It was not that Xu Qingxiao was being modest.
Xu Qingxiao rather enjoyed listening to everyone chat and banter. After all, casual conversation could yield useful information.
But asking him to compose a poem? How was he supposed to do that?
The problem was that the downside of being well liked had now surfaced.
"Exactly, exactly! Brother Qingxiao looks positively brimming with talent. Compose something for us."
"I have great faith in Brother Qingxiao. Come, come, don't be modest."
"Yes, Brother Xinghe is indeed renowned for his poetry. Since you studied under the same teacher, Brother Qingxiao, you surely can't be far behind."
"Brother Qingxiao, go on."
Many people spoke up. Xu Qingxiao had praised them earlier and won their goodwill, so naturally, they wanted to return the compliments now.
This was friendship between gentlemen.
Li Xin, seated at the head of the table, grew curious. Usually, when he invited everyone to compose poetry, they either competed fiercely or picked apart one another's verses after hearing them recited.
When had they ever been so courteous?
This Xu Qingxiao seemed to be somebody of note. A talented man, yet Li Xin had never heard of him? He ought to cultivate a friendship with him.
Li Xin pondered this. Born into wealth and privilege, he had studied from childhood and followed the Prefectural Lord around. Immersed in the ways of the world, he naturally understood that talented people were worth befriending.
Perhaps one day, the other man would soar to greatness and become a valuable connection.
This was his first time meeting Xu Qingxiao, yet everyone treated him with blazing enthusiasm and such courtesy. How could Li Xin not assume he was a man of talent?
"Brother Qingxiao, though this is our first meeting, judging by everyone's praise, you must be an excellent poet. Would you do me the honor of composing a poem?"
Li Xin spoke, personally inviting Xu Qingxiao to improvise a poem.
At that moment, Xu Qingxiao felt even more troubled.
With everyone egging him on, and now even the host asking, would refusing not be a slap in their faces?
But forcing him to compose a poem really was asking too much.
Hmm. Then I'll copy one.
Xu Qingxiao was not much good at composing poetry, but copying it was another matter.
Still, Xu Qingxiao did not intend to pursue the literary plagiarist's path. Being one was no simple undertaking, either. Some poems were timeless masterpieces in his previous world.
But after transmigrating, how could he copy them indiscriminately?
Poetry had to suit the setting and sentiment. If he recited "Gazing at the Waterfall on Mount Lu," which mountain, exactly, was Mount Lu?
He could stretch an explanation for that, but what about poems laden with historical allusions? How could he explain those away? Nobody would understand them.
Thus, to become a literary plagiarist, he would have to know the history thoroughly and make drastic alterations. Otherwise, if he simply forced himself to recite the originals, the wording might be wonderful, but the meaning would miss the mark, and nobody would get the thrill.
Yet faced with everyone's expectant looks, Xu Qingxiao could only rise, sigh, and speak.
"I have studied for barely half a year and am still feeling my way forward. But since you all ask me to compose something, I can only offer my humble efforts."
"However, it is not a poem, but a lyric. I composed it for a certain general, rather than improvising it here."
Xu Qingxiao first downplayed his abilities, then clarified that this was not an improvisation. More importantly, it had been written for someone else, rather than arising from his own feelings.
His words only made everyone more curious.
"Written for someone else? Who?"
"Now I really am curious."
"A lyric is fine, too. Poems and lyrics are much the same."
"For a general? Interesting, interesting."
Everyone was filled with curiosity.
Li Xin lowered his hands slightly, signaling for silence.
The banquet instantly quieted.
Everyone fell silent.
Xu Qingxiao swept his gaze over them, still feeling helpless. But having been pushed this far, he could only grit his teeth and proceed.
Whew!
He took a deep breath, trying to steady his emotions.
Then Xu Qingxiao began.
"My furious hair thrusts up my cap; beside the railing, the driving rain has ceased."
Xu Qingxiao spoke with feeling. As he recited the lyric, an inexplicable emotion stirred within him.
