Chapter 78: Which School Is Stronger?
“If an iron ball the size of a fist and a tael of silver fall from the same height, which one will hit the ground first?”
The current situation at Cloudtop Academy was actually even stranger than Chen Bai had imagined.
A group of students were sitting cross-legged on the ground, separated from the people outside by a single door. They cracked sunflower seeds while asking questions to the people outside.
They were giving a group of thinkers physics, chemistry, and biology questions. Chen Bai had to sigh with emotion. These students really knew how to use their strengths against others’ weaknesses.
Chen Xiaobu shared some sunflower seeds with the black-clad youth beside him. “Why were you with those scammers outside just now? Good thing my eyes are sharp and my hands are quick, and I pulled you in. Otherwise, you’d have been in trouble. They would’ve cheated you until you had nothing left. Tsk, tsk. People these days are really bold. They even dare pretend to be sage disciples. What are sage disciples? They’re people who can’t be stumped by any difficult question.”
“Exactly. They can’t even answer our questions, yet they dare pretend to be sage disciples? Watch us expose them.”
For some reason, the young man’s face flushed a little. He opened his mouth, but in the end, he did not dare tell the truth under such circumstances. It was too embarrassing. Judging from the students’ attitude, they actually worshiped sage disciples very much, but…
If he told them the truth, all their dreams would probably be shattered.
As Chen Xiaobu shelled sunflower seeds, he moved the trash can closer to himself. “Throw the shells in the trash can. There are still several days before the next cleaning. If we make a mess, we’ll get scolded. Oh right, good friend, I still haven’t asked your name.”
They had played together for so many days, yet he had not even asked his name. What a sin, what a sin.
The black-clad youth answered, “Mo Qianji.”
Chen Xiaobu tossed his bobbed hair. “Your name sounds like a fortune-teller’s. There’s an old fortune-telling gentleman outside my house whose name sounds a lot like yours. My mother often takes me to him to have my fortune told, but he’s not accurate at all.”
Mo Qianji: “…”
A dignified member of the Mohist school, a legitimate sage disciple whose name had risen among the disciples of the sages, Mo Qianji, famous throughout the states for mechanisms and architecture, had now been placed on the same level as a fortune-teller?
At this moment, the answer from outside the door came in. “It should be the fist-sized iron ball that lands first. The iron ball has greater mass. Now, can you keep your promise? As long as we answer the question correctly, you will open your collection of books for us to view.”
Many of the people outside held a book in their hands, handling them with extreme care. If Chen Bai were here, he would definitely discover that these books were exactly the ones he had taken to the bookshop to sell.
The bookshop owner had said that a few had been sold. They were probably in these people’s hands now.
As for why they had found this place, it was because there was a simple signature at the end of the books: Published by Cloudtop Academy.
All these books shared one trait. None of their contents were complete; each had been cut off halfway through.
Chen Bai’s original intention was to cast a wide net. Catching even one fish would count. He had not expected quite this many fish to come, which made things a little troublesome.
In fact, aside from these students, Meng Huanchao was also in the academy. However, after glancing over, Meng Huanchao did not intervene.
They were all sage disciples. In public, they were instead the most rule-abiding and most promise-keeping sort. Otherwise, which state would be willing to provide a path for people who acted recklessly to prove their Dao?
The academy students had taken it upon themselves to propose a condition for entering, so these sage disciples would genuinely abide by it. Even if the door opened, they would not step inside.
When the answer from outside came in, the students inside laughed so hard their bellies hurt.
“See? See? I said they were scammers.”
“Who taught you that the iron ball lands first?”
Mo Qianji also froze for a moment. “It’s actually wrong?”
Gan Xin had already run upstairs. “I’ll go demonstrate it for them, so they won’t refuse to accept their loss.”
As it happened, Brother Bai had just taught them this lesson, and the experimental tools were all there.
The people outside watched in surprise. A small window on what seemed to be the fifth floor of the tower was pushed open. The window was very small, only large enough for two hands to stretch out. This had been designed back then for the students’ safety.
A voice came from above. “Watch carefully. In my right hand is the iron ball, and in my left hand is one tael of silver.”
“Remember to put my silver back at the door later,” Gan Xin added.
“The people below, move aside a bit. Don’t get hurt by accident.”
Only then did both hands let go at the same time.
