Chapter 924, Part 2: War Song and Killing Intent

Yu Nan was dumbstruck. He had planned to nitpick the poem no matter what Zu An said. After all, literary works were often subjective and didn’t have standard criteria. As long as what he said was logical, he could even make quite a good poem seem worthless.

But that didn’t include absolutely divine works like this! As long as one weren’t a literary idiot, anyone would be able to see the worth of Zu An’s poem. Forget about the scholars of the current age; none of the famous scholars throughout the ages could compare.

If he still insisted on stepping forward, he would only be treated like an utter fool. Someone as proud and arrogant as he would never dare to do such a thing.

Meanwhile, Bi Ziang’s expression darkened. He could tell from the grandeur of the poem that Zu An was definitely not someone who would be content with serving anyone! He might not be able to subdue this vicious tiger. He had to warn his little sister properly so she wouldn’t end up raising a wild tiger.

Gao Ying was so moved that his entire body was shaking. He had already planned to go down with Zu An, but instead, he had been able to personally participate in the creation of such an epoch-marking work!

Even after hundreds of years passed, as long as this poem continued to exist, his name would be mentioned… Wait, they might just say that there was someone who wrote the words on Zu An’s behalf. It might not mention my name, he thought. He lowered his head and wrote with tremendous speed.

Pei You also shared in Zu An’s spotlight. When he saw the others’ looks of awe, he subconsciously stuck out his chest and really wanted to say ‘Zu An is my big bro!’. But he was never able to find a suitable time.

Suddenly, he noticed Gao Ying’s movements. He was confused at first. Isn’t the poem already finished? Why is he still writing? He snuck over and took a look. He saw that Gao Ying had added an annotation stating the date, and that he was the one who had written it in Zu An’s place!

“Screw you!” Pei You immediately wanted to blow up. This guy is going that far?

He wanted to scream out of regret. After all, he should have volunteered to be the one who wrote out the poem! Even though his writing wasn’t that pretty, as long as he could leave behind his name in history, it wouldn’t matter! And yet, who could have thought that Gao Ying, this honest looking fellow, would actually be so cunning?!

The maid in the special room above still wasn’t fully convinced. She muttered, “Young miss, even though this poem isn’t bad, it’s not as great as they’re making it out to be, is it?”

The mysterious woman shook her head. “You don’t understand. The meaning of this poem isn’t only in… Sigh, with how many geniuses the human race produces, when will our race ever be able to revive?”

The maid wanted to ask more, but someone else quickly answered her question. Qin Guangyuan’s gaze scanned over those present as he said, “Even though my humble self doesn’t understand poetry, I understand life in the army. Ah Zu has made me feel as if I were back on the battlefield with just a few words, and reignited my passion. Just this alone already makes this poem extraordinary. If anyone has any objections to this poem, please speak up now.”

Now that he had already spoken up like this, no one else was willing to speak out and make the Qin clan look bad. They all offered their praise toward the poem.

Zu An gave Qin Guangyuan a look of surprise. Wasn’t this relative’s attitude changing a bit too quickly? Even he was getting thrown off.

Qin Guangyuan said, “That’s not all. These impassioned lyrics can be turned into a song by a military specialist and greatly raise our soldiers’ morale. One of the most frustrating things to deal with when we fought against the fiend races in the past was their war music. They would make the enemy soldiers enter a frenzy-like state, which sharply raised both their combat prowess and regenerative ability. We suffered bitterly because of that.

“Afterward, the court continued to research war songs. Even though the Royal Academy has already obtained a general idea of how they operate, we still lack suitable lyrics, which makes our songs far inferior to those of the fiend races. But now, with Ah Zu’s song, our soldiers’ war songs will match the fiend races’, and perhaps even rise above them! Our army will be able to experience far fewer sacrifices!”

Qin Guangyuan’s eyes were already brimming with tears of excitement. As someone born into a militaristic family, he had a natural sense of empathy for that field.

Only then did everyone realize that Zu An had actually written a revolutionary masterpiece! Their empire didn’t excel in literary skills, but rather cultivation. That was why, even if anyone had some accomplishments in the field, their reputation wouldn’t be that great. But if his poem could be turned into a war song, then this meant something completely different! His importance in the court would skyrocket, and he might even be sheltered as a strategic talent!

The maid upstairs cried out, “Ah! That guy was this hateful? Should we look for a chance to kill him then? Otherwise, it’ll be really bad if we go to war again!”

“He’s already created the poem. Unless you kill everyone here, this war song will inevitably be created. Let’s keep watching for now.” The mysterious woman’s eyes flickered with light. To be honest, even she was a bit shaken. After all, who knew if this fellow would continue to create war songs of this level?

Zu An was actually quite surprised as well. Even though he had heard of the military having war songs before, that they had effects similar to formations, he didn’t know how the process worked. But now, it seemed quite simple. I know three hundred Tang dynasty poems and so many Song poems. Am I really going to be someone who brings his own BGM wherever he goes?

