My Demonic Cult's Holy Maiden

Villagers from the surrounding villages and dignitaries from Jiangzhou City and several surrounding towns flocked to Jiangting Village, a small mountain village.

The purpose was simply to witness this once-in-a-century academic debate (or rather, a heated argument).

The literary scene of the Great Yun Dynasty had been in decline for a long time, and there were no outstanding talents to speak of.

A few months ago, a poet named Song Yuntao emerged, but after the Chang family was wiped out, he disappeared without a trace.

His Majesty has now bestowed the title of 'Wen Zun' upon someone, which has caught many people off guard and raised questions.

Does this person really deserve this title?

Let's put it to the test and see what it's made of. So this debate is a war between intellectuals, without any life-or-death struggles or fierce battles.

All they did was engage in verbal battles and street brawls!

But that's precisely why it's so interesting.

The snow was falling heavily, and more and more people arrived at Jiangting Village, surrounding Yunyu Academy.

Everyone who was supposed to be there had arrived, but Qi Yu was nowhere to be seen.

It wasn't until almost noon that a commotion broke out in the crowd.

A somewhat disheveled young man walked over.

This disheveled young man is Qi Yu.

His hair was a little messy, his bangs covered his eyes, and he had light stubble on his face. His clothes were clean, but somewhat disheveled.

If Su Yue were around, she would trim Qi Yu's clothes every few days, and Su Yue would also wash and fold them neatly and put them in the closet.

After Su Yue left, Qi Yu let himself go and didn't care much about his appearance anymore.

He slept in late today, only to remember later that he had an appointment with this group of pedantic scholars to debate and discuss philosophy, so he rushed over as fast as he could.

Qi Yu's gaze first fell on the academy, which was neither too big nor too small, occupying an area of ​​about two football fields.

Qi Yu was quite surprised that it had been rebuilt like this in less than half a month, considering that there were no machines in this era and everything was built by hand.

However, thinking about the extraordinary strength of martial artists, Qi Yu felt a little relieved.

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, Qi Yu took out a silver key from his pocket and inserted it into the lock on the main gate of Yunyu Academy.

With a 'click', the lock was opened. Qi Yu took the lock off and then pushed the two large doors, which were at least three meters high.

The gates of Yunyu Academy were opened. Qi Yu turned around, looked at a group of scholars in the open space in front of the academy, bowed, and then stood up.

Some returned the greeting, while others stared at Qi Yu with cold faces, their contempt and disdain quite evident.

Qi Yu looks nothing like a scholar now.

He calls himself "respectful of literature"?

Qi Yu didn't care what these people thought; it was nothing more than envy, jealousy, and hatred.

I'll say it again: if Taoist priests can touch it, why can't I?

If someone like that can earn the title of 'Wen Zun', then I can too!

After Qi Yu finished bowing, he said, "I understand why you have come. I accept your challenge. I am right here. Whether it is astronomy, geography, history, or mathematics, as long as any of you can defeat me, it will be fine."

Qi Yu paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "From this day forward, I, Qi Yu, swear never to pick up a pen again!"

Swearing... Pshaw! When it comes to reasoning, I've never lost!

A cold wind howled past, whipping up snow and blurring the vision of many people.

Their gazes toward Qi Yu also became blurred.

But for some reason, the young man whose clothes and hair swayed in the wind and snow appeared to grow taller and more imposing.

Many people looked at Qi Yu with fervent eyes.

Putting everything else aside, just based on his composed demeanor and character, Qi Yu is worthy of the title "Scholar of Literature".

As everyone was awestruck by Qi Yu's demeanor and character, a young man dressed in a gray Confucian robe stepped forward.

The young man approached Qi Yu, bowed respectfully, and said, "This student has a question for you, Venerable Master!"

He adopted a very humble attitude, asking questions as if he were a student seeking knowledge.

Qi Yu returned the greeting with a bow, as a sign of respect for the young man.

"What do you ask? Please speak freely!"

"A gentleman is magnanimous and at ease, while a petty person is always anxious and worried. May I ask, Venerable Wenzun, are you a gentleman?"

Qi Yu raised an eyebrow. This guy started cursing at him right from the start!

He questioned whether he was a gentleman, subtly implying that he was unworthy of his position, lacking real talent and ability, and merely having gained the emperor's favor.

"The noble spirit of a gentleman is boundless, while the self-satisfied spirit of a petty person is insignificant!"

"What virtue does he possess that makes him so arrogant, barking wildly before me? To me, he is no different from a pheasant crying!"

Qi Yu stood with his hands behind his back and answered with a smile.

You ask me if I am a gentleman? Before asking others, examine your own character. Do you deserve to be called a gentleman?

Whether I'm a gentleman or not is none of your business! Who gives you the right to bark and accuse me?