The famous experiment that had once caused an uproar around the world and overturned countless people’s understanding was now presented before everyone’s eyes.
When Chen Bai and Qi Zheng arrived, they happened to see the academy students asking this very question. Before they came, the students had already asked quite a few questions, but until now, no one had been able to enter through the door.
Only when Chen Bai and Qi Zheng arrived did the students open the door with imposing momentum. “Brother Bai, Prince Zheng, you’re finally here. We used a strategy to stall these scammers.”
“Take them to the authorities! Our Great Qian laws weren’t made for nothing.”
Chen Bai could not help feeling a little awkward. This was probably not the best time for a meeting.
However, on the way here, Chen Bai had more or less understood the situation. These sage disciples had a request to make of the academy, but they had been blocked outside by the “rules of the academy.”
His eyes shifted. This was a good thing.
Generally speaking, sage disciples had noble statuses. Even Qi Zheng would have to treat them politely. But now, the academy students had suppressed them in a strange way, reversing the positions of both sides.
After thinking for a moment, Chen Bai walked over. “I am Chen Zihou, a student of the academy. While my master is away, all matters of the academy are temporarily handled by me. May I ask why all of you have gathered around the academy?”
He was knowingly asking the obvious.
Someone stepped forward, saluted, and displayed the book in his hand. “May I ask if this book was produced by your esteemed academy?”
Chen Bai nodded. He had to admit it. There was no hiding this matter. If they went to ask the scholars who had helped copy the books, they would be able to find out clearly. These sage disciples might not have much influence in Great Qian, but doing something like that would not be a problem.
Chen Bai’s answer caused a stir among the group. They also became somewhat excited.
No one could describe how they had felt when they first saw these books. No one could understand the hollow sense of loss they had felt when they reached the broken-off section. It was as if the sage’s learning they had pursued all their lives had disappeared right before their eyes. It had clearly been within reach. They had only needed to stretch out their hands to grasp it, yet the contents of the book had cut off just like that.
When they read the books, they felt suddenly enlightened. Questions that had confused them for a long time seemed to clear at once, as if wisdom had been poured over their heads. But just as they were one step away from fully comprehending the sage learning of their own school, the contents ended.
One could imagine their current state of mind.
Sure enough, these people immediately said anxiously, “You must already know our true identities, so we will not speak in circles. We wish to enter the academy and view the books stored inside.”
If they made such a request anywhere else, the other party would probably already be overjoyed. They would surely feel honored, as if their humble home had been graced with brilliance. And with so many sage students visiting, that place would probably become famous under heaven.
But…
Chen Bai showed a troubled expression. “With your status, logically speaking, we should let you enter and take a look. It is just that… the academy has its rules. You all saw just now that if someone is not a student of this academy, they must answer the academy’s questions correctly before they may enter. Now that my master is traveling the world, as his student, I cannot break the rules. Your request is rather difficult.”
The meaning behind Chen Bai’s words was that the rules were right there. If they could not enter, they could not blame anyone else.
Besides, the door could be entered through ability. If they themselves could not enter and still wanted to use the back door, did that not somewhat contradict their status?
The group: “…”
They were all sage disciples. Even if they were usually approachable, when it came to learning, they refused to admit defeat and were extremely proud. Yet now, they could not even enter someone else’s academy gate. The other party had also said it plainly. If they wanted to enter, they only had to answer the questions. It was fair, rule-abiding, and depended on their own ability.
Behind Chen Bai, the group of students blinked.
They were a little dumbfounded. What was going on?
Some were even full of confusion.
Judging from Brother Bai’s attitude, could these people… could these people really be sage disciples?
But why couldn’t they even answer their questions?
Something in their young hearts began to waver.
Chen Bai said, “I apologize. Rules are rules. At least I cannot break them. If… if you truly cannot answer the questions correctly, you may as well go find my master and try. He was the one who set the rules. Perhaps he might make an exception?”
These words were rather like stabbing a knife into a wound.
Chen Bai added, “The academy is built on Prince Zheng’s fief, and Prince Zheng is also the sponsor of the academy’s construction. He does have the authority to bring people inside. You may also think of a way from that angle.”
After speaking, he gave Qi Zheng a meaningful look.
The corners of Qi Zheng’s mouth lifted slightly. He said, “Although I am the sponsor of the academy, and by rights the academy can be considered my property, these are still rules set by Mountain Lord. It would not be good for me to break them lightly.”
