Maiden Galaxy

"Your Distinguished Self seems to be very biased against Liu Yong." 

Chen Mo tightly pursed his lips.

Huang Chao seemingly smiled, "I only believe that power and strength come from endless slaughter. If one can comprehend without actual effort, then Star World would not have needed the Star Duels in the past."

"Dragons that stay in water later become gods, the masses that masters stay among become their might. I can answer you now. Fish that leap through the Dragon Gate to become dragons need the power to soar into the Heavens at once. And the rulers who obtain their might from the people need the reputation to dominate all under Heaven."

"A general achieves renown over the bones of tens of thousands! Only a verse like this can persuade people!"

Indeed, this Sky Soaring General was wicked. Chen Mo shrugged, not responding to her words. "I wonder what Your Distinguished Self's Star Name is. Given your tendencies, why come participate in the Literary Excellence Convention if it brings you so much displeasure."

"I am Heavenly Chrysanthemum Star ‘Sky Soaring General' Huang Chao.¹ I have come this time to humiliate them." Huang Chao's confident expression made clear her thinking.

How should she be described? Wildly ambitious and not subtle. He really did not know whether this was confidence or conceit.

"I wish Lady Huang's aspirations will come true." Chen Mo smiled and cupped his fist. This woman was a bit crazy. It was a bit inadvisable to associate with her too much.

"Can it be that Huang Chao wants to flirt with me by competing in poetry?" Chen Mo warmly asked. The Literary Excellence Convention had poetry exchanges that could increase Realm, but it was very clear that this was not the case with Huang Chao. Her Star Name was essentially still a martial general, or even a a Purple Rose with Ruler potential. To be frank, that she had the qualifications to join the convention left Chen Mo very puzzled.

"I hate people who embellish. Martial generals suppress all under Heaven, yet, in the end, they are at the mercy of a literati general's brush. Good or bad, beautiful or ugly, reputations are all written by their brushes." The woman solemnly raised her brows.

These words sound a little like "history was a little girl recklessly dressed up by writings," but what does that have to do with me?

Chen Mo blinked: "If the lady feels this is unfair, you are free to go to the Ten Thousand Sages Hall to express your views. "I am not a Star General, so talking to me about this is useless."

"You refuted me back on the boat, and I am one who remembers grudges." Huang Chao calmly said.

"I can tell. In certain aspects, a little girl isn't very big." Chen Mo glanced at her chest. He wondered if her underwear might be bound too tightly, for she seemed a bit flat. "If you want a fight, shouldn't we find a place where no one is around?" Chen Mo was not afraid of her.

Huang Chao raised her brow. Chen Mo's unfazed attitude was outside of her expectations.

This man was too easygoing.

In Star World, even Lords Of Heaven could not remain so unperturbed. If they were not fools, then they had the confidence their strength could contend against her.

Contend against her?

Huang Chao was inwardly disdainful, but she had no interest in killing Chen Mo, "You must have come to participate in the convention, yes? How about this, we will compete with poetry."

"Compete with poetry?"

"If you lose, hand over that Literary Excellence Pendant." Huang Chao said.

Chen Mo chuckled.

"If you lose?"

"I will not." Huang CHao confidently replied.

"And if I say I won't lose either, is there any meaning in this wager?"

"Fine, I will give you my jade pendant if I lose." Huang Chao took out her jade pendant. It was already nearing the blue light stage; apparently, she had great gains during the Literary Excellence Convention.

"How do we compete?"

Huang Chao looked in front. There happened to be a courtyard, and outside it were chrysanthemum flowers. The people in the courtyard were talking over each other. Clearly, they were striving for the power of the sages' stele.

The two of them walked over.

There were several hundred people in the courtyard, with radiant gold chrysanthemums abloom everywhere. The sight was very spectacular, and among the flowers was a large sage stele.

Some Star Generals would write inscriptions on the stele, and afterwards, the stele would emit light to cover the counterpart that received the sages' aspiration. However, this sage stele was very profound, the aspiration vast. These people were able to obtain tiny portions of its power.

"The garden is filled with golden chrysanthemums, in the middle is a lone cluster of flowers like frost. Yet in today's banquet and festivities, a white-haired old man joins the youths onstage."

A yellow-clothed young woman carved the characters on the stele. Everyone was unreservedly reading it and exchanging praise.

"This poem's Realm is not bad. It uses flowers as a metaphor for people, full of interests. But only a bit of sage will can be obtained from it. It seems this praise of chrysanthemums is indeed difficult to recite."

Chen Mo listened, inwardly cursing Huang Chao's treachery; he had fallen into her trap.

As it turned out, this was the Fallen Hero Courtyard, and in it was a single sage stele which was the "Ode To Chrysanthemums."

