"Agreed!" Kong Lingyang didn't give him a second glance. Forget whether you could even match Han Zhidong's upper couplet; even if you miraculously did, could such a shallow couplet produced by a mere dandy truly challenge the entire Wenxing Academy? What a colossal joke! Jun Mowu slapped his thigh with a sharp crack, snatched a jar of wine from the table, propped one foot on a chair, tilted his head back, and took a long swig. He pondered for a moment, then took another pull, and thought some more.

All eyes were fixed upon him, including those of His Majesty the Emperor, who watched with keen interest, a faint glint of cold light flickering in his gaze. If Jun Mowu could indeed produce a fitting lower couplet, then he would truly have to reassess his standing regarding the Jun family... Dugu Xiaoyi and Princess Lingmeng watched him with shared anxiety, silently chiding him: Why did he have to show off? If he failed to match the line, the humiliation would be immense. Yet, afraid of disrupting his concentration, neither dared to speak.

Seeing that Jun Moxie had already emptied more than half the wine jar, Dugu Ying grew impatient. "Hey! You're not planning to use this chance just to drink more, are you?"

Dugu Xiaoyi shot her elder brother a fierce glare, petulantly retorting, "He hasn't rushed, why are you so anxious?" Dugu Ying scratched his head, sat down sheepishly, and stared intently at the wine jar in Jun Mowu's hand... Suddenly, Jun Moxie raised his head, snapped his right hand in a sharp, crisp clap, and exclaimed, "I have it!"

Amidst everyone's anticipation, the Young Master Jun proudly recited his lower couplet: "Street stinks far, human excrement stinks, dog feces stinks, pig manure stinks, feces stinks feces stinks feces feces stinks, Confucian stench leaves an eternal stain, stains eternally, eternally stinks alone."

A wave of shock swept through the hall. "It's perfect! Truly perfect... Matching fragrance against stench, excrement against flowers... Ugh, ugh..." Tang Yuan rushed forward to praise him, but before he finished his compliment, he was nauseated by the 'perfection' he had uttered. He couldn't speak, feeling only a churning sickness in his gut... This couplet was... utterly too disgusting in its perfection! Paired with the large amount of food he had just consumed, feeling nauseous wasn't just likely, it was inevitable... Everyone wore strange expressions, looking at Jun Mowu with a mix of grief and indignation. Suddenly, with a loud "Waaah," Han Yanmeng, the little princess of Fengxue Silver City, clapped her hands over her mouth and ran out. Immediately after, a swarm of young ladies followed, covering their mouths and scurrying away. Finally, even Dugu Xiaoyi covered her mouth and fled, casting one last hateful glare at Jun Moxie as she left.

"Who dares say I didn't match it? I matched it perfectly, didn't I!" Jun Moxie raised his arms in triumph, grabbing a crab on the fly, swiftly digging out the rich yellow roe, stuffing it into his mouth, and chewing heartily.

Watching him pop the yellow roe into his mouth, recalling the utterly revolting lower couplet, everyone’s faces paled further.

A collective stunned silence fell. The couplet was indeed matched, and moreover, it had severely insulted the esteemed scholars. The single phrase, 'Confucian stench leaves an eternal stain,' was enough to make the old masters tremble with rage. As for the structure and rhythm, even Kong Lingyang and Mei Gaojie dared not claim such a couplet was mismatched or ill-formed. But... producing such a couplet while everyone was eating—wasn't that deliberately trying to cause offense? He had matched the lower line, but he had instantly destroyed everyone’s appetite...

"The tables have turned; now it's my turn to set the challenge," Jun Mowu declared smugly, waving the half-eaten crab in his hand. "About half a month ago, I was at home—uh... studying poetry—when a very old friend of my grandfather's came to visit. His name was quite peculiar, so it stuck with me: his surname was He, his given name Shang. He presented my grandfather with a painting, a lotus flower he had painted himself. When leaving, he left behind an upper couplet that my grandfather and many others he consulted could not answer."

At this point, Dugu Xiaoyi and the other ladies returned, their faces pale, each glaring at Jun Moxie with eyes full of resentment, practically wishing they could rush over and bite him.

As he finished speaking, someone curious broke the silence: "May I ask what the exact upper couplet Young Master Jun mentioned was?"

"This upper couplet is very simple, only seven characters... Painting shows lotus, Monk paints." Jun Moxie snorted twice, throwing out this absolute challenge. As for the blame, he squarely placed it on Elder Jun; since the old man was present, he wouldn't be caught in a lie. In this world, perhaps many people couldn't be trusted, but his own grandfather was certainly one of the most trustworthy. Even if he lied to his face, Elder Jun would have to clean up his grandson's mess.

"Painting shows lotus, Monk paints... Painting shows lotus, Monk paints..." As soon as the upper couplet was uttered, everyone frowned. At first glance, it seemed simple, but upon careful consideration, everyone gasped sharply. It read the same forwards and backwards, with the meaning remaining consistent; a proper name was embedded in the middle, present either way; and while the first and last characters were identical, one implied stillness and the other motion, creating an absolute reversal.

The esteemed scholars all furrowed their brows, utterly unprepared for the monumental challenge hurled forth by the seemingly unlettered, roguish young man. Faced with this divinely inspired, timeless absolute, the talents of Wenxing Academy were plunged into an unprecedented struggle! All twenty scholars frowned in deep thought, racking their brains and exerting maximum effort.

