Chapter 1976

Hua Song and An Chong, disguised as Gu Masters, enter a famous, very crowded teahouse in the capital of Profound Literature grotto-heaven. Hua Song takes a fifth floor room. From its window, the street where the first round is held is completely packed. He hands An Chong a rank five investigative Gu worm, and through it An Chong sees the talent qi above countless scholars’ heads. Hua Song explains that talent qi alone does not decide results, since scholars must make poems on the spot without cheating, which tests their upbringing and inspiration. An Chong notices that interlinked formations amplify the scholars’ creative thinking, and Hua Song confirms it. ^{ch. 1976}

The mortal tea there was created by Hua Yu in his youth, Hua Song says. Hua Yu was then a rank four Gu Master and the top scholar, so the tea is named the top scholar tea. An Chong drinks it and praises it sincerely as having a trace of human path ingenuity. Heavenly Court’s human path killer moves in the fate war made human path renowned. ^{ch. 1976}

The bronze gate of the first competition ground opens, and the waiting crowd erupts in huge commotion. Li Xiao Bai enters at the back and works out the rules. There are eighteen rounds, each with one question, and only half pass, with the numbers halved again later. A scholar who fails goes back a round, and one who falls out of the first round is out. The competition lasts seven days, with three tries even after being knocked out of the first round. A scholar who fails throughout is not qualified for the grotto-heaven’s help to become an immortal. ^{ch. 1976}

The first arena is an immortal formation space that holds more than a thousand scholars. The first question is spring, with a time limit of five minutes. Li Xiao Bai notes that it seems really easy, since many spring poems exist, but is in truth a tough one, because he must beat half of those around him. He weighs which remembered classic to use, or steal. A legendary one from the start would attract suspicion, since his talent qi is not top tier, so with his luck bad he plays safe. As the scholars compose, each gains Gu worms, cultivation or recovery when the light around them fades. This is the killer move assisting literary talents, which the grotto-heaven’s original owner used before his death and which produced its environment of scholars. ^{ch. 1976}

Li Xiao Bai recites a poem about a moonlit night. His whole body shines in an intense green light, and the scholars around him are forced aside, leaving a huge empty space. The scholars call it a famed poem, and many lose their train of thought and look at him with admiration and suspicion. The green light enters his aperture, and his cultivation level rises. ^{ch. 1976}

At the teahouse, Hua Song feels that a famed poem has appeared and goes to read it. He praises it for using the night scene to conceal the spring light instead of the usual greenery or peach blossoms. Then he asks An Chong what he thinks of the poem. An Chong feels a headache, since he would not see what is good about it without being told, and he must now critique it. ^{ch. 1976}