CH 169

The people of Qing Nation silently watched the excited citizens of Jing Kingdom.

"Don't lose heart, there's still a chance! Bring out the Mid-Autumn Festival poem by the Poetry King, it will surely dominate over all!"

"Yes, as soon as Fang Yun's poem is released, immediately suppress him with the poem of Lord Poetry King!"

While everyone was celebrating, Feng Yuanjun and Fang Yun were discussing the matters of Dragon Pavilion in a corner of the city tower.

After a while, Feng Yuanjun whispered, "I didn't want to say this when there were many people around. Your poem 'Ode to the Sun' is clearly rhymed, there's no problem with it. However, the last two lines of the original text are far less powerful than the first two. The last line 'The sun breaks through the clouds, Divine State is red', the 'Divine State is red' should be a reference to 'Red County, Divine State' from 'Records of the Grand Historian'. But those four words 'The sun breaks through the clouds' subtly imply the struggle between emperors, which is why it made the Golden Sun Dragon stronger. What does it refer to?"

Fang Yun thought to himself that this Feng Yuanjun, who was about to become a Hanlin Scholar, was indeed extraordinary. But that was a matter of another world, so he could only change the subject, "We can talk about this later, I'm just curious about what will happen to that Golden Dragon in the end?"

Feng Yuanjun laughed, "Such matters involving the Dragon Clan, I'm afraid even the Sages don't know much about. In the past, there were also imperial poems, and without exception, the soaring dragons that flew out of the poem pages all went to the Dragon Palace. As for what happens to those dragons, some speculate that they reincarnate into real dragons, while others say they become treasures, there are various theories."

Then, Feng Yuanjun changed the subject, "However, every person who writes an imperial poem will receive special treatment from the Dragon Clan. After you enter the sea in the future, as long as you say you are Fang Yun who wrote 'Ode to the Sun', no sea monsters dare to harm you. The Flood Dragon Clan, although closely related to the Demon Realm, would not dare to harm you openly. Even if you are captured by the Dragon Clan in battle, as long as you haven't killed a true dragon bloodline, the Dragon Palace will still treat you as an honored guest."

"I see," said Fang Yun.

A person next to them whispered, "With a special envoy from the Dragon Clan apologizing to you by skinning the Flood Dragon King, the Demon Clan will not dare to target you for the next month or two. Otherwise, those face-saving dragons will definitely rush into the Demon Realm and wreak havoc for several days."

"But..." Feng Yuanjun hesitated for a moment, "Things are different now. Even if you write an imperial poem, you won't be suspected by the royal families of the ten nations, but instead, you will be courted for marriage by the royal family. However, none of the people who have written imperial poems have ever become Sages."

Fang Yun laughed, "So those who can't write imperial poems can become Sages? How many Sages have there been in the world?"

"True, we shouldn't worry about these things. Maybe when you truly become a literary master, you can break through after sitting by the Enlightenment River for a few days." Feng Yuanjun laughed.

At this time, more than twenty soldiers carried two dragon horns into the city tower.

The dragon horns were somewhat similar to deer antlers, but they were larger, harder, and thicker, with a pale yellow color and a faint halo on them.

The Qingjiang Flood Dragon King was not very old, and the two dragon horns were only five feet tall. They were placed on a wooden board, and ten Child Scholar veterans slowly carried them in, looking like they weighed no less than three thousand catties.

A lieutenant explained, "These dragon horns are not ordinary ones shed by the dragon, but contain the essence of the Flood Dragon King's qi and blood, so they are much heavier than ordinary dragon horns. Congratulations, Fang Yun, if you become an Imperial Scholar, you will have something to sharpen your sword with."

All the Presented Scholars and Imperial Scholars present looked at Fang Yun with envy.

There are many ways to temper the War of Words, before the sword is formed, a sword poem can be used to nurture it, and after the sword is formed, it needs to be honed with external objects. Among them, dragon horns are one of the best divine objects, and these demon king dragon horns that were directly cut off are even more top-grade among divine objects. They can be used to hone the War of Words of a Great Scholar.

