Chapter 19: The Great Scholar

Fan Li spoke softly, fully confident that no one could hear him.

But the resounding, booming voice from the sky was suddenly incensed!

“Who dares to belittle our Confucian sect?”

All those attending the literary gathering were instantly shocked! The venue plunged into dead silence, and some cast furious glances around, eager to find the culprit who had offended the great scholar.

Inside the lakeside pavilion where Fan Li sat, the gauzy drapes separated the interior from the outside world.

None of the ordinary guests paid attention to the pavilion, for everyone knew that only those of the highest status were entitled to its exclusive shade.

A deep bellow echoed from the sky.

Fan Li was puzzled—had someone really managed to boast so outrageously that even the heavens responded?

Yet the scholars present at the gathering burst into excitement. They looked up at the sky, clapping and cheering in delight!

In the distant sky, a green ox trod upon auspicious clouds, flying toward Luo Lake. Upon its back sat an old man, his beard and hair snowy white.

“Is that Master Kong descending to the mortal world?” Fan Li couldn’t help but quip.

Of course, the newcomer was not Confucius himself, but he was certainly a grand scholar, one of immense prestige in the literati circles of Great Chu.

“Students pay respects to Master!” rang out a familiar voice in the crowd.

Fan Li looked and, as expected, it was Dong Zhong, who styled himself the “Foremost Talent of Jiangbei,” leading a group of young scholars to kneel in a grand display of respect.

The other scholars all bowed in greeting as well.

“Greetings, Master Huangfu,” they intoned.

Fan Li now recognized the distinguished visitor. This was none other than the man Dong Zhong had used to tout his own credentials—Grand Scholar Huangfu Song.

Huangfu Song, his voice echoing across the distance, rode the ox through the sky, a clear sign of profound cultivation.

When the green ox landed, Huangfu Song dismounted with a stern face.

The great scholar declared, “All trades are beneath scholarly pursuits; only learning stands supreme!”

His voice resounded like a bell!

Not only could Fan Li hear him clearly, but even the waters of Luo Lake trembled with ripples from the force of his words.

“Well said!” Dong Zhong, as if invigorated beyond measure, led the applause.

Following his lead, countless young scholars clapped and cheered.

Within the lakeside pavilion, Fan Li only rolled his eyes.

So this was the level of the “Foremost Talent of Jiangbei”?

It was no different from those who, upon beholding a picturesque landscape and wishing to compose a verse for the ages, could only exclaim in vulgar awe for lack of education.

“Which friend was it just now who disparaged our Confucian tradition? Please come forward. I would like a word,” Huangfu Song called out in a loud, clear voice.

Fan Li remained in the pavilion.

Was he afraid?

Certainly not.

As the most powerful minister in Great Chu, someone who could even cow the emperor, how could he possibly fear an old scholar like Huangfu Song?

Fan Li was simply considering that he was not alone in the pavilion.

Princess Changle had yet to reveal herself, but she was surely observing this spectacle with great interest.

“This woman is no ordinary character—hiding away and relying on her superior cultivation. In this tiny pavilion, I can’t even sense her presence?” The more Fan Li thought about it, the more irked he became. With a cold snort, he finally strode outside the pavilion.

Hiding in the shadows was never his style.

“Look, over by the pavilion!” someone exclaimed.

As the drapes were parted and Fan Li appeared before the assembly, all eyes turned to him!

“He… how…” Dong Zhong, the reputed “Foremost Talent of Jiangbei,” stared in shock at Fan Li, then glanced at Fan Yuehua beside him.

Wasn’t this the nameless youth?

How could he be emerging from the exclusive pavilion—the very one that even his own teacher, Huangfu Song, was not qualified to use?

Dong Zhong blushed, recalling how he had earlier refused to give Fan Li his badge of entry, deliberately blocking him from attending the gathering.

Now, it was clear who the true honored guest was—someone who had no need for a mere ordinary seat.

“Hmm?!” Huangfu Song, getting a clear look at Fan Li, was inwardly surprised. He hadn’t expected such a handsome young man.

Even though he lived apart from the world, he, like the others, had heard that the prime minister of Great Chu was remarkably young—but had never seen him in person.

“Young friend?” Huangfu Song suppressed his anger, his tone now somewhat restrained. “Was it you who likened my Confucian tradition to mere peasants and craftsmen?”

“It was,” Fan Li answered, neither denying nor evading.

A wave of astonishment swept the crowd, while Dong Zhong looked on with a hint of schadenfreude.

He stole a glance at Fan Yuehua, hoping to see disappointment on her face.

But it was Dong Zhong himself who was let down.

Fan Yuehua gazed up at Fan Li, her expression filled only with undisguised joy and admiration!

Grand Scholar Huangfu Song said no more, but strode to the stage.

A gasp ran through the young scholars!

The stage at Luo Lake’s literary gathering was reserved for debates and contests of philosophy.

Veteran scholars of Huangfu Song’s stature, with disciples spread across the land, rarely needed to take the stage themselves—they were content to observe as honored guests.

Only the young scholars yearned for a chance to shine onstage, hoping to be noticed and perhaps chosen as a disciple by a renowned master.

Dong Zhong was such a one, whose brilliant performance at the previous gathering had earned him the favor of Huangfu Song.

“Since young friend holds our tradition in such contempt, then come up and debate with me,” Huangfu Song challenged in a stern voice.

At this moment, the gathering had not yet officially begun. Many guests had yet to arrive, and numerous seats remained empty.

Seeing the old man’s persistence, Fan Li lost all patience. With a leap, he landed on the stage.

“Oh? So you are only at the Body Refinement stage?” Huangfu Song, with his profound cultivation—already at the peak of the Divine Transformation realm—saw through Fan Li’s level at a glance.

And, to make sure all present heard, he purposely raised his voice.

“Hahaha! A mere body refinement cultivator? He doesn’t know his own limits!”

“How arrogant! Does he, at the Body Refinement stage, dare stand alongside Master Huangfu? He should get off the stage at once!”

“Body Refinement? Does one of such low attainment even deserve to attend the Luo Lake gathering?”

Huangfu Song’s words incited a wave of laughter and mockery among the scholars—loudest of all was Dong Zhong!

But Dong Zhong’s smugness lasted only a moment before he noticed Fan Yuehua’s face turn cold beside him.

Her fists even clenched, as if ready to strike!

Fan Yuehua, famed for her beauty throughout Great Chu, was often underestimated in terms of her cultivation.

Dong Zhong, in particular, had no idea that her power was just one rank below his teacher Huangfu Song’s.

And if it came to a fight, Fan Yuehua might well be capable of defeating someone at a higher level.

After all, she bore the surname Fan!

“So what if I’m at the Body Refinement stage? Did you invite me onstage to debate, or to fight?” Fan Li asked coldly.

Huangfu Song, already looking down on Fan Li despite his emergence from the exclusive pavilion, retorted, “To debate, of course.”

“I would ask you, young friend: just now, when you belittled the Confucian way, have you never heard the saying ‘all trades are beneath scholarly pursuits; only learning stands supreme’?”

Fan Li nodded. “Of course I have.”

Then shook his head. “But I do not accept it.”

“Oh?” Huangfu Song’s expression darkened.

Scholars cared deeply for their dignity, and for a grand scholar who had read ten thousand books, there was no greater insult than to have scholars belittled before him.

“Why not?” Huangfu Song pressed.

Fan Li knew that the debates at the Luo Lake gathering did not tolerate sophistry or empty rhetoric. Only by citing the classics or expressing profound truths could one refute the other.

“Because, among any three people, there is always someone from whom I can learn,” Fan Li replied.