"Okay." Ye Qiu nodded.
Lin Xuanye took a deep breath and walked to the front of the stage.
Upon seeing the Dragon Emperor emerge, the uproar immediately subsided.
Lin Xuanye stood with his hands behind his back, exuding youthful vigor and already displaying the air of an emperor.
"I am truly gratified to see you all come from all directions to participate in the Great Dragon League. At the same time, I am also quite excited. I look forward to seeing more literary geniuses or outstanding individuals in the cultivation path emerge in the upcoming competition."
I will employ any outstanding talent; you don't have to be number one, number two, or number three to have a chance to shine.
"A competition doesn't represent everything. Of course, it would be even better if you could make it into the top ten, so I hope everyone will do their best. I see all your efforts."
Upon hearing this, the entire audience erupted in enthusiastic applause.
Lin Xuanye slightly raised his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.
After the noise subsided slightly, Lin Xuanye continued, "After careful consideration, I have decided to appoint my teacher, Ye Qiu, as the Imperial Literary Master and to serve as the chief judge for this literary competition."
Wow.
As soon as Lin Xuanye finished speaking, the 100,000 people present were all astonished.
People from Tongcheng, as well as some who had read Ye Qiu's poems, were all overjoyed.
However, many people are still very puzzled!
The Great Dragon Dynasty is too vast; not everyone knows Ye Qiu.
"Who is Ye Qiu? I've never heard of him."
"The Dragon Emperor's teacher, wouldn't that be the Imperial Tutor?"
"It is theoretically possible for the Grand Dragon Emperor to serve as the chief judge of the Literary and Daoist Competition, but we are all unfamiliar with this name, so it may be difficult to convince the public."
"Ye Qiu must be the person by His Majesty's side?"
For a moment, many eyes fell on Ye Qiu, who was standing next to Lin Xuanye.
Lin Xuanye sensed that everyone was paying attention to Ye Qiu, so he immediately turned around and asked Ye Qiu in a low voice, "Teacher, is it convenient for you to say a few words?"
Ye Qiu nodded: "Okay."
"Okay, please, teacher."
Lin Xuanye respectfully gestured for him to enter.
Ye Qiu took a few steps forward, faced the audience, and smiled as he spoke: "Your Majesty's hospitality is too much to refuse, and it would be disrespectful for me to decline. So I will take the liberty of trying and wish to study literature with you all."
"So young?"
"So young, yet he's already the Imperial Tutor?"
"I have serious doubts about his abilities."
"Where does this person come from? I've never heard of him before."
"Is he really qualified to be the chief judge of the literary competition at such a young age?"
Immediately, a barrage of questions arose, growing louder and louder.
Just as the situation was getting out of control, someone Ye Qiu recognized suddenly stepped out from the crowd.
This person, Li Yuanxiu, once served as a judge for the Wendao division of the Tongcheng League.
Li Yuanxiu was considered a highly respected master in Dalong.
After bowing to Lin Xuanye, he asked, "Your Majesty, may I step onto the stage and say a few words?"
"So it's Master Li. Of course you can come up. Please come in."
Lin Xuanye hurriedly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Li Yuanxiu hurriedly ascended the high platform.
Then, to everyone's puzzlement, Li Yuanxiu said loudly, "Please calm down and listen to what I have to say."
My name is Li Yuanxiu, and I am somewhat well-known in the literary world. I think I am the most qualified to speak about Mr. Ye Qiu's literary talent, because I was there during the Tongcheng League and personally witnessed Mr. Ye composing poems on the spot.
It's no exaggeration to say that even ten of me combined couldn't match Mr. Ye's talent and learning. Mr. Ye is more than qualified to be the chief judge.
As Li Yuanxiu spoke, the doubts not only did not diminish, but increased.
This caused extreme dissatisfaction among some of Ye Qiu's admirers.
"If you're not convinced, you can search for Ye Shen's works. Stop just spouting nonsense."
"That's right, if all else fails, you guys can go and have a match with Ye Shen."
"No one is qualified to be the chief judge except for Ye Shen."
"Oh, you say he's amazing, but is he really that amazing?"
"Perhaps those poems were plagiarized."
"I think so too. A young person can't possibly be that great."
Chaos erupted at the scene, with opinions polarized about whether Ye Qiu was qualified.
Just as everyone was arguing, an elderly man with white hair, leaning on a cane, climbed up the platform step by step.
Upon seeing the old man, Lin Xuanye dared not underestimate him and hurriedly stepped forward to help him up: "Old Zhou, why did you come up here?"
"Your Majesty, why don't you let this old man test whether Mr. Ye is qualified? I think that after this old man has tried, the people of the world will be convinced."
Old Zhou smiled.
Although he was smiling, he couldn't hide the hostility he felt towards Ye Qiu in his eyes.
"Is that Zhou Taiqing, the Sage of Literature?"
"It seems so."
"Zhou Wensheng was a literary giant. Legend has it that the late emperor studied literature with him, so he was considered half an imperial tutor."
"If Ye Qiu can gain Elder Zhou's approval, then I will accept it."
Such voices continued incessantly.
Lin Xuanye took a deep breath, not daring to agree on Ye Qiu's behalf, and turned to look at Ye Qiu.
Ye Qiu understood and immediately smiled, "Elder Zhou, it seems that if I want to truly become the chief judge of the literary competition, I must pass your test."
"No, no, no." Zhou Taiqing waved his hand and laughed, "His Majesty decides. I came up here only because I saw that everyone's opinions were highly polarized, so I came up to represent the opposing side and have a discussion with Mr. Ye."
Of course, although I represent the opposing side, I am not against Mr. Ye. I just want to know if Mr. Ye's abilities are sufficient to reach that level.
"Alright." Ye Qiu smiled and said, "Old Zhou, what do you want to be tested on? Please ask."
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