It was a man's voice, a strange one. Although Xie Lian knew the other side couldn't hear him, he couldn't help but lower his voice and said, "Someone's coming. I wonder if it's going to harm General Pei. We need to find out where they are now."

The two people over there seemed intimidated by the newcomer. After a while, Pei Ming said, "May I ask who you are? Since it has come to this, why don't you reveal your true identity?"

The voice said, "Then I have to ask you."

Lingwen said, "It must be someone who has a grudge against you. It's most likely a female ghost. You've done her a disservice again."

Pei Ming said, "You're lying with your eyes open. How does this... thing resemble a female ghost? Besides, it didn't just capture me, maybe it has a grudge against you?"

Ling Wen said, "Forget it. Let's stop blaming each other at this time. Let's get through this together. It's also possible that they have a grudge against both of us. Do you remember anyone like that?"

Pei Ming said, "I can't remember. There are too many."

The man seemed to be getting closer, his voice getting louder, but strangely, there were no footsteps, only a strange "dong dong" sound. He said, "Could you please have some shame and stop flirting in front of me?"

The wording and tone of this sentence seemed to reveal something. After a moment of silence, Lingwen said, "Are you...Zhenjun Jingwen?"

The voice didn't answer. Pei Ming seemed stunned for a moment, then asked, "Master Jingwen? That's not right. Master Jingwen would speak so ungently."

Lingwen snorted, "He's always like this. He speaks one way in front of others and another in front of me. Of course you don't think they're the same."

On this side, Xie Lian frowned slightly and said, "Respectful Master Wen?"

He seemed to have some impression of this title, but he couldn't quite place it. It sounded like a literary deity, but among literary deities, there were far too many with titles containing words like "wen," "jing," and "jing." At this moment, Pei Su whispered, "Respecting True Lord Wen, yes, bring the spirit, True Lord Wen, to appoint the general. He is the foremost literary deity of the previous generation!"

After he said this, Xie Lian finally remembered. When he first ascended, Ling Wen was still just a minor civil servant in the Lower Heavenly Court. At that time, the top literary deity in the Upper Heavenly Court was not her, but another literary deity. And that literary deity seemed to be this True Lord Jingwen!

However, the Jingwen Temple had long since declined, and there wasn't a single Jingwen Temple within a mile. Xie Lian couldn't help but ask, "So we're all acquaintances. Then why can't we just talk peacefully? Why do we have to come right up and use knives, guns, and ties?"

Hua Cheng said, "It's because he's an acquaintance that we had to resort to knife and gun tying him up."

Just as he finished speaking, Jingwen spoke again. As if he was about to put on airs because his identity had been exposed, he put on a face and spoke more politely than before, but with a hidden veil, he said, "Nangong, weren't you very proud of being the number one literary god in the Upper Heaven? Why did you throw away your golden rice bowl and run here?"

Pei Ming said, "See? I have a grudge against you. This time I'm causing trouble for you."

Jingwen said, "General Pei, don't think you can get away with this just because I'm going after Nangong. This bitch bullied my Jingwen Temple, saying that its incense offerings were declining, and she secretly sent people to smash my temple and add fuel to the fire. Do you think I don't know who lent her those martial priests?"

“…”

Jingwen continued, "Nangong, don't laugh either. I chose you as a general out of my deep appreciation for your talent, and this is how you repay me. You are truly ungrateful and treacherous, a woman with the most vicious heart. I've waited for this day for far too long!"

Xie Lian covered his forehead and thought to himself: The three cancers are indeed cancers, and what they do is more unkind than the last!

Unexpectedly, Lingwen said calmly, "Master Jingwen, there's no one else here right now. You already scolded me just now, so why are you pretending to be so? Did you really choose me because you valued my talent? Why did you choose me? How did you treat me after choosing me? Others don't know, but don't you know it yourself?"

The more Xie Lian listened, the more puzzled he became. He asked, "What's going on between True Lord Jingwen and Lingwen? General Pei, do you know the inside story?"

Pei Su also listened carefully and said to him, "I'm sorry. At that time, I hadn't ascended yet, so I didn't know much."

Xie Lian thought that his broken sentences were probably not going to get better. Hua Cheng said beside him, "Brother, don't ask anyone else, just ask me."

Xie Lian asked curiously, “Sanlang, you also know about this ancient anecdote from the Heavenly Palace?”

