10: Export

At Ganqing Hall in the Great Qian Imperial Palace, Su Ming looked mockingly at the pale Su Yike and said indifferently, “Su, how do you find the latter half of my poem? Does it meet your approval?”

“Do you still insist that this poem was written by you in your early years?”

Su Yike opened her mouth, then gave a bitter laugh.

“Su Ming, I truly underestimated you!”

“I never thought you were hiding so deeply; you even managed to deceive us four sisters!”

Suddenly, her tone shifted, and her voice became sharp.

“However, Su Ming, don’t get too arrogant. Being able to compose a timeless masterpiece doesn’t mean anything. A good-for-nothing is still a good-for-nothing; you can’t make something out of nothing. There are plenty of fleeting talents in the Dagan Dynasty!”

“Although I cannot compose such a poem, I believe that one day Young Master Chen will write one, and it won’t be inferior to yours. We’ll see about that!”

Su Ming shook his head and gave a cold laugh.

“Heh heh, even now, you still want to defend that pretty boy?”

Su Yike stubbornly lifted her chin.

“I am merely stating a fact!”

“A fact??”

Su Ming’s eyes instantly turned cold. He turned to look at Chen Xiuyu, who was biting his lip tightly.

“Chen Dajia says that I am but a fleeting talent, and that you will one day trample me underfoot. Why wait for another day? Since so many people are present today, Young Master Chen, why not compose two more poems to open this good-for-nothing’s eyes?”

Chen Xiuyu’s teeth gnashed, and he said bitterly, “Composing poetry requires the right time, place, and inspiration. How can it be as simple as you say, just writing it on command!”

Su Ming raised an eyebrow and said mockingly, “Is composing poetry difficult? Doesn’t it just require a mouth?”

“Su Ming, don’t think you’re so great just because you wrote one poem! If you have the ability, write another one!”

Chen Xiuyu retorted, unconvinced.

“Hmph, Su Ming, stop showing off here. If you can write another poem, I will apologize to you in front of everyone!”

Su Yike sneered and added fuel to the fire.

“You two said that!”

“A pot of wine among the flowers, I drink alone with no kin. Raising my cup, I invite the bright moon, and with my shadow, we become three.”

“Hiss…”

There was a collective gasp of cold air in the hall.

“This… composing on the spot, so quickly?”

Su Yike’s body trembled, while Chen Xiuyu took two steps back in disbelief.

But Su Ming had no intention of letting them off the hook and continued to speak eloquently.

“Do you not see, the Yellow River’s waters come from the sky, surging to the sea, never to return. Do you not see, in the high hall, the bright mirror grieves over white hair, morning like black silk, evening like snow. One must enjoy life to the fullest when things go well, do not let the golden goblet face the moon empty.”

“Before my bed, the bright moonlight, I suspect it is frost on the ground. I raise my head to gaze at the bright moon, then lower it, thinking of my homeland.”

“Over a thousand mountains, birds have ceased their flight, along ten thousand paths, human traces are gone. An old man in a solitary boat with a straw cape, fishes alone in the cold river snow.”

“.........”

Su Ming recited the Tang poems that he had memorized since childhood, but in the eyes of outsiders, he was speaking eloquently and composing on the spot.

Su Yike’s body trembled violently, a turbulent storm raging in her heart. Finally, she felt a dull ache in her chest and spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Pfft~”

“Impossible!! Impossible!!! Each of these poems is a timeless masterpiece. How could you compose them so casually? Where did you copy them from!!!”

“Ding! Feeling Su Yike’s regret, rewarding 10 points!”

“Su Ming, my Dagan was founded on martial arts. Poetry is ultimately a minor path. I want to challenge you!!”

Seeing himself utterly crushed in poetry, Chen Xiuyu, to save face, actually wanted to challenge Su Ming.

Hearing this, everyone present showed disdain.

“Poetry, when it reaches a certain realm, can connect with the divine. Who gave him the courage to say poetry is a minor path!!”

“I never thought this Chen Xiuyu would be so shameless. He, a Martial Dao Fourth Grade expert, actually wants to challenge someone who is powerless. How dare he say such a thing!”

“The protagonist has been humiliated, rewarding 10 points.”

Su Ming’s eyes immediately lit up. He didn’t expect Chen Xiuyu to be so eager to give him points.

Chen Xiuyu’s old face flushed from being talked about, but he still refused to back down, staring at Su Ming with a ferocious expression.

“Su Ming, if you’re a man, fight me fairly and squarely!”

Su Yiyao pursed her lips. Her beloved was actually humiliated by her good-for-nothing younger brother, which made her very unwilling. She interjected, “My Dagan has been able to resist the Northern Barbarians for so many years, not by poetry and songs, but by the border generals killing them one by one with their blades!”

“Su Ming, if you don’t dare to accept the challenge, obediently apologize to Young Master Chen, and this farce will end here. You will still be the legitimate son of my Su Family!”

Su Yiyao thought that she had given Su Ming a great opportunity. As long as he simply apologized, he would still be the legitimate eldest son of the Su Family, favored by her four sisters. Su Ming had no reason not to accept.

Hearing that even the Martial Saint said so, the others could only obediently shut up and no longer speak up for Su Ming.

Chen Xiuyu’s neatly combed hair was already disheveled. Now, with the Martial Saint as his backing, a triumphant expression immediately appeared on his face.

“Su Ming, I’ll give the Martial Saint face. Apologize to me and honestly admit that those poems just now were copied by you. Today, I will let you off!”

Su Ming’s face showed undisguised mockery, and he smiled faintly.

“Alright, I accept.”

“Good, then apologize!”

Chen Xiuyu thought Su Ming had agreed to apologize. Although he was unwilling, since he had already spoken, he couldn’t go back on his word.

Su Ming looked at him as if he were an idiot.

“Chen Xiuyu, you must have been angered into idiocy by me. I said I accept your challenge, not that I agree to apologize to you!”

“What, he actually agreed? He, a good-for-nothing already hollowed out by women, actually dares to agree to a martial arts match with Chen Xiuyu?”

“He’s getting overconfident, overconfident. Su Ming wouldn’t think that because he has achievements in poetry, he can also crush Chen Xiuyu in martial arts, would he?”

“Chen Xiuyu, at only twenty years old, has already cultivated to Martial Dao Fourth Grade mid-stage, the only genius in Dagan who has hope of becoming a Martial Saint before the age of thirty-five. How dare Su Ming?”

“Open the points store.”

While everyone was stunned, Su Ming silently said in his mind.

The next second, an interface appeared before him.

“Martial Dao Fourth Grade Great Perfection Realm, requires 40 points.”

“Martial Dao Fifth Grade Great Perfection Realm, requires 50 points.”

“Wu Shen Body, requires 80 points.”

“Undying Sword Body, requires 200 points.”

“.........”

After a quick glance at the rewards in the points store, Su Ming unhesitatingly spent all his available points to exchange for the Martial Dao Fifth Grade Great Perfection Realm.

Others didn’t know, but he knew that Chen Xiuyu, with his protagonist’s halo, was not some Martial Dao Fourth Grade mid-stage, but Martial Dao Fifth Grade mid-stage!

And according to the novel’s typical plot, it was highly likely that the protagonist could even have a small cosmic burst at the end, unleashing even greater power.

To avoid capsizing in a ditch, it was safer to directly exchange for the Fifth Grade Great Perfection Realm.

.........