In the eyes of spiritual power Star Generals, "chrysanthemums" had the noble integrity of "where a hundred romances may fade, the glory of chrysanthemum fragrance begins." Qu Yuan's "Encountering Sorrow" also had the expression, "drink the dew falling from the lily magnolia, taste the fallen autumn chrysanthemums."

The Realm of Ode To Chrysanthemums was the most beloved by poetry spiritual power generals since ancient times.

But who was Huang Chao? Her Star Name contained the word chrysanthemum, and in history, she had written only two poems, both concerning "chrysanthemums." But it was these two poems that held universal appeal, leaving a lasting reputation. History's "Ode To Chrysanthemums" stood out as a loner, for it was extremely brilliant. To compete with her was to die without realizing it.

Huang Chao showed an eerie grin: "Let us compose one about chrysanthemums. Whoever can obtain more of the sage's will is the winner. Fair, would you not agree?"

Chen Mo racked his brains for a solution, but he was unable to think of something that could compare to Huang Chao's.

"Of course, I would not be using that one from before to face you." Huang Chao disdainfully said.

"You may not win against me if you don't use it." Chen Mo rolled his eyes.

Huang Chao felt contempt. A cultivator dared to play tricks before her, an expert. Other than that poem, in truth, Huang Chao already had a superb chrysanthemum poem. She had never published this poem before, but because of this poem's Realm, she was able to enter Heavenly Star.

She was very confident that she could win even against Liu Yong or Su Shi.

"Hmph, you first. I want to you to make a fool of yourself in front of everyone." Huang Chao glowered, a sneer on her lips.

Hearing that people were about to compete, everyone in the surroundings was very curious.

However, upon seeing that Chen Mo was merely an Universe Origin cultivator, they all showed disapproving expressions.

Dark Yellow Poems were categorized as the talent of spiritual power generals. For a man to think of obtaining the will of the sages, that was a fool's sleeptalk.

These people immediately lost interest, each discussing wither their own fellows the chrysanthemum poem, thinking hard for a new verse.

Chen Mo looked at Huang Chao's arrogant and bossy attitude with considerable displeasure. Seeing she apparently wanted to humiliate him, Chen Mo chuckled. He would not be modest.

He circled around the courtyard, looking at the proud and aloof chrysanthemums in the courtyard, the frosty fragrance like a rolling autumn breeze.

One lap later, Chen Mo walked in front of the stele.

"Do not bring shame upon yourself, you man." The woman who just composed "a blooming flower is not the same as a cluster of a hundred flowers" impatiently reproved him.

Chen Mo glanced at her, his expression resolute, his posture imposing. The girl's heart shivered, her second sentence surprisingly swallowed back by this domineering air.

Chen Mo raised a finger. He exercised the School Of Mind and placed himself in the artistic mood of the courtyard filled with chrysanthemums. A ray of sword-qi shot out and carved into the stele.

"The gusting western breeze the courtyard fills."

After the first sentence emerged, Huang Chao's sneer vanished.

"The cold fragrance freezes butterflies with chills."

The second sentence stopped the conversations of the spiritual power generals and cultivators. They lifted their gazes one after another towards the stele, each showing different expressions of awe.

"He asked if I would be the Green Emperor!"

After the third line appeared, everyone's expressions were all stunned, and the atmosphere froze.

After the last line, "Announce that something peachy has blossomed," appeared, the Fallen hero Courtyard was absolutely silent. Even the sound of breathing had disappeared. There was only the rustle of chrysanthemums in the cold wind.

"Impossible!!"

Huang Chao was shaken.

The gusting western breeze the courtyard fills, the cold fragrance freezes butterflies with chills;

He asked if I would be the Green Emperor; announce that something peachy has blossomed.²

The jeering yellow-clothed woman was overwhelmed reading the Ode To Chrysanthemums written on the stele. The entire stanza did not use the word "chrysanthemum" at all, yet it evoked their image.

The Realms of successive spiritual power Star Generals were often unable to break free of the "solitary" word, whether it was displaying the feeling of "solitary and unexcelled in the world," "solitary and absolute" in attitude, or "solitary and alone," but seeing this poem, the "he asked if I would be the Green Emperor; announce that something peachy has blossomed" line nevertheless had an independent and lofty will that simply made the Ode To Chrysanthemums pale in comparison.

An enormous artistry blanketed the Fallen Hero Courtyard. Peach blossoms and chrysanthemums seemed to bloom simultaneously in empty space, truly like "something peachy had blossomed."

The sage stele glowed brightly. Surprisingly, most of it completely entered Chen Mo's Literary Excellence Jade Pendant.

The sage's will had been captured by this poem.

"He asked if I would be the Green Emperor, announce that something peachy has blossomed! How bold, Heavens." The yellow-clothed woman's body shuddered. She stared in disbelief at Chen Mo. If not for the fact she personally witness this, she would never believe this poem could come from a man's mouth.