Then his tone changed. “How about this? If your schools are willing to establish themselves in Great Qian and verify your sage learning here, I can make an exception and bring you inside to view the academy’s collection. In that case, I believe Mountain Lord would not object either.”
These sage disciples were not foolish. They immediately reacted. Prince Zheng wanted to use them to win the imperial prince competition.
But after Great Qian had once destroyed a sage path, nearly all sage disciples had reached a tacit understanding. They would no longer establish themselves in Great Qian, because no one knew what kind of end they would meet.
If they went to other states to prove their Dao, even if the rulers disliked them, they would at most drive them out. But Great Qian was different. Great Qian would directly destroy them.
If they were destroyed, they would not even have the chance to move to another state and prove their Dao there. They would also sever the lineage of their sage learning and become sinners through the ages. That was what they feared.
No matter the consideration, allowing their own school of thought to establish itself in Great Qian was a matter that had to be treated with extreme caution.
It had to be said that Great Qian’s destruction of a sage path back then, causing the once-prominent School of Names to disappear, had left an impact that was simply too great.
Now, three paths lay before them if they wanted to enter the academy.
First, follow the rules and answer Cloudtop Academy’s questions correctly.
At present, this seemed to be the fairest method. But those questions were truly novel and infuriating. Yet they had no choice but to admit that the academy was not asking nonsense. There really did seem to be certain laws of heaven and earth, and certain truths, within those questions. They could make people accept defeat sincerely.
In that sense, this was not making things difficult. It was an open and aboveboard contest of learning.
Second, find the academy’s headmaster, Mountain Lord, and have him make an exception to let them in.
However, from Chen Zihou’s words, Mountain Lord was traveling the world, and no one knew where he had gone. Finding him would probably be like searching for a needle in the sea.
Third, bring their own school of thought into Great Qian.
That issue had already been discussed. There were too many things to consider, and there was even the danger of having their Dao destroyed.
Chen Bai had already laid everything out clearly. What remained depended on their choice.
But suddenly, one person spoke. “The rules of your esteemed academy may not be so strict, right?”
Chen Bai froze. What did that mean?
The person suddenly pointed at the youth beside Chen Xiaobu. “Isn’t Mo Qianji of the Mohist school the same? He did not answer the questions correctly. He should not have received special permission from your academy headmaster either. And Mohist learning has not established itself in Great Qian. So why was he able to enter just now?”
The one whose jaw nearly dropped into the ground was Chen Xiaobu. What?
Mo Qianji, who loved his wind-up frog so much, was a sage student? From that Mohist school of universal love, non-aggression, and honoring the worthy?
That had to be fake, right?
The students beside him were also stunned like wooden chickens. The person who had just sat with them and shelled sunflower seeds was a sage student? And a successor of the Mohist school, a prominent school of the age?
The corner of Chen Bai’s mouth could not help twitching. He knew this person. He came every day to play with Chen Xiaobu’s wind-up frog.
When he thought of how this young man and Chen Xiaobu used to lie on the floor playing with a wind-up frog, it was truly painful to the eyes.
Chen Bai coughed and explained, “Everyone may not know this, but the academy’s first floor is a reception hall. Friends and family of academy students may stay on the first floor when they come to visit. As for the other floors, they cannot go up.”
Chen Xiaobu quickly nodded. “He’s my friend. I brought him in. Is that not allowed?”
So that was it. The academy’s students did have certain privileges, such as bringing their friends and relatives to stay on the first floor.
After Chen Bai explained everything clearly, he took the group of students back into the academy.
He was in a fairly good mood. For a competition that had originally had no direction, they seemed to have found a starting point now.
Only, the eyes of the students were filled with confusion.
To be honest, these sage students had been mistaken by them as scammers this time. They could not even answer their questions. This brought a devastating overturning of their understanding.
Whether from what they had heard from others in the past, or from Meng Huanchao’s lessons, in their minds, sage students were all extraordinary. They overcame countless difficulties and devoted their lives to verifying the sage learning in their hearts.
They were pioneers who opened the path toward hope and peace. But…
Chen Bai more or less saw that these students now had a psychological problem. If it was not resolved, it might truly become an inner demon, affect them for life, or even make them look down on sage learning. It was not impossible that they might do something like the king had done back then, destroying a sage path.
