After finishing, Yan Yukong picked up the page bearing his Nation-Quelling Poem with both hands, nodded gently, and said, "For years, I have wanted to compose a poem in praise of Fang Yun, but every draft I worked out in my head fell short. Hearing Master Chi's poem today was like having a window opened in my mind, and inspiration came surging up. At last, I have fulfilled a wish of many years."
Sitting beside him, Zong Wude asked, "What wish?"
"To have Fang Yun look at my poetry and say, sincerely, seriously, and honestly, 'A fine poem!'" Yan Yukong smiled.
Everyone smiled in amusement. Perhaps this was the wish of every scholar.
Ji Anchang looked at Yan Yukong, furrowed his brow, and quietly asked those beside him about Yan Yukong's background.
Many people from Qing Kingdom, however, glared angrily at Yan Yukong.
These people had stayed to watch Qing Kingdom's scholars overwhelm Jing Kingdom's in a literary contest. With Fang Yun absent, this was a golden opportunity that came once in a thousand years. Yet Yan Yukong, a man of Qing Kingdom himself, had actually helped Jing Kingdom and praised Fang Yun.
Simply reciting a poem in praise of Fang Yun would not have mattered much. But Yan Yukong's poem praising him had reached the nation-quelling level upon completion. This meant that unless Qing Kingdom produced a Nation-Quelling Poem or essay with even greater literary qi, it would suffer an utter rout.
Yan Yukong had practically cut off every avenue by which Qing Kingdom's scholars could attack Fang Yun.
Some people from Qing Kingdom whispered among themselves, while others spoke aloud. They dared not attack Fang Yun openly and resorted only to insinuations.
"Alas, the moral climate worsens by the day. Smothering a man with praise does him grievous