"Let's paint Mum and Dad," Kailen murmured.

The first stroke hit the canvas.

"Imitation. Passed that... Painted a lot of stuff way back on Earth—exact copies of objects, sceneries, people. Let's aim higher."

Kailen's focus deepened. His brush moved slowly; each stroke, however, carried weight.

As stroke bled into art, Kailen wasn't painting pictures anymore—it was something more…

His heart was still. His mind was simultaneously quiet.

And somewhere between a breath and another, he let go—completely.

No control. No resistance. Just quiet surrender.

His hand moved on its own, as if it was guided by something unseen.

Each motion was smooth and calm… yet behind that calmness flowed everything he'd buried deep within.

Sadness. Longing. Pain. Anger. Emotions he felt at their loss.

All of it mixed, bundled together, poured out—through his being, through the brush, onto the painting.

Every color trembled and shone with it, and every stroke carried weight.

And in the middle of it all was that one emotion that tied everything together—love.

Love that hurt.

Love that remembered.

Love that refused to fade.

It was the purest emotion he'd ever felt.

A single feeling that was made from many.

A truth that no brush dared fake.

A truth that carried every ache, every memory, every breath he'd taken since they were gone.

The world seemed to quieten, as if turning to observe.

The air around him quieted, as if listening.

His brush finally stopped.

Quietly, Kailen, caught in his own world, deeply staring at the masterpiece of his parents—his father smiling, arms softly caressing his mother's slightly swollen abdomen—sighed, then a silent tear vanished from his eye as soon as it appeared.

And for a moment, even the light in the hall seemed to bend around the painting.

From Bonevald to the students, they felt it.

Without even looking at the painting, the emotions from it drew them in—like a magnet.

The pain, the anger, the sadness, the longing, the bitterness of loss…

They felt it, radiating from the obscured painting at the back seat of the lecture hall.

Their hearts stirred with profound realization.

Emotion.

The second realm of painting.

How?

Riba Harker stood rooted in the same spot, shocked.

"Was this bastard messing with me earlier?"

However, he brushed the thought away. Kailen Darkhaven was certainly new to painting.

"So how could he achieve the second realm of painting I've been trying to reach for so long, with just a few strokes, after he just delved into painting?"

This thought sent hammers of shock clashing through his being.

He had never been this humiliated in his life.

"Did he just…"

"Incredible… extremely incredulous!"

"How did he—"

"When I think of the crazy feats of this Kailen Darkhaven up to now, it's at this moment I'm realizing he can't be judged with common sense. Even the criteria for measuring geniuses falls short when it comes to him," someone couldn't help but comment—a sentiment equally shared by several individuals.

"The second realm of painting has to do with bringing your true emotions to life in a painting. But the subject of emotions is a very complicated topic, and learning to evoke them into the art of painting is extremely elusive. This is why it's no small feat to break through to the Emotion Realm.

What did this child have to endure to make him easily resonate, tap into his emotions, and be this true to himself?"

Bonevald's unintentional muse—barely a faint whisper—did not escape the ears of the students, staring at Kailen with profound yet complex gazes.

As realization dawned on them at the man's words, they couldn't help but also grow equally curious concerning the content of the painting.

After all, they were yet to directly set eyes on it. However, the emotions bled into the painting had already drawn them in.

This question rippled through various minds across the lecture hall.

The instructor's figure flickered. He appeared before Kailen.

"May I?"

"Sure," Kailen faintly nodded.

The man stared at the painting, eyes glued to the scene.

Bonevald didn't know how it happened.

However, a tear silently fell from his eye.

The weight of emotions that rippled through his being when he stared at the painting was hard to describe.

It was like a wave that swept through him.

He stared back at Kailen, then sighed.

So this was where he drew those emotions from.

How sad.

The instructor, with Kailen's permission, floated near the center of the hall—Kailen's painting floating behind him.

The students leaned forward with curious gazes, eager to see the painting that made even Instructor Bonevald stunned—and shed a tear.

The painting floated calmly still, in the center of the lecture hall.

It was as if time itself had paused—and the whole world had come to a stop, even time itself—just to listen.

Everyone shed a tear, and their heartstrings tugged.

Even Riba Harker, Kailen's adversary, was momentarily drawn in—completely dumbfounded, magnetized by the emotional complexity of the painting.

The instructor, on seeing their expressions, couldn't help but smile.

He sighed, gaze snapping back towards Kailen.

He was having complicated thoughts.

Bonevald wanted to ask the young man to sell the painting to him.

However, this was Kailen's first painting—and one with which he had achieved the Emotional Realm.

