Thick Virtue Seemed Foolish in Its Consideration; Its Majesty Weighed Heavy as Mountains

Immediately, everyone's eyes were focused on Qiu Yan.

Qiu Yan was well aware of the scholars' intentions. He glanced at Fang Ziyan, walked to a table, picked up a brush and ink, and said, "I am not good at poetry, so I will leave the task of composing poems to you talented gentlemen."

As he spoke, he picked up his pen. "However, I, Qiu, have some knowledge of calligraphy, so I've taken the liberty of writing down your works."

The art of poetry requires not only tonal patterns and meter, but also a certain sensibility, to express feelings freely and purposefully.

For Qiu Yan, whether in his past life or this life, he is not lacking in rationality, but he is really not good at emotional matters, so there is no need to be led by the nose by others. Since he wants to suppress the students' limelight and turn his reputation around, he should play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses.

"As a scholar, how can he claim he can't write poetry? He's just showing his ignorance."

Upon hearing Qiu Yan's words, the scholars were immediately invigorated, feeling that they had grasped Qiu Yan's weakness. However, no one openly mocked him, lest they lower their own standards and appear petty. Yet, their thoughts were revealed in their eyes and facial expressions.

At this moment, Fang Ziyan smiled and said, "Since Brother Qiu wants to write, that's fine, but I hope it won't be too much worse than Brother Gu's calligraphy." Qiu Yan immediately understood the malice and provocation in his words, but said nothing more.

Seeing that Qiu Yan did not refute him, Fang Ziyan felt that he had finally turned the tables and stopped being aggressive, instead chatting and laughing with the other Confucian scholars.

The other Confucian scholars were also grateful to Fang Ziyan for turning the tide with just a few words, and there was a subtle sense that they were going to acknowledge him as their leader.

"Just as I expected." Song Qian shook her head. Then she first presented a few couplets, and then used them to introduce a poetry topic. She made the scholars get involved step by step, and each of them racked their brains to come up with a poem that would make them famous.

The scene quickly became lively, with people first playing a relay race, then piecing together phrases, and then someone suddenly had an inspiration and composed a whole poem.

The entire flower hall was filled with laughter and cheerful conversation.

Qiu Yan sat upright at the table, pen in hand, his wrist moving deftly as he calmly and slowly wrote down the poems. Gradually, an inexplicable aura rose from him, enveloping the surroundings, seemingly out of place with the lively atmosphere.

The aura was initially faint and easily missed, but Qi Xin had been keeping a close eye on Qiu Yan and felt that the latter wouldn't be so easily suppressed, so he detected the aura immediately.

"This aura is somewhat similar to that of the great calligraphers I once met in the Imperial City. But those were people whose calligraphy possessed true spirit! Even Gu Yanzhi's writing only had a forced spirit, lacking any real power. This Qiu Yan..."

"Brother, what's wrong?" Yang Dingyuan noticed Qi Xin's unusual behavior. He asked as he looked at Qiu Yan. Then he frowned slightly, his mind wandering for a moment.

In his mind's eye, Qiu Yan's image had subtly changed, as if he had suddenly grown taller and more imposing, exuding an aura of order and discipline, interspersed with a touch of grandeur.

"What happened?"

He closed his eyes and opened them again, and all the hallucinations vanished instantly, but Yang Dingyuan could still sense the aura surrounding Qiu Yan.

"What's this?" He looked at Qi Xin with a questioning gaze.

"Calm down." Qi Xin squinted and waved his hand. "This is going to be a good show today."

Qi Xin spoke, he led Yang Dingyuan. When they reached Qiu Yan's side, his gaze fell on the paper. He took in the lines of words on it and was immediately stunned, his mind reeling!

It took him a moment or two to come to his senses, but his heart was in turmoil!

"Since I refined a soul half a year ago, my mind has become focused and my willpower unwavering. Even if Mount Tai were to collapse before me, I could remain steadfast in my resolve. But now, I was completely captivated by the words on this paper! I was infected and affected by the spirit within, and almost lost myself in it. These words must possess divine charm!"

Thinking of this, he noticed that Yang Dingyuan beside him was still in a daze and hadn't come back to his senses, so he quickly coughed lightly to bring the latter back to his senses.

When Yang Dingyuan came to his senses, he began to breathe heavily, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

"That was close, that was close, I almost lost my composure." He muttered to himself, exchanging a glance with Qi Xin, then both of them turned their heads and looked at Qiu Yan.

These two people are different from ordinary people who appreciate calligraphy and paintings. They have a martial arts lineage and value martial intent and Fist Intent. That's why they reacted so strongly after their minds were attracted by external objects.

"It seems I underestimated this person."

Qi Xin and Yang Dingyuan's actions attracted the attention of other military officers' sons. Several of them came over and glanced at the words written by Qiu Yan.

Once you look at it, you can't take your eyes off it.

The fathers of this group were skilled in martial arts, but their mothers were all well-educated and reasonable, so they had some knowledge of calligraphy. Moreover, calligraphy itself contains a kind of spirit, similar to the Martial Dao Spirit. Once you see the words on the paper, you will be mesmerized and know that it is no ordinary thing.

Originally, the sons of military officers had somewhat looked down on Qiu Yan because of the Confucian scholars' opinions, but now their impressions have been reversed, and several of them who love calligraphy are even more shaken.

