Shen Ran?
The tenth son of the Heavenly Dao?
He just appeared like that?
Should I kill him right now?
Although I don’t know his cultivation level, 500 points should be enough for a “Divine Strike,” right?
But what if he has a life-saving artifact like Xiao Feng?
Countless questions flooded Wei Changtian’s mind.
After a brief moment of contemplation, he decided to hold back for now and observe how the situation unfolded.
After all, tonight’s main task was to deal with the Liu family, so it was better not to stir up unnecessary trouble.
With a quick decision made, Wei Changtian’s expression gradually returned to calm.
He quietly shifted to the side of the boat and asked Liang Zhen, who was watching the commotion with great interest, in a low voice:
“Liang Uncle, what’s Shen Ran’s cultivation level? Can you see it?”
“His power is at most sixth rank.”
Liang Zhen had already observed him, so he immediately gave an answer: “But he’s not following the Daoist path; he should be cultivating according to the Confucian school’s method.”
In the vast world, although the paths to cultivation differ, the methods are countless.
It’s just that most Da Ning warriors follow the Daoist path.
Wei Changtian wasn’t surprised, and after a moment of contemplation, he whispered a few words to Liang Zhen before sitting back down and remaining silent.
Meanwhile, Shen Ran in the pavilion spoke again:
“People say that there’s no first in literature, but I don’t think so.”
“Good is good, and bad is bad.”
“My poem is clearly better, yet you all humiliated me just because I’m not from Da Ning.”
“This behavior is truly laughable.”
“Anyway, I came to the Spring Dragon Poetry Gathering today for one person alone.”
“Susaint……”
Turning his head to look at Su Wu, Shen Ran asked slowly: “I wonder if you can have a poetry competition with me?”
“……”
To be honest, Shen Ran was quite arrogant, but his attitude towards Su Wu was still decent.
However, these words sounded like a provocation to others.
Who do you think you are to compete with the Saint?
No one believed that Su would lose to Shen Ran, but no one was willing to let Su take the stage to defeat Shen Ran either.
One was a national poet, the ceiling of the poetry world.
The other was a small, unknown figure from another country.
This kind of competition, even if won, would be a shameful victory, and although it wouldn’t make them the laughing stock of the world, it would still be a humiliation for the Da Ning poetry circle.
Therefore, before Su even responded, a chorus of angry voices erupted from the surroundings.
“Arrogant! You think you need Su Saint to take you down? I can do it myself!”
“That’s right! If you’re so confident, then I’ll take you on!”
“You’re not even worthy of comparing yourself to Su Saint, but I suppose you don’t have that chance anyway!”
“Count me in!”
“And me!”
“…”
In an instant, over ten people stood up, some confident in their own poetry skills, others driven by hot-blooded impulsiveness.
But regardless, the momentum was building.
Seeing their own country’s literati so spirited, the thousands of “literature enthusiasts” watching from the lake shore also cheered loudly.
“This is it! This is the backbone of Da Ning literati!”
“Let this kid know what it means to be surpassed by others, to be overshadowed by the heavens!”
“A young lady of sixteen, from a wealthy family, whoever can win, I’ll gladly be their attendant!”
“This young lady is truly a heroine among women!”
“…”
It could be said that everything was in favor of the Da Ning literati at this moment.
Everyone present felt that Shen Ran would soon be defeated and become the laughing stock of the literary world.
Only Wei Changtian didn’t think so.
Heaven’s chosen one, did you think this was a joke?
Someone like Shen Ran, who would be the main character in any ordinary online novel, might not even be surpassed by Su himself, let alone by this group of mediocre people?
They were just pawns to be used by the main character.
Wei Changtian had already begun to feel sorry for the Da Ning literati, who were now overflowing with confidence, eagerly wanting to be the first to take the stage and make a name for themselves in the Da Ning literary circle.
As for Shen Ran, he was calmly watching this scene, a faint smile on his lips.
“Since that’s the case, then let’s begin.”
“No need to rush, you all have your chances.”
……
……
The moon had set, the stars had risen, and the scenery of the lake remained as beautiful as before.
However, except for Shen Ran and Wei Changtian, everyone else’s mood was far from beautiful.
The cheering and shouting on the lake shore had long since disappeared, replaced by an eerie silence.
In just a short two hours, eight famous Da Ning literati, eight completely different small topics, and then… eight consecutive losses.
Shen Ran wrote eight poems, each one capable of stirring up at least dozens of golden carp jumping out of the water.
On the other hand, the best of the Da Ning literati could only manage around twenty.
And even…
“Plop!”
In the pavilion, a young man with a star-shaped brow and a sword-like gaze sat on the ground, muttering to himself in a near-desperate tone.
“I, I can’t do it, can’t do it……”
“……”
This young master shared the same surname as Shen Ran, named Shen Lu, a renowned talent from Shuzhou, who had just passed the provincial examination as a top scholar last year.
The small topic he drew was “Tides”, although it was a bit challenging, it wasn’t impossible to compose a poem about it.
So, his current performance only revealed one thing – he was intimidated.
Even Shen Ran, who had won eight rounds, was like an insurmountable giant, making Shen Lu lose his bearings before he even started, and it was normal that he couldn’t compose a poem in his panic.
In fact, this was already a surrender, but no one mocked him.
Nor did anyone criticize or get angry.
Perhaps everyone had lost confidence in defeating Shen Ran, just like him.
“Can’t do it, then let’s switch to the next one.”
Glancing at Shen Lu, who was on the verge of collapse, Shen Ran raised his eyes to look at another person.
And this person only exchanged a glance with Shen Ran for a moment before taking a step back, trembling.
This one step had already declared his defeat.
“……”
The gentle breeze rustled the black robes, although there were still many people standing, they seemed to be shorter than Shen Ran.
By the lake shore, numerous people turned their heads away, feeling disappointed, sorrowful, or desperate, unable to bear watching their country’s literati suffer such humiliation.
Until a tall figure slowly stood up from a small boat.
“Enough.”
“Shen young master, let me take over this poem.”
“……”
Let me take over this poem.
The soft voice, six words, was like a powerful stimulant that instantly ignited the last glimmer of hope in everyone’s heart.
Yes!
We still have Su Sheng!
Daning hasn’t lost yet!!
At this point, no one bothered to debate about issues like bullying the weak or relying on strength to intimidate others.
If they couldn’t defeat Shen Ran tonight, the Daning poetry circle would plummet to the bottom, never to recover.
Thousands of gazes converged on Su Sheng, carrying an unbearable weight.
This was a competition between poets from two countries, a competition between literati from two countries. If put more bluntly, it was a competition between the literary paths of two countries.
The crowd, who had come to witness the poetry saint’s style, never thought things would develop to this point.
But they now had no other thoughts, only repeatedly praying.
Su Sheng, for the sake of Daning’s literary path, for the dignity of Daning’s literati……
Please, you must win……