"Who is that Zhao youth? I have never heard or seen him before."
"Never heard of him either."
"Anyway, doesn't he look… too ordinary?"
"Now that you mention it, I feel that there is nothing remarkable about him. He looks just like a common disciple whose name you wouldn't bother remembering."
"Have you heard of cannon fodders? He gives me those vibes. A nobody of importance."
"Reevaluate your views first before speaking without thinking. Someone that the strongest genius of Sun Feather City comments on and reacts to, isn't going to be as simple as you might think. Behind that veil of ordinariness may be a power that's on par with or slightly behind the four great geniuses!"
"I second your opinion. You should never judge a book just from the looks of its cover."
"For him to be included amongst the best of the Zhao Clan's younger generation, I wonder what his position is."
"He should be more monstrous than Zhao Linglong, right? Didn't Xin Wuheng say something like that?"
"Tsk, we will see for ourselves during the sparring if he holds true to such an evaluation from the city's most powerful young genius."
It didn't take a genius to know that Xin Wuheng's momentary actions and words would cause quite an uproar among the disciples and guests from the other two pavilions.
Zhao Wei unintendedly heard everything with enough clarity from his seat but he didn't give any response and remained expressionless.
He chose to engage the rice wine in his hand and continued pondering about his life.
Zhao Wei's fellow disciples around him that knew him oh-too-well zipped their mouths, not commenting anything or making any effort to expose his true identity. This only served to add more suspense and mystery to his person.
Only one person among the Zhao Clan disciples wasn't happy about the sudden turn of events since the spotlight he had expected to have had been stolen by Zhao Wei.
Zhao Linglong quietly crushed his cup, he could hardly control the discontentment trying to burst forth from inside him.
What's up with this troupe of everyone now disregarding him as the number one disciple of the Zhao Clan and one of the four great geniuses?
Didn't he matter anymore? For how long was his face going to be blatantly smeared with shit?
Zhao Linglong internally scoffed as an unrecognizable, faint cold smile formed on his mouth.
'I broke through to the sixth rank which easily sets me apart from my three comrades in terms of cultivation base alone.'
'Hmph, just wait and see how I trample on all their faces.'
'Xin Wuheng, you won't be smiling anymore this time round. The humiliation I faced in our previous clash will be paid back in full."
'You won't defeat me within ten moves. The times have changed. As for you, little insignificant bastard, your moments of glory will be all for naught once you step onto that battling platform.'
'Are you going to uphold your non-existent reputation or are you just a poser without the necessary strength? Hehe, I would really like to watch you suffer.'
After all, he, Zhao Linglong, has always been the main character ever since he was born even though he didn't remember his birth very well. Glory, honor, and women were all his to claim. If he lacked something, his father, the clan head, would always provide. In this Genius Summit, he was going to prove everyone wrong by having all the geniuses writhing beneath his feet.
He was going to be the main character of this show, not Xin Wuheng, not Zhao Wei, not anyone else.
Time slowly went by, and more people continued arriving at the venue for an unforgettable showdown between various geniuses.
The silvery orb standing solemnly above the inky heavens cast its dreamy lights upon the earthy expanse, making the night more beautiful, memorable, and visually impactful.
The mood felt just right for a reckless poem or two and as untalented as he was when it came to composing poems, Zhao Wei, nonetheless, rose up from his seat and unhurriedly walked up to the edge of the pavilion.
He then put his hands behind his back, an action that cloaked his very being with an air of nonchalance.
Under the baptism of the moon's radiance, one man sighed with emotions laced in his voice.
One man, the moon's silvery radiance, and the austerity of the night perfectly melded into something… poetic and beautiful.
The young man wasn't beautiful, he wasn't a neck breaker but… at that very moment, the definition of beauty was overturned and tossed out of the window.
Zhao Wei once again released an emotional sigh.
"I look upon the boundless skies, the silvery moon shines eternal."