"I lift my eyes, throw back my head and cry to heaven, my heroic heart ablaze."
Xu Qingxiao looked up, as though what lay before him were not a courtyard, but a battlefield riddled with devastation-or perhaps a vast, empty expanse.
At that moment, everyone held their breath.
Xu Qingxiao's voice seemed to possess a contagious power, drawing them into an unaccountable stillness.
"Thirty years of glory, dust and earth; eight thousand miles beneath clouds and moon."
"Do not squander your days."
"Until youth's hair turns white, and sorrow is all that remains."
After the opening's low, measured cadence, Xu Qingxiao's voice rose. "Thirty years of glory, dust and earth; eight thousand miles beneath clouds and moon" rang especially clear, carrying extraordinary force.
The final line, in particular, stirred an inexplicable fervor in everyone present.
"Jingcheng's humiliation remains unavenged."
"When will a loyal subject's hatred end?"
Xu Qingxiao's tone shifted, his voice soaring yet filled with grief, fury, and defiance.
Jingcheng's humiliation had yet to be washed away. When could a loyal subject's bitter hatred finally fade?
That line struck straight into everyone's heart.
They clenched their fists, as though the Jingcheng Humiliation stood before their eyes.
"I shall drive my war chariot through the passes of Cloudlink Mountain."
"With fierce resolve, feast hungry on the invaders' flesh."
"With laughter, drink the barbarians' blood to quench my thirst."
"Then begin anew, reclaim our old mountains and rivers, and pay homage at the imperial court."
For those final three lines, Xu Qingxiao's voice swelled with passionate fervor, fire in his eyes and ambition soaring to the clouds.
The lyric left everyone present profoundly shaken.
Drive a war chariot through the fortifications of Cloudlink Mountain, unite in fierce resolve against the enemy, eat the barbarians' flesh when hungry and drink their blood when thirsty. He would reclaim their old mountains and rivers, then return to the capital to pay homage and report victory.
Excellent!
Truly excellent!
At that moment, the scholars filling the hall came back to their senses.
Their first instinct was to applaud.
Li Xin, especially, was so excited that he lost his composure and cried out in praise.
Nobody had imagined Xu Qingxiao could compose a lyric like this.
In fewer than a hundred simple characters, it expressed the fury the people of Great Wei felt over the Jingcheng Humiliation.
It held both humiliation and ambition soaring to the clouds.
"Thirty years of glory, dust and earth."
"Eight thousand miles beneath clouds and moon."
"Do not squander your days until youth's hair turns white."
Those words thundered in their ears, urging the people of Great Wei not to waste their years.
They must remember at every moment that Jingcheng's humiliation had yet to be washed away, and that Great Wei's sacrifices must one day receive their due.
"Excellent!"
"Wonderful!"
"Brother Qingxiao, you truly possess great talent."
"Timeless Verse! Timeless Verse! This is a Timeless Verse!"
"Jingcheng's humiliation remains unavenged. When will a loyal subject's hatred end? So beautifully said! Brother Xu, I must drink a toast to you."
"To think I would hear such a masterpiece at a banquet like this! I have no regrets in this life, none!"
One by one, the banquet guests recovered their senses. They rose excitedly, offering Xu Qingxiao toasts and praise.
Though their own skill in composing poems and lyrics was lacking, their ability to appreciate them was not.
Xu Qingxiao's lyric had a superb central theme and exquisite wording. Its first half exhorted people not to fritter away their lives, while its second used Jingcheng's humiliation to express the feelings in his heart. Beginning and ending echoed each other. It was truly a fine lyric.
After tonight's banquet, Xu Qingxiao's name would undoubtedly shine.
That was the benefit of such gatherings. Anyone with genuine ability could make a name for himself.
"Brother Qingxiao, I am a little younger than you. The lyric you just composed deserves to endure through the ages. You have my admiration. Allow me to offer you three toasts."
Li Xin immediately stepped down, intending to toast Xu Qingxiao.