Prefect Dong said, "The ancient sword of Lord Jianmei, which was honed with a piece of a dragon grandson's horn, is extremely powerful. When the sword comes out, it is on par with the War of Words of an ordinary Great Scholar."

"These two dragon horns are not as good in quality as Lord Jianmei's dragon horn, but they are much more in quantity."

"Fang Yun will not become an Imperial Scholar until at least next year. Why not plant one of the dragon horns in the ground and water it with diluted dragon blood? The grains grown from it have the effect of strengthening the body and prolonging life. It is said that the genius disciples of the Prominent Families of All the Saints grew up eating this kind of dragon blood grain."

"Who says Fang Yun will only become an Imperial Scholar next year? He might become one this year."

"If he becomes an Imperial Scholar this year, it won't be surprising, but it will be difficult for him to become the top scholar. After all, there are several Presented Scholars from prominent families competing for the top scholar position this year. Fang Yun should avoid their sharp edges."

"That makes sense..."

While everyone was chatting, they watched the soldiers carry the dragon horns in front of Fang Yun and put them down.

Fang Yun reached out and touched the dragon horn, which was very smooth, but there was a slight sting when he touched it. It seemed as if an invisible force was repelling him. Fang Yun was greatly relieved in his heart. This was a real dragon horn, a part of the Flood Dragon King's body. The power was still there, and since the Flood Dragon King was not dead, it would naturally repel him, his archenemy.

Fang Yun remembered the look of extreme hatred in the Flood Dragon King's eyes when he was taken away by the Dragon Clan's seal. He smiled faintly.

The little fox curiously walked to the side of the dragon horn, sniffed it lightly with its nose, and suddenly smiled. It opened its mouth to reveal a row of small white teeth and bit hard on the dragon horn.

"Crack..."

A very shallow mark appeared on the dragon horn, but the little fox's teeth made a strange noise, and a small white tooth with blood on it fell out of its mouth.

The little fox looked at the dragon horn in a daze, then looked at Fang Yun, its eyes full of helplessness. It made a soft whimper, as if to say: Hard!

The little fox looked down at the small white tooth on the ground, then looked up at Fang Yun again, its bright eyes full of tears and grievance, as if to say: Pain!

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Fang Yun quickly picked up the little fox, wanting to take a closer look at its teeth, but the little fox kept its mouth tightly closed, tears streaming down its face. It covered its mouth with its two front paws, whimpering and burying its head in Fang Yun's chest, crying as if to say: I lost a tooth! I'm disfigured!

Fang Yun immediately started patting the dragon horn like coaxing a child, saying as he patted, "Look, Nunu, I'm avenging you! I'm hitting it hard!"

After a while, Nunu lifted her head, rubbed her eyes with her pink little paws, glared at the dragon horn, then swung her little paw in a gesture of hitting the dragon horn. She swung several times before she felt satisfied, then jumped down, picked up her tooth, turned her head to look at the dragon horn, her eyes flashing with a vengeful look.

Nunu suddenly stretched out her paw and scratched the dragon horn like lightning, then quickly jumped into Fang Yun's arms, looking at the dragon horn triumphantly, making happy noises, as if she had avenged a great wrong.

Fang Yun was both amused and exasperated by this silly and cute Nunu, and the people around them burst into laughter."Please help me deliver the dragon horn to my home," Fang Yun said.

"Yes!"

The soldiers carried the dragon horn away, and many people watched enviously as the dragon horn left the house.

Feng Yuanjun laughed and said, "This dragon horn just broke off, containing the power of the Dragon King's blood and energy, naturally heavy and hard. After seven days, when the blood and energy are absorbed into the dragon horn, it will become lighter and softer. The dragon horn has many uses. Besides refining the War of Words and planting dragon blood crops, it can be ground into powder for medicinal purposes, even better than old ginseng."

Prefect Dong said, "Fang Yun, you already have the dragon blood ink ingot from Grand Academician Li, so there's not much point in getting another one made from dragon blood. You might as well have them condense your share of the dragon blood into a few dragon blood jade pieces, which are extremely useful. After we become Imperial Scholars, we will receive blood jade from the Demon King as a reward from the court. If we become Grand Academicians, we can get dragon blood jade."

