He Steals the Spotlight from All Under Heaven, Even Leaving Poet Immortal Li Bai Speechless

I woke up in the thirteenth year of the Kaiyuan era, as a childhood classmate of the young Qinglian Hermit. I only wanted to get by, but somehow every poem I casually recited outshone Li Bai's. I took first place in poetry contests during spring outings, offered sound plans during drought and famine, and devised brilliant strategies when border troubles arose. Even the Poet Immortal, with his soaring brushwork, could only sigh in the end: "The whole world's glory has been stolen by my own classmate. I'm afraid I'll never escape his shadow in this lifetime."

1. Cui Wang stepped on the coarse rice on my desk and crushed it. The grains mingled with dirt and splattered across my faded hemp robe.

"You beggar, born with the bones of a slave, think you belong in the lecture hall of Anlu Academy?"