CH 207

Night fell, lanterns were lit, and the full moon hung in the sky.

In the academy square, numerous Dragon Palace Night Pearls were arranged, with the largest one hanging above the literary conference high platform, illuminating everything within a three-mile radius as if it were daylight.

All the streets leading to the academy were jam-packed with people, so crowded that even the rooftops were filled with spectators.

For the people of the City of Confucius, attending the literary conference with their families was the greatest reunion.

The high platform for the literary conference was very simple, just a six-foot-high platform. The tables and chairs in front of the platform were already filled with guests. At the round table in the front, there were Great Scholars, Grand Academicians, children of prominent families, or royal relatives.

One table only seated four people, but it was one of the focuses of the entire venue because the four greatest talents of this generation were gathered there.

Apart from the four great talents, the tables belonging to the families of All the Saints also attracted many people's attention.

The Great Scholars, on the other hand, attracted less attention because they were reserved in temperament. Unless one observed carefully, it would be impossible to notice anything special about them.

Those with higher literary ranks paid more attention to these Great Scholars, and a portion of them were focused on the table belonging to the Meng family.

A luxurious Military Marquis carriage was stationed there, with the Tyrant Meng Lintang sitting on it.

The umbrella on the Military Marquis carriage was replaced with a black canopy, and the originally pure wooden exterior was painted, making it look more elegant, causing people to overlook the notorious reputation of the Military Marquis carriage for its ability to move freely among thousands of troops.

Fang Yun looked at the Military Marquis carriage. For hundreds of years, the story of Zhuge Liang riding in a Military Marquis carriage, with a feather fan and a silk scarf, talking and laughing freely, had deeply penetrated people's hearts. Even the Great Scholars who did not seek fame were very fond of the Military Marquis carriage, not to mention that the Treasures of Literature Military Marquis carriage had powerful abilities.

Fang Yun was also looking at the people on the Military Marquis carriage.

The Tyrant had a square face and a wide forehead, thick eyebrows, deep eye sockets, and a very prominent large hooked nose. His gaze was like a lion's, and his aura was like a tiger's. Just sitting there casually made everyone around him feel breathless, even several ordinary Grand Academicians felt oppressed.

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Unlike most scholars who liked to wear scholar robes, he was dressed in a light golden dragon scale armor. The armor was not as bright as ceremonial gold armor, but everyone who saw it could feel a surging power from it, as if a giant dragon could burst out at any moment.

Fang Yun could tell at a glance that it was a real dragon scale of a Great Demon King level, a piece of armor could be exchanged for a city.

Fang Yun's gaze fell on the carved bamboo pen holder on the desk of the Military Marquis carriage. There were four pens in the pen holder, each exuding an aura of talent. The aura of talent on one of the pens was even comparable to that of the Great Demon King's dragon scale, which was a Great Scholar's Treasures of Literature.

And there were three other Treasures of Literature on the desk with similar auras, a paperweight, a pen holder, and an inkstone, all were Great Scholar's Treasures of Literature.

Two words popped up in Fang Yun's mind, tycoon.

Although the Tyrant's gaze was directed towards the high platform, it slightly looked upwards, sweeping over the high platform and looking towards the sky, in fact, he didn't pay attention to anything.

The people of the Meng family who were sitting at the same table with him, whether they were younger, of the same generation, or elders, were all very nervous. Some even secretly looked at his eyes, full of envy and awe.

Every time he blinked, a blood-red meteor would streak across each of his eyes, and the light of the meteor was unpredictable, composed of countless scenes of battlefield fights, which was extraordinarily mysterious.

From beginning to end, the Tyrant maintained the posture of looking above the high platform of the literary conference, whether it was the four great talents of this generation, the four great talents of the previous generation, or the Great Scholars. He ignored them all, looking down on everything.

Under the bright moon, there was no one worthy of the Tyrant's words.

A Wolf Demon Marquis lay at the Tyrant's feet, wagging its tail like a watchdog from time to time, looking at the Tyrant in a pleasing manner.

