"Good heavens, now that this 'Ode to the Goddess of Luo' has appeared, all those earlier rhapsodies will probably be overshadowed!"
"Indeed! Lines like 'graceful as a startled swan, supple as a roaming dragon' are beyond what many could write in an entire lifetime!"
"This Luo River Goddess is a character in a book. I just wonder when that book will come out!"
"Yes! When it does, I'll buy a copy-no, ten copies!"
Discussion rose all around, and many people remained immersed in the rhapsody they had just heard, repeating its lines to themselves.
On the arena, Xiao Qin stood before the desk in silence for a long while. Finally, he raised his head and looked at Jiang Xiaobai with a complicated expression. "This rhapsody puts me to shame!"
As he spoke, Xiao Qin cupped his hands. "I admire you. I... concede!"
After those words, Xiao Qin cast an apologetic glance at Teng Zixiu.
With everyone before him suffering one defeat after another, he had hoped to restore some dignity to Northern Yu through his prose.
But now that this "Ode to the Goddess of Luo" had appeared...
How could he possibly compete?
He had never acknowledged anyone as his superior in prose.
Even the great scholars long renowned in Northern Yu had earned only his respect; he had never truly considered himself inferior to them.
Yet hearing this "Ode to the Goddess of Luo" had made him want to fall to his knees.
The gulf was simply too vast!
Teng Zixiu noticed Xiao Qin's gaze, then gently shook his head.
He did not blame Xiao Qin, because... even he was still shaken to his core.
From Jiang Xiaobai's earlier poems to Bring in the Wine, and finally this "Ode to the Goddess of Luo."
Even he had no choice