As the saying went, as long as I wasn't embarrassed...
The embarrassed ones would be you.
Seeing that everyone remained silent, Xu Qingxiao said nothing either.
They simply stared at one another.
After a while, everyone finally recovered from their shock.
"Brother Qingxiao, what extraordinary talent! You have my admiration, truly!"
Li Xin raised his wine cup. He had witnessed the birth of a Timeless Verse and watched Xu Qingxiao advance a rank through it. Either feat could make a name resound throughout Southern Yu Prefecture, while the former could even win renown across the Great Wei Dynasty.
Thirty years of honors, dust and earth; eight thousand miles beneath clouds and moon.
Every word was a pearl.
Completely won over, Li Xin bowed to Xu Qingxiao-a scholar's grand salute, expressing respect beyond words.
As Li Xin bowed, everyone else came to their senses and bowed to Xu Qingxiao as well.
This was recognition and respect. More importantly, they knew that Great Wei's literary world had gained another outstanding talent.
They could not judge how far Xu Qingxiao would go, but he would certainly go farther than they would.
"You flatter me, gentlemen. I merely gave voice to my feelings. It was nothing."
Xu Qingxiao returned their grand salute. Having finished showing off, he needed to know when to be humble, or he would seem arrogant.
"No, no, Brother Qingxiao. This lyric of yours is truly a Timeless Verse. Every word is a pearl, ringing in our ears like thunder. Though we cannot compose such a masterpiece, we can still appreciate one."
"You're the one understating things, Brother Qingxiao. Come, gentlemen, let's drink a toast to him."
Li Xin was an honest man-or rather, everyone present was sincere. They would not dare belittle the work; they felt only admiration.
Everyone raised their cups and offered another toast.
Then Li Xin could not resist asking a question.
"Brother Qingxiao, might I ask whether this lyric has a title?"
Li Xin asked.
"Man Jiang Hong: Rage Crowns My Head."
Xu Qingxiao answered without hesitation.
This lyric had been written by Yue Fei in his previous world. Its background suited the Jingcheng Humiliation perfectly, which was why Xu Qingxiao had brought it out to fit the occasion.
Besides, Xu Qingxiao had explained that he had not written it for himself, but for a general.
Naturally, many generals had been outraged by the Jingcheng Humiliation, so it could easily apply to one of them. Once he went back, consulted some books, and found a suitable general to fit the role, the whole thing would be seamless.
As for the content, Xu Qingxiao had made only a few tiny changes. This world had no Mount Helan, but it did have Cloudlink Mountain. It had no Xiongnu, so he had changed them to barbarians.
Without those slight adjustments, it would have been difficult to fit it into this world.
"Excellent!"
"What a title-Rage Crowns My Head!"
"Brother Qingxiao is truly gifted!"
Everyone applauded, thoroughly satisfied with the title.
"Brother Qingxiao, which general did you write this lyric for?"
Li Xin continued asking. His question piqued everyone's curiosity.
"I won't say for now. It would seem a little flattering. We can discuss it another time."
"Gentlemen, it's getting late. I'd like to return and rest, and stabilize my literary qi. Since I'm spoiling your enjoyment, I'll drink three penalty cups before leaving."
Xu Qingxiao had no idea which general this lyric suited, so he hurriedly found an excuse to slip away.
But he was also telling the truth. He wanted to hurry back and imprint his second piece of writing.
Within the ten ranks of the Confucian Dao, each advancement allowed one to form a Confucian Dao divine ability and imprint a piece of Confucian writing. He did not want to delay; he would return first and deal with everything else later.
"Not at all, not at all."
"Go ahead, Brother Qingxiao. Stabilizing your literary qi matters most."
"Brother Qingxiao, I'll come find you tomorrow."
"Brother Qingxiao, are you free tomorrow? I'll reserve a restaurant, and we can drink together."
"No penalty drinks necessary. Hurry back, Brother Qingxiao. Don't hinder your progress."