So Chen Bai temporarily arranged a lesson for these students.
In the multifunctional electronic classroom, Chen Bai faced the confused eyes of the students.
He said, “Our Great Qian has strict laws, but do you know why, under such harsh punishments, Great Qian still uncovers the most corrupt officials every year? Why does it happen again and again, no matter how much it is forbidden?”
Even Qi Zheng froze. This was also something many people in Great Qian could not understand. Why were Great Qian’s laws harsher than those of the surrounding states, yet under such cruel punishments, Great Qian still had the most corrupt officials?
Meng Huanchao sometimes listened to Chen Bai’s lessons too, such as now. He looked at Chen Bai in some surprise. Those who could see the reason behind this were no ordinary people.
The students were also interested now. They looked at Chen Bai in confusion.
Chen Bai said, “The reason is simple. Great Qian lacks the guidance of sage thought. It single-mindedly pursues material satisfaction. Everything is instinctive self-interest. In thought and spirit, it lacks correct guidance. Even when these corrupt officials die, they may not realize their own mistakes. They may even think: they had the ability to let themselves live better, so what was wrong with that?”
“One could say that no matter how much stricter Great Qian’s cruel punishments become, even if they become ten times or a hundred times harsher, without correct sage thought to guide people and establish moral standards in their hearts, Great Qian’s corrupt officials will still appear one after another.”
“Great Qian’s laws can only treat the symptoms, not the root. If we want to reduce the number of corrupt officials in Great Qian, relying on Great Qian’s laws alone is not enough. We also need correct sage thought to enlighten the people and open their wisdom…”
“That is why Great Qian needs sage thought. If Great Qian continues as it is now…”
Chen Bai did not say what came after, because the consequences had been caused by the king. If he continued, it would touch on forbidden topics.
Chen Bai continued, “People say our Great Qian’s folk customs are fierce and rough. Why? Because Great Qian is full of mountain bandits and unruly people. Many become farmers in good years and bandits in disaster years…”
“In their minds, they do not even think they have done anything wrong. Wanting to survive is understandable. But how many people survive by harming the interests of others, and even take it for granted, without suffering the slightest condemnation of conscience?”
“This is also a consequence of Great Qian lacking proper guidance from sage thought.”
“Also, Great Qian has not been invaded by foreign enemies for years. Is it really only because Great Qian’s military force is powerful?”
“Or is it because the other states simply disdain us? Because in their eyes, Great Qian will sooner or later fall into chaos. They only need to wait until Great Qian becomes unable to withstand even a single blow.”
The corners of Meng Huanchao’s mouth lifted. So Great Qian did still have people who could see things clearly.
Great Qian, arrogant like a frog in a well because of a bit of brute military strength, yet surrounded by crises.
Qi Zheng opened his mouth. For a moment, he had no way to refute it. So aside from poverty, Great Qian had this many problems.
But he also understood that aside from Shangjing, where the situation was a little better, the other places were indeed as Chen Bai had said.
Chen Bai continued, “Those questions you asked just now—the fact that a group of sage students could not answer them, do you find that utterly unbelievable?”
“I can tell you this: if any one of them were to ask you questions, you would likewise be rendered speechless. You might not even understand what they were talking about.”
“Why? Because the system of knowledge we study is completely different from theirs. What Master teaches us is knowledge that dissects and studies the essence of this world. Through this knowledge, we can help the common people grow abundant vegetables, refine high-quality fine salt, and so on, making their lives better.”
“But all of that is material. What they study is how to enrich the people’s spirit, how to guide them onto the right path, instead of letting them live like beasts, thinking that as long as they themselves are well off, they can do whatever they want…”
“So both are necessary. There is no higher or lower, noble or lowly between them. Only when both are present can the people truly develop materially and spiritually at the same time. Neither can be lacking. Only in this way can a country develop steadily.”
Respect between young and old, public order, good customs, and virtue—these things were not something people were born knowing, nor were they natural. They were the result of generations of thinkers educating people.
Even Meng Huanchao listened somewhat entranced. Was this the correct path of development?
Perhaps the words he had once passed on were not necessarily false.
Interesting. He would like to see whether this Cloudtop Academy could verify its own Dao. No matter how fine the words sounded, a learning that could not be verified was nothing more than something illusory and insubstantial.
