On the Linjiang Square, the number of people gradually increased. This was especially so when the banquet time was getting nearer. Those major characters also started to appear.

  When Zheng Qingfang arrived, everyone on the ship hurried over to greet him no matter what they were doing.

  This was the deference given to a doyen-level character that had served three generations of the Great Tang Empire.

  Although Zheng Qingfang had retired, no one dared to look down on him.

  One must know that Zheng Qingfang didn’t retire because he was dismissed. Rather, it was because his body couldn’t endure it. If not, he would still be the prime minister and would continue serving all the way until he died.

  And if one was to name a person the current majesty trusted the most, the person would undoubtedly be Zheng Qingfang.

  “Let’s chat again another day!”

  Zheng Qingfang encouraged a few of his juniors. After exchanging greetings with a few old friends, he walked toward Sun Mo. “Why are you hiding in a place like this?”

  Sun Mo shrugged.

  “Sun Mo, listen to uncle. If you purely want to be a great teacher, there’s no need for you to care about these social interactions. But if you wish to expand your influence and achieve something in the great teacher world, social interactions are necessary. Whether a person is successful or not, that would depend on his ability to manage his social network.”

  Zheng Qingfang earnestly advised Sun Mo.

  “Many thanks for Uncle Zheng’s guidance.

  Sun Mo knew that Old Zheng truly wanted to guide him.

  “Let’s go, I will introduce a few people to you!”

  Zheng Qingfang pulled Sun Mo’s hand along.

  Upon seeing Zheng Qingfang regarding this young man so highly, many of the guests were extremely curious as all of them sought to find out Sun Mo’s name.

  “He is that One-Vote Sun?”

  “Oh, so he is An Xinhui’s fiance?”

  “Wow, he’s quite handsome-looking!”

  This was the Deer Tail Banquet. It was organized to congratulate newly ascended 1-star great teachers. Moreover, there was someone who had achieved a grand slam and broken the record this year. All the guests were naturally incomparably curious.

  Everyone had long since heard of Sun Mo. After all, the title of An Xinhui’s fiance was sufficient to attract attention.

  Sun Mo was very calm. He followed Zheng Qingfang around to greet a few major characters.

  If this was the previous year, those 1-star great teachers would surely feel jealous. After all, it was too rare to get an opportunity to get acquainted with these major characters of Jinling. But for this year, no one was bothered.

  People like Gu Xiuxun, Fang Wuji, and Liu Mubai basically wouldn’t care.

  This was the confidence brought about by talent.

  “This is prince consort Qi Mu`en, the husband of his majesty’s paternal aunt!”

  Zheng Qingfang introduced.

  Sun Mo, who was originally indifferent, immediately corrected his attitude. After all, this was a family elder of one of his personal students. He had to treat the meeting seriously.

  “Teacher Sun, it’s an honor to meet you at last!”

  Qi Mu`en smiled harmoniously.

  “Lord Qi!”

  Sun Mo clasped his fists.

  Li Ziqi’s aunt was the eldest princess of the Great Tang Empire. She was heavily trusted by his majesty.

  Usually speaking, the emperor would avoid these relatives and basically wouldn’t give them any authority. He would give them enough money to do whatever they wanted to, but as for authority, they didn’t even need to think about it.

  However, the eldest princess was an exception. It was said that she controlled the secret spy network of the Great Tang Empire. Simply speaking, she was an information broker.

  Sun Mo didn’t know how outstanding Qi Mu`en was, but since he could make such an impressive woman fall in love with him, he must definitely be very talented.

  Based on looks, he who was in his 40s was still suave and handsome. Every casual action of his exuded an aura of nobility, causing people to feel good will toward him.

  For such a wealthy uncle-looking guy, if it was in the modern era, he would surely be the king of sugardaddies.

  “This elder’s EQ is extremely high!”

  Sun Mo analyzed. He had seen people like him before. Those people with high EQ were all highly educated and had interacted with many different types of people, as well as experiencing many events in their lives. All these factors combined and nurtured them to have a very high EQ.

  “Teacher Sun, I actually wanted to look for trouble with you, but I can’t bear it if our Ziqi cries. Hence, I shall temporarily spare you.”

  Qi Mu`en, who was originally smiling, suddenly changed his tone.

  “Little Qi!”