Gradually, more and more sons of military officers gathered around.

The entire flower hall was immediately divided into two distinct groups: on one side were Confucian scholars reciting poetry, surrounded by many daughters of officials, with Song Qian being the center of attention; on the other side were sons of military officers, surrounding Qiu Yan, silent and afraid of disturbing him.

The strange aura emanating from Qiu Yan grew stronger and stronger, spreading out and dispelling much of the rouge scent and corrosive intent in the flower hall.

"Hmm?" Song Qian finally noticed the change in atmosphere. She stood up and looked in the direction where Qiu Yan was.

"What's going on? What are they looking at?"

Her action interrupted Fang Ziyan's train of thought.

With a sudden change of heart, Fang Ziyan's inspiration was interrupted, and the emotions he had been cultivating vanished. He had only reached the third line of a seven-character quatrain, and the fourth line, which should have been the concluding line and the finishing touch, could only be barely made to fit the meter in his haste.

"This Qiu Sheng is such a show-off!"

After finishing his poem, Fang Ziyan turned to look at Qiu Yan, then sneered and walked away.

"I want to see what tricks he's up to this time!" Pushing through the crowd, Fang Ziyan reached Qiu Yan, who was writing at his desk. "Oh? He doesn't seem to be acting strangely."

As he was thinking, his gaze fell on the paper.

Qiu Yan was writing was Fang Ziyan's new work, but at this moment, what attracted attention was not the poetry, but the neat and square characters!

Compared to before, Qiu Yan's calligraphy has changed again. On the basis of squareness and uprightness, it has gained a more robust momentum. In the style of horizontal and vertical strokes, there is more magnificent beauty, and it faintly reveals the ancient Primordial World atmosphere. When people look at it, they will naturally feel insignificant and realize that they are just a drop of water in the Historical River.

His Thick Virtue is as profound as a fool's, and his authority as imposing as a mountain!

As the ancients said, "Books are the painting of the heart."

It speaks of human beings, which is a reflection of the mind; it is like observing the mind.

After Qiu Yan's original body went through the Remnant Shedding Grounds, what he gained was not only the Li Trigram and Fire Star, but also an understanding of fire, an understanding of the High Antiquity kings' rule, and a feeling of the spirit of mankind's struggle against heaven and earth in the ancient times.

At this moment, these spirits are all integrated into the pen, flowing with the ink, imprinted on the paper, transformed into words, and arranged into rows of verses.

What were originally ordinary lines of poetry, when presented through these words, immediately radiated dazzling brilliance.

"This character..."

Looking at the handwriting, Fang Ziyan was completely speechless. Suddenly, a voice came from behind him—

"Do not be angered by setbacks, do not be alarmed by warnings, do not sway by temptations, and do not yield to insults."

Fang Ziyan looked in the direction of the sound and saw Gu Yanzhi's face.

Gu Yanzhi shook his head and sighed, "Only today do I realize how narrow-minded I've been."

"Brother Gu, you..." Fang Ziyan took a deep breath, wanting to say something, but ultimately didn't.

The movements of the two talented scholars attracted the attention of others. Many Confucian scholars came over out of curiosity, and after inquiring a few times, they quickly learned the reason for the matter.

"His handwriting is even better than Gu Yanzhi's? How is that possible?"

"Gu Yanzhi studied under a famous teacher, Yan Wu. Although he repeatedly failed the imperial examinations, his calligraphy was renowned throughout the land, and he was a famous talent in his youth."

"I need to go and see for myself whether it's really good or just a sham."

As the saying goes, seeing is believing, and when all the scholars saw Qiu Yan's calligraphy, they all felt the spirit within it.

"His writing has captured the spirit of the subject; he has already reached a high level of mastery!"

"How old is Qiu Yan! Yet his writing is so elegant!"

"He previously excelled at solving riddles, and now he's shown off his calligraphy skills. With this talent, what does it matter if he can't write a single line of poetry? He can still be famous for generations to come."

Instantly, the atmosphere in the flower hall changed, and the overall mood of the literary gathering shifted dramatically. The momentum that had been brought back by Fang Ziyan's few words vanished in an instant.

"This Qiu Yan ..." Song Qian frowned slightly. She had also seen Qiu Yan's handwriting and was secretly surprised, unsure of what to do. "Isn't he a cultivator? Why is he willing to spend time practicing calligraphy? Could he be a Literary Star talent, practicing both calligraphy and cultivation?"

As for the young ladies of official families who had originally gathered around Song Qian, they were all in high spirits after they understood the whole story. These young ladies were always interested in the romance between talented men and beautiful women, and Qiu Yan's situation was full of twists and turns and had a legendary feel to it, which naturally made them think about it.

The youngest girl, in particular, nimbly weaved through the crowd and ran to Qiu Yan's side in one breath.

However, just as the atmosphere of the entire flower hall was completely tilting towards Qiu Yan, who was the focus, suddenly stopped writing, looked up, and turned her gaze to the entrance of the flower hall.

Thump!

Suddenly, a heavy thud was heard, and a servant in blue robes flew in from outside the door, landed on the ground, and struggled for a few moments.

"You ungrateful wretch! Saying you'd only let the prince in, what a joke! We are the prince's personal guards, how could we leave for even a moment? Could it be that you Central Plains people have ulterior motives and are trying to lure us away from our position?"

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