Chapter 264: Begin to quarrel

No one expected the Qing of the Honglu Temple to say such a thing on the spot.

Is this something that can be said in the middle of a banquet?

The meaning of this statement can basically be understood as: "You just came from the countryside, haven't you eaten watermelon?"

Is it appropriate to say such things in public?

This was already very undignified.

As soon as these words were uttered, many people raised their hands and covered their faces with their long robes and wide sleeves, but their robes trembled continuously underneath, and some even forgot to muffle their voices, letting out giggling sounds.

However, Li Qi and the others from Shaman God Mountain naturally didn't look too good.

Especially Li Qi, because besides being annoyed, he had other worries in his heart.

Although there was already a lot of hostility during the oath-taking phase, now that this was considered a state banquet, yet it was still so aggressive…

Tang Nation was a bit too… what's the word?

It was quite different from the various practices he had learned about, so there must be some inside story, something he didn't know.

The Great Shaman left at noon and returned to the carriage in the evening with bloodstained clothes; perhaps it was related to this matter.

Unfortunately, they were still children and not qualified to get involved in so many matters.

However, if the conflict was truly so intense, it would certainly fall on their shoulders.

No matter how much the adults fought, they couldn't truly fall out, after all, the cost of adults fighting was too great, it could easily turn the conflict from its current state of Yin and Yang sarcasm into a full-scale war.

But since things had escalated to this point, it was unlikely they could pretend nothing happened.

Then it should be what that Great Shaman said…

They would definitely have to send their juniors to fight.

This way, the contradiction wouldn't escalate to an unmanageable point, nor would it seem like both sides chickened out and pretended nothing happened.

It's like two families who don't get along, but the adults at most quarrel and are unlikely to fight, but if a child goes and kicks the other child, the adults might even give their child an extra chicken leg and a thumbs up when they get home that night.

But as a child who didn't want to fight, Li Qi only felt a headache.

However, on the other side.

Hearing this, that Great Shaman smiled and replied, "I have indeed never seen such a narrow and cramped scenery as Chang'an."

"In Shaman God Mountain, what I see and witness is:"

"Waves embracing the sky, mountains inviting clouds away,"

"Crashing waves against the shore, reflections of mountains and rivers,"

"The vast and towering Wuxia Gorge, ten thousand feet high,"

'Climbing a thousand ren, gazing endlessly!'

Then, he chuckled and looked around:

"The scenery of Shaman God Mountain is grand, revealing the emotions of heaven and earth, unlike Chang'an, where you turn three steps and turn five steps, a banquet of only fifty li back and forth, yet it has to accommodate three thousand people. Is it truly because land is expensive in Chang'an, and you can't afford to make a fuss?"

As soon as these words were uttered, the scene quieted down.

Not because everyone was intimidated.

But because everyone knew it was about to begin; a purple-robed Official and a Great Shaman from Shaman God Mountain were truly about to start arguing now.

The Qing of the Honglu Temple heard the Great Shaman's words, and a smile also appeared on his face, saying, "Hahaha, although these fifty li are small, there are many artifacts within them."

"Vegetables are served on lacquered trays with ice, meat on plates with exposed stems, fruits on large porcelain plates with small accompanying dishes, and all the rituals for toasting and reciprocal courtesies have their methods. I never expected Shaman God Mountain to have not seen such refined artifacts, only knowing vastness. It truly was a misjudgment on our part."

"Next time, for the next banquet arrangement, I will definitely pre-arrange it for the Great Shaman in the wilderness west of Chang'an, spanning ten thousand li, with no tables or artifacts, only hunting, skinning, and lighting fires to roast meat. I imagine the Great Shaman will surely adapt."

The Great Shaman cupped his hands and said, "So that's how the Qing of the Honglu Temple understands vastness. If so, it's not surprising that today's venue could be arranged like this. Shaman God Mountain has a book called 'The Book of Rites' that the Qing of the Honglu Temple can read, so that when we come next time, we won't be rude."

The Qing of the Honglu Temple shook his head and said indifferently, "How could our Central Plains not have 'The Book of Rites'? It's just that 'The Book of Rites' was compiled in ancient times, and Shaman God Mountain has never had an ancient Legacy, so they could only collect fragmented chapters from outside and piece them together. I'm afraid they read a fake book, didn't they? If not, why would there be a conflict with me?"

The Great Shaman, upon hearing this, narrowed his eyes slightly in anger, but quickly relaxed them, and then replied, "In ancient times, all races coexisted, and Shaman Dao protected the Human Race in its rise. These books were written by Shaman sages, so naturally, those in the hands of the Shaman are the orthodox ones. Humanity evolved from Shaman Dao, and their relationship is like that of parent and child. How can a child copy their parents' book, and after copying it incorrectly, still claim their parents were wrong?"

Li Qi, listening to this below, slapped his forehead.