In Meng Huanchao’s eyes, Cloudtop Academy already possessed its own unique school of learning. Perhaps these students had not yet realized it, but Meng Huanchao knew that these students had already begun establishing the sacred Dao in their hearts, and would spend their lives putting it into practice.
Bit by bit, everything began from a sprout, just as when he had first entered the Upper Dao of Guigu. Under his master’s guidance, he had perfected his own sacred Dao little by little.
Chen Bai’s voice filled the classroom. “Let me give you the simplest example. Shang Jujiu is good at archery, right? But Gan Xin is not good at archery. What you did just now was like Shang Jujiu insisting on dragging Gan Xin into an archery contest…”
Chen Bai had explained in great detail, and the students more or less understood. What they studied was not the same thing, so it was only natural that they would win. It was the same logic as if those people were the ones asking the questions; then they themselves would definitely lose.
Moreover, from Chen Bai’s words, they also understood that what they were studying was extraordinary knowledge, and what those sage students studied was also indispensable to this era. Neither side could be missing.
The confusion in the students’ eyes gradually became brighter.
“Hehe, no matter what, we actually beat sage students in one area. That’s amazing.”
“Exactly. We definitely can’t give them the chance to ask us questions, or if we can’t answer, it’ll be so embarrassing.”
Chen Bai: “…”
Fine. As long as they had figured it out.
Chen Bai had not taught such a serious lesson in a long time.
Meng Huanchao, however, looked at Chen Bai with interest and muttered, “Two different systems? I’m afraid that may not be entirely true.”
He glanced toward the direction of the books stored in the academy. Recently, whenever he had nothing to do, he had looked through those books. Once he did, he found them truly extraordinary. They actually contained the essence of the learning of the Hundred Schools. It was simply unbelievable.
Reading them felt wonderful, but also maddening. Every book only had half its contents, and the text broke off in the middle. Even someone as easygoing as Meng Huanchao felt the urge to beat someone.
After finishing class, Chen Bai went to chat with Qi Zheng.
“Judging by how desperately they want to enter the academy to view the collection, and the way they held those books just now, so cautiously and carefully, these books must be extremely important to them. We can make good use of this,” Chen Bai said. Earlier, when he had been speaking with those sage students, he had not forgotten to observe them.
Qi Zheng suddenly asked, “What books?”
Chen Bai froze. He had actually forgotten to tell Qi Zheng about this. Originally, he had planned to mention it after the books were sold, but since they had not sold, he had been too embarrassed to bring it up.
He pointed downstairs. “Just some books I collected on the learning of the Hundred Schools. They’re all piled up on the floor below.”
Qi Zheng paused. Piled up downstairs? Those sage students were clearly so anxious. Shouldn’t such books be properly stored?
Qi Zheng said, “Then we can test just how important those books are to them.”
Chen Bai nodded. That was true. Only then could they know how to act according to the situation and press forward step by step.
Chen Bai thought for a moment. “We can start with Chen Xiaobu’s new Mohist friend.”
Qi Zheng asked, “Why?”
“The saltworks on your fief have been built, but there still isn’t a proper town. The number of commoners in your fief is increasing, and they don’t even have a proper market to go to. The Mohists happen to be skilled in architecture and mechanisms. Wouldn’t it be great to trick them into building us a decent little town?”
“If we’re going to build one, we should build a good one, a distinctive specialty town…”
“If we really manage to trick the Mohists over, first, we can win the imperial prince competition; second, we can complete the construction of the fief. Two birds with one stone.”
Qi Zheng: “…You’re thinking quite far ahead.”
Chen Bai thought to himself that his hands had been itching to try for a long time. He simply had not had the conditions.
Chen Bai was preparing to go trick Chen Xiaobu’s new friend, while Qi Zheng went downstairs. He also wanted to see what books Chen Bai had brought back.
When he went down to the first floor, sure enough, he saw books stacked neatly together. Thankfully, Meng Huanchao had tidied them up. Otherwise, with Chen Bai’s personality, they would probably really have been piled everywhere.
Then he began reading.
Qi Zheng did not read aimlessly. Instead, he chose selectively, reading the books of the Military School.
Ancient military thought was mainly about ending war through war, ending killing through killing, first pacifying the world, then bringing peace to the world.
From a certain perspective, this way of thinking was not wrong. It was simply a little too cruel, destined to bring flames of war everywhere and blood flowing like drifting oars.
