Chapter 197: Ancient Sayings of Various Philosophers
In Yan State, the atmosphere has changed since Ye Fan left.

Inside the Jixia Academy, many students looked at the vacant teacher's seat and began to discuss what had happened.

"Master, why aren't you here today?"

"Is the Master ill and resting?"

"Do you think the Master has something to do today, so..."

"Impossible, absolutely impossible, the Master has never stopped teaching."

"So what happened?"

"cough."

After a cough, Yan Wuxia walked out.

She was wearing the white robe that Ye Fan wore when he was teaching, and holding a scroll of bamboo slips in her hand.

Looking around at everyone who had quieted down, Yan Wuxia explained.

"The Master has gone to preach."

"The Master has finally gone to preach." Someone showed an expression of expectedness.

Ye Fan preached and taught these students the so-called great words of the Tao, including the words of Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Mohism, Military Science and other schools of thought. The result was that these people had an understanding in their hearts - Ye Fan would leave eventually.

"I will take over the Master's position as the Palace Master of the Jixia Academy and continue to teach."

Yan Wuxia finished speaking and looked at everyone's reactions.

"Are you good enough to teach us?" A young man stood up and asked Yan Wuxia.

"Of course." Yan Wuxia nodded.

She walked to the teacher's seat, sat cross-legged, and invited all the disciples in a calm tone.

"On the Road."

"Let's discuss the Dao." The young man was not polite at all and sat down in the front disciple seat opposite Yan Wuxia.

"My name is Li Er."

"Who goes first?"

“Let me tell you what I have learned.”

After Li Er finished speaking, many disciples stood by and watched the two people's discussion quietly.

"What I have learned is 'virtue'."

"Virtue is the foundation, and Tao is the sublimation of virtue."

“Without a foundation of virtue, one is likely to fail in dealing with people, managing a family, and governing a country, and will not be able to ‘cultivate the Way.’”

“To cultivate virtue is to create a good external environment for practicing Taoism, which may be what everyone needs; practitioners also need to have a peaceful state of mind and a detached life, which also requires virtue.”

Li Er spoke calmly as he began to describe the moral truths he had seen.

"Tao is everywhere. Tao is not just tangible "matter", thoughtful "spirit", or rational "law", but the invisible, intangible, and spiritual root of the universe that creates all of this. "Matter", "spirit", and "law" are all transformed by Tao."

Moral mantra, this is the exploration about man and nature described in the Tao Te Ching taught by Ye Fan.

Yan Wuxia pointed at himself, and then pointed at Li Er.

"How to practice Taoism?"

“Keep your mind and move forward.”

Yan Wuxia shook his head and just sighed at these very empty words.

"There are thousands of families and all living beings are different. You and I are different. How can Tao and virtue simply move forward with your heart?"

"The old man selling charcoal, the fisherman by the river, you and me, humans and non-humans, in this chaotic world, can we keep moving forward with our hearts? Is it possible?"

"Maybe." Li Er's eyes were firm.

"How to do?"

“…cultivate your mind.”

"What is the heart?"

“Wherever your mind goes, wherever your thoughts move, wherever your heart goes, that is your original mind.”

"The mountains and seas are subject to change, the sun and the moon are subject to change, and man is in the midst of heaven and earth, so how can we judge the right or wrong of his own heart?" Yan Wuxia bluntly pointed out the drawbacks.

“There is no good or evil, it’s all in the heart.”

After Li Er said this, some students couldn't help but speak out their own ideas: "No, it's about cultivating a good heart."

"Kindness is the most important thing. Without kindness, how can people live in harmony and love each other? People's hearts are chaotic, and we must cultivate kindness." After the student said this, Li Er retorted: "Between good and good, compared to great good, small good is evil."

Relatively speaking, there is no absolute kindness.

The student bluntly retorted: "There is no good or evil, whether you are a man or a beast!"

"The Great Dao is like this, and those who pursue the Dao must stick to their original intentions."

