What is going on?
Wang Peng had originally planned to watch Li Feng make a fool of himself, but suddenly he noticed that the atmosphere around him had changed. The phrase "a roc spreading its wings for ninety thousand miles" made even those who knew nothing of poetry feel the heroic spirit within the lines.
Li Feng sighed in a fitting manner, and then his brush moved across the paper: "Entering the mortal world, dreams easily turn to truth; once enlightened, the state of the mind is revealed." Pausing for a moment, he raised his eyes to look at the crowd driven by fame and fortune: "Once enlightened to the Dao, the true self is seen; the shackles of the past are all mere drifting smoke."
Beside him, the green-robed maid's voice was exceptionally melodious, and the three words "all mere drifting smoke" echoed through the entire hall.
The shackles of the past are all mere drifting smoke...
Everyone's heart was inexplicably shaken. What a profound insight this was.
Looking at the artistic conception of this poem as a whole, it was both the poet's entry into the world and his transcendence from it. Yet this elevated state of mind was one they could never possibly attain.
The hall was now so silent that a pin dropping could be heard, as everyone savored the artistic conception of the poem in their own way.
The corners of Li Feng's mouth curved up slightly. He dipped the tip of his brush in ink and then wrote down the final line: "The heavenly gates approach, a hundred fortunes open; flicking the dust, he smiles and asks the immortals to come."
The timing was just right. Tonight, on the night of the Mid-Autumn full moon, a streak of pristine holy light happened to fall through the window into the hall, landing directly on Li Feng as he stood before the platform.
At this moment, Li Feng had undoubtedly become the center of attention for the entire room.
Fortunes open? Immortals come?
The people present felt as though they had grasped something, yet seemed not to have fully comprehended it. But upon hearing the final line, it did nothing to dispel the urge they felt to drop to their knees.
The Second Imperial Highness, bathed in the holy light before them, seemed both newly stepped into the mortal world and yet far removed from it, his realm of existence surpassing theirs by an unfathomable distance.
Especially that final line—"The heavenly gates approach, a hundred fortunes open; flicking the dust, he smiles and asks the immortals to come"—was simply the finishing touch, seeming to have comprehended some profound mystery.
What was most shocking was that the person who wrote this poem turned out to be the Second Imperial Highness, a lovesick fool mocked by the entire capital city. Who could have imagined he was actually an unmatched, supreme talent?
Yunzhu, the courtesan supreme, looked at Li Feng standing in the holy light and actually caught a trace of immortal aura about him. Her heart, which had long grown indifferent to the mundane world, began to ripple.
Li Feng stopped the brush in his hand, slowly raised his head, and looked toward the elders responsible for tonight's evaluation. "I wonder what these elders think of my poem, *Qingyun Chronicles*?"
Originally, he had intended to plagiarize the ambition poem Li Xian had obtained from Old Kang. But compared to the poetry from that parallel world, he found that the poems of this era were all utter trash.
Now that *Qingyun Chronicles* had made its debut, who could possibly compete with it?
"This poem of yours sounds decent indeed, but it's merely decent. You surely don't think your poem surpasses that of Elder Kong, do you?" Wang Peng was determined to win over Yunzhu, and immediately set about mocking him.
Even if the guests present were not master scholars, they still understood how to appreciate poetry, and so they all looked with curiosity toward Elder Qin, who was responsible for the judgment.
"It deserves to be ranked first! The Second Imperial Highness possesses such astonishing talent, and this old man is full of admiration!" Elder Qin, who was in charge of the review, had already stood up and was sincerely cupping his hands in salute toward Li Feng.
Li Feng immediately returned the salute, knowing in his heart that this poem was an absolute trump card. "Thank you!"
"Hold on! How can his *Qingyun Chronicles* compare to Elder Kong's poetry! Old man Qin, are you favoring him just because he is an imperial prince, hoping to make a political comeback through him in the future?" Wang Peng suddenly grew anxious and stepped forward to block the decision.
At these words, the guests present could not help shaking their heads, and some even stepped forward to accuse Wang Peng of being rude.