The gray-robed youth frowned, wanting to say something, but Qi Yu waved his hand and laughed, "You should go back and see what kind of person you are first. Only when you have truly become as open and honest as a gentleman can you talk to me about whether I am a gentleman or not."

"Now, in my eyes, you are nothing more than a pedantic scholar blinded by empty fame!"

After Qi Yu finished speaking, he looked at the crowd and said, "Next!"

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Chapter 129 Strange Phenomena

"Next!"

A young man stepped forward, bowed to Qi Yu, and asked, "May I ask, Venerable Wenzun, what is loyalty? What is filial piety?"

Qi Yu raised an eyebrow, thinking, "Testing my own moral principles!"

"To think of the people's welfare is true loyalty!"

"The highest form of filial piety is to honor one's parents! To serve them with propriety while they are alive, to bury them with propriety after their death, and to offer sacrifices to them with propriety—this is true filial piety."

The young man frowned, then bowed again: "Please enlighten me, Venerable Master!"

Qi Yu looked at the young man and helplessly curled his lip, thinking, "He really is a bookworm."

"Is the loyalty we speak of truly limited to the 'ruler'?"

The young man frowned and asked, "Isn't that right? The ruler is the guide for the subject! If the ruler wants the subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die. Isn't that loyalty?"

Qi Yu curled his lip and said, "That's why I said you guys are all bookworms, don't you believe me? This generalization is so skewed! Although you are loyal, it's just blind loyalty!"

"Loyalty should not be limited to the monarch; that is too narrow. Loyalty should be to the world, to the people, to the country, to one's parents, to one's teachers, and to one's friends, not just to the monarch!"

The young man frowned. The loyalty his teachers taught him was "loyalty to the emperor," and he had never considered any other extensions.

Be loyal to the world and the country, not just to the monarch!

Hearing Qi Yu's remarks, many people around him lit up, while others frowned, thinking that Qi Yu was just talking nonsense.

In fact, the original Confucian concept of loyalty was not limited to the ruler, but also extended to relatives, teachers, and friends.

Diligently fulfilling the tasks assigned to you by relatives, friends, teachers, and family members is also a form of 'loyalty,' not just to 'the ruler.'

However, later Confucian reforms adopted the doctrine of divine right of the ruler and emphasized that the ruler was the guide for the subjects, thus loyalty was misinterpreted as being directed only towards the 'ruler'.

These people are gradually becoming corrupt under such misinterpretations.

"Then may I ask, Venerable Wenzun, what is filial piety? How should it be understood?" the young man asked, his tone becoming more respectful.

“Respect and love your elders at home, don’t go out and cause trouble, and continue the bloodline of your ancestors. This is the greatest filial piety!” Qi Yu said.

Song Yuntao is the best negative example; he is disloyal, unfilial, unkind, and unjust.

The young man bowed in a disciple's salute, then turned and left.

Qi Yu looked at the group of scholars, beckoned, and said, "Next!"

Soon another scholar stepped forward, bowed to Qi Yu, and asked his question.

"It is difficult to be both loyal to the country and filial to the people. May I ask, Your Excellency, what should you choose?"

The dilemma of balancing loyalty to the country and filial piety has been a perennial problem, much like choosing between fish and bear's paw.

Qi Yu thought for a moment and said, "Just do what you feel is right!"

The young man hurriedly asked, "How does one achieve idealism?"

Qi Yu smiled and said, "The people we should be most grateful to for being born into this world are our parents."

"Therefore, in my opinion, filial piety is the foremost of all virtues. If one cannot be filial, then everything else is hypocrisy."

"If someone cannot be filial to their parents, no matter how great the things they do that benefit the country and the people, in my opinion, they are a hypocritical and wicked person!"

"If you can't even sweep your own room, how can you sweep the world? Of all virtues, filial piety is the most important. If you can't even be filial to your own parents, how can you talk about loyalty?"

Of all virtues, filial piety is the most important!

This is the answer Qi Yu gave!

The scholar bowed and turned to leave, but instead of leaving, he joined the other two scholars on the other side, instead of rejoining the group of Confucian scholars.

"Next!" Qi Yu propped his cheek up with his hand, his posture extremely arrogant, and his tone even more arrogant.

When it comes to verbal sparring, I've never lost!

Why?

Because none of them are as good at reasoning as I am!

Why do I understand these principles?

Read more books, read more newspapers, eat fewer snacks and sleep more!

Soon another student stepped forward, bowed to Qi Yu, and asked, "May I ask, Venerable Wenzun, it is said that the Great Cheng Dynasty was angered by Heaven and resented by the people, and that it forced its people to labor, which led to the country's demise. May I ask Venerable Wenzun's opinion on this matter?"

Qi Yu recalled the history books about this world that he had read, and was somewhat speechless.