Everyone spoke up, understanding Xu Qingxiao's urgency. In his place, they would have wanted to leave immediately.
"Thank you for understanding."
Xu Qingxiao still drank the three penalty cups, then turned to leave. Wang Ru followed him, also bidding everyone farewell.
Watching Xu Qingxiao leave, everyone felt a little wistful.
Somehow, the banquet had lost its appeal. Then someone suddenly looked at Li Xin and spoke.
"Brother Li, didn't you say an important guest would be here today? Who was it?"
At those words, everyone finally remembered.
"Princess Yongping and the Heir of Yongping. Something came up at the last minute, so they didn't come."
Li Xin revealed their identities.
"A princess? An heir?"
"Princess Yongping and the Heir of Yongping? What brought those two to Southern Yu Prefecture?"
"Them? Important guests indeed!"
Everyone spoke up, rather shocked.
"I had intended to introduce them to you all, but they're too busy. It wouldn't be appropriate to press them."
Li Xin gave a rueful smile.
The princess and heir were the Prince of Yongping's daughter and son, descendants of a prince. How could Li Xin dare hurry them? Everything depended on their wishes.
Everyone understood and said nothing further.
Meanwhile...
Xu Qingxiao hurried toward the restaurant, with Wang Ru keeping close behind him.
"Brother Qingxiao, you certainly stole the limelight at today's banquet. Since you studied under the same teacher as Brother Chen, I knew you couldn't be ordinary. When your name appears on the golden list and you step into the Golden Throne Hall, don't forget your elder brother here."
Wang Ru followed behind him. Having introduced Xu Qingxiao, he naturally enjoyed a relatively close relationship with him. He had come along to strengthen that friendship.
"I'll always remember your kindness in helping me, Brother. Of course I won't forget."
Xu Qingxiao responded politely. Wang Ru was a decent fellow, but he had something urgent to attend to and did not want to waste time.
Xu Qingxiao's reply filled Wang Ru with excitement.
"Brother Qingxiao, your character is truly noble. Admirable, truly admirable!"
Wang Ru spoke excitedly as he followed.
Soon, the two returned to the inn.
Clearly in a hurry, Xu Qingxiao exchanged a few brief words with Wang Ru, then bounded upstairs.
Wang Ru understood and bore no resentment. He even sought out a waiter and told him to keep an eye out, and promptly stop anyone making a racket so they would not disturb Xu Qingxiao.
Shortly after Xu Qingxiao went upstairs, Chen Xinghe suddenly appeared.
"Brother Wang Ru, why are you still here? Were you waiting for me?"
Chen Xinghe was rather surprised. He had no idea what had happened. He had been studying poetry all this time and had taken quite a while, so he had not expected Wang Ru to still be downstairs.
"Brother Chen, Brother Chen!"
Seeing Chen Xinghe, Wang Ru immediately grabbed hold of him, looking terribly excited.
"Why are you so excited?"
Chen Xinghe was full of curiosity.
"All right, I know. Keeping everyone waiting this long wasn't very proper."
"Come, let's go to the banquet together. I'll apologize to Young Master Li Xin."
"But I didn't delay intentionally. Inspiration happened to strike, and I composed a lyric. I planned to present my humble work at the banquet."
Chen Xinghe mistakenly thought his prolonged absence had displeased someone, prompting Wang Ru to come remind him.
Thus, he looked somewhat helpless and explained why he had not gone.
He could not help a sudden flash of inspiration; he had thought up a fine lyric.
Actually, he had started with a poem, but after struggling with it for ages without success, he had simply switched to a lyric.
Overall, it was quite good, with rhythm and flavor. It qualified as an excellent work-not a peerless lyric, but certainly far better than anything an ordinary person could produce.
"You composed a lyric, Brother Chen?"
Hearing this, Wang Ru grew excited.
"Yes."
Chen Xinghe nodded proudly.
"Wonderful! Come, come, Brother Chen. Let's not delay while everyone's still there."
Wang Ru was extremely excited.