“This poem was meant as a gift to the State Duke of Triumph. If it can help the imperial court save our soldiers’ lives, that’s even better.” He took the chance to speak up. There was no way he would give up such an amazing opportunity! If his prestige and importance in the military rose, even the emperor and King Qi would feel some hesitation before touching him.

Qin Guangyuan exclaimed with a loud laugh, “Then I’ll thank you in advance, in place of my grandfather and the soldiers!”

Gao Ying handed over the written poem upon hearing Qin Guangyuan speak. However, Zu An noticed that Nan Xun’s expression was somewhat unnatural. He asked, “Lady Nan Xun, what’s wrong? Are you alright?”

“It’s nothing. Perhaps young master’s lyrics were so fierce that it was a bit difficult for me to adapt to as a girl,” Lady Nan Xun said through a forced smile.

Just then, an ear-piercing voice shrieked, “Didn’t we tell you to make a poem? Why did you end up making lyrics then?”

Those present raised their heads. The one who had spoken was Yi Zhibing. They subconsciously looked toward Yu Nan, assuming that he was the one who had incited it.

Yu Nan’s expression was ashen, and he didn’t say anything. Even though Yi Zhibing’s intelligence was a bit low, he seemed to have provided an interesting turn of events.

Qin Guangyuan was furious. He exclaimed, “Mister Yi, where did you suddenly get the courage to challenge our Qin clan?!”

Those present scoffed. This Qin Guangyuan really was shameless! You seemed to be looking down on Zu An just a moment ago, but just because he gave you some good lyrics, he’s suddenly become a member of your Qin clan?

Yi Zhibing cowered when he saw Qin Guangyuan’s intimidating gaze. He gave Yu Nan a look.

Yu Nan cursed the idiot inwardly, but he could only brace himself and reply, “When did Zu An become a member of your Qin clan? According to what I know, the Chu clan’s young miss has already severed all relations with him. Furthermore, even if they were still married, Madam Chu’s relationship with the State Duke of Triumph was also cut off. As such Zu An can’t be considered a member of your Qin clan at all.”

Qin Guangyuan frowned. “Yu Nan, even though you have some annoying defects in your personality, I still considered you an open and candid person who would acknowledge your losses. Isn’t twisting your words and logic like this going a bit too far?”

Yu Nan smiled and said, “I’ll step down gracefully in the field of reciting poetry. Young master Zu is indeed exceptional.”

The others nodded inwardly, thinking, Indeed, Yu Nan still has some integrity.

But Yu Nan’s attitude quickly changed as he continued, “But he just claimed to possess eighty percent of the world’s talent, so our requirement for him obviously has to be different. We agreed for him to make a poem, and yet it became a song. I feel this is a bit disappointing, no?”

Those who were friendly with Yu Nan voiced their agreement. The others didn’t care if the drama got out of hand, as they didn’t want to see Zu An bring the beauty back. They also chimed in.

Qin Guangyuan frowned. But Zu An had indeed boasted a bit too much just now, so he couldn't even really do much about it. He could only give Zu An a troubled look.

Zu An laughed and retorted, “Didn’t we already agree that once I created something else, you wouldn’t continue to push the issue? And yet now, there are all these annoying moths flying around. If I make another one, you’ll continue to be picky. When will it ever be over?”

Yu Nan said, “I vow on my family name that as long as you can make another poem of similar level to appease everyone, I won’t dare say another word. Otherwise, I’ll write my surname backward from then on!”

The onlookers’ expressions turned serious when they heard Yu Nan’s vow. Using one’s family name in a vow was no laughing matter. If he really did go back on his word afterward, the entire world would turn against him.

Zu An was also quite startled, but he reacted quickly. The character for Yu in this world was special. Isn’t it the same even if you write it backward?!

Bi Ziang roared with laughter. “Brother Yu, aren’t you troubling him too much? It would already be quite amazing if someone produced just a single work on that level in their lifetime. Isn’t asking him to make another poem of the same level purely causing trouble?”

He sounded as if he were speaking out for Zu An, but in reality, he had ulterior motives. If Zu An really did reject Yu Nan, his claim to possess eighty percent of all literary talent in the world would become blasphemous speech.

Zu An sighed, thinking, These future relatives of mine are all tricky to deal with! Wait, why are there so many of these future in-laws around me?

He said with a smile, “I didn’t really want to pay certain people any more attention, but the earlier song’s killing intent was a bit too strong and I ended up frightening Lady Nan Xun. In that case, I’ll create another one for Lady Nan Xun.”

The mysterious woman’s expression darkened. She picked up a certain item, and her eyes flashed with killing intent. If he made another similar song, her clansmen would really be done for. Even if she had to risk exposing herself here, she had to eliminate this great disaster for her clan.