The First Marquis of Leisure

The scene fell silent spontaneously, everyone held their breath and stared intently at the two.

One is the Grand Preceptor of the Yan Kingdom, a once-in-a-century genius.

One was a disgraced playboy who was looked down upon by everyone, and the poem he just recited has become his swan song!

The two men represent the pinnacle of literary talent in their respective countries, and also embody the future destiny of both nations!

"What you just wrote was indeed a good poem, though it had a few minor flaws!"

Ji Yun, only eighteen years old, was clearly impatient and spoke first.

Taking the flaws in Bai Xinghe's earlier work, "The Knight Errant," as a starting point, he displayed arrogance and disdain in his demeanor and speech.

This made Bai Xinghe laugh in exasperation!

This was the first time he had ever seen anyone criticize the name card of the banished immortal. Criticizing it was one thing, but to say it had flaws was another.

But he held back, asking in a mocking tone, "Oh? Then this young master would very much like to hear the brilliant insights of Yan's once-in-a-century genius!"

Ji Yun stood with her hands behind her back, her long hair flowing freely.

"Killing, merit and fame—this poem is indeed good, but its flaw is that it was clearly written while drunk, and it's too full of chivalrous spirit, unsuitable for us scholars!"

Bai Xinghe sneered, thinking to himself, "This young man does have some literary talent. The Immortal did indeed compose poetry while drunk, and he is indeed a swordsman."

However, the idea that it has too much of a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) atmosphere and is unsuitable for scholars is pure nonsense!

"Only poems written by us scholars, expressing our concern for the country and its people, striving for self-improvement, or as farewell gifts to friends, or as expressions of pity from courtesans, can truly be considered masterpieces!"

Ji Yun was very confident and started lecturing Bai Xinghe.

Bai Xinghe had lost his patience and interrupted, "Alright, I just got out of death row and I'm in a hurry. Whatever kind of poem you want to write, I'll let you choose!"

"If I cannot compose a poem within two steps, I shall accept defeat!"

What?

You must compose a poem within two steps, and the other person can choose the type of poem they want; otherwise, you lose.

Bai Xinghe himself proposed this condition, which others considered an extremely foolish decision.

Even Zhang Chunqiu and others felt that they were too young and somewhat presumptuous.

After all, Ji Yun is definitely not weak, and this matter is of great importance.

Ji Yun was somewhat annoyed, feeling the contempt from Bai Xinghe.

It should be noted that his growth to this point has been unparalleled; even the term "genius" is insufficient to describe him.

"Ah, your poem is not bad, and you do have some talent, but compared to mine, what is it?"

"Do all people from Yan talk so much nonsense?"

Bai Xinghe showed no mercy and responded forcefully.

This made the already young Ji Yun somewhat agitated, and anger began to burn within him.

"Fine, then let's make it a theme about reminiscing about love!" Ji Yun said angrily.

"That's it?" Bai Xinghe didn't take it seriously at all.

In less than a second, many famous works immediately came to mind.

He stood with his hands behind his back, looked at Himeko, and said sarcastically, "Little brother, listen up!"

"The brocade zither has fifty strings for no reason; each string and each bridge evokes thoughts of bygone years!"

"Zhuangzi dreamt he was a butterfly, and the Emperor Wang's heart was entrusted to the cuckoo!"

"The moon shines brightly over the vast sea, pearls seem to weep; the sun warms the fields of Lantian, jade seems to emit smoke."

"This love can only be cherished in memory, for at the time it was already a regret!"

This time, Bai Xinghe didn't pretend to be profound; instead, he recited the poem quite readily!

But to the others, it was done in one go, without any hesitation or delay!

The entire audience fell silent once again, completely stunned!

"Boy, is that enough? If not, I'll play you another one!"

Bai Xinghe ignored everything else and continued to loudly recite the second song.

"Having seen the vast ocean, other waters seem insignificant; having beheld the clouds of Wushan, other clouds are not worth seeing!"

"I'm too lazy to look back at the flowers I've passed by; half my heart is devoted to cultivating the Tao, half to you!"