Two different theories. Li Er believes that this is the great way, the moral truth, and that one should follow one's heart.

Another student held a different opinion and advocated cultivating kindness.

At this moment, it is like the ancient philosophers discussing their exploration of man and nature.

Taoism's unity of man and nature, Confucianism's benevolence, Mohism's non-aggression, Legalism's rule of law... different views, the collision of ideas.

The two of them argued fiercely, listing one incident after another to each other, and when neither side was able to convince the other, they looked at Yan Wuxia.

Once upon a time, Ye Fan could answer the questions of many students with different ideas and concepts equally, and teach them what this ideal thinking would bring.

Now it's Yan Wuxia's turn.

As a teacher, you naturally need to answer questions for your disciples.

Yan Wuxia took a deep breath and watched the verbal battle between the two with a headache.

What can I say? It's really a headache.

Any idea is correct if you look into it deeply.

It is like a group of people looking at a mountain. Some people see the difficulty of climbing the mountain, some people see the majestic magnificence of overlooking the clouds from the top of the mountain, some people see the nature of animals frolicking in the mountains, and some people see the mineral resources buried deep under the mountain.

There are too many landscapes that, because of their different original thoughts and ideas, result in completely different ideas and concepts.

It is difficult to tell whether they are right or wrong, because from this perspective, they really are "right".

In a sense, warriors can't stand each other, and some even regard each other as demons.

At this moment, Yan Wuxia suddenly thought of his past experience in the Tianli Sect.

Taking a deep breath, Yan Wuxia spoke, still following Bai Mo's instructions, describing the relevant concepts of Tianli Sect to the disciples.

"So that's how it is. The world is actually like this." Li Er stretched out his hand and pounded it, then said to himself: "As long as everyone is practicing Taoism, then this world..."

“You should cultivate Buddhism.”

"No, it should be law."

"Are you kidding me? It's obviously the unity of heaven and man."

"Ahem." Yan Wuxia stopped the conflict among these disciples and proposed a personal suggestion.

“You can preach like the Master.”

"I want to establish Taoism!"

“I want to establish the Legalist School!”

"I want to establish the Mohist School!"

...One voice after another, some disciples joined together, and some disciples walked alone.

They reached an amazing consensus at this moment - preaching.

Pass on the ideas that you have understood, combine them with the real life of this world, and let the ideas and concepts be sown in the hearts of all beings like seeds.

Yan Wuxia watched them leave and took a deep breath.

The students taught by Ye Fan in Jixia Academy are of great value. As disciples of the protagonist, they are born with the responsibility of becoming the masters of various schools of thought and will inevitably become sages.

Therefore, everything that is happening now is an inevitable result.

"Even if I know the fate of all this, I still can't change anything." Yan Wuxia said to himself.

Like a fish peeking into the river of fate, Yan Wuxia leaned out and saw the "future", but knowing his fate, he could not change it at all.

As the protagonist, Ye Fan teaches his disciples as a master and spreads the ideas and thoughts of various schools of thought on Earth. These disciples will inevitably leave the Jixia Academy at some time in the future and preach in different regions.

"Jixia Academy, the Palace Master and the Master, the Tianli Sect." Yan Wuxia walked into the courtyard and looked at the bodhi tree whose branches and leaves sparkled in the sun. He had many thoughts in his mind...

　The teachings of Tenrikyo—a mixture of information packed by Baimo from other Baimos in the gray fog space, with different pigments from the original scroll.

　　If the universe of Shrouding the Sky is regarded as a painting, and Ye Fan is painting with a pen, depicting the story on the canvas, then the teachings of Tianli Sect are equivalent to new "paints". If one cannot accept these paints, he will become a green-skinned, corrupt and crazy demon. If he accepts them, he will become a member of Tianli Sect like Yan Wuxia and Yan Ruyu.

　　Yan Wuxia accepted the "forbidden knowledge" and gave the key descriptions to these "disciples" as a lower-level inheritance [abridged version, not the complete level of fallen demons]

　　
　
(End of this chapter)