The Quarrel Begins

No one expected that the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial would say such a thing on the spot.

Is this something that can be said during a banquet?

This basically means, "You just came from the countryside, and you've never eaten watermelon before, have you?"

Is it appropriate to say such things in public?

This is already quite undignified.

Upon hearing this, many people raised their hands to cover their faces with the sleeves of their robes, but the robes trembled under their hands, and some even forgot to muffle their voices, letting out giggles.

However, Li Qi and the others from Wushen Mountain naturally didn't look too happy.

Li Qi, in particular, had other worries besides his displeasure.

Although there was already a lot of hostility during the oath-taking ceremony, the current situation, which is practically a state banquet, is still so aggressive...

The Tang Kingdom is being a bit too... well, isn't it?

It's Great One from the various styles I've come to know; there must be some inside story behind it, something I don't know.

The shaman went out at noon and returned to his car in the evening with his clothes covered in blood, which might be related to this incident.

Unfortunately, they are still children and have no right to get involved in so many things.

However, if the conflict is really that intense, then the burden will definitely fall on our shoulders.

No matter how much the adults fight, they can't really turn against each other. After all, the cost of adults fighting is too high, and it could easily turn the current sarcastic conflict into a full-scale war.

But now that things have escalated to this point, it's unlikely that things will turn out as if nothing happened.

That must be what that great shaman was talking about...

They'll definitely have to send their younger members up to fight.

This way, the conflict won't escalate to an unmanageable point, nor will it seem like both sides have backed down and act as if nothing happened.

It's like two families having a bad relationship. The adults might argue, but they're unlikely to fight. However, if a child kicks the other child, the adults might still give the child a 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 coming on.

However, on the other side...

Upon hearing this, the great shaman smiled and replied, "I have indeed never seen such a view of Chang'an, so narrow and cramped."

What I saw and heard on Wushen Mountain:

"Waves rise to the sky, mountains invite clouds to drift away,"

"Waves crash against the shore, reflecting the mountains and rivers,"

"The Wu Gorge is vast and majestic, towering ten thousand feet high,"

'One can climb a thousand fathoms high and gaze upon the boundless expanse!'

Then, he chuckled softly and looked around:

"The scenery of Wushen Mountain is grand and the spirit of heaven and earth can be seen. Unlike Chang'an, where you have to turn every three steps and go around every five steps, a banquet only covers fifty li round trip, yet it has to accommodate three thousand people. Is it really because Chang'an is too expensive to afford such a thing?"

After these words were spoken, the room fell silent.

It wasn't because everyone was intimidated.

Instead, everyone knew that it was about to begin, and a nobleman in purple robes and a great shaman from Wushen Mountain were about to start arguing.

When the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial heard the great shaman's words, he smiled and said, "Hahaha, although this fifty li is small, it contains many items."

"Vegetables are served on ice platters on lacquered tables, meat on exposed stem platters on additional tables, and fruit on large platters on small tables. The utensils for toasting and the etiquette for socializing all have their own methods. I never expected that Wushen Mountain had never seen fine utensils and only knew about large ones. It was truly a misjudgment on our part."

"Next time, for the next banquet, I will definitely arrange a vast wilderness west of Chang'an for the Great Shaman, stretching for thousands of miles, without tables, chairs, or utensils. He can just hunt, skin, and roast meat. I think the Great Shaman will be able to adapt."

The high shaman cupped his hands and said, "So this is how the Minister of the Court understands the vastness of the realm. If that's the case, it's not surprising that you were able to set up today's venue. My Wushen Mountain has a book of 'Rites' which you may read, so that we will not be impolite when we come here next time."

The Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial shook his head and said calmly, "How could the Central Plains not have the Book of Rites? It's just that when the Book of Rites was written in High Antiquity times, Wushen Mountain did not have any High Antiquity inheritance. It could only be pieced together from fragments collected from outside. Perhaps you read a fake book? If not, how could it conflict with me?"

Upon hearing this, the great shaman's eyes widened slightly in anger, but he quickly relaxed and replied, " In High Antiquity times, all races coexisted. The Shaman Path was the foundation of Human Race. These books were written by Shaman, so naturally, the ones in the hands of Shaman are the orthodox ones. Human Path originated from the Shaman Path, and the relationship is like that of parents and children. How could a child copy their parents' books, make a mistake, and then say that their parents were wrong?"

Upon hearing this, Li Qi slapped his forehead.

Broken.

The father-son conflict is about to begin again.

