Chapter 101: Public Display of Love

When Lei En spoke, everyone present was momentarily stunned.

Yetezi seemed to have heard the world's funniest joke; he stared blankly for several seconds before bursting into loud laughter: "Hahaha… you country mud‑legged yokel, you actually want to compare poetry with me?"

His face was full of contempt and arrogance as he said, "Do you even know what poetry is?"

The surrounding priests kept shaking their heads, smiling, and looked at Lei En as if he were a ridiculous clown.

Even Viola felt uneasy, wondering whether Lei En had been provoked by Yetezi.

She was confident in Lei En's swordsmanship, but comparing poetry would be self‑inflicted humiliation.

She lived with Lei En day and night, close and intimate, yet had never seen him write poetry; aside from his extraordinary musical talent, he had shown almost no skill in other arts.

Yetezi is Longshande's most talented poet, having penned several celebrated verses, repeatedly praised by President Haxilin, and is quite famous throughout the Empire, with admirers from various imperial cities traveling to Longshande just to catch a glimpse of him.

If it were only a poetry contest, President Haxilin wouldn't dare claim to be a cut above.

It was thanks to these poems that Yetezi became a deacon of the Art Association, entered the Beauty and Goodness Church, and became a priest.

Although his experience is still shallow and he hasn't yet received the Longhaired Lady's blessing, no one doubts that he will eventually obtain Divine Technique.

Viola grasped Lei En's hand and whispered a few words into his ear, informing him of the situation.

Lei En shook his head after listening, unwilling to change his mind.

His confidence stems from the fact that his phone contains a Complete Poetry Collection, brought over from Diqiu, a hefty volume of nearly a million characters encompassing classic poems from all eras and regions; whatever he needs, he can simply search for it in his mind.

No matter how talented Yetezi is, could he still match the many astonishing geniuses of his past life?

Moreover, poetry comparison relies on quick wit; with limited time, he has a ready‑made collection and can copy a poem at will to crush Yetezi.

After all, copying music is copying, copying poetry is copying; no one will know the truth, so he can brazenly forge ahead.

Since Yetezi wants to defeat him in his own strongest field, let him fully savor the pain of having his specialty trampled.

Seeing Lei En's intimate gestures with Viola, Yetezi's jealousy flared; his delicate handsome face showed disdain as he said, "Competing with you in poetry is an insult to me; I refuse."

He struck a lofty pose, genuinely believing that comparing poetry with Lei En would diminish his worth, making any victory unworthy of praise.

"If you don't write poetry, I won't spar with you in swordsmanship."

Lei En instantly read Yetezi's mind and used the sword duel he wanted as a threat.

Yetezi's expression froze; he didn't understand why Lei En was so stubborn, hesitated briefly, thought he couldn't possibly lose, and sneered, "It seems Mr. Lei En isn't completely clueless; perhaps he wishes to admire my poems. Fine, I'll indulge you."

"How do you want to compare?" he asked casually.

"Whatever you like." Lei En was even more nonchalant, as if victory were assured.

Yetezi's gaze darkened, assuming Lei En only wanted to mock him; he suppressed his anger, turned to Haxilin, and said, "President, please set a theme for the poems and evaluate them, ranking the superior."

"Very well." Haxilin nodded in agreement.

He glanced at Lei En; the literary giant was also puzzled, wondering why Lei En, knowing he would lose, persisted—perhaps he had another motive?

In his view, Lei En didn't seem such a shallow youth.

Haxilin thought for a moment and said, "You both fight for love, so let the theme be 'love'; each compose one poem within ten minutes."

As he spoke, he produced a pocket watch and began timing.

"Love."

Yetezi let out a light laugh; composing love poems was his forte, and he immediately began pondering with practiced ease.

Lei En also pretended to contemplate, but had already opened the Complete Poetry Collection and searched for the keyword 'love'.

In a second, hundreds of love poems sprang up in his view.

They included both ancient and modern verses, each a classic; however, the Empire's Aurelien Language is a phonetic alphabet, so translated ancient poems lose their rhyme, making foreign love poems more suitable.

The Empire's poetic forms, which Lei En had skimmed in academy books, resembled Western poetry of his past life, featuring both strictly structured sonnets and very free prose poems.

In less than thirty seconds, Lei En selected a poem.

He didn't rush to hand the poem to Haxilin; an overly eager display might arouse suspicion, so he chose to wait a few more minutes.

Just as the time passed the halfway mark, Yetezi shouted, "President, my poem is finished."

"Recite it." Haxilin said.

Yetezi, however, had another idea and proposed, "President, I wish to write down this poem, first spar with Mr. Lei En in swordsmanship, and after witnessing his skill, we can together judge the poems." He turned to Lei En, "Mr. Lei En, what do you think?"

Everyone understood Yetezi's intention: to defeat Lei En while reciting his poem on the spot for greater impact.