Fang Yun had seen it with his own eyes that day, this Wolf Demon Marquis scared a Demon General to pee on the street with just a glance.

Fang Yun shifted his gaze away. Thinking of the blood-red meteors in the Tyrant's eyes, he had to admit that the Tyrant had the guts to be fierce.

Having stars in one's eyes was something only Sage Confucius and King Wen had, and although having meteors in one's eyes was far from comparable, it could be said that the Tyrant had a path leading to them because of this. Even if the chance of completing the path was small, it was much higher than those who didn't have it.

The literary conference had not yet begun, and many people were visiting each other, making the scene very lively.

Although Fang Yun had a great literary reputation, he was ultimately a junior, so he had to pay full respect and visit relevant people one by one, such as the Grand Academicians of Jing Kingdom, the prominent families of Jing Kingdom, and the friendly Ji Saint family, etc.

After the visits, Fang Yun returned to the side of the high platform of the literary conference, and by this time, other people also returned one after another.

Li Fanming sat next to Fang Yun, and the big rabbit was sleeping soundly under the chair.

Of Li Fanming's dozen or so classmates, only he had come here in the end.

The two initially just talked about The Holy Land, but as they talked, they began to discuss the people present. Li Fanming pointed out those celebrities one by one, including the Painting Master among the four great talents of the previous generation, the famous Great Scholars who lived in seclusion in the City of Confucius, and the Grand Academicians who held key positions in the Holy Academy, etc.

Fang Yun had read the masterpieces of those great scholars and was eager to engage in discussions with them. However, without anyone to introduce him, he had no excuse to pay a visit, so he could only wait for an opportunity.

As they were talking, two men dressed in the robes of Grand Academicians approached. Fang Yun was surprised. Li Fanming had introduced these two men to him before. They were two Grand Academicians from the Editorial Board of "The Path of the Saints". The status of "The Path of the Saints" was extremely high, and the implicit power of the Grand Academicians was so great that it was frightening, hence the frequent rotation.

Almost everyone around them was well-informed and recognized the two Grand Academicians, Meng and An. Even the descendants of the Semi-Saint Prominent Families dared not act arrogantly and stood up in respect.

The elderly Grand Academician Meng smiled and said, "No need to stand, we are here just to meet Fang Yun. May we have a word with him?"

The crowd looked at Fang Yun with immense envy. It was already extraordinary for two ordinary Grand Academicians to take the initiative to get to know him, but for these two to come without an introduction was almost akin to "requesting an audience", which was the limit among peers. Yet, these two elders did it, showing not only their free-spirited nature but also their high regard for Fang Yun.

With these two "carrying the sedan chair" for him, no one under the Great Scholars could act arrogantly in front of Fang Yun.

"I am ashamed that I did not pay a visit first, but instead had you two come here," Fang Yun said, following the two Grand Academicians to a secluded area near the high platform.

Grand Academician Meng smiled and said, "I review your essays and poems every month, and I thought I knew you well. But you surprise me every month. Not to mention your article making it to the front page of 'The Path of the Saints', you even passed the Holy Land Road as an Accomplished Scholar. I couldn't contain myself and had to come see you."

"You are the one with the demeanor of a renowned scholar, I am not worthy," Fang Yun politely replied.

Grand Academician An on the side laughed and said, "You don't need to be polite with Old Meng. When you're not around, he praises you even more. In fact, we both wanted to meet you several times, but we just couldn't find the time. We didn't expect Luo Wenzong to meet you first. After Luo Wenzong returned from Jade Sea City, he kept praising you, which made us feel a bit jealous. When we were arguing for your poems to be published in 'The Path of the Saints', Luo Wenzong was still sound asleep."

Grand Academician Meng joked, "Be careful, Lord Wenzong might hear you."

