The banquet soon grew lively.
The people of Qing Kingdom and Gu Kingdom deliberately praised Zhang Longxiang without disparaging Fang Yun, while those from Jing Kingdom praised Fang Yun without disparaging Zhang Longxiang. As for the other scholars, each took his own stance, favoring either Zhang Longxiang or Fang Yun.
Since the Qing Lord and Zong Wuyuan had both suffered subtle setbacks earlier, the people of Qing Kingdom kept their discussions of poetry measured, making the atmosphere at the banquet exceptionally harmonious.
After they had talked for a long while and said nearly everything there was to say, someone proposed that Fang Yun compose a poem. After all, Zhang Longxiang had already written two that day.
Fang Yun smiled and replied that he would certainly take up his brush when he met Zhang Longxiang, neatly deflecting the request.
Time slowly passed. Around four in the afternoon, the banquet was essentially over, and Yueyang Tower had already been tidied up.
Dong Wencong came over and informed the guests at each table that, a quarter of an hour before sunset, everyone should go downstairs to the seating below Yueyang Tower. The tower itself would ultimately be reserved for Fang Yun and Zhang Longxiang's literary duel.
Some remained at their tables, while others stood at the edge of the gate tower and gazed out at heaven and earth. Several Great Scholars were seized by poetic inspiration and, disregarding the fact that the literary assembly had yet to begin, composed poems on the spot, drawing praise from the scholars outside Yueyang Tower.
Fang Yun remained seated, conserving his strength. With the Ji King's official seal in his hand, he could look down over the entire city from high above. Nothing that happened outside Yueyang Tower could escape his eyes.
As five o'clock approached, Fang