No painter would be willing to sell their first masterpiece—especially one born from this kind of situation.

"Even his mother pales in comparison to his painting capabilities, no doubt."

Reluctantly, the instructor gave in, as the painting left his grasp—floating calmly under several gazes towards Kailen.

The moment the painting landed in his hands, Kailen kept it away in his storage ring.

He nodded towards the instructor, calmly.

Kailen felt he had achieved a certain grasp on not just his emotions, but that of others, after achieving the Emotional Realm of painting.

His Detective Gimmicks skill could help him detect lies and truth—and their underlying motivations.

However, achieving the Emotional Realm of painting helped him understand the emotional state of people.

It was as if their emotions were drawn like a canvas on their faces.

This was why he had nodded towards Bonevald.

He discerned the emotion of desire for his painting on the instructor's face when Bonevald stared at the painting.

Kailen was relieved the instructor had not made a scene and handed it back to him without him having to deal with unnecessary cliché drama.

After all, this instructor was a Rank 3 beginner-stage Galactic-level lifeform.

Having another enemy to deal with was a headache Kailen wanted to avoid, as he was currently trying to get rid of the few in his way.

"So the Emotional Realm does not only help one understand themselves and their emotions, but heightens one's awareness of others' emotional state? Why didn't the instructor mention this? Never mind—it's the results that matter here."

Kailen murmured softly—a murmur the instructor couldn't help but faintly hear.

His eyes widened in surprise.

"This kid managed to tap into Emotional Resonance—the state where a few Emotional Realm painters can lean into the emotional state of others? How is this… ah, this kid is someone that eludes common reasoning."

The instructor couldn't help it—he was shocked once more.

As for the students, they were strangely unable to hear Kailen's murmur, certainly because they were weaker and didn't have the perception capabilities of the instructor.

"You all know what to do."

The Treant calmly addressed the class.

He was someone at the Living Scene, but it was painting etiquette to congratulate anyone who made it to the Emotional Realm—although it was one realm below the Living Scene Realm.

Without any hesitation, they all turned towards Kailen, calmly seated at the back of the lecture hall.

The instructor led the gesture—he bent low at the waist, his back forming a near-perfect right angle.

The students followed suit—Riba Harker included—gnashing teeth covered in fat lips and cheeks.

"Congratulations to Emotion Realm painter Kailen Darkhaven."

Kailen had read up on the norms related to the traditional culture of painting.

He returned the bow politely.

"Thank you, fellow painters."

After that, each turned back to face the front, gazes directed towards the instructor.

The lecture resumed—with students more zealous to prove themselves than before.

Each had also realized that Kailen Darkhaven was not being proud earlier like they had thought.

They had simply underestimated him.

They had heard rumors of the rivalry between Selena Darkhaven and Instructor Bonevald during their time as students of the academy in the painting class.

They, however, didn't expect her son too—to be such a monster in the realm of painting.

To achieve the Emotional Realm of painting in just a stroke, though, required more than just skill.

Emotions, after all, were extremely complex to resonate—and resonating what one truly felt concerning a memory one wanted to bleed into an artwork was not easy.

Had it been that simple, many would have achieved the Emotional level of painting.

But this seventeen-year-old had achieved it in a single stroke—when he was new to painting, just like them.

The more experienced ones, however, felt everything they knew about painting was crumbling.

Some of them, like Riba, had been on the cusp of breaking through to the Emotional level—stuck in this state for decades—yet this fellow, a seventeen-year-old, had done it effortlessly.

They had to meet him after the lecture for some pointers!

Those that were associated with Riba Harker naturally avoided him, knowing the bad blood between him and Kailen.

If they wanted Kailen to give them some pointers, how could they associate with him?

Kailen remained calm, still thinking about why he felt a sudden resonance to the Living Scene Realm during the instructor's painting.

Achieving the Emotional Realm may have made sense to him, but the connection he felt towards the Living Scene Realm was not normal.

He knew it would take time and effort to get to that level, but it wouldn't be too long.

That made him all the more curious—and perplexed—at the reason for that connection.

However, he had no answers, no matter how long he thought.

The lecture, however oblivious to his thoughts, wore on .

***

👋 Guys Thanks for reading this chapter .

Hope you enjoyed it ?

Please kindly read this webnovel on webnovel okay? If you are reading this on a pirated website .

Pirated sites make us lose income and rankings .

Your support on webnovel means I can keep updating chapters of the novel.

Just search for the novel on the webnovel site or app and it will pop up .

Thanks for understanding

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.