Anyone with even the slightest ability to appreciate poetry knew that *Qingyun Chronicles* was a work that transcended the times, far beyond comparison with those groaning, affectated verses—not to mention that this poem still had them utterly intoxicated.
Elder Qin, who had a good temper, pointed at the original manuscript that had just been submitted. "Regardless of who judges this poem, it is a hundred times better than the one in your hands." He paused, then added, "If this old man wanted to make a comeback, I would not have repeatedly turned down His Majesty's goodwill! Stop casting malicious aspersions here, or else I wouldn't mind visiting your estate and asking Prime Minister Wang how he goes about educating his children!"
"What an absolute fool!"
"Such a stunning, world-shaking piece of work, and he still refuses to accept it!"
"It's debatable whether that poem of yours is even by Elder Kong, but in any case, it's inferior to *Qingyun Chronicles*!"
...
The guests present naturally possessed a certain level of appreciation, and compared to the affected and posturing ambition-seeking poem Wang Peng had brought out, the difference was like heaven and earth.
"Impudent! This is Elder Kong's poetry. In our Xia State, how many people are more learned than him?" Realizing that he might truly lose Yunzhu, whom he ached for day and night, Wang Peng continued to assert his authority.
In order to win Yunzhu, this supreme beauty among mortals, he had pulled out all the stops and even spent a huge sum of money to beg Elder Kong for this poem. Now, to find his poem inferior to Li Feng's was something he could accept under no circumstances.
Since his poem was written by Elder Kong, he had every reason to crush all competition. Tonight, Yunzhu was supposed to be his, and he was to become the most envied man in the entire Xia State.
Li Feng smiled faintly, and looking at Wang Peng, whose face and neck were flushed red, he said, "Wang Peng, are we competing in learning and status today? You keep insisting this is Elder Kong's poetry, so why don't you ask whether it's actually Old Kang's poetry instead?"
Had history not been altered, he would have lost to Li Xian as well, since Li Xian was holding a piece by Old Kang. Swaggering about like this now probably meant Wang Peng still thought he, the Second Imperial Highness, lacked real power.
"This is Old Kang's poetry?" Wang Peng asked, looking as soul-less as if a basin of cold water had been dumped over him.
Oh?
The guests present all cast their gazes toward Li Feng, full of curiosity about the author of this poem.
If it truly was the work of that grandmaster of poetry, Old Kang, then Wang Peng was destined to make a fool of himself, and was essentially bringing utter humiliation upon his own head.
Yunzhu, the courtesan supreme, looked at Li Feng with deep confusion, wanting to know the answer to this riddle as well: did this man possess heaven-defying talent, or had he, just like Wang Peng, stolen a prompt and sought out powerful outside backing?
Naturally, Li Feng was not going to reveal the true original author, so he said with teasing amusement, "It is not! Even I only just found out the poetic prompt, so how could I possibly have arranged for someone else to ghostwrite it in advance?"
"If it's not, then that settles it! How can your poem possibly compare to Elder Kong's? This is utterly absurd!" Relieved, Wang Peng immediately raised his voice to interrogate him.
Li Feng knew the person before him was trying to play dirty, but he was no fool either. "If I had just said *Qingyun Chronicles* was a poem by Old Kang, you'd probably have already conceded defeat! Now that I say *Qingyun Chronicles* is my own poem, you're acting all high and mighty again. May I ask whether tonight's gathering at Plucking Stars Pavilion is a competition of poetry or a competition of status?"
"If true learning is what decides who takes first place, what is even the point of a competition?"
"Just look at how the Second Imperial Highness mentioned Old Kang just now—his arrogant bluster completely vanished!"
"It's bad enough that you're devoid of any real learning, but you can't even tell the difference between good and bad poetry, and you're just out here embarrassing us scholars!"
...
Quite a few guests present had already been won over by Li Feng's talent. Combined with the fact that the vast majority of them loathed Wang Peng, they now stepped forward one after another to voice their support for Li Feng.