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

This can be considered one of the most significant conflicts between Shaman Path and Human Path.

Human Path originated from Shaman Path, but they were completely different, to the point that the two schools of thought directly split the Human Race.

The Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial gave a forced smile, "Human Path originated from Shaman Path, but Wushen Mountain is not the father of Human Path."

"The High Antiquity sages are naturally worthy of respect, but the inheritors of the High Antiquity Shaman Path are the Chong and Li clans. The Human Emperor ordered them to narrate the order of heaven and earth and distinguish their respective masters. The orthodox Shaman Path lies in the Human Path. Wushen Mountain usurped the Shaman Path and established its own sect. How dare it call itself the father?"

"The shamans of Wushen Mountain lack authority and dignity. They are too familiar with the people and do not restrain their behavior, causing the people to be impoverished by worship and unaware of their blessings. Do they really think they are the orthodox Shaman Path?"

"In the past, King Li was tyrannical, and the people could not bear his fate and blamed him. The king was angry and sought out the sorcerers of Wei, ordering them to monitor those who slandered him. Anyone who reported him was killed. No one in the country dared to speak out. If I remember correctly, one of the branches of the Wushen Mountain was the sorcerers of Wei, wasn't it?"

Upon hearing these words from the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, Bo Yue angrily raised his head.

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

The Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial recounted a High Antiquity story. Long ago, there was a tyrannical and cruel Human Race Li, whose tyranny and inhumanity caused widespread suffering. The people, unable to bear it any longer, began to criticize him. King Li, enraged, summoned Shaman from the state of Wei and tasked him with monitoring those who criticized him. Whenever the Shaman detected anyone slandering the king, he would kill them. Soon, no one dared to speak out. (From the Zhou Yu)

This shaman was originally from the lineage of diviners.

Clearly, this was a direct insult directed at Bo Yue.

Li Qi knew with his toes that, given Bu Ren's nature, what happened back then must have been very simple.

Most of the people who are diviners don't have much of a concept of good and evil. What they do is very simple: if the boss orders someone who says such things to die, then they just do it.

Once you can divine who is speaking, you can kill them with Curse, and that will be the end of it.

The matter is settled in one go, and the person who performs the task will never even show their face in public. They are simply a tool for getting things done, which is basically the image that people who perform the task have always had.

Now, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial is shifting all the blame for King Li's crimes onto the sorcerer Wei, using this as a pretext to criticize Wushen Mountain.

I wonder how the great shaman will explain this?

Upon hearing this, the great shaman sneered, "Ha, King Li is the Human Emperor."

That one sentence alone escalated the situation to a whole new level of intensity!

The two sides engaged in a heated verbal battle, turning what should have been a proper opening speech for a banquet into a sarcastic and sarcastic discussion.

The two sides went back and forth, neither willing to give way, each quoting classical texts, displaying eloquence and sharp wit, often laced with sarcasm, making it difficult to determine a winner for the time being.

Moreover, there were only two participants.

A nobleman in purple robes and a great shaman from Wushen Mountain —neither of them had the right to interrupt their conversation; they could only watch from the sidelines.

In the end, it even escalated to the point of direct insults, to the point that the high shaman slammed his fist on the table and roared, "You gentlemen are using words to attack each other; this is not the way to treat guests."

The Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial was even more ruthless, stating directly, "Why should we show respect to an unwelcome guest?!"

The others each had their own reactions.

Some scratched their heads, racking their brains, trying to keep up with the great shamans' train of thought. After all, their language was obscure, full of allusions, and they spoke very fast, making it really difficult to understand.

Some glared at the other party's bigwigs, but dared not speak, and could only silently rage, including Bo Yue.

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

Some people trembled with fear just hearing about it, terrified that either of the big shots would lose their temper and make a move, which would probably lead to trouble for everyone.

Only a few people, including Li Qi, seemed to be deep in thought, clearly having their own considerations.

Li Qi is thinking about some issues.

Some things that the great shaman said when he came to join the battle.

The high shaman reminded himself and the others to make a good impression...

Could it be referring to now?

If a fight doesn't break out or someone interrupts, things will likely continue indefinitely. Given the knowledge and memory of these two big shots, they could probably argue until next year. But we can't wait until next year.

With this in mind, Li Qi felt that this might be the time for him to speak.

The moment the great shaman and the others wanted to make their mark was now!

Thinking about it, Li Qi felt it made more and more sense.

