Feng Nanhong's face was solemn. Seeing Hao Jian's liquor, he instinctively turned his head and glanced at his old friend, who also wore a heavy expression, and nodded. Unlike the others who were confused, these top-tier artists themselves had tried using liquor to paint, but they found it very difficult to control the colors of such liquor. A painter who cannot even control color, how can they paint? Hao Jian touched his chin, glanced at Yuan Shanshan, and then chuckled. Hao Jian suddenly opened more than a dozen bottles of liquor of different colors, pouring each into a glass and then set out a bunch of empty glasses. His brush moved through the air, sweeping over the liquor, and then laid down the first stroke of the painting. "Such deep mastery..." Watching the liquor spread on the paper without affecting the beauty of the artwork, it seemed instead that this young man had calculated the trajectory of the liquor's spread, thus guiding it to complete the painting. Feng Nanhong was internally shocked. Such a painting skill was beyond even him, and to his knowledge, there were very few people in Huaxia who could use liquor to paint, almost none. Therefore, this time, he was fully attentive to Hao Jian's hand movements. He wasn't one of those so-called second or third-rate artists; he was a truly first-rate artist. Even though he had reached a bottleneck in his current skills, it didn't mean he didn't want to break through. If he could learn Hao Jian's liquor painting technique, perhaps his mastery could improve significantly. The younger artists were quite shocked to see Hao Jian painting with liquor, but they soon became puzzled because they saw the liquor scatter on the paper, making it chaotic, and couldn't see what he intended to paint. Xie Ping glanced and then looked away, thinking that with such skill, Hao Jian wanted to oppose him? In his view, Hao Jian was merely scribbling, as no one could tell what he was trying to paint. However, he didn't mock openly. As an artist, he possessed a certain decorum, which was that disturbing someone while they were painting was very impolite. Moreover, present here were Yuan Shanshan and several other top-tier artists. He had lost enough face before, and now he had to think carefully about how to reclaim it. Yuan Shanshan curiously glanced at Hao Jian, who was earnestly painting, wondering what kind of artwork Hao Jian would produce for her. Perhaps some people present might doubt Hao Jian's skills, but she certainly wouldn't. To be honest, she had reached the international level, partly because of Hao Jian. She knew Hao Jian's skills exceeded hers by far, even vastly. As for these first-rate artists here, Hao Jian didn't even consider them. After all, his works, whether carefully crafted or casually done, would make many artists go crazy. But unfortunately, Hao Jian never treated his creations as artworks. "Whoosh whoosh whoosh..." His hands moved quickly, the brush in his hand changing constantly. Under his mixing, various colors gradually emerged, and the outline of the painting slowly appeared before everyone. Just from the outline alone, they could vaguely discern a human figure, much better than seeing nothing earlier. Everyone held their breath, quietly waiting for Hao Jian to stop his brush. At a certain moment, Hao Jian suddenly dipped his hands in liquor and pressed the liquor-stained hands onto the paper, immediately leaving two palm prints. Seeing this, everyone was momentarily stunned. Liquor is difficult to paint with; doing this would ruin the artwork, wouldn't it? Everyone was puzzled, but they still said nothing and continued to watch. With his brush moving, sometimes picking up a bit of liquor, Hao Jian gradually integrated those two palm prints. Half an hour later... With the final stroke complete, Hao Jian's eyes gleamed, tossing the brush aside, and without caring further, he turned to head to the washbasin. The liquor on the painting wasn't dry yet, requiring drying before the artwork could be lifted. But thankfully, the quality of the paper was good; despite the infiltration of so much liquor, it didn't break or wrinkle due to the liquor. After washing his hands, seeing that the liquor had mostly dried, Hao Jian smiled and pointed at the painting, saying, "Everyone, this is my gift to Shanshan." As the liquor dried, the true content of the painting finally appeared. Some closer people saw the content of the painting, and their expressions slightly changed. Xie Ping, relying on his own skills, was closest to Hao Jian. He saw the content in one glance and his face turned grim. "Such a delicate painting, was it really done with