Chapter 228: Jian Wushang
Chapter 228: Jian Wushang
Hu…
The cold wind howled. The vast Tiance Platform was dead silent.
Thousands of students, wearing thin white robes, sat on the ground. They all looked up at Mu Feng on the high platform.
Under everyone’s gaze, Mu Feng remained silent for a long time.
Heaven is great, earth is great, but reason is the greatest!
The woman from the Literary Brush Hall who stood up, Yang Liu, was slim, small, and looked soft and weak. But her words were astonishing and made people think deeply.
Heaven has its boundaries, earth has its borders. Under heaven and above earth, what could be greater than reason?
Mu Feng looked over Yang Liu who had stood up.
Her white clothes fluttered gently. She had long, jet-black hair tied up high at the back of her head. There was no emblem on her right sleeve. Clearly, she had not even reached the lowest level in cultivation. He could sense no power fluctuations within her; she simply did not practice cultivation. However, her left sleeve was embroidered with three ancient books. In scholarship, she was even better than Ouyang Wu, the rising talent from the Civil and Martial Hall who had stood up earlier.
The three-book emblem meant her scholarship was two full levels higher than an ordinary student. No wonder she had such insight!
Seeing the emblem on the white-clothed woman Yang Liu’s left sleeve, Mu Feng nodded slightly to himself.
“Young Master Mu’s great learning is known by all. Could it be that you look down on this unworthy girl for having no talent or virtue, and are unwilling to teach?”
After a long while, seeing that Mu Feng on the high platform still remained silent, the white-clothed woman Yang Liu subtly challenged him. As she spoke, she bowed slightly. On the surface, she was very respectful, but her words hid sharp thorns. It seemed she was not only highly insightful but also shrewd and clever, with sharp wits.
“Yes, why is he silent for so long? Could it be that even the renowned Jianning First Scholar cannot refute this?”
“Under heaven and above earth, reason is fundamentally the greatest. How can one refute that?”
“Exactly. Last year, Yang Liu won a debate against disciples from the Civil and Martial Hall with this very Policy Discourse. By standing up now, she clearly holds a great advantage.”
…
As soon as the white-clothed woman Yang Liu finished speaking, whispers rose from below the platform. Seeing that Mu Feng, the Jianning First Scholar, was also silent in response, people felt somewhat disappointed amidst their discussions.
“I wouldn’t dare!”
As the murmurs grew louder, Mu Feng finally spoke. He bowed slightly in return to the white-clothed woman Yang Liu below the platform. He paused, then slowly continued, “Heaven is great, earth is great, reason is the greatest—this is fundamentally unobjectionable. Unfortunately, this also depends on who it applies to. For those who reason, reason is the greatest; for those who are inherently unrestrained and unreasonable, it is just an empty phrase.”
“Oh, I’d like to hear the details!” The white-clothed woman Yang Liu’s eyes lit up, pressing aggressively.
Seeing her aggressive, unwilling-to-lose demeanor, Mu Feng smiled casually. Instead of answering directly, he asked a question in return, “May I ask Miss Yang, over the millennia, how many dynasties has the Central Plains experienced?”
“Five major dynasties, ten shorter regimes, the Warring States period, and also many small states.”
The white-clothed woman Yang Liu raised her head and straightened her back, answering quickly. Speaking of the history of the Central Plains, she was as familiar as counting her family treasures. Clearly, the three-book emblem on her left sleeve was no accident.
“Good, the answer is completely correct.”
Mu Feng nodded, then his tone shifted as he continued, “Then why were there so many dynastic changes within just a few hundred years? Why did seemingly powerful empires collapse overnight? Was it because the original rulers governed poorly, or because they were unreasonable and were destroyed by reasonable new forces? What, after all, is the difference between our official history and the unofficial histories?”
“This…”
The Literary Brush Hall female disciple Yang Liu, who had been aggressive just moments before, now looked slightly changed. She pondered silently without speaking.
