Chapter 255: Making the News, The National Snowman Challenge!

Ning Fei began to modify the massive snowball.

At first, he only molded a rough outline.

It looked like a misshapen, giant sweet potato.

The viewers found it amusing and joked:

"This horse's body is a bit hastily done."

"Is that weird bulge supposed to be a neck?"

"That's how sculpting works. It starts as a general shape, and then the details are slowly refined."

Ning Fei's hands moved quickly.

He gently scraped away bits of snow from the snowball, his nimble hands slowly carving out textures.

Gradually, the shape of the horse grew increasingly lifelike.

It felt as if the horse's resolution started at standard definition, slowly upgraded to high definition, then ultra-high definition, and finally reached pristine Blu-ray quality.

Ning Fei's craftsmanship left the viewers in awe.

With nothing but his bare hands, he coaxed the perfect shape of a horse out of the packed snow.

This technique was absolutely incredible!

"Temple Master Ning is so good with his hands!"

"Amazing."

"I never knew you could build a snowman like this. I've really learned something today."

"This must be art."

"I think it's magic."

Ning Fei carved out the horse's torso, carefully lifted it, and placed it onto the four legs he had already constructed.

A seamless fit.

The size, dimensions, spacing, and overall coordination were absolutely perfect.

If the viewers hadn't been watching the entire process, they would have thought such a sculpture could only be achieved with molds or precise measurements.

Ning Fei shaped the details exceptionally well.

Viewers could clearly see the sculpted lines of muscle along the horse's body and legs.

"It's so beautiful!"

The crowd marveled.

"Why does this body look familiar to me?"

"Yeah, I feel like I've seen it somewhere before."

"Every horse has a different build."

"Isn't this horse Heishuai? The Black Demon King of the grasslands!"

"That's right, it's Heishuai! I was wondering why this horse looked so handsome and heroic. Only Heishuai has a build like that."

"To think Temple Master Ning is making a snow sculpture of Heishuai right in front of Qingfeng Temple. He really put his heart into it."

Meanwhile, Ning Fei continued working on the snow sculpture.

The body and limbs were just the preliminary steps.

The most crucial part of a horse was its facial features and expression.

Just like painting a portrait, capturing the features and expression was always the hardest part.

Ning Fei went over to the mountain path and rolled up another snowball.

Then, bit by bit, he began molding the shape of Heishuai's head.

With a clear image in his mind and his miraculous craftsmanship, recreating Heishuai's features and expression wasn't difficult.

Gradually, Heishuai's likeness emerged from Ning Fei's hands.

Ning Fei attached the finished snow head to the neck, blending the connection point to ensure a flawless transition.

When the viewers looked again, the sculpture had completely transformed.

Standing outside the gates of Qingfeng Temple was an all-white stallion rearing its head to the sky in a silent whinny. Its posture was elegant, naturally radiating the domineering aura of a king.

Next, Ning Fei brought out a bundle of black yarn. He snipped it into short strips and attached them along the sculpture's neck and rear to serve as the mane and tail.

With that final touch, the snow-sculpted steed looked incredibly lifelike.

"Who else could pull off craftsmanship like this?"

A viewer praised after seeing the finished piece.

"I really have to ask, is there anything Temple Master Ning can't do?"

"Probably just having kids."

"His skills are truly absurd."

"To hand-build a snowman to this level... he's in a league of his own."

"I have a feeling this snowman is going to go viral too."

"Temple Master Ning is a walking trending topic these days. Everything he does goes viral."

"The world of an immortal."

"This horse is gorgeous. If it wasn't made of snow, I'd drop serious money to buy it."

"But to be honest, this horse is still missing a little something."

"Missing something? You don't mean..."

"More like it's missing a certain appendage."

"You guys sure observe the fine details. Now that you mention it, maybe Temple Master Ning wasn't quite thorough enough."

Ning Fei admired the Heishuai he had sculpted with his own hands.

The horse was indeed intensely imposing.

Even though its body was forged from white snow and clear water, it naturally radiated the free-spirited charm of the real Heishuai.

"Deep down, Temple Master Ning must really want to bring Heishuai back to Qingfeng Temple."