The challenge they had set had already been met by Jun Moxie. Even if the resulting lower couplet was unsavory, the fact remained that he had met it. Now, their opponent had posed a question, and they were completely stumped. If they ultimately failed to answer, it would mean the entirety of Wenxing Academy had been stumped by Jun Mowu.

To fail to perfectly decipher this absolute, to be defeated by a dissolute, uneducated young nobleman...?? What a humiliating prospect! The academy, the institution representing the highest scholarship of the Tianxiang Empire, would be utterly disgraced. In fact, this couplet was considered an absolute even on Jun Moxie’s past Earth! It wasn't until it was posted online that countless people painstakingly worked, accumulating efforts over years, to barely produce a few matching lines, none of which could claim perfection in mood, rhythm, or any other stipulated condition.

To expect these scholars to solve such an absolute within the time it took a stick of incense to burn was simply asking the impossible.

The two senior tutors were also deep in contemplation. Elder Mei Gaojie paced back and forth, his brow tightly furrowed; occasionally shaking his head, murmuring, "No, no!" before resuming his deep thought.

Elder Kong Lingyang remained still, eyes closed, gazing upwards at the heavens, his face etched with profound concentration. From a distance, the lines on his face seemed deeper, and his sparse white hair looked like silver snow, inexplicably evoking a pang of melancholy in observers.

Strictly speaking, this contest was aimed at the assembled talents of Wenxing Academy, and the two old masters should not have intervened—it was technically a violation. However, with the reputation of Wenxing Academy, built over a century, now at stake, the two old masters could not stand aside. As for Young Master Jun, he cared little; adding these two old ghosts was nothing—what difference would ten or twenty more make?

Time ticked by; the stick of incense slowly exhaled its smoke, which gradually turned to ash.

No miracle occurred. "I cannot match it! I concede!" Han Zhidong hung his head in defeat, an intense sense of failure welling up within him. He, a top student nurtured by Wenxing Academy, had lost a couplet challenge to the dandy Jun Moxie! In that moment, he wished he could die. "No! Though you have lost, you are not the one who lost! At least, not only you!" Jun Moxie reclined in his chair, slowly extending one finger and shaking it gently. "Because the one who made the wager with me wasn't you! You, at best, are just a pawn here, the most insignificant kind of pawn. You don't even qualify to challenge me! In any aspect, you fall short! Far too short!"

Saying this, Jun Moxie tilted his chin up and looked with a gentle smile at Mei Gaojie and Kong Lingyang. "Masters, you agree, don't you?"

"We have lost!" The two old men looked utterly dejected, the spirited confidence they possessed upon entering completely vanished. As the nationally recognized great scholars, the pillars of Wenxing Academy, to have to concede defeat before Jun Moxie—this crushing humiliation made both old men feel life was worse than death.

Kong Lingyang trembled as he spoke in a low voice, "This old man will uphold his promise. Henceforth, Wenxing Academy, before you, Jun Moxie, will not discuss couplets again!"

For a moment, the grand hall was silent.

Jun Moxie sighed. He held a deep respect for the integrity of these two elders and was unwilling to push them to such an extreme. Merely on the grounds that these two men organized Wenxing Academy, selecting students based on merit, diligently cultivating talent for the empire; and because the students chosen for the academy were never judged by poverty or wealth, only by talent, ignoring status or power—these points alone earned Jun Moxie's admiration. Yet, despite their commendable qualities, these two still possessed significant shortcomings. While their scholarly knowledge was undoubtedly sufficient, their methods and ultimate goals were flawed! They focused solely on cultivating academic ability while neglecting the shaping of moral character. A teacher does more than simply impart knowledge.

Before Jun Moxie transmigrated, a saying was widely circulated: Teachers are the engineers of the human soul. Indeed, great scholars train disciples who are profoundly learned, outstanding in poetry, and adept at strategy, often intentionally cultivating their political acumen so they can immediately apply what they’ve learned upon entering officialdom. However, they overlooked one critical point: if their moral core is weak, if they are solely profit-driven, centering everything around personal gain and glory, such officials become terrifying. Take Wenxing Academy as an example; these two elders have several thousand disciples under them. Once these individuals leave academia and enter the bureaucracy—whether they achieve high office or remain middling—it is undeniable that every one of them secures a position. Even if they don't dominate officialdom, disciples from Wenxing Academy are highly sought-after strategists for major factions and families; at the very least, they secure roles as advisors or scribes.

The harm caused to ordinary citizens by this cohort, entering society without undergoing moral education, is unimaginable. Therefore, Jun Moxie found this aspect deeply dissatisfying! Profoundly so, even contemptible. Thus, even if he had angered these two old men to death today, Jun Moxie would not feel he had done wrong! In fact, he felt it was necessary.

I am not a good person, nor am I interested in caring for the suffering of the masses or the plight of the common people. But since you dared to bully me to my face, I suppose I must reluctantly act on heaven's behalf this one time.

Fate is strange, Jun Moxie sighed heavily; look what you’ve driven me to—even an assassin has become a defender of morality. The great killer suddenly felt a touch of nobility... Damn it, I, a man wanted in every world, am now saving the common folk from misery and freeing the populace from distress... Ah, although this hasn't happened yet...