Once he started reading, he forgot the time. After Qi Zheng left, he had people build some bookcases and send them over. He stored the books one by one, and the bookcases even had locks. If anyone wanted to borrow a book, they first had to go to Qi Zheng to get the key.
It seemed Qi Zheng wanted to become the library administrator.
In the following days, Qi Zheng would come every day to read for a while. Meng Huanchao also liked to take a book and read a few pages whenever he had time. Chen Bai often saw Meng Huanchao reading in some corner, and that bearing was truly something else.
Some students also went over curiously to take a look, only to read until their eyes spun, almost having to hold the wall as they came out.
“What kind of strange books are these? They make my brain hurt.”
“Exactly. I recognize every single character, but I don’t understand a single sentence.”
“We’d better go study our flowers and plants. Recently, I planted a strange kind of mushroom. It’s especially poisonous…”
Chen Bai was also carrying out his plan.
To test how important these books were in the hearts of these sage students, he had to first let them see the books. Chen Bai set his target on Chen Xiaobu’s good friend, Mo Qianji.
Chen Bai prepared to give an open class. Using the excuse that the multifunctional electronic classroom was not spacious enough, he brought the students downstairs, outside the academy.
The group of sage students could not help freezing. Cloudtop Academy was now somewhat mysterious in their eyes, so when Chen Bai held an open class, they were actually very interested.
They came over and asked whether they needed to avoid listening. Chen Bai smiled. This lesson was meant to be shown to certain people among them. Why avoid it?
After receiving his reply, the group of sage students openly found a place and sat cross-legged, rather curious.
As for Chen Bai teaching, they did not find anything strange about it. Among sage disciples, many senior disciples taught junior disciples, so they were long used to it.
Chen Bai also began today’s lesson. “Today, we will study simple mechanics.”
As for why he taught mechanics? Because the Mohists were skilled in architecture and mechanisms, and these definitely could not be separated from mechanics. Others might listen in a daze, but the Mohists would absolutely gain a different kind of inspiration from it.
“Force is mutual. For example, when you stretch out your hand and hit someone, you yourself will also feel pain. This is caused by reaction force.”
“Force has inertia…”
Chen Bai did not just explain. He explained while doing experiments, ensuring that at least everyone would have the most direct impression.
Although they were all simple experiments, even common phenomena, precisely because they were common, they were easier to understand.
He gradually instilled the principles behind things people usually did not notice.
Of course, aside from these basic things, to make it seem a little more profound, he definitely had to talk about some slightly advanced content. After all, this lesson was not only for the students.
“Just now, we talked about Newton’s First Law: every object, when not acted upon by an external force, remains at rest or continues moving in a straight line at constant speed.”
(Note: copied from a physics textbook.)
“But why do we rarely see such phenomena? Because the things around us are constantly being affected by forces.”
“For example, air resistance, friction between objects, universal gravitation…”
When he spoke of universal gravitation, the group of sage students was already stunned, because the topic had already involved Earth’s rotation and revolution, gravity, centrifugal force, and… the attraction between celestial bodies.
The Mohists’ eyes brightened while they were also dumbfounded. But they clearly felt that these things were closely related to their learning.
If someone who worked on architecture did not study mechanics, then they were truly studying in vain.
What Chen Bai did not expect was that the sage students of the Yin-Yang School, who studied things like the Five Elements theory, also had their eyes light up, because Chen Bai briefly spoke about how Earth’s rotation and revolution produced the changes of the four seasons and their influence on climate.
The eyes of the sage students who studied astronomy and calculation also lit up like lanterns. They were particularly interested in the celestial bodies Chen Bai mentioned.
Perhaps it was a single sentence, or perhaps it was an offhand term from Chen Bai, but it actually stirred something in all of them.
Unfortunately, they were not students of Cloudtop Academy. They understood the rules. They could listen, but they could not ask. Otherwise, they would be interrupting someone else’s class.
This class truly went on for quite a long time. Chen Bai had not given such a long lesson in a while. He looked at the sky, then said, “This class ends here.”
The group of students muttered among themselves.
“Brother Bai, this lesson wasn’t as good as the ones before. Some parts were hard to understand.”
“Right, right. Before, we could watch videos to strengthen our understanding. This lesson didn’t have any.”