Oh no.

The father-son dispute was about to start again.

He had naturally heard about this debate (details in Chapters 217 and 218).

It could be said that this was one of the main conflicts between Shaman Dao and Human Dao.

Human Dao originated from Shaman Dao, but it was completely different, to the extent that the two ideologies directly split the Human Race.

The Qing of the Honglu Temple smiled without warmth: "Human Dao originated from Shaman Dao, but Shaman God Mountain is not the father of Human Dao."

"Ancient sages are naturally worthy of respect, but the inheritors of ancient Shaman Dao were the Chong and Li clans, whom the Human Emperor commanded to manage heaven and earth and distinguish their respective domains. The true orthodoxy of Shaman Dao lies within Human Dao. Shaman God Mountain usurped Shaman Dao, established its own sect, how dare it claim to be the father?"

"The Shaman of Shaman God Mountain lacks severe authority, their spirits are too familiar with the people, not purifying their actions, leading the people to be impoverished in sacrifices and unaware of their blessings. How can such conduct claim to be the orthodox Shaman Dao?"

"In ancient times, King Li was tyrannical, and the people, unable to bear it, criticized him. The King was enraged, sought the Wei Wizard, and had him monitor those who slandered him, killing those who were reported. The people dared not speak. If I remember correctly, isn't one branch of Shaman God Mountain the Wei Wizard?"

As the Qing of the Honglu Temple uttered these words, Bo Yue looked up indignantly.

Li Qi saw Bo Yue's expression and immediately understood.

The Qing of the Honglu Temple was referring to an ancient story: once, there was King Li of the Human Race, who was tyrannical and unjust. The people could not bear it and criticized him. King Li was very angry, so he sought out a Shaman from Wei, sending him to monitor those who slandered him. As soon as the Shaman detected someone slandering the King, he would immediately kill them, and soon no one dared to speak. (This incident is from 'Guoyu').

At that time, this Wei Wizard was from the Diviner lineage.

Clearly, this was an insult directed at Bo Yue.

Li Qi could tell with his toes that, given the nature of the Diviner, the original incident must have been very simple.

Most Diviner had no concept of good or evil; what they did was very simple: since the boss wanted people who said such things to die, they just followed orders.

As long as they divined who was speaking and then killed them directly with a curse, the matter was over.

It was a one-time resolution; the Diviner would not even show themselves in front of people, completely acting as a tool. This was basically the consistent image of the Diviner.

And now, the Qing of the Honglu Temple was shifting all of King Li's blame onto the Wei Wizard, using this to accuse Shaman God Mountain.

He wondered how the Great Shaman would explain?

The Great Shaman, hearing this, sneered: "Hmph, King Li was a Human Emperor."

Just this one sentence immediately dragged the scene into another level of intensity!

Both sides engaged in a fierce verbal battle, and what was supposed to be a proper banquet opening speech turned into a sarcastic exchange.

The two sides went back and forth, refusing to yield, each quoting classics and historical references, eloquent and sharp-tongued, full of sarcasm, making it difficult to distinguish who was superior for a time.

Moreover, there were only two participants.

A purple-robed Official and a Great Shaman from Shaman God Mountain; no one was qualified to interrupt their conversation, only watching from the side.

In the end, it even reached the point of direct insults, so much so that the Great Shaman slammed the table and angrily shouted, "Your Excellency, to challenge with words and tongue is not the courtesy due to a guest."

The Qing of the Honglu Temple was even more ruthless, directly stating, "Why should one respect a rude guest?!"

Others reacted in various ways.

Some scratched their heads, deep in thought, trying to follow the Great Shamanes' line of reasoning, as their words were obscure, filled with allusions, and their speech was fast, making it very difficult to understand.

Some glared angrily at the opposing big shot, but dared not speak, only seething in silent fury, including Bo Yue.

Some were furiously writing, as if they had heard many things they didn't know before and were recording them.

Some were trembling with fear just hearing all this, scared to death, fearing that one of the big shots on either side might lose control and resort to violence, which would likely lead to trouble for everyone.

Only a few people, including Li Qi, were pensive, clearly having their own considerations.

Li Qi was pondering some questions.

About some things the Great Shaman said when he came to participate in the battle.

The Great Shaman reminded them to perform well…

Could he be referring to now?

In the current situation, if they didn't fight or if someone didn't interrupt, things would probably continue to escalate. With the knowledge and memory of the two big shots, they could probably argue until next year without stopping, but they couldn't wait until next year.

With this thought, Li Qi felt that perhaps now was the time for him to speak.

The moment the Great Shaman and others wanted them to perform was now!

Thinking this, Li Qi felt more and more that it made sense.

Interrupting at this moment, ending the dispute, and then extending the conflict to the younger generation, could prevent the escalating verbal battle from turning into a physical one.

