Chapter 5: A Poem Under Moonlight
With a light chuckle, Long Ming raised his wine glass. " Well, Since Brother Mo proposed it, I can\'t decline it naturally. But then… I would like to see your capabilities first."
Long Ming shrugged. " I mean, If you sing in front of a deaf, That will be both insults for the singer and the deaf, right?"
Mo Zhu\'s face turned dark when he heard Long Ming. " Are you calling me deaf?"
Long Ming gave a smug smile. " Well, That depends on perspective. Brother Mo really thought he is deaf, huh?"
" You!!"
Mo Zhu\'s face darkened as a sharp aura erupt from his body. However, Mu Qinglian placed her cup on the table as he glanced at Mo Zhu.
" I hope everyone remembers the rule of this gathering."
Her voice was soft and pleasant, but it also carried an unparalleled momentum. Mo Zhu snorted.
" Very well, I shall show you the true capabilities of Blissful Sky Temple."
Mo Zhu waved his hand as the wine in the glass started to float. With a stroke, the wine droplets turned into a four liner poem.
" Good! Such a good poem!"
" Brother Mo Zhu is someone who got both scholarly aurae along with his cultivation power."
Mu Qinglian raised her brows. " Indeed, It\'s very good."
Long Ming chuckled. " Well, If this is good… Please, Allow me…"
Long Ming took out the jade brush from the system and dipped it into his wine glass.
With a stroke, Long Ming\'s brush splattered on air as he wrote a poem.
\'Drinking Alone by Moonlight\'
A cup of wine, under the flowering trees;
I drink alone, for no friend is near.
Raising my cup I beckon the bright moon,
For he, with my shadow, will make three men.
The moon, alas, is no drinker of wine;
Listless, my shadow creeps about at my side.
Yet with the moon as a friend and the shadow as a slave
I must make merry before the Spring is spent.
To the songs I sing the moon flickers her beams;
In the dance, I weave my shadow tangles and breaks.
While we were sober, three shared the fun;
Now we are drunk, each goes his way.
May we long share our odd, inanimate feast,
And meet at last on the Cloudy River of the sky.
(Poem by Li Bai)
When Long Ming ended writing, the crowd turned silent. Everyone looked at their wine glasses as their face contained complicated emotions.
Mu Qinglian was shocked when she looked at Long Ming. Mo Zhu almost choked on his wine as his expression turned grim.
Long Ming chuckled. " As I said, If brother Mo\'s poem was good…What is mine then?"
Long Ming\'s voice echoed as Mo Zhu\'s face turned dark. Mu Qinglian\'s face was shocked at first. However, a coy smile appeared on her face.
" My my, Brother Long really hid deep. This poem is truly something."
Mu Qinglian cast a glance at Long Ming as there was a faint smile on her face. Long Ming shrugged as he looked at his jade brush.
[ Treasured Jade Brush: A powerful treasure forged into a jade brush. Anything can be its ink and it can write in any way the writer wants. It also contains some mysterious powers]
Mo Zhu was angry when he heard Long Ming. " Is that so? Hmph! Then I will show you something better!"
*After 3 rounds*
" Impressive! Brother Long\'s poems are quite something! Moonlight and wine, what a great combination!"
" Senior brother Long, your poems really gave me some inspiration. I think I can finally understand the Moon Shadow Sword Art." Xu Min of Six Sword Pavilion stood up as he cupped his fist.
" But I do agree with Brother Long\'s words." Shao Yuan chuckled as he looked at Mo Zhu. " If Mo Zhu\'s poem was good, What will be yours?"
" Hahahaha!"
" You!!"
Mo Zhu glared at Long Ming as if he wished to kill him. Mu Qinglian\'s eyes narrowed. " Mo Zhu, It looks like you are not well-versed in hiding your emotions, huh?"
" Hmph!"
Long Ming wiped his sweat as he couldn\'t help but give a thumbs up to Mu Qinglian.
[ Ding! Host escaped from death! Host gets a random card box!]
Mo Zhu suddenly got up as he couldn\'t help but laugh." Well, Brother Long sure upheld his title as a scholar. I commend him for that."
He sat back as he enjoyed the wine the poem written by Long Ming slowly faded from the air. Long Ming still sat on his chair leisurely. Suddenly, A person stood up.
" Well, These mundane poems aren\'t much good. Fairy Mu, Shouldn\'t we start the next phase?"
Mu QInglian nodded as she stood up. Her dress fluttered as she spoke. " Well, Now, The reason I asked everyone to come here is to show this."
With a wave of her hand, a black stone tablet appeared in the mid-air. It radiated a mysterious force as it floated silently.
" Everyone, This is a Dao Perspective Box. I recently got it due to my luck. So, I hope we all can have fun with it."
The crowd was excited. But some of them needed clarification too. Shao Yuan stood up.
