The most important thing was, this sculpture of Linley’s was enormous, on par with five separate sculptures of most people.
Just like in the art of painting, the value of a sculpture was related in part to its size. Such an enormous sculpture would’ve required an incredibly large amount of effort. This sculpture which contained five lifelike images of people had already contained within it a unique soul and was on a totally different level.
Seeing that sculpture was the same as seeing five real-life beautiful women.
In the entire Yulan continent, there were very few master-level sculptors. But this sculpture by Linley had already surpassed the level of ‘masters’; it was qualified to be ranked amongst the works of the most venerated grandmaster sculptors in history, such as Proulx, Hope Jensen [Hu’pe Jin’sen], and Hoover [Huo’fu].
Those who were granted the title of master were able to produce sculptures of exceedingly high quality, with their own distinct aura and the ability to stir the soul of the viewers.
But their works, when compared to the works of Proulx, Hope Jensen, and the other sculptors who had received the title of ‘Grandmaster’, was still slightly inferior. Although the gap was very small, it still determined a difference in status.
Stonesculpting had a history of hundreds of thousands of years, and during that period of time, the vast majority of sculptures had been destroyed by the passage of time. Only a few special statues made of special materials could survive and be passed down to the present generation. Thus, of the so-called Ten Grandmasters, nine of them lived within the past hundred thousand years.
Ever since the Yulan Empire unified the Yulan continent, there had been only two sculptors that could be put on the same level as those ancient grandmasters: Proulx and Hope Jensen.
Hoover was a Grandmaster from over a hundred thousand years ago, and his famous sculpture, the Bloody-eyed Maned Lion, had survived all those years due to the unique properties of the material it was made from, thus ensuring Hoover’s fame would live on.
In the past ten thousand years, there had only been two Grandmaster sculptors. Now, of course, Proulx was actually the most formidable sculptor in all of history, and three of the Ten Masterpieces belonged to him. Not all of the Ten Grandmasters had produced sculptures which numbered amongst the Ten Masterpieces.
Of course, this was just the judgment of the later generations. In terms of actual sculpting ability, all of the Ten Grandmasters were about the same.
A new Grandmaster had been born…and he was a 17-year old youth!
What an amazing event this was! And this was the reason why the managing director of the Proulx Gallery himself had hurried over here, all the way from the Proulx Gallery located in the Dark Alliance.
“No rush. Let’s go to a private room in a hotel and have a nice, quiet chat.” Director Maia wasn’t in too big of a rush.
A Grandmaster sculptor?
What a joke!
Although Austoni’s eyes were keen, whether or not a sculpture was capable of being passed down the ages required extremely formidable judgment. The work of a master sculptor and that of a Grandmaster lay in its unique aura and soul.
Whether or not a work of art was qualified to be considered a Grandmaster-level piece of art was an extremely deep field of study.
…..
Within a deluxe room at the hotel.
In front of the four of them, there was a kettle of light tea. Laughing, Director Maia said, “This kid, Austoni, upon seeing Linley’s sculpture, insisted that it was on par with the Ten Masterpieces. Haha, isn’t that the same as saying that we now have a seventeen year old Grandmaster?”
‘Grandmaster’ was a title representing a certain status, representing that someone was at the peak of this art form.
But in casual conversation, most people would address someone as ‘master’, for example, ‘Master Proulx’.
“Grandmaster sculptor?” Yale was somewhat amazed. “I don’t know if Linley’s sculpture qualifies or not. After all, my experience is limited. But I am absolutely sure that this sculpture of Linley’s is, at the very least, comparable with the sculptures you have on display in your hall of the masters.”
“Oh?” Director Maia laughed. “Well-spoken. After all this chitchat, I suppose it’s best I take a look. I don’t know where this sculpture is. May I take a look?”
“Of course.” Yale smiled.
“Little Yale, even if this sculpture isn’t at the level of the Ten Masterpieces, I’ll wager it isn’t too far off. You have to protect it and make sure it isn’t stolen.” Director Maia reminded.
Yale confidently said, “Uncle Maia, please set your mind at ease. Right now, I’ve secreted the sculpture into the secret underground room within the Huadeli Hotel, and I have experts of the Dawson Conglomerate protecting it. What’s more, there are very few people who even know of the existence of this statue to begin with.”
“You’ve moved it to the hotel?” Austoni was somewhat surprised. The last time he saw it, it was in their dormitory.
Yale pursed his lips. “I trust my bros, but I don’t trust you.”
Austoni could only let out a few awkward chuckles.
“Uncle Maia, let’s go. I’ll lead you there.” Yale said warmly.
The Huadeli Hotel was actually a property under the banner of the Dawson Conglomerate. This was the reason why the upper-level management of the Huadeli Hotel knew Yale’s status.”
With a large stand-alone room inside the Huadeli Hotel, there were several seats as well as three experts who had been standing guard every day.
“Young master Yale.” The three warriors of the seventh rank bowed respectfully.
Yale nodded and smiled slightly. “Uncle Maia, please view to your heart’s content.” As he spoke, Yale gave a sharp tug to the heavy covering over the sculpture, revealing the enormous work of art. Those five beautiful women were incomparably immaculate and fine. One an image of tender love, another an adorable innocence, a third all bashful and shy, the fourth passionate and stirring, and the last…heartless.
All of them seemed to be as real as an actual person.
Seeing these five human shapes within the sculpture, Director Maia’s mouth hung open, and he stared at it, stunned, for a long time.
After a long time…
“Incredible. Incredible.” Only now did Director Maia awaken from his stupor. “This sculpture is at the master level, at the very least. A sculpture which links together five different human figures, all totally lifelike? How much effort did this cost? In terms of carving time alone, at least a year must have been spent on it.”
Director Maia knew very well how much effort sculpting took.
It took so much effort that sometimes, in the middle of carving a sculpture, a master sculptor might suddenly vomit blood and pass out from the exertion. In history, there were people who died in the middle of their sculpting. Sculptures such as this were formed from blood and effort.
“For a seventeen year old to be able to produce this sculpture is simply…simply…” Director Maia was at a loss for words. He excitedly walked closer to the sculpture for a closer examination. “Whether or not this sculpture is on par with the Ten Masterpieces requires further inspection from multiple angles.”
As he spoke, Director Maia glued himself next to the sculpture, beginning to carefully inspect every single carved line.