It turned out that it wasn't his imagination. Hua Cheng really did have some damning information about the dark and white histories of the various high priests in Heaven. He nodded and told Xie Lian what he had told.

It turned out that Jingwen and Lingwen were both literary gods from the Xuli Kingdom. Jingwen was several hundred years older than Lingwen and had deep roots in the Xuli Kingdom. Originally, the two had little in common.

One year, the Xuli Kingdom held a ceremony to worship the God of Literature. During the ceremony, a small competition took place. Young students were asked to write an unsigned essay on the theme of Xuli Kingdom, regardless of the subject matter. The essay was then posted in the largest temple of the God of Literature in the country—the Jingwen Hall at the time. The best essay was selected as the winner and awarded a prize.

At that time, Jingwen Zhenjun happened to be visiting the mortal realm. On a whim, he took on the form of a scholar and participated in this competition. He wrote a magnificent chapter in a single stroke, praising the national prestige of Xuli, confident that it would stand out among the many articles. Imagine if the results were announced after the competition and this chapter won first place, and the truth was revealed that the top-ranked person was Jingwen Zhenjun's own incarnation, wouldn't that be another story passed down through the ages?

If things had developed this way, it would have been harmonious and happy. However, a very embarrassing accident occurred.

After the ceremony, the top scorer was announced. The winner was not Jingwen's "Xu Li Fu", but a policy essay called "Bu Xu Li".

Although this turn of events was awkward, it was quite amusing to the others. Xie Lian asked, "Has Sanlang read 'Bu Xu Li'?"

Hua Cheng said, "I've found it and looked at it. If you want to see it, I can give you a rough idea someday."

Xie Lian hurriedly said, "That's not necessary. However, to be able to defeat Jingwen Zhenjun, who had already ascended to heaven at that time, it must be written very well."

Hua Cheng commented, "It's well-written, but not particularly fantastical. It's just that the situation in Xuli was dire at the time, and the people were full of resentment. Seeing something like this just suited their taste. Plus, there were so many articles like 'Xu Li Fu' that I'd grown tired of them. Comparing the two, 'Bu Xu Li' naturally wins."

Xie Lian nodded slightly and said, "There's no such thing as the best in literature. This isn't really a big deal, especially since they're not even about the same thing."

Hua Cheng said, "That's right. Jingwen thought so too at the beginning."

The people of Suli searched far and wide to discover who had written the "Busuli," but of course no one claimed it. Who would dare claim such a thing? Even if someone claimed it for the sake of fame, it would be easily exposed. Soon, because the officers and soldiers noticed it, the ceremony removed the piece from the top spot.

Although Jingwen Zhenjun was not happy about this event and scoffed at it, he forgot about it after a few months. The bad news was that a few months later, shocking news spread among the literary gods in the upper heaven.

The person who won the "No Su Li" competition at the Su Li Kingdom's God of Literature Festival has finally been found and is currently imprisoned. And this person is actually a young woman selling shoes on the street!

How can this be!

Xie Lian said, “…shoe seller.”

Hua Chengdao: "Yes. Nangong Jie used to do this in the human world."

No wonder he had heard people privately call the Lingwen Hall "the Hall of Broken Shoes" more than once or twice before. However, Xie Lian didn't think it was appropriate to delve into such things, so he never knew where this term came from.

Originally, no one would have connected "Busu Li" with a shoe-selling girl, but the young woman occasionally helped people copy books, write letters, and write love poems to earn some money. One day, a customer found that the handwriting was very similar to that of the first article, so he reported it and she was caught.

After learning about this, Master Jingwen picked up his pen and immediately selected the young woman named Nangong Jie.

You have to know that at the time, female priestesses were few and far between. While there were some, they were mostly assigned to floristry, embroidery, singing and dancing, and other specialties. Even when selecting generals, no one was willing to appoint women as lower-ranking priestesses. Female literary deities were even rarer. The women in the Temple of Literature were all beautiful young ladies, and none of them handled literature. Most of them were like soft, fragrant jades used to hold inkstones and paper, not priestesses, but at best, objects of appreciation.

This action of Jingwen Zhenjun earned him a reputation for appreciating talent among the literary gods. Everyone said that this little girl was so lucky to have met a noble man like Jingwen Zhenjun who had a discerning eye for talent. Not only did she escape from prison, but she also climbed up the social ladder and became a phoenix. It was indeed a beautiful story.

However, at this moment, the protagonists of the "good story" are confronting each other aggressively.