" For those who don\'t know, the Dao Perspective box is both a toy and a treasure safe. It will measure your comprehension of your technique. It looks like a nine veined version."
" The more your comprehension toward a technique the more veins will light up. It is used to measure the comprehension power of an individual."
" Of course, if you light up all nine veins, you might get a treasure. But that depends on fate."
Long Ming and everyone else became enlightened.
\' So, It is like that strength measuring things of the novel, but it measures comprehension?\' Long Ming pondered.
" If that\'s the case, I will go first."
A disciple jumped forward as he touched the stone tablet. " Here comes, My Hundred Battle Fist!"
The stone tablet hummed and soon, one vein turned into golden color. However, the second being was only lit half.
" One and a half vein? Tsk."
Shao Yuan jumped as he touched the stone tablet. A violet-colored qi shrouded him as a serene phantom of purple clouds and the fragrant wind appeared around him.
" Violet Sky Feather Art!"
The purple qi enshrouded the tablet as the suddenly, three veins lit up with golden light. As the phantom around Shao Yuan became stronger, He finally managed to light up the fifth vein.
" Sigh, I guess I still have a long way to go. I need to master my Violet Sky Feather Art more." Shao Yuan laughed.
Xu Min walked forward as he greeted Long Ming. " Thanks to Brother Long, I gained some small attainment in my technique. So, Let\'s see if it will work"
Drawing out his sword, chains of runes started to revolve around it. Long Ming almost closed his eyes as he felt like his eyes going to get pierced. It was so sharp that Long Felt he is going to die by cutting it into pieces.
Suddenly, A warm aura appeared around him as he saw Mu Qinglian standing before him.
\' Ah, So she protected me…\'
Long Ming looked at Mu Qinglian with thankful eyes as he saw Xu Min.
[ Ding! Host evaded death! Host gets Roulette Tickets 2x]
" Moon Shadow Sword Art! Reflection of Moon!"
Suddenly, His sword shone like pale moonlight as if his sword turned into a fragment of the moon.
" HAAAH!"
He slashed out his sword as the stone tablet buzzed. Suddenly, Seven veins lit up at once.
" Seven veins?! Marvelous!"
Shao Yuan chuckled. " I didn\'t think Brother Xu was already on the verge of the Grand Completion stage of Moon Shadow Sword Art."
After that, Mo Zhu went and displayed his art. He also managed to reach six veins.
" Lady Mu, I would like your performance too."
Mu Qinglian gave a chuckle as she walked forward. " Very well, I would like to test my capabilities too."
Suddenly, a scorching aura appeared around Mu Qinglian as flames started to revolve around her. Long Ming was startled as he could feel the heat waves.
" Scorching Summer Art! Radiant Dawn!"
*WHOOOSH!*
A pillar of light and flames descended on the tablet as the veins started to light up one by one.
One…two…Five…Eight!
Mu Qinglian lit up eight veins at once.
" Whoa! Eight Veins! Fairy Mu is powerful as usual."
" Tsk, Only if she could light up nine veins. I wonder if that tablet contained some secret treasures."
Mo Zhu suddenly chuckled as he looked at Long Ming.
" Brother Long, I have admired your poems. Since you are a scholar, I think your dao attainment must be higher than ours. Why don\'t you show us your prowess?"
Long Ming\'s face turned cold as he looked at Mo Zhu. It looked like he was seeking trouble for Long Ming. However, Long Ming stood calmly as he was pondering something.
" I do have the Supreme Comprehension Card. But the thing is, I don\'t have any techniques to comprehend, other than two."
Long Ming got the Shadow Dragon Breathing Method. However, since it was from another world, he doesn\'t know what sort of effect it will show. On the other hand, he does have a second technique.
\' The Sublime Dao Art of Heaven and Earth.\' Long Ming pondered.
The name sounds super imposing indeed. However, if someone in this world hears about this technique, they might die…
Not from shock, but from laughter.
The Sublime Dao Art of Heaven and Earth was the first and oldest technique recorded in the Compendium of Primordial Chaos. However, it could be said the simplest and most primitive technique.
After millions of years, many emperors and sages appeared, bringing their own advanced techniques. So soon, it turned into a situation like an old nokia phone VS latest thin, AI featured smartphone.
But yeah, As a weapon, Nokia is technically superior anyway.
There are absolutely not many who read Compendium of Primordial Chaos or Sublime Dao Art of Heaven and Earth. Like, why someone goes for the oldest and slowest model when they could have countless better options?
However, Long Ming felt strange.
\' Countless techniques came and went. Some became like stars and some were buried in shadows. But this book and technique still passed on.\'
\' Hold up, Doesn\'t the protagonist takes the simplest technique to make makes the most powerful bullshit…cough, dao out of it?\'
Long Ming gulped a mouthful of saliva as he took out the Supreme Comprehension Card.
\' Activate the card! I wish to fully comprehend the Sublime Dao Art of Heaven and Earth!\'