  Zheng Qingfang called out.

  “Uncle Zheng, this is my family matter!”

  Qi Mu`en rebutted.

  “This is also my family matter!”

  Zheng Qingfang chortled.

  “Mn?”

  Qi Mu`en started. After that, he looked at Sun Mo. “Uncle Zheng’s horizons are very broad. Since you can obtain his admiration, you must have your outstanding aspects. However, it is still not enough!”

  Qi Mu`en didn’t expect Zheng Qingfang would appreciate Sun Mo so much and treated him like a junior of his own clan. “Just a title of the top-ranker of the 1-star great teacher examination……let alone my wife, even I’m not satisfied with it.”

  Sun Mo explained. “I’ve never been complacent before!”

  At this moment, Sun Mo recalled those parents who purposely made things difficult for him. Honestly speaking, it wasn’t easy for a student to meet a responsible teacher and also have understanding parents.

  “The amount of time you have remaining is not a lot. In the 2-star great teacher examination two months plus later, I hope to see you prove yourself there.”

  Qi Mu`en requested.

  “Little Qi, are you not being too overbearing?” Zheng Qingfang frowned. “Have you seen someone who could rise 2 stars in a single year?’

  “Only geniuses can accomplish things normal people cannot. Uncle Zheng, Ziqi’s personal teacher has to be a genius no matter what, right?”

  Qi Mu`en counter-asked.

  Zheng Qingfang didn’t know what to say. Honestly speaking, given Li Ziqi’s identity as a princess of the Great Tang Empire, even if her teacher wasn’t a secondary saint, it wouldn’t be a problem for her to take a 7-star or 8-star great teacher as her personal teacher.

  Back when he heard that Li Ziqi had taken Sun Mo as her master, he was badly frightened. He even wanted to step out to stop her. In fact, even now, he still felt that Sun Mo wasn’t too suitable.

  There was no doubt that Sun Mo was outstanding, but could he be more outstanding than a 7-star great teacher? Even if he could, how long must they wait for him to ascend to that rank? Moreover, in the process of him becoming a 7-star great teacher, her highness’s education would surely be delayed!

  After all, the optimal learning age for everyone was that short few tens of years.

  “Also, I heard that Liu Mubai is planning to achieve the feat of obtaining 3 stars in a single year. I believe my request for Teacher Sun to get 2 stars in one year isn’t too overbearing, right?”

  Qi Mu`en asked.

  “Not at all!”

  Sun Mo smiled. “If I can’t even achieve 3 stars in a year, I will persuade Ziqi to leave me!”

  “Sun Mo!”

  Zheng Qingfang was badly frightened.

  “Obtaining three stars in a year? Are you sure you didn’t say it wrongly?”

  Qi Mu`en’s eyes widened as he started to survey Sun Mo seriously.

  “I’m certain!”

  Sun Mo looked at Qi Mu`en with a solemn expression. “This time around, I’m not fighting for myself. I’m also fighting to prove that Ziqi’s judgment isn’t mistaken!”

  Upon hearing this, Zheng Qingfang involuntarily stroked his beard as he laughed uproariously. As expected, this was the Sun Mo he was acquainted with. He was tyrannical enough.

  Ding!

  Favorable impression points from Zheng Qingfang +100. Respect (2,440/10,000).

  “Alright, if you managed to achieve it, I would pour tea for you myself and apologize for my words!”

  Qi Mu`en raised his right hand. He wanted to strike palms with Sun Mo to seal the deal.

  Sun Mo wasn’t afraid at all.

  Pak! Pak! Pak!

  The crisp sounds of their palms meeting echoed through half of the Linjiang Square.

  The surrounding guests couldn’t help but whisper to each other, very curious about their conversation.

  “Teacher’s expression is so heavy. Something couldn’t have happened, right?”

  Lu Zhiruo was worried.

  Li Ziqi’s heart was filled with concern. The scene she was most afraid of finally came. She didn’t care anymore, if her aunt and uncle bullied her teacher, she would use her own life to threaten them!

  In any case, with such a good teacher by her side, she would never give up on Sun Mo her entire life.

  Ding!

  “Mission issued: Please pass the 2-star great teacher examination two months later and prove your excellence to Qi Mu`en. Special reward: 1x silver treasure chest!”

