Chapter 637 - 637: Explosive Hit! On Fire

"You're too polite, Brother He. It is my honor to help you. But what is it you need my help with?" Yan Heyun asked.

He Junwu replied, "I was hoping you could help introduce me to Master Zhao. After seeing his work, I have the utmost admiration for him, and I'm desperate to meet him in person and ask for his guidance on calligraphy."

"Brother He, I can't promise you that right away. I'll have to ask for Master Zhao's opinion first," Yan Heyun said with a wry smile.

Although he hadn't known Zhao Yuan for long, he could tell that Zhao Yuan likely had no intention of making a name for himself in the calligraphy world. The only reason he'd even given people like them the time of day was out of respect for Lin Liangzhe.

Therefore, he didn't dare to make introductions without getting Zhao Yuan's permission first.

If he annoyed Zhao Yuan over this and lost his chance to see his original works up close in the future, it would be a devastating loss!

He Junwu wasn't surprised by this.

In his mind, a "Master Zhao" proficient in all styles of calligraphy had to be a venerable elder of high standing. People of that age have limited energy; they prefer peace and quiet and don't like to be disturbed. So, it was only natural for Yan Heyun to have to "request permission."

He immediately nodded and said, "Of course, of course. Little Brother Yan, you must remember to ask for me, and please put in a good word. If this works out, I won't forget it! Oh, right, you have to call me right away after you ask and tell me what he says."

"No problem. That's settled then, I'm hanging up," Yan Heyun said, and after saying his goodbyes to He Junwu, he ended the call.

But before he could even catch his breath, another call came in.

For the next while, Yan Heyun's phone didn't stop ringing. He received countless calls, and without exception, they were all asking for an introduction to Zhao Yuan.

The callers were all heavyweights in the worlds of calligraphy and art collection. In the past, although Yan Heyun had a minor reputation, he still had to tread carefully and be deferential when facing these big shots. This time, however, they were the ones treading carefully and being deferential to him.

The reason for this was simple: they needed a favor from Yan Heyun.

At first, these calls made Yan Heyun feel quite proud and honored.

After all, he had never been so pursued and fawned over by so many heavyweights. But as the calls kept pouring in, leaving him without a moment's rest, he started to get annoyed and even began to regret it.

'I fucking shouldn't have posted those calligraphy samples to my feed just to show off. I was just asking for trouble!'

With a decisive grimace, Yan Heyun turned off his phone.

The world was suddenly quiet again.

The others who had posted to their social media had the same experience as Yan Heyun. In the end, almost all of them chose to turn off their phones.

What they didn't know was that the calligraphy examples they had posted on their feeds had already been shared and were spreading.

They had been posted on all the major calligraphy websites and forums.

The titles of these posts were each more sensational than the last:

"Peerless Calligraphy Is Born! You'll Regret It for the Rest of Your Life if You Don't Look!"

"Mom Asked Me Why I Was Kneeling While Looking at Calligraphy. I Told Her I Saw a God!"

"I'm Just Asking, Who Else Can Write This Brilliantly?"

"One Word That Captures the Entire Mystery and Essence of the Dao—Can You Believe It? Click In and I Guarantee You'll All Be Brought to Your Knees!"

Seeing these titles, people's first reaction was that the websites and forums had been overrun by paid posters and that this was all just a marketing ploy.

Qiu Zhong was one of them.

The fifty-year-old Qiu Zhong was not only a famous domestic calligrapher but also a highly authoritative critic. He was casually browsing a popular calligraphy forum when, after refreshing the page, he suddenly saw these posts, and his face immediately darkened.

"People these days have no shame. Instead of diligently honing their skills, they resort to all these cheap tricks!" Qiu Zhong snorted.

His previously good mood was completely ruined by these posts. He moved his mouse to the top-right corner, about to close the forum, but suddenly changed his mind.

'You want to create hype, do you? Fine, I'll play along. After I see your calligraphy, I'll write a critique so scathing it'll tear you to shreds! I'll show you that without real skill, all the hype in the world is useless!'

As he fumed, Qiu Zhong clicked on one of the posts.

The content of the post was simple, consisting of a single sentence: "These world-shaking works of calligraphy were all created by the same person! You will not find a second person in the entire world of calligraphy today with his level of skill and foundation!"

"How shameless. Aren't they afraid to bite their own tongue with boasts like that?" Qiu Zhong curled his lip, his expression growing even more disdainful. He was now completely convinced this was all a marketing ploy—and an incredibly crude one at that!

'World-shaking?

Not another person in the entire world of calligraphy with his skill?

This ad copy is utter trash!'

Just as he was scoffing, Qiu Zhong caught sight of the photo in the post.

It was the four-character phrase "Supreme Among the Five Mountains," written in Seal Script.

"Huh?" His expression changed abruptly, and he blurted out in surprise, "These four characters... they're actually quite good!"

The thumbnail was too small to see clearly, so he quickly clicked to open the full-size image and began to examine it with great care.

A long time passed before he snapped out of his daze, exclaiming with a look of pure shock, "Magnificent work! It really does deserve to be called 'world-shaking'! In the entire world of calligraphy, I have never seen Seal Script written with such brilliance and spirit!"

Recalling how he had just mistaken the posts for a marketing ploy and had been about to write a scathing critique, Qiu Zhong felt incredibly awkward and embarrassed. 'Fortunately, no one else knows about this, so it's not too humiliating,' he thought.

"This won't do. A piece this magnificent must be properly promoted so that more people know about it!" Qiu Zhong murmured. He immediately exited the full-screen image, ready to leave the post and write his own review.

But just then, he noticed there were more images. He clicked on the next one and found a piece in Clerical Script. Its quality was also top-tier.

"These two pieces were written by the same person? No, it's not just two—there are more! My God, Cursive Script, Running Script... This person has reached a godlike level of mastery in every single style! This... this... this..." Qiu Zhong's jaw dropped. After a long moment, he finally choked out, "Who in the world wrote this? Is he... even human?"

At that exact moment, countless others were sharing Qiu Zhong's shock and thoughts.

Zhao Yuan's few pieces of calligraphy had instantly gone viral in the domestic calligraphy and collection circles.

And they were a massive hit.

The news had even reached the calligraphy circles of Japan and South Korea.