall, and the Master Exhibition Hall. In the Common Exhibition Hall, stone sculpture enthusiasts send their works here for others to appreciate and bid on. The exhibition lasts for one month, and after that, the highest bidder gets the piece. These works are relatively ordinary, most worth a few gold coins, with the best ones fetching a few dozen gold coins.”
Yale smiled and continued, “The Expert Exhibition Hall is different. It’s divided into individual exhibition rooms, each containing the works of a single expert. To be called an expert means their stone sculpture skills have been recognized by the public, and their works are generally worth around a thousand gold coins.”
“As for the Master Exhibition Hall, that’s even more impressive. In the innermost part of the hall, there are only a few masters’ works on display. The prices for a master’s work are terrifying—any piece costs tens of thousands of gold coins, and some of their famous masterpieces can be worth hundreds of thousands.” Yale explained in detail to his three brothers.
Linley held his breath.
A master’s work, any piece costing tens of thousands of gold coins—to a master of the stone sculpture world, money meant nothing.
“But stone sculpture masters rarely produce a work, after all, they don’t want to leave a stain on their reputation,” Yale said with a sigh. “A work that can be passed down through generations requires skill, talent, and a flash of inspiration at a specific moment!”
“The works in the Common Exhibition Hall just look decent in form. Let’s go ahead,” Yale said, leading the way.
Walking through the quiet, spacious Prux Hall, listening to the soothing music, Linley felt as if he were immersed in an ocean of art. At that moment, Doehring Cowart emerged from the Coiling Dragon Ring again, also admiring the surrounding sculptures.
“Terrible, terrible. What kind of skill is this, daring to show it to others?” Doehring Cowart said disapprovingly.
“Grandpa Doehring,” Linley turned to look at him. “This is just the Common Exhibition Hall of Prux Hall. Ahead are the Expert Exhibition Hall and the Master Exhibition Hall.”
“Prux Hall?” Doehring Cowart was stunned and fell silent.
“Grandpa Doehring? Grandpa Doehring?” Linley called out in his mind a few times, but seeing that Doehring Cowart was still lost in thought, he didn’t disturb him. He followed Yale, Reynolds, and George to the Expert Exhibition Hall. The Expert Exhibition Hall was indeed different. In its main lobby, there was information about each expert and the locations of their individual exhibition rooms.
Yale, Linley, and the others entered the individual rooms one by one.
Although Linley didn’t know much about stone sculpture, he could clearly feel that these experts’ works were distinctly different from the ordinary ones outside. They seemed to possess a special quality imbued within them.
As Linley was immersed in the various works, he suddenly heard Doehring Cowart’s voice in his mind again.
“Not bad, they’ve entered the threshold,” Doehring Cowart nodded in praise. “But compared to Prux’s works, the gap is still huge.”
Linley was speechless.
“Grandpa Doehring, how could they possibly compare to Master Prux?” Linley shook his head with a wry smile. Prux was the greatest stone sculptor of all time, past and present.
Doehring Cowart frowned, his white beard bristling with displeasure. “What’s the matter? Was Prux born a master? He also grew step by step from an ordinary stone carver before finally becoming a true master.”
Linley was taken aback.
Hearing Grandpa Doehring say that, it did make sense.
After touring all the experts’ individual rooms, the four brothers headed toward the innermost Master Exhibition Hall.
“Remember, don’t touch anything in the Master Exhibition Hall. If you break something, we’ll be in big trouble,” Yale warned.
Stepping into the Master Exhibition Hall, it was utterly silent.
The Master Exhibition Hall was very large, but the works on display were extremely sparse. There were only a few masters in total, each with just four or five pieces on show. The entire vast hall held no more than twenty or thirty works.
Though the works were few, as soon as Linley and the others saw those stone sculptures, they felt a vibrant energy, as if these pieces contained life itself.
“Oh, not bad, not bad. I didn’t expect that after five or six thousand years, the art of stone sculpture has developed to this level,” Doehring Cowart exclaimed in admiration. “If they take another step forward, they might be able to rival Prux.”
Immersed in this temple of art, Linley and the others felt as if their very souls were being elevated.
******
Evening, at the entrance of Ernst Institute. Linley and his three brothers got off the carriage.
“Second brother, third brother, you two are something else. I said we should enjoy ourselves tonight in Fenlai City, but you… sigh, too thin-skinned. I’ve been playing in those places since I was six,” Yale said, still somewhat indignantly.
“Yeah, yeah,” Reynolds chimed in from the side.
George and Linley exchanged glances and smiled wryly.
“Hurry, open the door!” An anxious, angry voice rang out.
Linley and the others turned to look. A young man with curly hair was carrying another youth stained with blood, with a pretty girl beside him. The bloodstained youth had a pale face, his left arm was severed, exposing white bone, and there were several claw marks on his chest.
“Looks like another one injured during a trial in the Magical Beast Forest. How many batches is this? In less than a year at Ernst Institute, I’ve seen quite a few upperclassmen injured in trials,” Yale remarked casually.
The Magical Beast Mountain Range lay to the east of the Sacred Alliance.
In fact, the Magical Beast Mountain Range was very close to Ernst Institute, only about a hundred li away. For someone in decent shape, it would take most of a day to run from the mountain range to the institute.
“At Ernst Institute, the thing I see most is magical beasts. Wow, those beasts—some fly in the sky, some run on the ground, all kinds. But most of those with magical beasts are the magic instructors, plus a few upperclassmen,” George said with a sigh.
As the four brothers reached the school gate, suddenly—
“Linley.”
A familiar voice sounded. Linley turned to look, and a look of surprise lit up his face. “Uncle Hillman.”