  “Mission issued: Please do your best to accomplish the feat of obtaining 3 stars in one year, shocking Qi Mu`en badly. At that time, there will be a mysterious reward given out.”

  The system’s voice rang out in his ears.

  “What are you guys chatting about? Can I join in?”

  A 50-year-old man walked over with vigorous strides. He was very tall and had broad shoulders. When he spoke, it was as though an iron wall was rushing over, bringing with it immense pressure.

  “This is Prince Li!”

  Zheng Qingfang introduced.

  “Prince Li!”

  Sun Mo greeted but he didn’t bow.

  Upon seeing this scene, Li Zixing’s gaze froze slightly. After that, he started laughing. He stretched out his hand and patted Sun Mo’s shoulder heavily.

  “The juniors are fearsome. The Central Province Academy exceeded all expectations this year because of you. This is glory for our Jinling!”

  Li Zixing praised.

  Sun Mo didn’t speak and merely smiled. However, he had an evaluation of Li Zixing in his heart. “Smiling tiger!”

  At this moment, An Xinhui also came over.

  “Premier Zheng, Prince Li, Prince consort Qi!”

  An Xinhui greeted all of them. She was worried that Sun Mo might suffer a disadvantage.

  “Premier Zheng, recently because Teacher Miao has read [Journey to the West], he felt inspired and created a painting of Reverend Sanzang.”

  Li Zixing bragged. “I’ve already bought it for 1 million taels of silver!”

  Li Zixing’s voice was very loud. As his status was very high as well, this would naturally attract the attention of others. Hence, once he spoke, many people exclaimed in surprise.

  Teacher Miao’s name was Miao Mu. He was a 1-star great teacher, but his drawing technique was extremely good, ranked number one in Jinling. He was even very famous in the entire Jiangnan.

  His paintings were often out of stock.

  “Teacher Miao, you are in the wrong then. I’ve said that if you created any famous paintings, you should show them to me first!”

  Premier Zheng was depressed.

  “Premier Zheng. To tell you the truth, when I was drawing this in my humble abode, Prince Li coincidentally paid me a visit. When he saw it, he told me he wanted to purchase it immediately. There was really nothing I could do!”

  A skinny middle-aged man exuding a hint of scholarly aura spread his hands wide.

  “Since I saw such a painting, I naturally mustn’t miss out on it, or I would regret it all my life!”

  Li Zixing laughed complacently.

  “How about taking the Sanzang Painting out and showing it to everyone?”

  Qi Mu`en was also a lover of paintings.

  “Maids, come and open up the painting scroll!”

  Li Zixing commanded.

  That Teacher Miao was drinking tea in a very composed manner.

  Very soon, two maids brought the painting scroll over and opened it.

  This was a long-axis painting. It was about 3 meters long and was about Reverend Sanzang traveling to the west. Some parts of the painting, about ? of it, were colored.

  “It’s considered half a famous painting. What a pity!”

  Several guests sighed. If it was a famous painting, it would be much more valuable.

  Naturally, even the standard of the current painting was already extremely high.

  “If it wasn’t for me being too excited back then and called out in agitation, disturbing Teacher Miao’s focus, this would be a famous painting.”

  Li Zixing sighed ruefully.

  “Prince, what are you saying. It’s clear that I wasn’t skilled enough!”

  Miao Mu hurriedly spoke up humbly.

  Everyone started to evaluate this painting. Naturally, the mood had already been set, and everyone was complimenting it. After all, this came from the number one artist in Jinling and was purchased by Prince Li. Who would dare to say anything bad?

  Zheng Qingfang turned his head and looked at Sun Mo before winking mischievously. Given his long years of experience, he could tell that Li Zixing was about to make things difficult for Sun Mo.

  Sun Mo helplessly shook his head.

  “Eh? What does Teacher Sun mean by shaking your head? Could it be there’s something lacking about this famous painting?”

  Qi Mu`en asked.

  It wasn’t that he wanted to make things difficult for Sun Mo. He only asked because he was curious.

  (Well done!)

  Li Zixing silently mused joyfully. He had already arranged for people to find a chance and make things difficult for Sun Mo, but he didn’t expect Qi Mu`en to speak. This saved him some effort. Next, it would depend on how Sun Mo answered this.