Jingwen said, "My deep respect for you has turned into something malicious when it comes out of your mouth."

Ling Wen, who was always polite and respectful, scoffed, "Forget it. Stop telling everyone how much you value me. If you really valued me, you wouldn't have me serving tea and water to everyone in your temple, cleaning documents, walking hundreds of miles to get a manuscript of a poem, and constantly giving gifts to other priests during festivals."

Xie Lian thought about it, and it seemed to be true. When he first ascended, every time he saw Ling Wen, she was always doing odd jobs. It was because she did so much odd jobs that Xie Lian vaguely remembered this person. Jing Wen said, "Ultimately, you're basically blaming me for not promoting you. But why don't you think about why I didn't promote you?"

Ling Wen said, "Why? I want to know why too. As a mortal, I had time to read and write. Even when I was imprisoned, I could at least face the wall and meditate. But after being appointed, I've been working like a slave for you all day, kneeling down and doing chores. If you want to wear me down like this, you have a good way."

Jingwen shouted, "Nangong! Even now you still refuse to admit your mistake!"

Lingwen asked back, "What did I do wrong?"

Jingwen said, "Is it still my fault? What I asked you to do is what is most suitable for you. If you can't even do such a small thing, what right do you have to do more important things? I gave you so many opportunities to cultivate in order to temper your character. It is your own lack of ability, so how can you blame me for not promoting you? You are too ambitious, but you are a woman after all. You can't reach such heights. You have to admit this fact!"

Lingwen laughed out loud, as if irritated by him, and lowered his voice and said, "Okay! You say I can't reach that high, then let me ask you, when your Jingwen Hall was at its peak, could it reach the knees of my Lingwen Hall today?!"

Xie Lian could sense the growing resentment and anger in the words of both sides. He decided that he couldn't let them continue talking, so as a last resort, he resorted to a very rough method.

He punched the ground hard, and with a loud bang, the ground immediately cracked into a huge round pit four meters square with him as the center!

Hua Cheng immediately understood what he wanted to do and said, "Brother!"

Xie Lian waved his hand to clear the dust from the air, coughed a few times, and said, "This is the most direct way! I'll take charge of this side! Sanlang, you and General Pei... lie down to the side!"

He had originally wanted to have Huacheng and Pei Su try other directions, but neither of them was in the same condition as him. Huacheng, of course, wouldn't just lie there and listen to him. He chose the opposite direction from Xie Lian, summoned Evil Life, and stabbed it into the ground.

This knife strike had the same effect as Xie Lian's punch. The two of them alternated, creating one loud noise after another, the distance between them growing ever greater. After several punches, Xie Lian concentrated and listened carefully. Pei Ming and Ling Wen showed no reaction, seemingly unaware of the loud rumbling noises he had created. Jing Wen, however, seemed to have been struck by Ling Wen's prick. He laughed in anger, ripping off his polite mask and adopting the sarcastic tone of someone scolding a whore, saying, "Nangong Jie, don't act so arrogantly in front of me! If I hadn't pointed you out back then, you would have fathered countless children in a prison on earth!"

This was a rather rude remark, and Xie Lian nearly slipped. Even Pei Ming couldn't stand it any longer and said, "You're a literary god, after all. Could you please stop being so vulgar?"

Jingwen said, "Look, Nangong, your good lover is protecting you! What's your reputation, General Pei? How dare you say I'm vulgar?"

Ling Wen said, "In your mind, who isn't my mistress? Do you want to settle the score? Then let's settle it!"

Xie Lian had already leaped a considerable distance and punched the ground again. This time, Jingwen on Yindie's side asked in alarm, "What's that sound?!"

Xie Lian was delighted: I found the right direction!

Pei Ming and Ling Wen also heard it. Pei Ming hesitated and asked, "Who started the fight up there?"

Continuing his efforts, Xie Lian rushed several feet and unleashed another thunderous punch. Pei Ming said, "Closer! Such a powerful blast! It's coming from above!"

This is it!

Xie Lian stopped punching, pulled out Fang Xin, and slashed down with his sword—

The sword energy surged, the ground collapsing with a bang, and he landed in a cold, eerie cave. Xie Lian prayed that he hadn't hit Pei Ming and Ling Wen. He brushed off the dust in the air, stood up, and turned around with his sword in hand. "Cheers..."

The moment the true form of "Jingwen Zhenjun" came into his sight, Xie Lian couldn't help but open his eyes wide.