Hit the Real Thing, Grand Prize

To participate in the poetry gathering, one had to pay a tael of silver as a prize. After paying, a servant would bring pen and ink. Once the guest had written something, it would be sent to the Top Scholar Pavilion for scholars to critique.

If a poem is selected, it will be posted.

The Zhuangyuanlou (Top Scholar Pavilion) is known for its high standards; despite the large number of participants, it's considered good if only two or three poems are actually presented.

On this autumn evening, the topic is obvious and needs no guessing:

'Moon.'

"Give me a pen!"

Wu Chushu puffed out his chest, confidently pulling out the silver, exuding an air of arrogance.

He prepared meticulously for today!

Xiao Wu considers himself to have good writing skills, although he hasn't written any new works recently.

But his master, Elder Zeng, was a cultured man!

You can tell from the Elder Zeng always had a book in his hand.

He copied this poem from his master. When his master wrote it out, scholars and poets praised it wildly, saying that this poem should only exist in heaven and is rarely heard in the human world!

That's Xiao Wu's confidence!

Do you have any wine?

"Sir, you only gave one tael of silver. Our Top Scholar Pavilion's wine costs at least three taels of silver per pot..."

"I'll add more money!"

So Wu Chushu gulped down the wine, and after his face turned red, he 'brewed' it for a while before his brush moved swiftly and powerfully.

Judging from his unrestrained and wild style, it must be the work of a poet like Li Bai.

"I've heard that Elder Zeng is exceptionally talented in literature and is even known as a 'poetry madman'."

"Luckily, there was more than one prize, otherwise I'm afraid I might not have been able to win it."

Little Li stepped forward, took the pen from the servant, and smiled shyly.

It's plagiarism, after all.

He was too embarrassed to publicize the plagiarized poem; he was just secretly happy to receive a prize for his work, which was appreciated by the author.

"Everyone has their own expertise, Young Hero Li cannot be proficient in everything."

Wu Chushu had indulged in his wild poetic passion, and a smile returned to his face.

Bai Jinghong and Cao Mu exchanged a glance, both seeing the silence in each other's eyes.

Xiao Wu seems to genuinely believe that Elder Zeng is very talented in literature...

Have you forgotten that you killed six bandits, and it was exaggerated into wiping out the entire mountain stronghold?

At this time.

Li Mo also put it down and returned to his original spot.

What did you write?

Ying Bing saw the servant carrying two pages of paper into the Top Scholar Pavilion and couldn't help but feel curious.

He often spouts strange and unusual words and rhymes.

But I've never seen him possess any literary talent.

"Don't worry, getting a prize back won't be a problem."

Li Mo frowned.

Ying Bing vaguely remembered.

When Li Mo was a child, Uncle Li Mo hired a tutor for him.

After only three days of instruction, the Little Li, saying he couldn't teach him.

The private tutor arrived with dark circles under his eyes painted with ink, a mustache, and his face covered in tally marks...

"... I've used this red string for a long time, and I'm quite used to it."

Inside the Top Scholar Pavilion.

The city's renowned literati gathered here, circulating and exchanging poems sent from below, critiquing and discussing them.

Sitting in the head seat was none other than Elder Zeng.

It must be said that Elder Zeng has an excellent appearance. Now, dressed in a scholar's robe and sitting there, he truly exudes the air of a great master, profound and dignified.

He was looking at a book with a blue cover, and strangely, the book seemed rather large.

Brother Zeng, what do you think of this poem?

"Barely satisfactory"

What about this one?

"That's a good fit."

Elder Zeng put the scroll away, tucked it into his robes, and remained indifferent.

Suddenly, someone exclaimed:

"They even have poetry of this caliber?"

"Has a masterpiece been published?"

"Tsk tsk, to elicit such an expression from Instructor Song, it must be a work of exceptional talent."

The crowd gathered around.

However, after her initial surprise Instructor Song was filled with displeasure:

"This poem is incoherent, lacks proper tonal patterns and parallelism, and its imagery is completely nonsensical."

"Sending up something of this quality is just a waste of money!"

"Hiss..."

Everyone looked at the poem with quite interesting expressions.

"Hmm?" Elder Zeng stepped forward, his face suddenly twitched, and black lines appeared on his forehead.