As Prefect Dong spoke, he showed off the Demon King's blood jade hanging from his waist. It was a piece of red jade about an inch in diameter, with a strange light flowing on it.

Feng Yuanjun said, "The blood jade we Imperial Scholars receive is just ordinary Demon King blood jade. Only those who are granted the title of 'Cabinet Advisor' can get Dragon King blood jade. You're lucky, not only are you a semi-minister, but in a few days, we can call you Advisor Fang."

Everyone laughed kindly. The four ministers led the cabinet, and a few high-ranking officials could participate in cabinet discussions, collectively known as advisors. Below them were the "Cabinet Walkers", who could only listen but not participate in discussions.

The scholars of Jing Kingdom were laughing and talking, while the scholars of Qing Kingdom were gloomy.

The scholars of Qing Kingdom sadly discovered that suppressing the scholars of Jing Kingdom used to be like playing a game, but suppressing Fang Yun was so difficult!

The funeral procession of the Liu family was late, the biggest crisis, the flood in Jiangzhou, was swept away, even the Dragon Palace was indirectly helping Fang Yun. If anyone still blamed Fang Yun for the flood, it would definitely help Fang Yun improve his literary reputation. A Talented Scholar wrote an emperor's poem that forced the mighty Dragon King of the holy clan to break his horn and peel his skin, what else do they want Fang Yun to do?

A Qing Kingdom man muttered quietly, "It's just an emperor's poem, not The War Poetry, there's nothing to brag about. The Demon Clan might not even care. If he dares to become a Presented Scholar in front of the emperor, the Demon Clan will definitely send all their forces to kill him!"

"Wait for their poetry meeting, as long as Fang Yun can't produce good poems, we'll make him pay!"

But more than half of the people from Qing Kingdom remained silent. They were completely scared and had given up on suppressing Jing Kingdom. They just wanted to return to Qing Kingdom safely and never set foot in Jing Kingdom again!

Fang Yun was too terrifying!

Only the first disciple of the Poetry King clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, waiting for the last opportunity.

As the sun set, more and more people gathered under the city tower.

A large area was cordoned off under the city tower, with many tables and chairs set up for hundreds of people to sit. Not far away on the street, there were many temporary stalls, most of which were food and drink stalls. Many lanterns were hung on the street, making the area around the southern city tower extremely bright.

The news of Fang Yun writing an emperor's poem and summoning the Great Sun Golden Dragon to dispel the flood had spread throughout the city, and more and more people were rushing here, even more lively than the Dragon Boat Festival.

Many men and women appeared on the street or in the open space, looking up at the city tower, quietly waiting for the excellent works of today's Qixi Poetry Meeting.

Yang Yuhuan and the families of Mrs. Lai and Mrs. Pang, as well as their neighbors, came here.

"This year's Qixi Festival is particularly grand, much more than last year's."

General Lai said, "Of course, today Fang Yun's poem became a soaring dragon, and the government has specially promoted it, with lanterns and decorations, to celebrate Fang Yun and the retreat of the flood."

A bold young girl said, "I heard that if a famous poem is produced at the Qixi Poetry Meeting, and it makes the Cowherd and Weaver Girl stars shine brighter, then everyone present can find their beloved! Fang Yun is so talented, he must be able to."

"Silly girl. We believe that Fang Yun wrote the Qixi poem of Mingzhou, but to stimulate the light of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl stars, it requires a poem that can stabilize the country. There are Qixi poems every year, but the only one that can stabilize the country is the untitled poem 'The distant Cowherd star, the bright Weaver Girl of the Milky Way', the last line 'Across a river of water, unable to speak' is the finishing touch, it has been sung for hundreds of years before it can stabilize the country, even the poem of that day could not stimulate the light of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl stars." General Lai laughed.

"Well... it's not impossible." Fang Da Niu, who was standing next to him, was a little unconvinced.

Presented Scholar Pang smiled and said, "Da Niu, you shouldn't blindly praise Fang Yun! We hope more than you do that Fang Yun's poem can stabilize the country, but we can't talk nonsense."

Fang Da Niu was even more unconvinced and said, "Our young master has written poems that can stabilize the country before!" (To be continued.)