Chapter 626: Breaking the Shackles

Chapter 626: Breaking the Shackles

With the stroke of a pen, poetry was born, the white smoke rushed into the starry sky and the golden light never dispersed.

The crowd remained in awe, simply because this poem was beyond their imagination!

If the poetry of the National Academy were to be compared to pearls of rice, Teacher Qin’s poetry would be the bright moon high in the night sky.

The difference between the two is like heaven and earth!

How could rice pearls compete with the brilliance of the moon?

Of course, the people of the Peaceful Academy were the most shocked, as this poem was originally written by Qin Feng for them!

With golden wine cups and precious delicacies on jade plates, not to mention putting down their cups and chopsticks, they didn’t even dare to touch them!

In the Imperial City, where the powerful follow the Three, Six, Nine doctrine, they have suffered too much injustice and cold stares since birth.

Though they love to read and write, they couldn’t find a way, encountering obstacles at every turn, drifting through storms and hardships. Isn’t it just like the proverb says – trying to cross the Yellow River with its frozen waters, or climbing the snow-capped mountains of the Taihang range?

The road is difficult...

The road of life is difficult, and so is the road of learning. It’s full of diverging paths, so that it seems impossible to see where the true path and the future lie.

However, after the oppressive gloom of the preceding verses, the final line serves as a crowning touch: “There will be times when we ride the wind and break the waves, hoist our sails straight to the clouds and cross the vast sea.”

The students of the Peaceful Academy murmured softly, silently repeating in their hearts, the phrase “unyielding determination” echoing in their minds as well, lasting through the ages without fading.

The hesitation, discouragement and confusion of before seemed to vanish at that moment.

They raised their heads high, their chests swell, and their eyes seemed to glow with light. It was Teacher Qin who had given them the courage to face the desolation!

And just as everyone’s thoughts were illuminated, an unexpected scene unfolded.

The golden light swirled like the roar of a dragon, and then turned into the waterfall of Clear Qi that hung in the sky, flowing straight down and enlightening the mind!

The students of Peaceful Academy felt as if they had entered a rather mysterious state, the books they had read in the past seemed to turn over in front of their eyes, every word and sentence could be recalled without missing a beat!

Seeing this, Qin Feng’s eyes widened, for these students of his have unexpectedly entered the ninth rank of the Literature Saint Dao Lineage, the realm of Foundation Establishment!

You see, in order to enter the ninth rank of the Literature Saint, an ordinary person has to memorise ten thousand volumes of books, gather them into a literary waterfall in the Divine Sea, and let the Literature Qi pour down on them.

However, even though these students were extremely diligent, even studying late into the night, they were still far from reaching the ten thousand volumes of books required for the first step.

But now, because of a poem, they have all entered this realm, which was truly a pleasant surprise!

The people at the National Academy also saw the clues, and their expressions were quite complex, with envy, shock, but most of all, disbelief!

Mo Siye clenched his fists tightly, his face incredibly sombre.

In truth, everyone present already knew the outcome of this poetry contest. The moment Qin Feng’s poem was finished, it was clear – the National Academy was doomed to a total defeat!

After all, how could ordinary scholars ever surpass the Literature Saints?

The mockery of the impoverished scholars at the beginning was as strong as it could be, and now the faces of those from the National Academy were equally unpleasant.

The muttering and pointing of the onlookers made them wish they could find a hole to crawl into.

Mo Siye’s expression was so grim that it seemed like water could drip from it. He looked up at the waterfall of Clear Qi, which had begun to slowly dissipate.

The Clear Qi turned into golden light and merged back into the white scroll of poetry written by Qin Feng. It was a rare treasure that could imbue scholars with literary talent, something precious and rare in the world!

Mo Siye felt an impulse to claim it as his own, but this impulse was ultimately suppressed by his reason.

He cast a cold glance at the students of the Peaceful Academy, then fixed his gaze on Qin Feng before snorting disdainfully and leading the people from the National Academy away.

“Let’s go!”

Only they knew the extent of their embarrassment.

In stark contrast, the students of the Peaceful Academy were jubilant.

Although they had only won a poetry competition, the significance for them was extraordinary.

Because the shackles called identity theory have been broken at this moment. If they face power again, even if they are not sure of victory, they still dare to face it head-on!

Courage and determination could transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, opening up limitless possibilities.

This was the outcome Qin Feng wanted to see.

In the loft, Emperor Ming laughed heartily, “There are times when one must brave the wind and waves and sail bravely through the vast sea. This boy always manages to write poetry that stirs the soul”.

Glancing back at the crowd, Emperor Ming suddenly raised an eyebrow when he saw his precious Anya staring intently at the figure in black robes without blinking.

The admiration in her eyes seemed to turn into water and drip from her eyes.

“Do I have to help secretly again?”

Eunuch Li was still in excitement, thinking that Emperor Ming was speaking to him, so he immediately asked, “Does Your Majesty have any orders for this old servant?”

Emperor Ming collected his thoughts and spoke slowly, “Actually, there is something I need you to do. A fourth-rank official from the Ministry of Personnel, whose annual salary may not even reach twenty thousand taels of silver, yet his son is lavish with money and says he can take as much as he wants. I’m very curious about that.”

Understanding the implication, Eunuch Li bowed and replied, “This old servant understands.”

Emperor Ming then looked at the group of scholars from the Peaceful Academy and showed his appreciation as well. With the Imperial Examination approaching, he should vacate some official positions in advance for these students...