Isn't this his 'masterpiece'?!

Just then, someone asked him:

Brother Zeng, what do you think?

"Just a passerby, to be fair... at least his courage is commendable, and his yearning for poetry is worthy of recognition..." Elder Zeng clenched his fist in his sleeve.

The group looked at each other in bewilderment.

Given Elder Zeng's aggressive nature, such a mild evaluation would be inappropriate...

Suddenly, they noticed the signature in the corner:

"Wu Chushu."

I see.

"Hahaha, if this poem isn't too bad, then it's actually pretty good."

"Commendable courage! Commendable courage!"

"I think that although it's not something to be proud of, we should still give a prize as a small encouragement."

After glancing at Elder Zeng's Sword City Elder badge, the scholars no longer looked down on each other.

"Let's first find out which poem best represents the literary spirit of the Top Scholar Pavilion."

"If all else fails, we'll have to brainstorm together."

Elder Zeng smiled kindly as he recalled the sect's rules and how to punish Wu Chushu.

Forget it, I'll stop making excuses and just go in with my left foot first.

Suddenly.

Another gasp came from the side.

"Wait! This one!"

Instructor Song once again showed a look of surprise, his expression incredibly fascinating.

"What's wrong?"

"Let Brother Zeng take a look."

The scholar next to him was startled, but when he leaned closer to take a look, his expression immediately froze.

Elder Zeng frowned, feeling that they lacked any scholarly demeanor.

However, as soon as he received it, his expression froze.

Upon seeing the signature in the corner, his body began to tremble slightly.

He rushed to the edge of the building and looked down.

"Hehe... it really was them..."

"Great, I've found the real deal, hehehe..."

Elder Zeng chuckled foolishly.

Everyone felt that Brother Zeng was truly a man of deep feeling, so engrossed in reading such a fine poem.

"Frame it and get it out of here right now!"

"I'll write it myself! Find a big piece of paper... never mind, let's just use Cloud Brocade!"

Although Elder Zeng had no talent for poetry, he had excellent handwriting.

In the Top Scholar Pavilion.

The servant brought over a Green Jade Hairpin and handed it to Wu Chushu.

Wu Chushu raised his chin and casually handed the hairpin to Miss She beside him.

"Brother Wu is the best." Miss She's voice was very nasal, perhaps because she had a cold.

In front of everyone, Miss She gave Wu Chushu a sweet kiss on the cheek.

"Ha ha."

Wu Chushu was so beautiful he almost couldn't maintain his image as a refined scholar; his mouth was harder to control than an AK-47.

I wonder if I'll still be able to smile when I get back to Sword City.

Ying Bing's eyes flickered slightly.

She saw the pig run away, and couldn't help but glance at Li Mo's face out of the corner of her eye.

"That shouldn't be the case."

Li Mo stroked his chin.

Is the aesthetic sense of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths different from that of the previous life?

Just then, the servant who had left returned, bringing back an exquisite sandalwood box.

"Young master, here is your prize."

"How come it's different from Wu Chushu's..."

When Li Mo opened it, he found a lotus-shaped hairpin inside, but it was made of clear, translucent jadeite, making it much more valuable.

"Congratulations, young master, you've won the grand prize!"

Splash--

The finest Cloud Brocade cascaded down from the Top Scholar Pavilion like waves, bringing with it a beautiful hand of calligraphy.

"The Bright Moon Pavilion moonlit night, its light still as silvery as ever."

The bright moon was its former self. Turning back, it becomes a smile, its serene beauty enduring for thousands of springs.

Its clarity shines through the vast universe like water, and it has also illuminated the smallest speck of dust.

Do not exchange a round face for a frown. On the fifteenth night of the lunar month, the person reflected in the mirror is misled.

The girl's voice trembled as she read it aloud.

Her beautiful eyelashes trembled slightly, her gaze complex after reminiscing, then cleared up like the moon emerging from the clouds.

Don't worry, everyone, that Ice Block and Little Li will be separated for a long time. As we all know, there are many Demon Race in the Southern Border, and Little Li has inherited the Divine Ability power of the Seventy-Two Transformations...

Please support me, it's very important to this poor guy! Mwah!