However… if the interruption was unreasonable and nonsensical, things would turn out badly instead.

But he also had to be careful with the degree; if his words were too harsh, he might be beaten to a pulp by the Qing of the Honglu Temple.

He wouldn't casually lay hands on the Great Shaman, but slapping him? That would be easy.

So, he had to grasp the right measure, but he definitely had to go for it.

Li Qi thought for a moment, deliberated on his words, and then, seizing the moment after both sides had just finished speaking, he suddenly stood up from his seat!

After standing up, he didn't wait for others to react and prepared to speak.

At the same time, he glanced sideways at a Tang Nation person dressed in scholar's robes.

Because, just before Li Qi was about to stand up, this person also had a feeling of eagerness, as if he wanted to stand up.

It was seeing this person that made Li Qi suddenly accelerate his rising, otherwise he would have wanted to deliberate further, but he was afraid of being preempted by this person.

However, since he had stood up, he would no longer overthink and just focus on performing.

The moment Li Qi stood up, everyone in the entire venue, including the two adults, turned their gaze towards Li Qi.

It seemed they hadn't expected anyone to dare to stand up at this moment.

Li Qi, being stared at by numerous gazes, ignored them directly, without further thought, cupped his hands and spoke loudly, "Two sirs, picking out phrases and arguing unreasonably, I observe that all the corrupt scholars of this era are like this. How could such a scene appear on the two of you?"

As soon as these words were uttered, the entire hall was astonished.

However, that Great Shaman revealed a smile, seemingly very satisfied.

The reason was also very simple.

Confucianism was one of the hundred arts of Human Dao, and it was the largest one, the undisputed leader of the hundred schools.

Li Qi seemed to belittle both sides, but he actually used the term "corrupt scholar," which was a veiled jab at the head of the hundred schools of Human Dao, implying they were nothing but corrupt scholars who only knew how to talk.

Moreover, Li Qi had checked on the terminal beforehand.

This Qing of the Honglu Temple was a Confucian.

In fact, among the hundred schools, Confucianism, the Eclectic School, and Legalism were notoriously fond of climbing the official ladder, which is why most of the high-ranking Officials in Tang Nation were Confucian and Legalist scholars.

However, by saying this, Li Qi was probably going to be beaten into a cripple here.

These words were already too harsh.

But Li Qi naturally knew the consequences of doing so, so he immediately stepped out from behind the table and said loudly, "Instead of arguing, why not try it firsthand? Since it's inconvenient for the two sirs to act, then let this student do it."

"Not just 'The Book of Rites', but 'The Book of Changes', 'The Book of Poetry', 'The Book of Rites', 'The Historical Records', and 'The Treatise on Learning'—all eight sections. Let us truly see who inherited the true meaning of antiquity. A brief test will suffice. I am here to receive questions from all. This will reveal the truth."

"Let us debate, who is more knowledgeable, who understands the true meaning of antiquity better—one test will tell!"

Li Qi looked around, making a bold statement to hundreds of banquet attendees!

Just after he finished speaking, the True Knowledge Dao Resonance moved intensely.

Something terrifying, something unbelievable, was surging towards him, a feeling of dread rising from the depths of his heart.

True Knowledge Dao Resonance, unable to analyze!

He couldn't see through it, only vaguely perceive that something was approaching him!

But Li Qi felt unable to move, unable to make any reaction; this thing came too fast!

At this moment, the Great Shaman stood up, stepped forward, and arrived beside Li Qi.

That dangerous feeling immediately vanished without a trace.

But even just for a moment, it had made Li Qi's back drenched and his legs tremble.

It wasn't that he wasn't brave enough, but that feeling… it simply couldn't be endured through willpower.

It was absolute crushing, not shifting with personal will. If it said it was irresistible, then it was irresistible.

But the Great Shaman patted Li Qi's shoulder, signaling him to relax, and incidentally evaporated the moisture from his body. Then, the Great Shaman's face darkened, and he said to Li Qi, "You juniors, what are you talking about, the true meaning of antiquity? Do you even deserve to say such things!? Overestimating yourselves!"

Li Qi, hearing this, immediately lowered his head.

He knew the matter was settled.

However, after saying this, the Great Shaman walked in front of Li Qi again, waved his hand, and said to the banquet attendees, "However, although this junior talks a lot, one thing he said is true."

"It is indeed useless for us to say so much, after all, your and my Dao Heart are stable and will not be shaken."

"Why not let these juniors debate for a while? They are not yet set in their ways, so they will naturally know which side has more Dao."

As soon as these words were uttered, everyone else looked towards the Qing of the Honglu Temple.

Clearly, apart from this purple-robed Official, no one was qualified to respond to the Great Shaman's words.

And he looked around, then nodded: "Alright, I'd like to see how this Young Master will prove that Shaman God Mountain is the true origin."