The group of sage students: “…”
What were they saying?
Even they had benefited greatly from this lesson, yet these students were saying it was not as good as previous lessons?
Chen Bai smiled, because judging from Mo Qianji’s appearance, he should have taken the bait.
Chen Bai said, “Tomorrow at noon, the academy will set a question. Whoever answers correctly may enter the academy and view the book collection for one double-hour.”
After speaking, he brought the students back into the academy.
Chen Xiaobu also pulled Mo Qianji toward the academy’s first floor. “Mo Qianji, let’s go play with the wind-up frog.”
The impact of this class was actually beyond Chen Bai’s expectations, because… seeing that Mo Qianji could enter the first floor, the others were somewhat envious.
Who knew how many people’s eyes shifted. They could also use this method to enter the academy, could they not? Although it was only the first-floor reception hall, it would still be good to go in and see this mysterious Cloudtop Academy.
So suddenly, these students discovered that whenever they left the academy, those sage disciples would come to play with them.
The other party’s enthusiasm left them stunned.
Chen Bai also noticed this situation and frowned. But after thinking about it, it did not really matter. The thoughts and learning of these sage students, though all different, were proper and legitimate systems of learning that could withstand deduction, not feudal superstition.
Even the Yin-Yang and Five Elements theories, which seemed mystical, were actually using another way to interpret the essence of the world. There was an essential difference between them and things like “God said let there be light, and there was light,” which could not be deduced.
It would be good to let these students’ minds be bombarded by the learning and thoughts of various schools. They could broaden their horizons and gain experience.
If they did not enter this big dye vat and get dyed a little, how would they know just how rich and varied the colors of this world were?
After the sage disciples came into contact with the academy students, it was as if they had discovered some enormous secret.
They discovered that these students themselves did not have a specific ideological foundation. Or rather, the thoughts they displayed embraced the Hundred Schools and contained everything. They had learned a little from every school, yet belonged to none of them.
There was no helping it. The era Chen Bai had lived in was itself the result of the gathering and influence of the Hundred Schools’ thoughts, so Chen Bai was like a mixed pot of many things. These students had learned from him, so in the eyes of these sage disciples, were they not also like a mixed pot?
Therefore, some of the sage disciples began to have ideas. These students all seemed like good seedlings, each one clever and quick-witted. If they instilled a little of their own school’s doctrine into them, perhaps they would gain another successor.
For example, beside Gan Xin, there was now a young Taoist priest from the Yin-Yang School.
The young Taoist was called Zou Ran. This young Taoist was not simple. He was a direct disciple of Yan Sheng, and he especially liked Gan Xin. More specifically, he especially liked the dog with the yin-yang face that Gan Xin was leading.
He was explaining to Gan Xin, “Yin and yang wax and wane, the Five Elements shift…”
Gan Xin listened in a daze, then pointed at the sun in the sky and said, “Actually, that is a ball of fire. A very, very huge ball of fire.”
“Actually, the ground beneath our feet is also a ball. Don’t look at it and think it isn’t moving. It is actually revolving around the sun in the sky…”
“Do you know why the moon waxes and wanes? Come, come, Little Daoist, I’ll explain it to you…”
Chen Bai was actually a little worried about these students. He was afraid they might really be led astray. As a result, while patrolling, he happened to see Gan Xin boasting wildly.
The corner of his mouth could not help twitching.
Who would dye whom a different color was really not certain.
The area around Cloudtop Academy had truly become somewhat different. It was like an academic conference had opened there.
Some people pulled others aside and secretly lectured them, while others cast a wide net, standing on high places and proclaiming their learning to see whether they could lure a few interested students over to listen.
Chen Bai even saw Xiaobu pulling someone aside and explaining biology. He was simple enough.
Chen Bai muttered, “The academic atmosphere is pretty good.”
When the situation at Cloudtop Academy spread to Shangjing, it truly caused a sensation.
Because what people saw was that the students of Cloudtop Academy were exchanging learning with those sage disciples, and they were doing it rather convincingly. One side spoke a few sentences, then the other side spoke a few sentences.
Even those sage students felt a little dazed.
The various schools were not as peaceful with one another as they seemed on the surface. It was common for them to compete for superiority. But a situation like this, where they gathered together purely to study, was extremely rare. Normally, there was also no opportunity to gather so many schools together at once.