Chen Mo retracted the School Of Mind. The Fallen Hero Courtyard recovered its calm. He turned to face Huang Chao.

The woman's expression was incomparably startled, unable to restrain her anger: "You plagiarized my Ode To Chrysanthemums!!" A wicked aura erupted from her eyes, gushing like the torrent of the four seas, making everyone feel chills.

The Black Turtle's shadow emerged and towered indomitable, unmoved amidst her evil air.

Chen Mo leisurely strolled and sneered: "Huang Chao, are you a sore loser?"

"You!!"

Huang Chao tightly clenched her fist. Those lines were exactly the composition she made back then to break through into Heavenly Star Realm. Originally, she wanted to astonish people at the Literary Excellence Convention, but she never imagined that a man would surprisingly come to the same conclusion, surprisingly probing into her Realm.

"How can this be, how can this be, how can this be…" Huang Chao repeated again and again, suffering quite a blow.

"The Ode To Chrysanthemums that this cultivator composed is exceptionally artistic. We witnessed this first hand, and he composed it before you. How can you say he plagiarized it. Unless you have proof that you composed it before he did." The cultivators in the courtyard were won over by this poem and stood up for Chen Mo.

Huang Chao screamed. Golden light shone brightly in the courtyard. Countless golden chrysanthemums and peach blossoms bloomed, surprisingly in agreement with Chen Mo's artistry.

"This can only mean you comprehended the Realm of Your Distinguished Self's poem, nothing else." The girl wrinkled her brow.

"Huang Chao, your turn." Chen Mo beckoned.

This Ode To Chrysanthemums was indeed Huang Chao's very own, but seeing her aggressive appearance, Chen Mo took it to counterattack her with, to make her realize what it meant to be a person beyond all others, to be the Heaven beyond Heaven.

Huang Chao took a deep breath, finally quelling her murderous impulse. If she killed a person over an Ode To Chrysanthemums, then she would be no different from Song Zhiwen, who killed someone for "the flowers are the same year after year, the people are different year after year," leaving only a dirty reputation.

Huang Chao was unable to find proof that Chen Mo had copied her. Even in death, she could not possibly surmise that Chen Mo knew this ode like the back of his hand from his previous life.

Coincidence?

Genius?

Or perhaps he was related to her Huang Chao Star Name?

"Very well, embellishers should all die!"

The Heavenly Chrysanthemum Star's gaze was full of focused viciousness. She extended a hand, and several golden lights carved into that stele.

By the time Chen Mo looked back, Huang Chao had surprisingly vanished already, having slipped away.

"Fuck, we agreed the loser would give their jade pendant. As expected, I shouldn't have made a bet with a small person." Chen Mo laughed. These people often would not honor their promises, so he would never have lost anything.

However, looking at the verse Huang Chao left, "the eternal head of the hundred flowers, naturally heaven-conferred yellow clothes," was also quite proud. As expected of the genius of Ode To Chrysanthemums.

"Young Lord." That yellow-clothed girl walked before Chen Mo and cupped her fist.

"No need to be polite, call me Chen Mo." Chen Mo returned the greeting.

"I am Earthly Sentimental Star ‘Intoxicated Chant Of Joy And Sorrow' Bai Juyi Bai Qingyu.³ Young Lord Chen Mo's Ode To Chrysanthemums has allowed Me to benefit enormously. Qingyu wonders perhaps if she can make an exchange with Young Lord?" The girl announced her True Name, courteous, with expectation in her eyes.

Bai Juyi. That was an authority known as the "Demon Of Poetry" and the "King Of Poetry." Her mastery over literature was extremely formidable. But it seemed that the girl's Star Name had only been born and maturing not too long ago. She was merely Earthly Star in Realm, but this was only a diamond in the rough. Given time, she would inevitably shine bright. Chen Mo filled with respect, and he treated her prolitely.

"But of course. However, forgive my incompetence, Little Sister Qingyu."

Hearing that little sister address, Bai Juyi blushed slightly, yet she still nodded with dignity.

"The line that Huang Chao left just now. Her ambitions are very large, complex. She says Big Brother plagiarized her, which demonstrates her own mind is very small. Big Brother must be careful." The girl was quite bright as well.

Chen Mo nodded. The Bai Juyi in front of him was honestly too adorable.

1. 天菊星"沖天大將軍"黃巢. This one's a bit hard. 沖 could mean "to wash away," but 沖天 means "to fly." ↩
2. 颯颯西風滿院栽, 蕊寒香冷蝶難來, 他年我若為青帝, 報與桃花一處開 ↩
3. 地感星'醉吟悲歡'白居易白輕語 ↩