The arrangement was even more dramatic, like a meticulously rehearsed performance.

Lei En couldn't help but laugh silently; the drama‑seeking tricks were numerous, constantly aimed at showing off in front of others and using the chance to elevate his perfect image.

"I agree." Lei En immediately voiced his consent.

"Lei En…" Viola's eyes were full of worry, but Lei En gave her a slight shake of his head, appearing very confident, reassuring her.

The priests who had been watching for a while erupted in a stir; the female priests felt some sympathy for Lei En, thinking he was self‑destructive, while the male priests were schadenfreude, waiting to see Lei En embarrass himself.

Haxilin produced paper and pen, asking the two to write their poems separately.

Yetezi wrote extremely quickly, finished impatiently, and handed it to Haxilin.

Lei En, however, was unhurried, copying the poem onto paper word by word. Viola, standing nearby, glanced at the opening lines and couldn't help but show a subtle change of expression, eyes filled with boundless astonishment.

When she finished reading the entire poem, she was so moved that she rose onto her tiptoes, tilted her head back, and gave Lei En a lingering kiss.

"Sss—"

The scene was a public display of love, and with Viola initiating, it left everyone stunned.

The temple, previously silent as a tomb, now held people watching the intimate couple with mixed feelings.

They were all followers of the Longhaired Lady, naturally sensing the abundant beautiful love in the kiss.

It perfectly aligned with the Longhaired Lady's doctrine; Viola unreservedly displayed beauty, performing with genuine feeling, awakening true love in people and drawing out the benevolent side from all things.

The female priests' eyes sparkled, hearts surging; even the few male priests praised enthusiastically, though they still harbored some jealousy that Lei En had won a beauty's favor, their hostility had lessened considerably.

【9】 Only Yetezi's jealousy flared, almost spitting out of his eyes.

【10】 His teeth chattered, and his right hand gripped the sword hilt so tightly that his finger joints whitened from the force.

Only Yetezi, the jealous fire almost spurted from his eyes.

His teeth ground together with a grating sound; his right hand gripped the sword hilt tightly, and because he exerted too much force, even his finger joints turned white.

After a long while, Viola, satisfied, pulled away and quickly handed over the paper with that poem.

Haxilin took it and glanced through it quickly, instantly moved.

He finally understood why Viola was so agitated.

Any lady seeing this love poem would find it hard to suppress her emotions, inevitably becoming as moved as Viola.

Haxilin couldn't help but scrutinize Lei En earnestly, as if wanting to get to know him anew, openly admiring Lei En.

Seeing the chairman's expression, everyone was extremely curious about what poem Lei En had written.

Yetezi sensed something amiss, but had no choice; he walked to the center of the arena, drew his longsword with a clang, and pointed it at Lei En.

He said nothing, but had made up his mind.

He intended not only to defeat Lei En, but to do so handsomely, preferably finding an opportunity to feign a mistake and kill that hateful pretty boy.

Lei En also stepped onto the stage, feeling completely at ease.

Engaging in poetic duels with others, though one could plagiarize, always felt awkward, clumsy, and not his style.

He still preferred martial contests, using his fists to reason with others, convincing them through reason.

"Who can lend me a sword?"

Lei En asked, and though his dragon-skin belt held only a Crushing Ice War Hammer, since they had agreed to compare swordsmanship, he would use a sword.

Viola immediately drew an enchanted shortsword from her Space Pendant; it was her spellcasting weapon, top-tier gear worth a fortune, with several enchantments and attached spells.

Such an enchanted shortsword can also be used in melee combat—very sharp and sturdy—but as a spellcaster's weapon it is ill-suited for close quarters and likely to be damaged.

Viola, however, felt no regret and simply tossed the shortsword to Lei En.

This made the watching priests envious; to so readily bring out such an expensive spellcasting weapon for a sword duel was sheer extravagance.

At the same time, people realized how deep Viola's feelings for Lei En were, regarding the Gold Shield as dirt.

Lei En caught the shortsword; upon gripping it, he felt a surge of soul power infusing his body, instantly invigorating his spirit, recognizing it as the effect of spell acceleration and soul power restoration.

At that moment, a female priest stepped forward and said, "Mr. Lei En, you may use my side sword."

Her profession was a ranger, she was very beautiful, with a fiery figure; her overall appearance was only slightly inferior to Viola's, making her the second most beautiful person present after Viola.

As this beauty spoke, she turned her back to Viola, threw a flirtatious glance at Lei En, her expression ambiguous, her intention obvious.

Lei En decisively refused: "Thank you for your kindness, but this shortsword is enough for me."

The female priest's eyes dimmed; she turned and retreated, still giving Viola a kind smile.

"The people of the Beauty and Goodness Church are all drama queens," Lei En thought to himself.

(End of chapter)