Dong~ Dong~ Dong~

  The Yandian of Yantu Garden rang out with a melodious bell sound.

  The students of Yantuyuan went to the Yan Temple, today is the competition between Yantuyuan and Huqingfu's two courts, it's a grand event, of course, they have to go and watch.

  Thousands of students gathered inside the Temple of Yan, surrounding it on all sides.

  The center of the Yan Temple is a martial arts arena, on top of which is painted with star charts, and on the ground is painted with yin-yang bagua diagrams.

  Mr. Tang led the students of Huqing Fu into the central Yan Palace.

  "Master Zheng!"

  Mr. Tang saw an old man from Yantuyuan coming out to greet him and immediately walked forward, bowed his head and paid his respects.

  Zheng Shizheng is a leading figure in the literary world, the former crown prince's teacher, with high moral character and prestige, even the emperor would take the initiative to greet him.

  The former crown prince of the Dongtu Empire was surrounded by a large enemy army when he went to the northern border, and the prince, the prince's mentor, and the prince's protector were all killed on the spot. Su Daowei's grandfather also died in that great battle.

  Zheng Shi was the literary tutor of the Crown Prince and did not follow him to the border, thus narrowly escaping disaster. Since the death of the Crown Prince, the Eastern Imperial Court had not appointed another Crown Prince for over a decade. With nothing better to do, Zheng Shi went to the Yantu Garden and became the head of one of its institutes.

  "Mr. Tang." Zheng Shi and Mr. Tang were old acquaintances, he pulled Mr. Tang's arm and sat down on a chair on one side of the Yan Palace.

  Zheng Shi and Mr. Tang took their seats, and the students from both academies who were going to compete arrived at the Yan Palace.

  The judge for this competition was Zhu, the chief instructor of Yantuyuan. He came to the central martial arts arena of Yandian and loudly announced the official start of the grand competition, explaining the rules of the competition.

  "Five trials, two civil trials, three martial trials." Director Zhu's gaze swept across the Yan Temple, "The first trial is a literary competition between Quan Heng and Xu Zhi Xiong."

  Quan Heng is the pride of Yantuyuan, who won the first prize at the Hundred Arts Conference and brought glory to the college. He painted a picture of swallows at the Hundred Arts Conference, attracting a group of swallows, and the painting has reached the level of being almost real...

  Zhu Zongjiao exaggerated the merits of Quan Heng like a flower, without mentioning Xu Zhixiong at all.

  Mr. Tang's icy gaze swept towards Zhu, who was speaking loudly and at length.

  Zhu Zongjiao felt Mr. Tang's gaze, paused for a moment, and said: "Quan Cheng is a rare talent in the art world, but Xu Zhiyong is not weak either. The Xu family has an important position in the literary circle, with several leaders emerging throughout history. As a member of the Xu family, Xu Zhiyong's painting skills are naturally exceptional. He once painted a tiger picture that was hung in a friend's home, which scared to death a thief who came to steal, showing that Xu Zhiyong's tiger painting is so realistic it can deceive people."

  Zhu said finally: "The first game of Wen Bi is like painting, Quan Heng and Xu Zhi Xiong each make a swallow picture, then Zheng Shi judges who's painting is better."

  While Principal Zhu was teaching them how to speak, the students had already prepared their painting tools, paper and various colored brushes.

  As soon as Quan Heng appeared, he immediately caused a group of girls to cheer. He was the first literary king of Yantuyuan and at a young age had already become famous throughout the Eastern Dynasty, especially after winning the top prize at the Hundred Arts Assembly, his reputation in the East far surpassed that of Tang Qian and Yue Tianwu.

  With an air of elegance and refinement, as if a celestial being had descended to earth, he picked up his brush and began to paint.

  The moment he painted, all the light rushed towards him, and every move he made had a rhythm.

  Everyone suddenly ignored Xu Zhiyong, who was painting on the side, and even the students of Huqing Academy were paying attention to Quan Heng's painting. Everyone wanted to see the scene of the famous Quan Heng's painting.