Fang Yun teased, "Even if Lord Wenzong hears it, after careful consideration, he would find it too troublesome to deal with and pretend not to hear it. Otherwise, he wouldn't be Lazy Wenzong."

The three of them laughed together.

People not far away occasionally sneaked glances, curious about what the three were discussing.

Grand Academician Meng said, "Your three poems from yesterday's Mid-Autumn Festival will definitely be published in 'The Path of the Saints'. I have already reserved a spot for them. Don't disappoint me today. I have already declared that your four articles will be published in next month's 'The Path of the Saints'."

"I will try my best to write a good poem and make sure to bring honor to Grand Academician Meng," Fang Yun said gratefully. He had heard about these two from Feng Yuanjun and Li Wenying. If it weren't for Grand Academician Meng's strong advocacy and Grand Academician An's covert assistance, his poems would have faced many obstacles.

There were things that the two Grand Academicians could say, but he couldn't, so he didn't mention anything about repayment.

Grand Academician Meng, a straightforward man, laughed and said, "Your poems not only bring honor to me. I was supposed to leave the Editorial Board a few days ago, but Lord Dongsheng said that the Editorial Board needed a Grand Academician like me who has a discerning eye. So, he asked me to stay for another year. Since I have no hope of becoming a Great Scholar, I can devote more energy to the editorial work. Thanks to you."

Grand Academician An laughed and said, "I came here for another matter. In your poem 'Spring Dawn', what exactly does the line 'How many flowers have fallen?' lament?"

Afterwards, the three of them began to discuss poetry and literature, mainly about some doubts in the poetry and literature.

It wasn't until the moon was high in the sky that the two Grand Academicians reluctantly left, agreeing to find an opportunity to have a drink together in the future.

As soon as Fang Yun sat back in his chair, before he could exchange a few words with Li Fanming, the literary meeting began.

Dozens of students from the Kong Family's Music Academy took the stage with their instruments and played the famous piece "Flower Full Moon Night".

After the performance, a young Imperial Scholar walked onto the high platform with a smile. He first said a few words of blessing, then introduced the significance of the Holy Land Literary Meeting, the guests, and related matters. Finally, the Imperial Scholar host announced the results of the Holy Land Road, specifically pointing out that Fang Yun not only broke the record in Jing Kingdom, but also was the only Accomplished Scholar who passed the Holy Land Road.

The host selected the last five Accomplished Scholars from the hundred who could enter the Holy Land to write a poem on the theme of Mid-Autumn on the high platform. Later, someone from the King Wen Prominent Family would control the moon to bestow moonlight on the five of them.

After the host finished speaking, the five Accomplished Scholars went behind the prepared tables on the high platform to write their poems, while Fang Yun looked up at the huge bright moon in the sky.

There was an ancient land on the moon. Officially, it was jointly owned by the Semi-Saint Prominent Families, but in reality, it was controlled by the King Wen Prominent Family. Even the Kong Family could not interfere, because it was a land granted by Sage Confucius to the King Wen Prominent Family.Soon, the five Talented Scholars finished writing their prepared poems. Even though these five were among the best of all Talented Scholars in the world, only two of them managed to produce poems that could be recognized beyond the county. The poetic talents of the other three were not enough to reach even a foot beyond the county, varying from seven to nine inches.

"The five Talented Scholars have finished writing. May the moon's radiance strengthen our human race!" the Imperial Scholar officiant respectfully said.

The five Talented Scholars also raised their hands towards the bright moon in the sky, saying, "May the moon's radiance strengthen our human race!"

At the same time, the light from the brightest night pearl disappeared, and the high platform immediately darkened.

Then, a bright moonlight shone on the high platform, splitting into five, forming five light columns that enveloped the five Talented Scholars. The brightness of the five moonlights varied and quickly dissipated.

Fang Yun saw the eyes of the five people slightly glowing, then gradually fading, with no difference from before.

The five Talented Scholars showed joy on their faces. With the protection of the moon's radiance, entering The Holy Land would be much safer. (To be continued.)