Someone commented.

"It can't be helped. The mountain environment is too different from the grasslands. Out there, Heishuai has his herd and the freedom to run wherever he wants. The mountains just don't have that kind of space."

"Yeah. It's all mountain trails and dense forests, and the ground is constantly sloped. A grassland horse could never adapt to running here long-term."

"A steed like Heishuai was born to run in the wind his entire life."

"Is this the legendary 'I fell in love with a wild horse, but there's no grassland in my home'?"

The viewers were entirely right.

Ning Fei really did want to bring Heishuai back.

But just as the internet had deduced, a myriad of constraints made it impossible.

However, sculpting Heishuai in front of Qingfeng Temple managed to fulfill that desire in his heart.

Little Dog looked at the sculpture, circling the snowy Heishuai and barking from time to time, as if confused as to why the big guy wasn't moving today.

"Little Dog, come back inside."

Ning Fei admired the snow sculpture for a moment longer before turning back to Qingfeng Temple and calling out to the pup.

A gust of wind swept past. The snow sculpture of Heishuai stood tall against the breeze, looking as though it were guarding the Daoist temple.

What Ning Fei didn't anticipate was that the video of him sculpting the snowman would be edited into clips and once again surge to the top of the trending charts.

On platforms like Weibo and Douyin, the likes and comments rapidly multiplied.

Everyone marveled at Ning Fei's ingenuity.

His nimble hands were even dubbed "The Hands of an Immortal" by his female fans who had a soft spot for attractive hands.

Moreover, the viral nature of Ning Fei's video sparked something larger.

It kicked off a "National Snowman Challenge" across the internet.

On Douyin, countless netizens answered the call, building snowmen right outside their front doors.

There were caped swordsmen, Olaf from Frozen, adorable big-headed snowmen, and a wide array of animals.

The whole country was swept up in the snowman craze.

This trend had an incredibly positive social impact.

It encouraged people to step outside in the winter, get moving, and enjoy the surprises brought by the heavy snow.

The most impressive entry in the Snowman Challenge, however, came from a certain army group.

Right there in the snowfield, they constructed a scaled-down model of the Liaoning aircraft carrier.

It earned countless likes from awe-struck netizens.

Before anyone knew it, Ning Fei's single action had escalated to a nationwide phenomenon, sparking the people of Huaxia's enthusiasm for the snow and promoting social harmony and development.

The very next evening, he made it onto Huaxia's 7 PM national news broadcast.

The broadcast dedicated two full minutes to the story.

The anchor announced:

"As the saying goes, a timely snow promises a good harvest. This year, the heavy snow arrived earlier and stronger than usual."

"Yet beneath this heavy snow, the public's passion for life hasn't diminished in the slightest. Sparked by a serene and tranquil Daoist priest, a snowman challenge is currently sweeping across all parts of Huaxia."

"People are showcasing their creativity with a diverse array of sculptures, resulting in a vibrant blossoming of winter art."

"This reflects our people's hopes for an ever-improving life and highlights everyone's uplifting, spirited attitude."

"However, we would still like to remind everyone that winter is cold, so please be sure to bundle up and prevent frostbite."

As the anchor spoke, a montage of various snowman designs played on the screen.

Among them, Ning Fei's snow horse received the longest screen time.

Seeing this segment, viewers flooded into Ning Fei's live-stream room to offer their congratulations.

What was true prestige?

This was it!

Temple Master Ning hadn't just made the news; he had been publicly praised by the national broadcast.

The upper management at Douniao Live was shocked beyond words.

Since when did live-streamers get praised on Huaxia's national news?

How did he pull this off?

Just by building a snowman?

But the executives saw something deeper.

The lifestyle Ning Fei pursued was, to a certain degree, completely in tune with Huaxia's core social themes, promoting the nation's positive values.

Huaxia naturally wanted someone like him to spread that positive energy even further.

After finishing the broadcast, A Duo put down her mobile phone, mumbling to herself with a dumbfounded expression:

"A live-streamer personally recommended to the public by the state."

"With this kind of glory... he's probably the first in history."