  Hush!

  The painting of Weighing Heart was not yet complete when dozens of swallows appeared in the sky, circling above his work and chirping loudly.

  A magical scene appeared!

  Those dozens of swallows actually made a worshiping gesture, as if they were worshiping the swallow in the painting.

  Is the swallow in the painting the legendary Queen of Swallows?

  The rumors about his painting skills being godly are indeed true.

  Weighing up the final stroke.

  An even more incredible scene appeared, and the swallow in the painting actually flew out of the painting, taking a group of swallows to high altitude.

  It turned out that the swallow was the true energy of Quan Heng condensed, flying out from the painting paper and disappearing after a short flight in the high air.

  Dozens of swallows following Yan Hou saw Yan Hou turn into a wisp of air and disperse, they looked at each other in confusion, flew back to the empty space above the painting paper, and could no longer find any trace of Yan Hou.

  The hall is quiet enough to hear a pin drop, and today I can see such a wonderful painting, it's really a blessing for three lifetimes.

  "Unrivaled as the first of the Hundred Arts Congress, his light painting is unmatched, and his painting level is quietly approaching that of a painting sage."

  "You're indeed worthy of being called the number one talented scholar of the Eastern Empire, I concede!"

  The students of Yantuyuan were in a heated discussion, their eyes fixed on Quan Heng with admiration.

  Xu Zhi-xiong's swallow painting is done, but it only attracted a few swallows to fly around the painting, which can also be considered a good work. Unfortunately, compared with Quan Heng's painting, it's like a small trick versus a big magic trick.

  Xu Zhi Xiong was deeply troubled, he finished the accompaniment for the sake of balance today, with an unbearable fire in his heart, and directly put down his brush to walk away.

  Zheng Shi said: "The first round of competition does not need me to judge, the outcome is clear, and Quan Heng wins."

  With a slight bow, Chao Zhengshi made a slight bow, and the students around him clasped their fists, put away their brushes, and floated away.

  Weighing the pros and cons is just like this, after finishing the painting, he immediately left, if it wasn't for Master Zheng sending someone to invite him twice, he wouldn't have participated in this competition today.

  As soon as Quan Heng left, a group of his supporters in the Yan Palace immediately followed suit and left. It turned out that they had come here just to watch Quan Heng paint, and now that he was gone, they naturally departed.

  Zhu Zong laughed awkwardly and said loudly, "The second round is a guqin competition. Fang Xueqin from the Huqing Mansion is well-known to everyone, she's the number one female guqin player in the Guqin Academy, and a senior disciple of the Eastern Earth's Number One Guqin Master, Mr. Yin. Her 'Long Life' melody made the Empress Dowager think she was a celestial being, and on the spot, she took her as her goddaughter. Tang Yuxian from the Yantu Garden became an imperial court guqin player at the age of eleven, now she's already a guqin teacher for many nobles in the imperial court, several princesses are her students."

  The students saw Fang Xueqin and Tang Yu, who were already prepared in the Yandian Hall, and burst into cheers.

  Fang Xueqin is like an ice and snow goddess, with a high and cold temperament that makes people infatuated, while also giving off a feeling of being able to only admire from afar and not dare to get close.

  Tang Yu is like a neighbor's jade, warm and lovely, making people feel sorry for her, wishing they could hold her in their arms and cherish her dearly.

  "Qinbi, Tang Yu and Fang Xueqin will play the guqin at the same time. Whoever attracts more swallows with their music wins. The time limit is one minute, and the piece to be played is 'A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix'." As soon as Zhu Zongxian finished speaking, his eyes moved back and forth between the two women, even a strong cultivator like him couldn't help but be captivated by their elegance.

  Her face is a delight to behold, her music is sweet and soothing, like a gentle stream flowing from the mountains, evoking a profound sense of serenity.

