Azure City, a metropolis on a parallel Earth called Terra.
"Hello, friends and viewers around the globe! I'm your host, Bingbing!
Welcome to the live broadcast of this momentous Cultural Creation Competition!
Organized by the United Nations, this grand event brings together one hundred nations, each represented by a promising young author.
Let us eagerly anticipate the brilliant works this competition will undoubtedly bring to audiences worldwide!
When twilight gilds the window pane with gold,
When the pen's nib casts the first shadow on the page,
We stand at the ferry crossing of words:
This is a starlit night for all who write,
A galaxy where inspiration and passion intertwine.
Today, we gather in this hallowed space,
Let us listen together to the whisper between pen and paper,
Let every character become a resounding cry of our era."
Bingbing, radiant in a white dress, stood center stage in the broadcasting hall, microphone in hand.
Before her, dozens of state-of-the-art cameras were rolling, broadcasting live.
Live Chat Stream:
[Here we go, here we go!]
[Sumnida! Fighting!]
[Where's my K-Oppa? Show us our Korean champion!]
[Bingbing, I love you!!!]
[May the Sacred Cow bless our Indu Nation's contestant! 🙏]
[Amen!]
[Our Freedom Republic contestant is the best, no doubt! 🦅]
[Bullcrap! The Solar Empire will dominate! 🇯🇵]
[Our Sakura Kingdom's author is amazing too, though of course not as strong as the Freedom Republic's! 😉]
[Hmph! At least you know your place!]
[666]
[Simps like you never prosper. ㅉㅉ]
[They've been kneeling so long they can't even stand up straight anymore! 🙄]
[Our Dragon Kingdom's contestant is the strongest!! 🐲 GO DRAGON KINGDOM!]
[Pfft! Where's your Dragon Kingdom ranked? Let me see!]
[Oh~ Ranked 99th! Almost dead last! 😂]
[Tsk tsk tsk! And you still dare to call your contestant strong? Guess you won't mind the humiliation later, huh?]
Creation Tower.
This was the living and writing space prepared by the UN for the one hundred contestants.
The tower was equipped with every imaginable amenity and living facility.
These one hundred authors would be live-streamed throughout the writing competition, right here, until its conclusion.
Room 99.
The live feed had not yet switched to the contestants' cameras.
Leo Maxwell sat at his desk, seemingly in a daze.
Suddenly, a jolt ran through him!
His eyes cleared, focusing with newfound sharpness.
"Where... where am I?"
A wave of dizziness hit Leo. After a moment, he managed to piece together his current situation.
Is this... transmigration? Or rebirth?
It should be transmigration. This is a parallel world. I'm currently representing the Dragon Kingdom in a Cultural Creation Competition.
The cultural development of this world is drastically different from my previous one. Countless classic literary works were never born here. The literary foundations of all nations are relatively shallow.
That's why this competition was organized – to discover and nurture promising talents.
And I... I am representing the younger generation of the Dragon Kingdom. In this era, the Dragon Kingdom's culture has... a massive gap, a断层 (duàncéng - fault line/断層).
Leo Maxwell continuously sifted through his memories.
He discovered that his recollections were becoming incredibly vivid; he could recall every detail of any event from his past life with perfect clarity.
Broadcasting Studio.
Bingbing, microphone in hand, began introducing the judges.
"Professor Chen Yinquan, a literary giant from the Dragon Kingdom! Let's have Professor Chen say a few words to us."
Live Chat Stream:
[Whoa! It's actually Professor Chen!]
[Who?]
[You don't know Professor Chen? Seriously?]
[Isn't that the guy who said: 'As we all know, when people breathe, they are, in fact, breathing'?]
[LMAO! Words of a true master!! 😂]
[Yep, that's the King of Stating the Obvious!]
[Oh no, we're doomed!]
[What's doomed?]
[I mean, this opening speech is probably gonna last for hours!]
[I dunno, maybe not!]
[Just you wait and see!]
...
A middle-aged man with a serious expression took the microphone.
"Ahem, ahem~"
"This, hmm, is quite good!"
After a few coughs, Professor Chen, satisfied with the microphone's sound level, continued:
"Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening to all our viewers!
Regardless of which country you're in, regardless of what time it is where you are,
The moment you are watching this, it is, indeed, this very moment!
Today, we're standing here, and to be honest, we are indeed standing right here.
Now, what are we going to talk about?
Well, you'll find out in a bit. We definitely won't not talk. We're certainly going to say things. As for whether we say a lot or a little, that depends on how much we can say..."
Ten minutes later...
Live Chat Stream:
[....]
[Alright! I give up! He's truly a master of platitudes!]
[This guy is a human filibuster!]
[NEXT!]
[PLEASE, NEXT JUDGE!]
...
Bingbing also had visible lines of frustration on her forehead but maintained her composure.
Finally, seizing a moment when Professor Chen paused for breath, Bingbing quickly moved to introduce the next judge.
The director also promptly muted Professor Chen's microphone.
If Professor Chen weren't such a respected literary figure in his own right—just one who happened to be a bit of a windbag and master of the verbose—the show would never have invited him.
"Alright, thank you, Professor Chen, for that wonderful speech!
Our next esteemed judge is Professor Tomkins from the Freedom Republic!
Let's give him a warm round of applause!"
An elderly gentleman with white hair and a beard, yet spry and full of vigor, took the microphone.
"Thank you for the invitation to this competition. It is an honor to stand here and witness the birth of future literary stars!"
With that, Professor Tomkins bowed to the camera.
Live Chat Stream:
[Professor Tomkins is awesome!]
[Short, sweet, and to the point! Love it!]
[Way better than that... uh... other literary giant. So much more refreshing!]
[Haha! True!]
[Shhh, don't say that too loud, or Professor Chen might see it and start up again!]
[Bring on the contestants!]
[I heard Prince William from the Britannia Empire is a guest judge!]
[Whaaat?]
[A real prince?]
[Yep! Rumor is he's just making an appearance, a bit of PR, then he's out!]
[The contestants' live streams are opening up!]
[Going to check 'em out!]
[OMG! I just saw Prince William! He's so handsome! 😍]
.....
Room 99.
A golden glint flashed in Leo Maxwell's eyes.
'Holy crap! All those literary classics, masterpieces I read in my previous life!
They're all appearing in my mind with perfect clarity!
It's like they've been imprinted directly onto my brain!'
A thrilled smile touched Leo Maxwell's lips; his whole body even trembled slightly with excitement from this incredible news.
Because, according to the memories flooding his mind, most of the literary classics from his past life were completely unknown in this world!
In other words,
He could rely on this treasure trove of memories in his head,
To reach the absolute pinnacle of literature in this world!
A Literary Titan!
Leo Maxwell was already buzzing with anticipation for the upcoming competition!
He believed he would undoubtedly make a stunning debut,
And for the Dragon Kingdom of this world,
He would win global respect and leave everyone astounded!
'Let the immeasurably vast literary storm of my past world sweep over this land!'
Leo Maxwell began to prepare himself, eagerly awaiting the theme from the organizers.
Broadcasting Studio.
After Bingbing finished introducing the competition rules, she addressed the camera:
"Next, we will have two of our esteemed judges draw one theme and one keyword for this round of the competition."
As Bingbing finished speaking, staff members carried two sealed boxes to the center of the stage.
Professor Chen and Professor Tomkins stepped forward,
And each drew a slip of paper from one of the boxes.