Mu Feng’s words, at first listen, seemed somewhat random and fanciful. But upon careful consideration, they contained profound truth, allowing people to see a completely new perspective and way of thinking.
Hearing him speak like this, the previously buzzing Tiance Platform suddenly grew quiet again, dead silent. Thousands of students were all secretly pondering.
“Official histories never tell us the truth; they gloss over the crucial parts. The reason is simple: because the official history of each dynasty was compiled by those in power. How could they expose their own unfavorable aspects?”
Mu Feng paused, then slowly continued, “The winner becomes king, the loser becomes the bandit—this never changes. In the face of desire and profit, reason is like a thin layer of paper over a window, broken with one poke; it is like a vast landscape, trampled by anyone. Therefore, under heaven and above earth, the greatest thing might be anything else, but it is definitely not an empty concept like reason!”
“Young Master Mu speaks wisely!”
The Literary Brush Hall female disciple Yang Liu bowed and sat down cross-legged.
Her face was stern. Although she felt somewhat unconvinced in her heart, for the moment, she did not know how to refute him. Mu Feng’s words were unpleasant to hear, but she had to admit they were factual. As scholars who studied history, many secretly nodded in agreement upon hearing his words.
In the second round of the Tiance Discourse, the highly learned Literary Brush Hall female disciple Yang Liu, well-versed in history, had challenged him, causing a stir. But ultimately, Mu Feng still won.
According to the long-established custom of the Tiance Discourse, each hall sent only one representative to challenge. The Civil and Martial Hall and the Literary Brush Hall had both lost consecutively. Next, it was the turn of the Literary Sword Hall, which advocated training in martial arts first and studying literature later.
After a round of whispering, a young man wearing a long sword at his waist stood up.
His left sleeve was embroidered with one book, while his right sleeve was unusually embroidered with four long swords. The power fluctuations within him were faintly discernible and not inferior to that great Devil Leader, the Nine-Fingered Black Demon. His cultivation level was unfathomable. As soon as he stood up, all the disciples of the Literary Sword Hall fell silent, looking up expectantly. Clearly, his status among the Literary Sword Hall disciples was extraordinary.
“Disciple of the Literary Sword Hall, Jian Wushang, greets Young Master Mu.”
The young man with the sword at his waist spoke succinctly, then said calmly, “In Young Master Mu’s view, neither heaven and earth nor reason is the greatest. Then, Jian Wushang boldly asks, in your opinion, under heaven and above earth, what exactly is the greatest?”
Unlike Ouyang Wu and Yang Liu, as soon as he stood up, the young man named Jian Wushang got straight to the point, asking Mu Feng to state his view.
His posture was straight and tall, his entire person like an unsheathed sharp sword, radiating sharpness. His words did not beat around the bush either, going straight to the key point.
“Power!”
After a moment of silence, Mu Feng uttered the two words slowly, one after the other.
Looking at the sharp and unfathomably powerful Literary Sword Hall disciple Jian Wushang, he continued slowly, “We scholars, when we study literature, must thoroughly understand worldly affairs and grasp the principles of conduct and action. When we train in martial arts and cultivation, we must set our will on reaching the Cultivation Peak, advancing bravely. Under heaven and above earth, power is the greatest. Heaven and earth can collapse, reason can be trampled upon; only powerful, supreme power is unmatched and can protect the beliefs in our hearts!”
“Power?”
The straight-backed Jian Wushang murmured to himself. He looked deeply at Mu Feng on the high platform, bowed in salute, then sat down cross-legged without another word.
As a master of the sword path, hearing Mu Feng’s words, he deeply agreed. There was no way to refute it, and no need to refute it either.
Under heaven and above earth, power is the greatest!
On the ancient Tiance Platform, thousands of students sat on the ground, carefully pondering Mu Feng’s words.
Third round. Facing the sharp and formidable Jian Wushang, Mu Feng won again!