"Up and down, I yearn and jump for the vaults of the vast heavens."
"Swayed like a tiny speck in the ever blue limitless ocean, I weather through catastrophic storms and tribulations lightning."
"Heavens above heaven, the zenith is no longer illusory."
"O beautiful moon, tell me, what is living?"
Silence.
The silence was so strong verging on palpability.
Not even a breath could be heard.
But could nature truly be stopped?
The night's cicadas just couldn't stop chirping every now and then which made the atmosphere even more… vivid and realistic.
"What is living?" Everyone asked themselves either consciously or unconsciously.
What is living?
Wasn't such a question very easy to ask oneself?
Was there really any reason for adding depth to such simplicity?
"Isn't living just the three basic rules: Eat, shit and sleep and cycle continues until you die!" A random person in the crowd blurted without thinking and before knowing it, the somber atmosphere was immediately replaced by bouts of resounding laughter.
See, the answer wasn't that complicated.
Even the poem's composer, Zhao Wei, found himself literally smiling albeit a little bit.
For he knew, whatever he had said meant nothing in the grand scheme of matters and its fruition was only due to the setting and his changing mood.
There was simply no catharsis.
"I didn't know that Zhao youth could be funny."
"Maybe it's his innate talent, haha."
Xin Wuheng who had just been woken up by the commotion and also had the chance to hear the somehow rhymeless lines from Zhao Wei, had a strange gaze on his face.
He then wore a contemplative look as he briefly watched Zhao Wei's lonely back.
"The zenith is no longer illusory."
That one line resonated with him.
He had yearned for higher heights even before his untimely death. He had been once a First Heaven God Lord that hoped to increase his strength to the Zenith to revive his slowly declining bloodline. But when man proposes, God disposes. All had failed in his previous life.
"But in this life, the zenith would no longer be illusory."
"Thank you for giving me hope."
Xin Wuheng even as one who had experienced a longer life than Zhao Wei couldn't help but look at Zhao Wei in a new light.
For the young man, at least, held a semblance of life's wisdom.
Xin Wuheng then returned to his dormancy.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yufei found herself standing next to Zhao Wei.
"I never knew that you had something for poems." Zhao Yufei didn't look at him as she flashed a breathtaking smile while staring at the beautiful moon in wonder and enthrallment.
"I am a man of many trades." Zhao Wei casually replied.
And then, a comfortable silence set in between the two as they both revelled in the beauty of the moon's presence.
'What a view. If I had been one to please women, then this would have been the perfect moment to strike or say a couple of lines about the inarguable similarities between the moon and her beauty.' Zhao Wei smiled internally as he briefly took a peek at Zhao Yufei's unadulterated demeanor laced with the confidence of a budding woman.
"You sneaked a peek." A mischievous glint showed in Zhao Yufei's pristine eyes as she abruptly turned to face Zhao Wei who had his face up.
"I did." Zhao Wei shamelessly replied.
Zhao Yufei was rendered speechless for a moment, she was caught unprepared by his quick reply.
"Oh, don't you find me beautiful at this moment? Didn't you think of a poem inside your mind when you stole a peek?" Zhao Yufei coquettishly fluttered her exquisite dark eyelashes.
'A woman's intuition is scary.' Zhao Wei tsked inside his mind.
"I didn't think of anything like that." Zhao Wei retorted with a straight face, controlling his facial expression to sublimity.
"You are lying."
"Suit yourself."
Zhao Yufei snorted before lightly brushing her punch against Zhao Wei's thick biceps.
It was only after a moment of clarity that she realized what she had just done as a faint blush showed on her face.
She had just acted on her instincts. Such intimate actions weren't supposed to be shown so easily for all to see, that was what had run inside her confident-shy mind.
"I didn't mean to-"
At that moment,
"Qiu Mengyu has arrived!"
The Genius Summit's host and unsurprisingly, the most anticipated person of the event availed herself!
***
Enjoy!
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