At this moment, Lucas was the most agitated person there. It was he who had informed his father about William and Bella’s “affair,” originally intending for his father to give William a proper thrashing.
Now, what’s happened is that William had managed to collapse his father’s composure with just a few words.
Seeing his father in a near-mad state, Lucas felt embarrassed rather than sympathetic.
His father always boasted about how formidable he was, yet here he was, brought to this state with just a few words. It truly caused him to lose all face.
Of course, the primary culprit was William.
Veins throbbed on Lucas’s forehead, his eyes filled with bloodshot lines, glaring fiercely at William like a wild beast ready to attack.
The painters around also started heckling.
“Yeah! Anyone can talk, can’t they? If you’re so capable, why don’t you paint a piece better than Mr. Brimstone’s?”
“Just spewing exaggerated praise, anyone can boast, I could say I can fly to the moon too!”
“Mr. Brimstone, I think he’s just bluffing, just like a street fortune-teller scamming people, merely playing psychological tricks on you.”
When William had earlier questioned whether they were contemporary painters, his tone filled with disdain and sarcasm, had set him up as the target of everyone’s criticism.
Under such circumstances, they resembled hyenas being attacked by a fierce tiger, willing to band together and launch a counterattack.
If William couldn’t produce a work better than Lucas’s, he would naturally be subjected to relentless ridicule and mocking, even being driven out wouldn’t be excessive.
William glanced at Lucas indifferently, saying, “Just because you ask me to paint, must I do so?” After speaking, he turned and walked away.
Everyone was watching William, anticipating him making a fool of himself. But since he chose not to paint, they were left without a way to handle William.
William took a step forward, and the crowd that had been surrounding him unconsciously parted, making way for him.
They themselves didn’t know why they were doing this?
Logically, they should be stopping William now, insisting that he could not leave without painting.
But when William walked past, they subconsciously made way.
Seeing William leave, Bella quickly followed.
She reached William’s side, lowered her voice, and asked close to his ear, “William, can you really paint?”
William smiled, saying, “As I said, I ‘know a bit about.'”
Unable to hold back, Bella rolled her eyes, saying, “So what do you think about Mr. Brimstone’s painting skills, what level has he reached?”
William said, “He also ‘knows a bit about,’ just less than I do.”
“…” Bella was left speechless for a moment, “So, you mean you’re better than Mr. Brimstone?”
“Isn’t it obvious that I am better? I don’t know how else to explain it to you.” William truly believed that he was incomparable to someone like York Brimstone.
If we are talking about painting skills alone, perhaps Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni from the Italian Renaissance could be compared to William. However, when it comes to imbuing a painting with soul, even they couldn’t surpass William.
After all, he was an age-old creature who had lived for a billion years; common people, unless extraordinarily talented, could hardly match even one ten-thousandth of William in their lifetime.
The art exhibition in the afternoon didn’t mean much to William; he was just looking forward to dinner in the evening.
Having nothing better to do, he and Bella sat in a corner and drank tea.
Bella didn’t know where William pulled out a copy of Yuval Noah Harari’s “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind” from, but he was reading it with great interest.
Reading a book at an art exhibition…
This might be the biggest insult to York Brimstone.
“Sapiens” chronicles the history of humankind, from early evolutionary signs of life to the intertwined developments of capital and technology in the 21st century.
It had to be said that the book was well-written, but there were some things that one would never understand without experiencing them firsthand.
William was engrossed in the book when David laboriously walked over.
David had already heard about William’s earlier performance. To make York Brimstone lose his composure on the spot indeed indicated that William had some skills. However, considering William’s age, David thought that William might have theoretical knowledge, but his actual painting skill should be average.
This was somewhat like some food critics who could distinguish good food from bad, but if asked to cook, they might find it difficult to excel.
William had challenged York Brimstone with his words and insulted other painters; he might find himself in an awkward position at the art exhibition today.
Those painters might not seek trouble with William directly, but David’s situation was different. William owed him money! A total of 10,000 US dollars! Moreover, William had boldly claimed that he would earn the money to pay him back today.
“The creditor is here again,” William said as he put down the book and looked at David before asking Bella, “Didn’t you say that one can paint here?”
“You really want to paint?” Bella’s eyes sparkled, finding it somewhat unbelievable.
William stood up, smiling, “I owe money, and the creditor is right in front of me. I might as well paint a simple piece.”
“I’ll talk to the staff; there is a studio here.” Bella had been to this club before. After all, this wasn’t the first time an art exhibition had been held here; in the past, some painters would paint live on the spot.
William nodded, planning to create a simple painting. He had noticed that, besides York Brimstone, there were two other Soulmancers present. Any painting he produced would probably attract the Soulmancers, eager to acquire it.
It was just 10,000 US dollars, after all. Even the trash produced by York Brimstone could fetch a starting bid of five hundred thousand US dollars; there was no way his wouldn’t sell.
“William, I heard that you criticized Master York Brimstone’s painting as worthless,” David said, trying to provoke William further, having dressed his wound and no longer appearing as distressed.
William just looked at him, not speaking but his message was clear: if you have something to say, say it quickly and don’t waste time.
David spoke with a mocking tone, “You said earlier that you wanted to earn 10,000 US dollars to pay me back. You’re not planning to sell a painting, are you? I really want to see this.”
William showed a faint smile and ignored him, turning away to leave.
The moment he turned around, blood suddenly spurted from David’s freshly bandaged wound.
The gauze couldn’t hold it, staining his trousers red on the spot. The sight was even more horrifying than a woman experiencing a heavy menstrual flow.
Bella stared at his lower body, utterly shocked. .
David didn’t feel much pain, just a wet and burning sensation down below. When he looked down, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “How was this bandaged?”
The staff were alerted again and could only help him back to the medical room.
Without turning his head, William found Alice and Evelyn who were wandering around in the crowd.
“Alice, come here for a bit,” William called out to Alice. He didn’t want too many people watching him paint. Ordinary people wouldn’t find anything special watching him paint, but if a Soulmancer was observing, they might glean some insights.
“What is it?” Alice asked, her face suddenly turning red. In front of Evelyn, William should have called her “cousin”.
William said, “Help me prepare the paints for drawing.”