A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Looking at Cui Hao's poems in front of him, Li Bai glanced at them sideways.

The ancients have long since ridden the yellow crane away, leaving only the Yellow Crane Tower behind.

Something was wrong, and Li Bai began to take this poem seriously.

The Yellow Crane has flown away, never to return; the white clouds drift aimlessly for a thousand years.

As Li Bai read, his pace slowed and his brows began to furrow.

The trees of Hanyang stand clearly in the clear sky, and the fragrant grasses grow lush on Parrot Island;

As the sun sets, where is my hometown? The misty waves on the river fill me with sorrow.

Upon reading such a beautiful poem, Gao Shi's stuttering returned to normal in an instant.

Li Bai stared at the pen in his hand, unable to bring himself to write.

This poem is so well written. Li Bai was also a free spirit. He casually tossed his brush aside and laughed heartily.

"Just now, seeing the vast expanse of misty waves on the river, I was inspired to write a poem. I had thousands of words in my mind and was about to put them into words when I looked up at this poem and found that I had nowhere to start."

As the saying goes: "The scenery before my eyes is indescribable, for Cui Hao has already inscribed a poem upon it."

"I am ashamed, I have underestimated the people of the world. No wonder my master sent me out to travel. There are so many heroes in the world."

After being struck down by Cui Hao's poem, Li Bai's arrogant temperament finally calmed down.

Meng Haoran stroked the scroll and chuckled: "Even Li Bai, whose poetic talent was unparalleled, had a time when he willingly laid down his pen?"

Li Bai shook the wine gourd at his waist, a defiant arrogance rising in his eyes. He could not possibly write a better poem than the Yellow Crane Tower, but that did not mean he had given up.

"Today, my passion for wine and poetry is insufficient, so I will let it go for now. In the future, I will find a place of equal grandeur and height, and I will definitely compose a poem to compare with this 'Yellow Crane Tower'."

Even the stubborn Li Bai didn't say he would write a better poem about the Yellow Crane Tower.

Instead, he sought out a magnificent place to create a masterpiece that could rival "Yellow Crane Tower."

Meng Haoran smiled and remained silent, mindful of the young man's pride.

"Didn't Li Bai see Cui Hao when he was an official in Luoyang?"

During the conversation just now, Meng Haoran already knew that Li Bai was studying at the Imperial Academy and Cui Hao had been serving as an official in Luoyang. The two were both famous for their poetic talent, so they should know each other.

"I'll go find him once I've written a better poem than this!"

"Let's go, let's go for a drink!"

Li Bai turned and left, pulled out his wine gourd, and took a sip.

Meng Haoran and Gao Shi exchanged a smile and then left.

"Brother Gao, if you wish to pursue further studies, why not go to Luoyang?"

After the banquet, the three left together. Gao Shi bid farewell to Li Bai on the way, wanting to return home to continue his studies and to pass the imperial examinations.

Li Bai then suggested that Gao Shi go to Luoyang to study, because the imperial examination was different from writing poetry, and one needed the guidance of a famous teacher to have a greater chance of passing the examination and achieving official rank.

"Brother Li, living in Luoyang is no easy feat; it's not something you can just go to whenever you want."

"Although there are many great scholars in Luoyang, it is extremely difficult to become their disciple."

Gao Shi smiled wryly.

Is it not easy?!

Li Bai once again touched his chin in a very distinctive way. He had immediately become the disciple of the most prestigious Prince of Yan in the land, without feeling any difficulty whatsoever.

Later, he was taught by a hundred prominent figures, and he became immune to them.

Although his family has some wealth, they don't own any property in Luoyang. Even if they sold everything they had, they could probably only afford a small, dilapidated house in a very remote area.

When he was in Luoyang, he always stayed at his master's house, so it wouldn't be appropriate for Gao Shi to move there.

He couldn't possibly ask his teacher for another house just for Gao Shi's sake. His teacher had already helped him enough, and he didn't have the face to ask his teacher for another house.

Introducing Gao Shi a teacher wouldn't be difficult, but what about accommodation?

Gao Shi noticed Li Bai's predicament and quickly said, "Brother Li, don't worry. I believe that after studying hard, you will surely pass the imperial examination in the future."

"Brother Gao, when you pass the imperial examination, I will hold a banquet for you in Luoyang."