  (If his answer isn’t good, don’t blame me for flying into a rage!)

  Chapter 504: Sorry, the Grandmaster-Level Sun Mo Is Simply a Daddy!

  Sun Mo shook his head. It was to express his helplessness in the current situation.

  However, Sun Mo could understand Li Zixing’s thought process.

  It was difficult for a mountain to contain two tigers. Both the Central Province Academy and Myriad Daos Academy were located in Jinling, and the Central Province Academy was even upgraded to the ‘C’ grade. It directly brought immense pressure to the Myriad Daos Academy.

  As a supporter of the Myriad Daos Academy, it would be strange if Li Zixing didn’t hate Sun Mo.

  One must know that the reason why the Central Province Academy was able to avoid being delisted and overturn its situation was because of Sun Mo’s excellence. In fact, he had even suppressed one of the twin jade annulus of Jinling, Liu Mubai, and became the trump card of the Central Province Academy.

  If one asked what Li Zixing wanted to say the most about Sun Mo, it would absolutely be ‘Sun Mo? I want nothing more than for him to die!’

  (A man can only be considered a real man after withstanding tribulations from the heavens. If one’s talent doesn’t involve jealousy in the heart of others, that person is mediocre for sure!)

  Sun Mo murmured in his heart, consoling himself. After that, his expression turned cold. He didn’t want trouble, but trouble came knocking on his door. Since that was the case, he had nothing to fear as well!

  (Since you guys want to find trouble with me, this daddy is going to screw all of you!)

  Sun Mo stared at Qi Mu`en. “Prince Consort Qi, what a strange question. Isn’t it obvious? If this painting wasn’t lacking, it wouldn’t be merely half a famous painting!”

  “Eh?!”

  Everyone on the scene fell silent. The guests in the surroundings subconsciously glanced at Li Zixing before turning to glance at Miao Mu. After that, they shifted their gazes back into Sun Mo.

  (You are really audacious!)

  This was the thought of all the guests. (What is your EQ? Are you an adult yet?)

  Just like the saying, ‘no one would go against the words of high officials’, among the guests today, the ones with the greatest power were undoubtedly Zheng Qingfang and Li Zixing.

  Speaking of the person with the highest status, it was naturally Li Zixing.

  Earlier, Li Zixing had said that he had spent 1 million to purchase this painting and was continuously praising it.

  In such a situation, even those with half a brain would say that this painting was excellent!

  “Teacher is so iron-headed!”

  Li Ziqi was secretly joyful, feeling even more admiration in her heart. As expected, her teacher wouldn’t act submissively in order to ingratiate himself.

  An Xinhui’s countenance didn’t change, but there was worry in her heart. Sun Mo’s words were true. If there were no flaws with this painting, it would be a famous painting then. However, the consequences of these words might lead to a painting challenge. What should they do then?

  “If I knew this would happen, I would have continued training my drawing techniques!”

  An Xinhui sighed. When she was young, she was proficient in the way of zither, chess, calligraphy, and drawing. But as the number of things she had to learn gradually increased, she began to lack time. Hence, she decided to give up subjects like calligraphy and drawing.

  Naturally, although she had given them up, An Xinhui’s calligraphy and art pieces were still better than the majority of people. But when compared to famous calligraphers and artists, her skill was insufficient.

  “Why? Was there a mistake in my words?”

  Sun Mo looked at Qi Mu`en as he counter-asked.

  (Why was I so talkative?)

  Qi Mu`en was depressed. It was hard to dismount a tiger. Given his identity, he was naturally not afraid of offending Miao Mu and Li Ziqing. However, he had always been benevolent and knew how to give people face.

  Bluntly speaking, he had never been those types of people who would say malicious words about people behind their backs.

  “Sun Mo’s words are right!”

  Qi Mu`en first confirmed Sun Mo’s words. After that, he changed the topic. “However, Grandmaster Miao’s painting does have a resemblance to the image of Reverend Sanzang in the novel.”

  “Teacher Sun, I’ve already said earlier. If it wasn’t for me disturbing Grandmaster Miao, this would surely be a famous painting!”

  Li Zixing explained.

  “No matter the reason, since it didn’t become a famous painting. This indicates that Grandmaster Miao’s drawing technique is not consummate enough!”

  Sun Mo shrugged.