Intervene at this point to end the dispute, and then extend the conflict to the younger generation. This can prevent the verbal battle from escalating into a full-blown intellectual feud.

However... if the interruption is unreasonable and involves talking nonsense, things will only get worse.

However, one must be careful not to overdo it; if one speaks too harshly, one might be beaten into a pulp by the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial.

He wouldn't attack the great shaman casually, but slapping you wouldn't be difficult for him.

Therefore, it's crucial to strike the right balance, but you absolutely must go for it.

Li Qi pondered for a moment, carefully considered his words, and then, just after both sides had finished speaking, he suddenly stood up from his seat!

After standing up, he prepared to speak without waiting for anyone else to react.

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

Because, just before Li Qi was about to stand up, this person also seemed eager to try, as if he wanted to stand up.

It was upon seeing this person that Li Qi suddenly sped up; otherwise, he would have wanted to consider it further, but he was afraid that this person would beat him to it.

However, now that you've stood up, don't overthink it, Anxin on performing well.

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

It seemed that no one expected that someone would dare to get up at this time.

Li Qi, ignoring the many gazes fixed upon him, bowed and said loudly, "My lords, you are all pedantic scholars who nitpick and argue without reason. I have observed that such a scene is common among the pedantic scholars of the world. How could such a scene befall you two?"

These words shocked everyone in the room.

The great shaman, however, smiled, seemingly quite satisfied.

The reason is quite simple.

Confucianism is one of the many schools of Human Path ethics, and it is the largest and undisputed leader among them.

Li Qi appeared to belittle both sides, but in reality, he used the term "corrupt scholar," which was actually a veiled criticism that the leader of the Hundred Schools of Human Path was nothing more than a corrupt scholar who only knew how to talk.

Moreover, Li Qi had checked it on the terminal beforehand.

This Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial was a Confucian.

In fact, among the Hundred Schools of Thought, the Confucian, Miscellaneous, and Legalist School schools were known for their focus on climbing the ranks of officialdom, to the point that most of the Crimson and Purple Nobles in the Tang Kingdom were Confucian scholar and Legalists.

However, if Li Qi says this, he will probably be crippled here.

That's a very harsh statement.

But Li Qi was well aware of the consequences of doing so, so he immediately stepped out from behind the table and said loudly, "Instead of arguing, let's try it ourselves. Since it is inconvenient for the two gentlemen to make their way, then I will do it."

"Not only the Book of Rites, but also the Book of Changes, the Book of Poetry, the Book of Rites, the Book of History, the Book of Learning, and the Book of Records—all eight books have come. If you really want to see who has inherited the True Intention of the High Antiquity, you can try it out immediately. I am here to answer everyone's questions, and you will see."

"Debate with me, and we'll see who is more familiar with and understands the True Intention of the ancients!"

Li Qi looked around and made a boastful statement to the hundreds of banquet attendees!

Right after he finished speaking, True Knowledge Dao Charm began to move intensely.

Something terrifying and unbelievable was rushing toward him, and a feeling of fear rose from the depths of his heart.

True Knowledge Dao Charm, you can't analyze it!

He couldn't see through it, but he could vaguely sense that something was approaching him!

But Li Qi felt unable to move or react; this thing came too fast!

Just then, the great shaman stood up, took a step forward, and came to Li Qi's side.

That feeling of danger vanished instantly.

But in just a moment, Li Qi's back was soaked with sweat, and his legs were trembling.

It wasn't that he wasn't brave enough, but that feeling... was simply impossible to endure through willpower alone.

That was an absolute crushing defeat, beyond the control of any individual's will; if it was said to be unresistable, then it was unresistable.

But the great shaman patted Li Qi on the shoulder, signaling him to Anxin, and then dried the moisture off his body. Then, the great shaman's face darkened, and he said to Li Qi, "You juniors, what talk about ancient True Intention? You dare to utter such words?! You're overestimating yourselves!"

Upon hearing this, Li Qi immediately lowered his head.

He knew that things had succeeded.

After saying this, the great shaman walked up to Li Qi, waved his hand, and said to the banquet guests, "However, although this young man talks a lot of big words, there is one thing he said that makes sense."

"It's really useless for us to say so much, since our Dao heart are firm and will not waver."

"Why not let these younger generation debate it? They're still developing, so they'll naturally know which side is more righteous."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial.

Clearly, no one except this purple-robed nobleman was qualified to respond to the Great Shaman's words.

He glanced around and nodded. "Alright, I'd like to see how this young master will prove that Wushen Mountain is the original family."