Li Bai and Gao Shi said goodbye.

The next day, Li Bai followed Meng Haoran to experience the scenery of Jiangnan, feeling quite at ease.

Several months later, Li Bai finally set off for his second hometown, Shu.

Before his departure, he presented Meng Haoran with a poem:

I admire Master Meng, whose elegance and refined taste are known throughout the world.

A beautiful woman abandons high office and wealth, and an old man rests among the pines and clouds.

He was often drunk under the moon, and infatuated with flowers, he neglected his duties to the ruler.

The high mountain is beyond reach, but I can only bow to its pure fragrance.

Meng Haoran clapped his hands in approval and ordered the poem to be framed and hung in his room.

After returning to Shu, Li Bai personally experienced the difficulty of the Shu Road and wrote: "Alas! How perilous and high! The Shu Road is more difficult than ascending to the heavens."

After spending several months in his hometown, Li Bai, unable to stay still, left Sichuan again to continue his travels.

In Jiangling, Li Bai met Sima Chengzhen, the foremost Taoist master of the Tang Dynasty, who praised him for his "ethereal and otherworldly demeanor." Li Bai then wrote "Ode to the Great Peng," comparing himself to the Kunpeng, expressing his free and unrestrained spirit.

Seeing the waterfall cascading down Mount Lu, I wrote "Looking at the Waterfall at Mount Lu," which describes the waterfall as "plunging straight down three thousand feet, as if the Milky Way were falling from the ninth heaven," a poem that has been passed down through the ages.

The poem "Looking at Tianmen Mountain" inspired by the view of the Yangtze River and the two mountains facing each other is considered the pinnacle of landscape poetry.

He visited the hermit's relics in Kuaiji, dreamt of traveling to Mount Tianmu, and conceived the poem "A Farewell to Mount Tianmu in a Dream"; it was also here that he met Wang Bo and forged a deep friendship.

At Peach Blossom Pool in Jing County, Li Bai's true identity was discovered by Wang Lun. Wang Lun spent a fortune to entertain Li Bai with utmost hospitality. Before leaving, he gave Li Bai most of his remaining wealth as travel expenses, along with five beautiful concubines, several jars of fine wine, and several fine horses. Li Bai was deeply moved and wrote the poem, "The water of Peach Blossom Pool is a thousand feet deep, but it cannot compare to the affection Wang Lun showed me."

While in Jinling, he met the courtesans of Qinhuai and admired the beautiful scenery of the Huai River. At this time, he received a letter from his teacher and learned about the corruption of the court. He happened to be climbing Phoenix Terrace in Jinling and recalled the poem that Cui Hao wrote at Yellow Crane Tower. He looked up and drank a gourd of fine wine, and his poetic inspiration was greatly inspired.

The phoenix swims on the phoenix platform.

Flowers and grasses of the Wu Palace now lie buried in secluded paths; the robes and hats of the Jin Dynasty have become ancient mounds.

Three mountains half-hidden beyond the blue sky, two rivers dividing Egret Isle.

The floating clouds always obscure the sun, making Luoyang invisible and causing sorrow.

Li Bai read it twice, but he was still somewhat dissatisfied. This poem could be compared with Cui Hao's Yellow Crane Tower, but it could not surpass it and failed to meet Li Bai's requirements.

Even though this poem was of extremely high quality, a masterpiece that has been passed down through the ages, almost no less than Cui Hao's "Yellow Crane Tower," Li Bai casually tossed it away, discarding the poem he had just written.

The poem was picked up by a nearby tourist, who was immediately awestruck upon reading it and searched for its author.

Upon seeing Li Bai, they recognized him and decided to return the poem that Li Bai had inadvertently left behind.

"It's yours."

Li Bai waved his hand, feeling down at failing to write a poem that surpassed Cui Hao's.

"Thank you very much."

The visitor's eyes lit up with ecstatic joy; he had actually obtained the manuscript of Li Bai's new poems, a priceless treasure indeed.

Hanging this poem at home might allow family members and children to absorb some of Li Bai's literary talent, and perhaps even achieve academic success in the future.

However, this anonymous person did not forget to help Li Bai spread the content of this poem. As soon as the poem was published, countless people compared it with Cui Hao's "Yellow Crane Tower", and the supporters of the two poems argued fiercely.