  (Aiya, you are still talking?)

  (The guests are already convinced, can’t you just let things go?)

  However, everyone here was a veteran in society, and they could easily see the hostility between both parties very quickly.

  “Oh, let me ask Teacher Sun then. What is lacking in the painting? I wish to touch up on it!”

  Miao Mu suppressed his anger and consulted Sun Mo for guidance. However, the smart ones could tell that Miao Mu was preparing his retaliation.

  (You are an ordinary person, how can you evaluate a famous artist? If you can’t give a convincing reason, you will definitely be cursed at by everyone!)

  Puchi~

  Before Sun Mo spoke, Zheng Qingfang burst out into laughter. His sudden actions instantly drew the attention of everyone over.

  “Cough, cough. Sorry, sorry, I have a stomachache!”

  Premier Zheng randomly found an excuse, but no one dared to call him out on it.

  “For this painting, regardless of its scenery setting or painting skill, both are excellent. However, its concept is slightly lacking. Reverend Sanzang is fully focused on retrieving the true scriptures from the West, but he is doing this not to grind his will. Most importantly, he is doing this because he wanted to save everyone from calamities, rescuing the world!”

  Sun Mo spoke.

  Miao Mu, who was originally filled with disdain toward Sun Mo, suddenly frowned upon hearing this. He then glanced at this Sanzang Painting again.

  Li Zixing stared at Miao Mu. (What are you doing?)

  (Retaliate!)

  (Curse him!)

  Miao Mu was still contemplating Sun Mo’s words, but after he saw Li Zixing’s gaze, he could only stop pondering and spoke out.

  “Teacher Sun, if you don’t understand painting, could you kindly shut up? Either that or you should sincerely consult others for guidance. You are simply nitpicking, and doing something like this doesn’t befit our statuses as great teachers.”

  Miao Mu reproached, reprimanding Sun Mo in the name of a famous artist.

  “I feel Teacher Sun’s words are correct!”

  “What do you mean by correct? For something like a ‘concept’, this is the most unreliable thing. Other than the author of the [Journey to the West], who could fully understand the meaning that the story wanted to present?”

  “Isn’t this simply both sides claiming they’re right?”

  The guests discussed. Although they wanted to praise Sun Mo’s intellect, honestly speaking, his provocation now seemed a little shameless.

  It was like there might be 1,000 readers reading Hamlet, but other than Shakespeare himself, who dared to say that they understood Hamlet fully?

  Sun Mo shrugged. He hadn’t been casually speaking. If it was a painting of flowers, birds, fishes, and bugs, he would truly not know how to evaluate. But now that the thing he was evaluating was a Sanzang painting……sorry, the grandmaster-level Sun Mo was a daddy!

  “Teacher Sun, I dare to say that with regard to research in [Journey to the West], I’m absolutely one of the top few in Jinling. Ever since this book was published, I’ve reread it many times. Right now, I already know the content by heart. If I don’t have true appreciation for it, I wouldn’t be able to produce a half famous painting either!”

  Miao Mu explained.

  “That’s right. Teacher Miao’s love for [Journey to the West] surpassed everyone else’s.”

  Li Zixing added in support. “Hence, his understanding of Reverend Sanzang is also the deepest. What about you, Teacher Sun? In this past year, you should have been busy preparing for the 1-star great teacher examination, right?”

  The guests started to discuss among themselves again.

  Indeed, even if Sun Mo said he was someone who read the [Journey to the West] every day, no one would believe him. After all, if one wanted to break the record and obtained the first place, they had to put in more effort compared to other teachers. How would Sun Mo have the time to read novels idly?

  In the eyes of everyone, Sun Mo was reluctant to admit his mistake. He was the type of person that refused to shed tears before he saw a coffin in front of his eyes.

  Pu!

  Zheng Qingfang couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Premier Zheng, what do you mean?”

  Qi Mu`en didn’t understand.

  “I have a bad stomach ache!”

  Zheng Qingfang not only wanted to laugh, but he even wanted to toss a [Journey to the West] book to Miao Mu. (Did you say you understand the [Journey to the West] more than Sun Mo?)

  (Do you know that he is none other than the author?)