Some people have already fainted at the scene, due to excessive excitement.

With both poems completed, the outcome was already decided!

"We won! Our Great Zhao has won!"

"Hahaha, what kind of bullshit Yan Kingdom's Grand Preceptor is he? He's nothing in front of my great Young Master Zhao Bai!"

"We won! Your Majesty, we won! Hahaha!"

Someone in the crowd shouted first, and then thunderous applause and shouts erupted from the crowd.

Everyone was chanting Bai Xinghe's name in unison!

"Young Master Bai, you're amazing!" Zhao Sisi excitedly ran up, disregarding the reserve of a princess, and actually took the initiative to hug Bai Xinghe.

The Eighth Prince, the Third Prince, Zhang Chunqiu, Zhang Zhi, and others all rushed over.

Zhao Tianhe could not hide his excitement. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and led all the princes and ministers over.

Only Li Taibei and his group had extremely grim expressions, a sense of foreboding creeping in!

"Xinghe, you are the savior of the Great Zhao, my benefactor!"

"Tell me what you want, and I will grant it all to you!"

Zhao Tianhe breathed a sigh of relief; the outcome was self-evident.

The Yan Kingdom suffered a complete defeat. The so-called once-in-a-century genius didn't even have a chance to speak in front of Bai Xinghe!

Bai Xinghe didn't ask for anything; he simply kowtowed in gratitude for the so-called imperial favor, following proper etiquette.

"Elder Zhang, Eighth Brother, Zhao Feng, I have wronged you. You are all my benefactors!"

Zhang Chunqiu nodded, his face full of satisfaction.

The weight that had been hanging over my heart finally lifted, all thanks to Bai Xinghe.

"Your Majesty, leave the rest to me!"

Zhang Chunqiu said something, then looked at Li Chentian, whose face was ashen, and Ji Yun and the other Yan envoys!

"Li Chentian, I think the outcome doesn't need to be announced anymore."

Li Chentian did not respond, his mind completely focused on the poem written by Bai Xinghe.

"Later, our Great Zhao will send envoys to your Yan Kingdom to formally sign an alliance!"

Zhang Chunqiu announced loudly.

"This love can only be cherished in memory, for at the time it was already a regret!"

"Having seen the vast ocean, other waters seem insignificant; having beheld the clouds of Wushan, other clouds are not worth seeing."

"No, impossible. How could anyone in the world compose such a poem in such a short time?"

"No, I don't believe it, it can't be, ahh!"

Suddenly, Ji Yun seemed to go mad, muttering loudly, and then ran away.

"Himeko!"

Fearing that something might happen to Ji Yun, Li Chentian and the others shouted and chased after her.

Upon seeing this, the people of Zhao burst into laughter.

At this moment, the people could no longer hold back. Shouting, they broke through the Imperial Guards' blockade and lifted Bai Xinghe up.

"Long live Young Master Bai!"

Countless people joined in the shouting, which Bai Xinghe couldn't resist for a moment.

Fortunately, Zhao Tianhe was so immersed in his immense joy that he didn't pursue the matter further.

Among the crowded people, several were watching Bai Xinghe coldly as he basked in the cheers of the crowd!

One of them was Ji Changzai, the Tian Ce General of the Yan Kingdom.

"General, I never imagined that the useless son we saw during the day was just an act! Even Himeko and Dr. Li were defeated!"

Ji Changzai nodded; he hadn't expected this outcome either.

I had initially wanted to step in to protect Bai Xinghe, but I never expected things to turn out this way!

"General, why don't we contact the Shadow Guards immediately? They've already infiltrated the Zhao court!"

"Absolutely not!" Ji Changzai disagreed, coldly saying, "Remember this: if we want Great Yan to be invincible and sweep across the world, we must rely on reform and strengthening, not on those low-class Shadow Guards and this group of pedantic scholars."

"This general has always despised the pedantic scholars like Li Chentian. This group of scholars has completely put our Great Yan in a passive position this time!"