"Esteemed Gu Masters, please come in, please come in!" The waiter bowed deeply as he ushered Hua Song and An Chong into the shop.
"This is a famous teahouse in the capital, very lively — I've been here many times," Hua Song transmitted his voice secretly, introducing the place to An Chong.
The two Gu Immortals had disguised themselves as Gu Masters and entered the capital of the Huawen Grotto-Heaven.
An Chong would have preferred hovering above on a cloud, looking down on the capital from above. But since Hua Song enjoyed this kind of outing, he went along with his host's wishes.
"I'd like a private seat on the upper floors — the fifth floor," Hua Song said, clearly familiar with the place.
The two arrived at the fifth floor, entered a room, and opened the window. Below them, the street was flooded with surging crowds. The first venue was at the far end of the street, and the area before the bronze gates was practically packed solid.
"These are the current talented scholars of our Huawen Grotto-Heaven — and the future hope of our Huawen Grotto-Heaven as well. Please take a look, Envoy," Hua Song said with a sigh of admiration, handing An Chong a Fifth Transformation scouting Gu Insect that could observe a target's literary talent.
An Chong examined it for a moment, then used it directly. Instantly, his vision shifted. He saw that countless scholars had streams of literary talent hovering above their heads. These streams were multicolored, varying in height and shape — truly a dazzling sight.
"If you already have a Gu Insect like this that can detect literary talent, why bother holding a selection like this?" An Chong asked.
Hua Song chuckled: "The Envoy doesn't understand. Literary talent is like cultivation — even if one possesses a great deal of it, if it cannot be brought out under pressure, it's all for nothing. Besides, this selection requires composing poetry on the spot. There's no possibility of cheating. It tests the scholars' true depth far more thoroughly. Many scholars with rich literary talent may lack the inspiration to produce their finest work when it matters."
An Chong nodded: "I notice the grand formations set up here are all interconnected. It seems they can also stimulate the scholars' creative flow?"
Hua Song nodded: "Indeed, the Envoy has a keen eye! Within this Immortal Formation, the scholars often perform far beyond their usual level, which better reveals their individual talent and aptitude."
As they spoke, there was a knock at the door.
With Hua Song's permission, the waiter brought in tray after tray of fine wine and delicacies.
"Eight-Treasure Wild Duck, Golden-Thread Crispy Sparrow, Panda Crab Meat — all signature dishes of our teahouse. Please enjoy, honored guests," the waiter said.
Hua Song casually tossed him a Yuan Stone and sent him on his way.
Hua Song then introduced the items to An Chong: "Envoy, the tea here is mortal tea, but it was created by Elder Hua Yu in his younger years. At the time, he was a Fourth Transformation Gu Master, and he won the top scholar's prize — so he named this tea Champion's Tea."
"Oh?" An Chong's interest was immediately piqued. This was the work of an Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal from his younger days.
"Then I must give it a proper taste," An Chong said. He took a sip, closed his eyes, and savored it carefully. In a trance-like state, a faint surge of excitement rose in his heart — as though one had toiled bitterly for over a decade and finally achieved fame and glory, with the pinnacle of life's triumphs lying just within reach!
"Wonderful tea, wonderful tea," An Chong praised sincerely. "Though this is mortal tea, it carries a trace of Humanity Path's resonance!"
During the Battle of Fate, Heavenly Court in the Central Continent had unleashed several consecutive Humanity Path killer moves, each devastatingly powerful, shaking the entire world. The might of the Humanity Path was known to all and feared by all.
As the two immortals savored their tea, the bronze gates of the first venue slowly swung open.
The crowd packed before the gates erupted in a roar.
"It's opening, it's opening!"
"Stop pushing!"
"Let me through!"
The surging masses poured through the gates.
Li Xiaobai was among the crowd, though positioned toward the rear.
As he moved forward with the flow of people, he mentally reviewed the rules of this selection.
"The World Poetry Assembly has a total of eighteen venues, each with its own topic. Everyone answers simultaneously. Regardless of how many people there are, only half will advance based on the quality of their work."
"After advancing to the next venue, it's again a matter of taking the top half. Advancing all the way through all eighteen venues constitutes passing the selection."
"If you fail midway, you return to the previous venue. If you fail consecutively and are eliminated from the first venue entirely, that counts as a complete failure."
"However, the World Poetry Assembly spans seven days. Each person gets three chances for complete failure."
"This is more than sufficient for the Huawen Grotto-Heaven to identify quality Gu Immortal seeds. The occasional slip-up can be recovered from. But if any scholar performs poorly for seven consecutive days, that proves their fundamental depth is insufficient — they simply don't deserve the Grotto-Heaven's investment in cultivating them into a Gu Immortal."
Li Xiaobai gathered his thoughts and arrived at the first venue.
The venue was vast and open, packed with scholars.
There were men and women, old and young. The sheer number of them was staggering — if not ten thousand, then certainly several thousand at a glance.
And this was only the first day.
Li Xiaobai waited in the venue for the time it took an incense stick to burn before the first venue finished receiving all the scholars and talents.
A sea of people, a cacophony of voices.
Fortunately, the first venue was an Immortal Formation space that could expand freely at will — accommodating more scholars was well within its capabilities.
Dong, dong, dong!