221: Chapter 221 What is the Way Through Literature?

First Scholar of the Capital walked up quickly, closed the folding fan in his hand with a natural motion, bowed to Ouyang Wanqing, and wore a genial smile on his face:

"I, Zhang, have met Young Miss Ouyang; I have finally waited for you.

It has been a few days, and Young Miss's refined aura has become even more impressive."

Ouyang Wanqing bowed slightly, her expression calm: "Young Master Zhang is too kind."

After the pleasantries, First Scholar of the Capital's narrow eyes naturally turned to Chen Shanzhi, who was standing to the side wearing a white jade mask.

"I wonder who this brother is...?"

Up close, Chen Shanzhi didn't even need to guess to clearly capture the flash of jealousy and hostility deep in First Scholar of the Capital's eyes.

He had seen this expression far too many times on the faces of those clowns.

To put it bluntly, he just felt that his "forbidden prize" had been touched by someone else and was anxious to come out and assert his ownership.

Behind his mask, Chen Shanzhi curled his lips in amusement.

For this type of person, he usually felt it was a waste of time to even look at them for a second, let alone pay attention to them.

Thus, Chen Shanzhi treated First Scholar of the Capital as air, not even bothering to acknowledge him.

He turned his head directly, pretending not to hear, and continued to admire the familiar weeping willow nearby.

The air instantly became eerily quiet.

The genial smile that had originally hung on First Scholar of the Capital's face froze completely in that instant.

His hand was still frozen in mid-air, the knuckles slightly reddened.

The talented scholars nearby, who were preparing to watch the show, all widened their eyes and secretly gasped.

This masked guy is too arrogant, right?

First Scholar of the Capital is the number one scholar in the capital!

He actually dared to ignore First Scholar of the Capital directly?

First Scholar of the Capital's hand, hidden under his moon-white wide sleeves, clenched tightly, his knuckles making a faint sound, and the anger in his eyes was about to erupt.

Having mixed in the capital for so long, he had always been surrounded like the stars around the moon wherever he went. When had he ever suffered the humiliation of being treated like air in public?

But after all, he had some depth; he forcibly took a breath and suppressed the monstrous anger in his chest.

He still couldn't figure out the specific relationship between this masked man and Ouyang Wanqing.

If he attacked rashly and displeased Ouyang Wanqing, it would be a loss that outweighed the gain.

"Hehe..."

First Scholar of the Capital gave two stiff, dry laughs, retracted his hand without a trace, and turned to look at Ouyang Wanqing, his tone still gentle:

"Young Miss Ouyang, since all the guests have arrived, why don't you announce the start of the Poetry Gathering?

Everyone is a bit impatient to exchange knowledge with each other."

When speaking the words "exchange knowledge," First Scholar of the Capital turned his head slightly and glanced at Chen Shanzhi obscurely and sinisterly.

A cold sneer couldn't help but curl at the corner of his mouth.

Pretending, are you?

Fine, once the Poetry Gathering starts, this Young Master will definitely humiliate you severely in poetry.

I will make you lose all face in front of Ouyang Wanqing!

In the shadow beside the rockery of the water pavilion, a masked man was also standing at this moment; it was the First Prince.

Wearing a Confucian robe that had been washed until it was slightly faded, it really set off the lonely air of a down-and-out scholar.

He also wore an agarwood mask on his face. Although the material wasn't top-tier, it was just enough to completely cover that royal face, which was extremely conspicuous in the capital.

Since he had made up his mind to approach Ouyang Wanqing as a "reclusive scholar," he naturally couldn't expose his true face in broad daylight.

In order not to appear abrupt among this bunch of self-important literati, he had changed into plain clothes early this morning and snuck into the Prime Ministers Mansion through a small door in a low-key manner.

In the back garden, like an ordinary bystander, he held a teacup and chatted with those aristocratic youths waving folding fans.

After a whole morning, he had almost figured out the ins and outs of this circle of talented scholars in the capital.

As the daughter of the Prime Minister, Ouyang Wanqing was usually arrogant, and her standards were naturally sky-high.

Those who could catch her eye and be invited to the Poetry Gathering were naturally not mediocre people.

These scholars all possessed some genuine Literary Dao Qi to a greater or lesser extent, and were by no means the straw bags outside who only knew how to write lewd doggerel in brothels.

In this world, Qi is not only a manifestation of literary talent, but also a kind of mysterious power.

When a scholar puts pen to paper, if their literary talent is good enough, they can produce Qi.

However, the best poems written by the vast majority of scholars in this pavilion in their lives could only produce white Qi.

In this world, Qi is divided into five Ranks from low to high: white, green, blue, purple, and gold.

(Previously in Chapter 211, I forgot to mention this setting of Qi, but I added it later in Chapter 211.

However, to prevent readers who have already read it before the update from not knowing, I added it here too.)

As for that First Scholar of the Capital, who is known as the number one scholar in the capital, he did indeed have some real skills.

The masterpiece he wrote on a flash of inspiration could produce green Qi.

Green Qi is already considered rare among the younger generation.

This is also his greatest asset for being able to gain a foothold in the capital's literary circle and being looked upon highly by Ouyang Wanqing.

Thinking of this, the First Prince's mouth, hidden behind the mask, couldn't help but rise slightly, revealing a smile of being sure of victory.

Green Qi is indeed rare.

But for today's battle, the First Prince forced several top-tier retainers in his mansion last night.

They stayed up until their eyes were red, and they forcibly put together three wonderful poems for him that were enough to trigger green Qi!

As well as a dozen poems with white Qi.

Who else could be the winner of today's Poetry Gathering besides the First Prince?

If one speaks of the methods of Cultivation in this world, although they are strange and varied, this "Entering the Dao through Literature" is definitely a bizarre method that makes people both love and hate it.

Martial Artists who enter the Dao through literature, besides Cultivating step-by-step in their daily lives, can also improve their cultivation by absorbing and refining the Qi contained in works.

Moreover, some exceptionally gifted people can even comprehend some mysterious Divine Abilities with strange and unpredictable attack methods from those works containing Qi.

When fighting in the same Realm, Martial Artists who Cultivate the Literary Dao can often play Martial Artists who Cultivate pure martial arts in circles.

But in this world, there has never been a perfect thing.

The First Prince lightly pinched the jade pendant at his waist with two fingers and sneered in his heart.

The path of entering the Dao through literature sounds good in Great Jiang; it is often said that one can compose poems at will and attack with words.

But in reality, in the eyes of true top-tier Martial Artists, this is just a dead end that leads nowhere.

Because Martial Artists who enter the Dao through literature have a fatal drawback, which is that when breaking through every major Realm, they must absorb and refine enough Literary Dao Qi corresponding to that Realm.

To put it simply, if you are a Martial Artist of the Literary Dao at the Profound Gate Realm and want to open the Heavenly Gate, ignite the Life Fire, and step into the Life Fire Realm.

Then you must have on hand a work that can produce green Qi and can generate resonance with the Qi, and completely refine that Qi into your body.

Only then do you have the qualifications to achieve a Breakthrough in your Realm.

Then you can go look for that glimmer of Opportunity to break through.