  “This book [Journey to the West] might use simple wordings and is somewhat crude, but the writing style is extremely interesting and the author’s imagination is vivid. The concepts are profound and far-reaching, causing people to feel that other authors are far inferior. This book has opened up a brand new genre!”

  Miao Mu praised the book highly.

  Many guests respectively nodded after they heard this.

  In this recent year, [Journey to the West] was wildly popular. This was especially so in the circles of nobility. It spread like wildfire.

  One must know that nobles weren’t like ordinary folks who had to work to support their family. Other than eating and playing, nobles had all the time in the world. They could read as many novels as they wanted to.

  This was the first time many among them got their hands on common literature, and they loved it so much they couldn’t bear to part with it.

  The Great Sage Equal to Heavens had fiery golden eyes and wreaked havoc through the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, screwing the heavens, the earth, and the air. His attitude was grand and tyrannical, causing many men to idolize him.

  One could say that all the men on the scene right now wanted an iron cudgel that could penetrate the sky, not allowing it to hinder their vision!

  “I only hate the fact that this is just the first half of the book!”

  Miao Mu sighed.

  “Yeah, I wonder what that Gandalf is doing. Why is he not continuing to write?”

  “It’s Grandmaster Gandalf. Could you show some respect when speaking about him?”

  “I almost die from the lack of continuation!”

  Speaking of [Journey to the West], everyone felt some anger. Why was there only the first-half? They could only hope that the writer wouldn’t ‘castrate’ it half-way and stop writing!

  Upon hearing the discussion in the surroundings, Sun Mo felt very awkward. (I should feel proud if so many people praise me!)

  Actually, Sun Mo was giving Miao Mu face by intentionally ‘nitpicking’.

  “Hehe!”

  Lu Zhiruo’s grin almost reached her ears. Her teacher was the book’s author. Although he didn’t write the second-half, she had heard the plot from him already.

  It was super fascinating!

  “What’s the matter?”

  Ying Baiwu didn’t understand.

  “Because……”

  Just when the papaya girl wanted to speak, she was interrupted by Li Ziqi.

  “Cough cough!”

  The little sunny egg was speechless. There were many people with sharp senses here. If the papaya girl revealed this fact and it got heard by others, it might bring trouble to their teacher.

  As Miao Mu started to brag about his knowledge of [Journey to the West] and express his understanding of Reverend Sanzang through his speech, he wanted to show that Sun Mo didn’t know anything.

  His words earlier were just a cover-up for his superficial-ness.

  An instant later, Miao Mu turned the topic of conversation to Sun Mo again as he looked at him.

  “So, Teacher Sun. You really know nothing about painting, right? In that case, please stop talking when it comes to evaluating paintings.”

  Miao Mu flicked his sleeves, acting as though he wouldn’t hold it against Sun Mo.

  (Haha, competing with me? You are still far from capable enough!)

  Li Zixing was extremely happy. It could be considered that he had obtained a small victory in this first round of the Deer Tail Banquet.

  What he wanted to do was to give Sun Mo a ‘social death’. What was a great teacher most afraid of? Naturally, it was their reputation being destroyed. At that time, no one would take them on as a teacher.

  Yue Rongbo sighed. Li Zixing had truly been prepared before he came this time around. It was clear that he wanted to destroy Sun Mo. Also, this was merely an appetizer. If Sun Mo was smart, he should have left Linjiang Square as soon as possible.

  An Xinhui felt anxious when she saw that Sun Mo had no plans of rebutting. It seemed like she was the only one who could say something. “Teacher Miao, your words are incorrect!”

  However, before An Xinhui could finish speaking, Zheng Qingfang interrupted her.

  “What a coincidence. I’ve obtained three famous paintings recently and might as well take this chance to let everyone evaluate them!”

  As Zheng Qingfang spoke, he winked mischievously at Sun Mo, indicating for him to watch a good show.

  “Three?”

  Everyone was badly shocked. One must know that only paintings at the ‘Wondrous Blossom’ realm would be able to become famous paintings. This was why famous paintings were so rare. Yet, Zheng Qingfang actually said that he had managed to obtain three?

  (Did you dig the tomb of some nobles from the royal clan and stole the paintings that were used as funerary objects?)

  Li Zixing immediately grew jealous.

  “Where are the paintings? Quick, quick, bring them out!”

  Qi Mu`en excitedly urged.