  Most of the students in the hall were immersed in the musical atmosphere, feeling as if they stood amidst the fragrance of flowers and birdsong, gazing at a distant waterfall, sniffing the scent of flowers, and watching hundreds of birds dancing around a colorful phoenix like stars surrounding the moon.

  Fang Xueqin's zither playing attracted more than 20 swallows flying and circling above her head.

  Tang Yu's zither music also attracted a dozen or so swallows flying and hovering above her head.

  The phoenix's cries echoed through the air.

  Two golden phoenixes flying in the sky, carrying two girls, heard the sound of a zither and suddenly flew towards Yandian. Ignoring the girls' scolding, they circled above Fang Xueqin's head.

  "Fang Xueqin's zither sound can actually summon two golden phoenixes, worthy of being the number one female zither player in the imperial capital, worthy of being Master Yin's top disciple, and worthy of being a zither player who even the Empress Dowager has highly praised."

  "Listening to Fang Xueqin play the piano, the sound lingers in the air and never fades from one's ears."

  Zheng Shigao said loudly: "Fang Xueqin's zither sound can summon two golden phoenixes, her zither skills are above Tang Yu."

  Upon hearing this, Tang Yu stopped playing her lute and a dozen or so swallows flew out from above her head.

  Fang Xueqin stopped playing the lute, and the swallows on her head and two golden phoenixes circled for a brief moment before reluctantly flying out of the Swallow Pavilion.

  Su Dao Xing saw the showdown between Wen Wang for the first time and felt a great expansion of his knowledge. He had not expected Wen Wang to be so formidable, with the birds in his paintings able to fly out of the paper like living creatures, and Fang Xueqin's zither music actually summoning down golden phoenixes, it was truly mysterious.

  On the mainland, Wen Wang's status is still above Wu Wang. It has become a trend to respect Wen Wang, but not many people know about his magical powers. They only know that Wen Wang makes strategies in the imperial court and commands troops, but they don't know that Wen Wang is almost divine at playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, with skills that are truly amazing and breathtaking.

  The two matches between Yantuyuan and Huqingfu ended with each academy winning one match, while the match between Wenwang ended in a draw.

  As for the showdown between the Martial Kings, the students of Yantuyuan have every confidence in their victory. The three Martial Kings who took to the stage from Yantuyuan - Tang Qian, Yu Tianwu, and Su Daolin - which one is not a genius renowned throughout the Eastern Lands? Which one is not a famous figure whose name is known to all? Can they be compared to the likes of Wei Ke of Huqing Manor, Su Daoxing, or Kong Feixuan?

  "In the showdown between the martial arts schools, our Yantu Garden will likely win all three matches and make the students of Huqing Academy cry their way back to Huqing Academy."

  "The students of Huqing Fu are too weak, the three martial kings who appeared are unknown, not a single one is famous, except for Kong Fei Xuan who has some reputation, the other two are simply nobodies."

  "Huaqing Mansion was a prestigious academy that produced saints a hundred years ago, but now it has fallen to such a state. In another hundred years, Huaqing Mansion will probably be completely removed from the list of four major academies."

  The students of Yantuyuan looked down on the students of Huqingfu with disdain, and their condescending attitude almost made Mr. Tang furious.

  "Silence!" Zheng Shifu rebuked loudly as he heard the students of Yantu Garden becoming more and more unbridled in their speech.

  The students of Yantuyuan finally calmed down and quietly waited for the martial arts competition between Wu Wang to begin.

  A sinister gaze swept towards Su Dao Xing, and Su Dao Xing looked in the direction of that sinister gaze, seeing Su Dao Lin. A faint smile appeared on his face. At this point, he no longer considered Su Dao Lin a threat. The gap between him and Su Dao Lin would only continue to grow, and it wouldn't be long before he left Su Dao Lin far behind.

  Tang Qian's gaze towards Su Dao Xing was filled with disdain, he was waiting to humiliate him. As a peerless expert of the same realm, it wouldn't be difficult for him to completely crush his opponent who was one realm lower than him and mercilessly trample him.