liquor?" Looking at this painting, many people's expressions kept changing. The content in this painting is Yuan Shanshan, but there are some differences. Although it is a painting, the character inside is so lifelike, almost like a real person. Many people instinctively looked towards Yuan Shanshan, thinking she had stepped into the painting. Using a normal painting technique would be one thing, but the issue is that Hao Jian used alcohol ink, a material that is difficult to control, to create such a delicate work. "Let me take a look..." Feng Nanhong originally thought of himself as a first-rate artist and didn't bother competing with these young people, but upon seeing the alcohol ink painting and the astonishment on many faces, his heart was slightly tickled with curiosity. He pushed through the crowd, and when those being pushed aside saw it was Feng Nanhong, they smiled and made space for him. After all, he is a first-rate artist. As Feng Nanhong stepped out from the crowd and saw the painting on the table, his face froze, and his eyes suddenly burst with endless radiance. "Such mastery, so strong..." Well-traveled and knowledgeable, Feng Nanhong quickly realized the difficulty of this painting. It could be said that in his lifetime, he would find it challenging to create a painting . But this time, it was done by the young man in front of him. As he thought about this, he cast his shocked gaze on Hao Jian, wanting to ask him if he could teach him. But at that moment, someone spoke up. "Elder Feng, how is this painting? We have limited vision and cannot see the good or bad of this piece." Upon hearing this, Feng Nanhong turned his head, glanced at those people, and helplessly sighed before pointing to the painting on the table, saying, "This painting is very good... truly very good..." "I believe many here come from a painting background, but I know you haven't studied alcohol ink painting." Upon hearing Feng Nanhong's words, everyone unconsciously nodded. They were all taught traditional painting techniques, which do not involve alcohol ink. So, they neither knew about alcohol ink painting nor could they discern its value. But now, hearing from Feng Nanhong, they realized that this first-rate artist would never joke carelessly, nor speak irresponsibly. He has an almost stringent attitude towards art. If he recognizes this painting, it indeed is a good work. "I think even if I say this, you may not fully understand." Seeing that people were still somewhat puzzled, Feng Nanhong sighed and shook his head, saying, "Now that Mr. Hao Jian has made this alcohol ink painting, let me explain its basics to you." "Firstly, the selection of alcohol, which is the material itself, varies from person to person. Everyone's habits are different, and so are their alcohol requirements." "Then comes the painting process. The techniques used in this portrait are too many to count, but each technique is difficult for you to learn." "If I say the techniques in my best work are like bricks, then what Mr. Hao Jian has done is like a wall; it far surpasses my skill." Upon hearing this, everyone's facial expressions changed dramatically. Xie Ping clenched his fists tightly. He believed Feng Nanhong's words, but was unwilling to admit this guy. After all, from Feng Nanhong's words, this guy's skills surpassed Feng Nanhong's... Isn't this guy an outsider? How could he have such skills? Suddenly, Xie Ping thought of something, and a smug curve appeared at the corner of his mouth. As long as this work lacks this particular thing, no matter how many techniques it uses, it is still an ordinary piece. Every work needs not only painting techniques but also another factor: the author's reputation. Hao Jian is a person without any fame, so no matter how good his work is, it is worthless. Even if it has value, it cannot compare to the painting he painfully bought at a price over 200,000. If Hao Jian's work was truly valuable, why would he dress so shabbily? Thinking he found an escape, Xie Ping's cold demeanor faded, replaced with a smug smile. So what if your skills are incredible? Even if Hao Jian's reputation rises in the future and his works become valuable, today he still expresses this breath. "I wonder if Mr. Hao Jian would sell this painting to me for two million?" However, the hesitating voice that followed shattered his worldview. He looked up and saw Feng Nanhong, akin to an elementary student called by the teacher, nervously, yet with strong desire, gazing at the painting. If only he could buy this painting and slowly comprehend the techniques within, perhaps he, too, could paint with alcohol ink in the future.