But at that very moment.
Streams of pure white energy coiled around Xu Qingxiao.
Literary Qi surged, condensing into streams of Righteous Haoran Qi.
Everyone stared at Xu Qingxiao in astonishment, their eyes full of disbelief.
"He's advancing in rank."
"Brother Qingxiao is advancing?"
"Isn't he entering the ranks?"
"No, he's advancing. Ninth Rank, Aperture Opening."
"Ninth Rank? Brother Qingxiao had already entered the ranks?"
"Good heavens, Brother Qingxiao looks barely past twenty, yet he was already a ranked Confucian Cultivator? I am truly ashamed."
"I cannot compare. I cannot compare."
"Reaching the Ninth Rank at twenty-his future is boundless. My teacher is over a hundred and has only barely reached the Ninth Rank. Brother Qingxiao truly possesses great talent."
"To think I would witness such a marvel with my own eyes: advancing in rank through a single lyric."
Everyone was stunned.
They stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly at Xu Qingxiao.
What had they spent more than a decade poring over poetry and books for? Official service and politics were secondary. Their chief goal was to advance in rank.
Official posts were bestowed by the imperial court.
Ranks were recognition from heaven and earth.
Which was greater, the imperial court or heaven and earth? The answer needed no thought.
Everyone envied him, but they also understood one thing.
After tonight, Xu Qingxiao's name would resound throughout Southern Yu Prefecture at the very least, perhaps even reaching Changping Commandery.
No, he might well become known throughout the nation.
This passionate, stirring lyric was a Timeless Verse. Once it spread, every scholar in the nation would surely know it.
With this lyric alone, Xu Qingxiao could leave his mark in the history books without doing anything else for the rest of his life.
That was what they truly envied.
And now he had even advanced in rank through his lyric. How could they not envy him?
How could they not be astonished?
Great talent!
Great talent!
Such extraordinary talent!
The most excited of them all was Li Xin.
He was the Prefectural Lord's son, burdened with high expectations since childhood. He would certainly enter politics, but surpassing his father would be difficult. Befriending a Grand Confucian, however, would change everything.
Xu Qingxiao was not a Grand Confucian, but he had reached the Ninth Rank at twenty and composed a Timeless Verse. He had every hope of becoming one.
If Li Xin forged a friendship with Xu Qingxiao, his future would be as though aided by the gods.
He was not the only one thinking this. Everyone present shared the thought.
Yet the most bewildered person there was Xu Qingxiao himself.
Xu Qingxiao had never imagined that simply reciting a lyric would make him advance in rank.
Did it have to be this easy?
Why was leveling up in the Confucian Dao so fast? Was there no challenge at all?
But however bewildered he felt, once the Literary Qi entered his body, it transformed into streams of Righteous Haoran Qi and surged into his brain.
The Righteous Haoran Qi seemed to follow some guidance as it flowed into his mind.
Boom!
A thunderous sound exploded inside his head. At that moment, Xu Qingxiao experienced an indescribable sensation.
It was as though everything in his mind had been swept clean, and his Seven Senses had opened.
This was the Ninth Rank of the Confucian Dao.
Aperture Opening.
Once a person's apertures opened, he gained a photographic memory and heightened intelligence.
Just then.
Righteous Haoran Qi gathered in his eyes, nurturing a new Confucian Dao Divine Ability.
In an instant, the Heaven and Earth Literary Palace appeared in his mind, suppressing all the Righteous Haoran Qi within his body.
"Brother Qingxiao, wait until you are alone, then enter the Literary Palace to complete your advancement."
The handsome man's voice sounded. He used the Literary Palace to suppress Xu Qingxiao's Literary Qi.
"All right."
Xu Qingxiao answered within his mind.
The next moment, the surrounding Literary Qi dispersed, and everything returned to normal.
He opened his eyes.
Faces frozen in shock and astonishment greeted him.
For a while, everything was very quiet.
To fit in, Xu Qingxiao went quiet too.
Before you continue