Xu Qingxiao was Chen Xinghe's junior fellow disciple, and he had composed a peerless lyric for the ages.
Chen Xinghe was Xu Qingxiao's senior fellow disciple. If he had composed a lyric, wouldn't it shake heaven and earth?
Without giving it another thought, Wang Ru hurriedly pulled Chen Xinghe along.
Chen Xinghe was already accustomed to all this.
Ah, there's nothing I can do about being so outstanding.
The two disappeared down the street.
Meanwhile, inside the inn...
Xu Qingxiao had returned to his room and entered the Heaven and Earth Literary Palace.
"Congratulations, Brother Qingxiao. To advance two ranks within a month-what extraordinary talent."
Inside the Literary Palace...
The handsome man had already been waiting for some time.
Only a month had passed since Xu Qingxiao entered the Confucian Dao, yet he had advanced two ranks. His speed of advancement was absurd.
"Please don't tease me, Senior. May I ask whether there's still time to imprint a piece of writing?"
Xu Qingxiao gave a bitter smile. Advancing ranks was secondary; suppressing the demonic nature within him was what truly mattered.
"There is. I used the Literary Palace to suppress your literary qi and keep you from truly breaking through. Hurry into the Literary Pool and imprint your writing."
The handsome man spoke.
Xu Qingxiao nodded and, without wasting any words, jumped straight into the Literary Pool.
As before, he sat cross-legged in the pool.
With his first experience behind him, imprinting a piece of writing was much easier the second time.
Xu Qingxiao had already chosen the piece, too. He would use Man Jiang Hong.
He imprinted the verse.
Righteous Haoran qi formed a hurricane around him.
It was much easier than the first time.
The purple righteous Haoran qi formed an embryo. Previously scattered, it now gathered together into an embryo, seemingly nurturing something within.
"Visualize an object."
The handsome man's voice rang out.
Xu Qingxiao immediately came back to his senses and began visualizing his second literary artifact.
What should I form for my second literary artifact?
He had advanced so quickly that he was completely unprepared.
I should think about this when I have some free time. Otherwise, wouldn't it be awkward if I advanced again?
Clinging to the Buddha's feet at the last moment was certainly not a good habit.
A discipline ruler.
An object came to Xu Qingxiao's mind. The ordinary Four Treasures of the Study somehow felt a little low-end.
If I'm making something, I should make something other people don't have.
A discipline ruler it is.
With that thought, Xu Qingxiao began visualizing a discipline ruler.
Three feet long should do.
Forget dragons and phoenixes. I'll depict heaven and earth on its two sides, then add some teachers' sayings. If things go badly and I end up teaching, it'll save me buying a discipline ruler.
A three-foot discipline ruler soon appeared.
Its front depicted the heavens and clouds.
Its back depicted the land, mountains, and rivers.
Admonitions on a teacher's virtues were engraved upon it.
Once he confirmed everything was correct, his second literary artifact took shape.
At the same time, the Literary Brush appeared. Perhaps because he had advanced to the ninth rank, it had undergone a slight change as well: dragon markings now traced its shaft.
The Literary Brush chased the Discipline Ruler. As though possessed of intelligence, the two objects chased each other in circles around him.
After admiring his creations for a while, Xu Qingxiao waved his hand, and the two literary artifacts sank into his body.
Immediately afterward, the purple righteous Haoran qi entered his body and gathered in his eyes.
This was a Confucian Dao divine ability.
His first Confucian Dao divine ability was [Speech]. Xu Qingxiao still had not figured it out, but at today's banquet, he had felt that his ability to resonate with everyone might have something to do with it.
Whether that was truly the case remained difficult to determine.
As for his second Confucian Dao divine ability...
It gathered in his eyes.
[Sight]
It could perceive every art and every object, leaving demons, ghosts, and monsters nowhere to hide. This divine ability was excellent, far better than Speech. At least it served a clear purpose.
Once he finished imprinting the writing, Xu Qingxiao climbed out of the Literary Pool again.
Before you continue