Couldn't Win the Argument...

Trees need the earth, and the earth needs space to stand.

Li Qi walked through the crowd and raised his voice, saying, "Cultivation requires teachers, learning requires predecessors, and everything must be built upon the foundation laid by our predecessors."

"The people we're talking about who are opportunistic are simply those who resent others' lack of generosity and hate that they don't have it themselves. There's Liu Donghe's own son here. Confucianism emphasizes filial piety and respects the father-son relationship. It's probably impossible to say that Liu Donghe's son didn't benefit from his father's legacy. So, does that mean he's also opportunistic?"

Li Qi finished in one breath and continued, "This is called currying favor, that is called currying favor. Are you the only noble people in the world who do not curry favor? Is that what you mean, senior?"

Li Qi stepped forward and refuted the accusations, thus rescuing the Trumpet Flower God from the predicament.

The Trumpet Flower God looked on with gratitude. After all, she was just a Flower Goddess, and when it came to eloquence, she was probably no match for the Confucian cultivator in front of her.

Confucian scholars are known for their eloquence. In the past, when the Shaman Path and Human Path openly Discussing the Dao and competed, the Human Path from the humanistic side were almost all Confucian scholars and members of the School of Names, because these two schools were the most eloquent and eloquent in the Human Path, citing classical texts.

But...

In this respect, Li Qi is no less capable.

He came from the lineage of the Shaman, who were an important source of Shaman Path officials... Before the separation of humans and Shaman, he was actually the ancestor of the School of Names.

There are many rules when Shaman perform sacrifices.

Different ranks have different etiquette to follow, so officials in charge of etiquette are particularly good at distinguishing ranks. This skill became the source of the School of Names of later generations after the Human and Shaman separation.

The School of Names " itself refers to the Dao Lineage of distinguishing between "name" and "position," and is a direct inheritance from the officials of rites.

The Zongren and Shaman were the most numerous among the officials in charge of rites, and Li Qi was actually quite eloquent.

"Oh? And who is this?" The fifth-rank Confucian scholar heard someone contradict him, and upon seeing that it was a seventh-rank junior, he did not show any resistance or disgust, but instead showed a curious expression.

"Senior, please focus on the debate. My identity is not important. Or do you think that if there is some important person standing behind me, you can't afford to offend him, so you need to find out beforehand?" Li Qi replied with a smile.

The Confucian scholar shook his head and laughed, "Ha, you rascal, fine. Regardless of status, those who come on stage should focus on the debate. Don't always try to intimidate others by bringing up your connections. Otherwise, as you said, the person you bring up will be 'deceiving others,' and the person being intimidated will 'hate you for nothing.'"

The Trumpet Flower God flicked her sleeve slightly, her displeasure deepening.

The conversation between Li Qi and the Confucian scholar had already established that her behavior was despicable.

But she didn't say anything.

After all, Li Qi is helping her now.

Unlike Liu Shenzhi, although she didn't have the sharp tongue, at least she had the brains to know not to cause trouble.

"Alright, it's good that you're willing to let's not talk about these things. Let's continue. You seem to disagree with my opinion?" Li Qi interjected.

He had to speak quickly and get the conversation going so that everyone's attention would shift from the 'failure of the Trumpet Flower God's to the 'debate between the two'.

Changing the subject can be very useful in many situations.

The fifth-rank Confucian scholar seemed to have noticed this, but he didn't say much. Instead, he said to Li Qi, "Indeed, what you're saying is nothing but sophistry, like 'a white horse is not a horse,' which I naturally cannot agree with."

"How can you compare currying favor with taking advantage of power? The saying 'a white horse is not a horse' confuses the name and reality between color and substance, substituting the individual for the universal phenomenon, thus arriving at a fallacy. And the method you used is nothing more than that."

"Using the father-son relationship to obscure the despicable act of currying favor with the powerful is like saying 'a white horse is not a horse.' Kid, if you think you can use this kind of rhetoric to defend the Trumpet Flower God, you're probably mistaken."

Li Qi nodded after listening to his words.

Admittedly, the other party was quite skilled; everything they said was correct, but they dissected Li Qi's rhetoric completely in an instant.

But...

Simply disassembling it won't help.

Li Qi immediately replied with a smile, "Answering questions with questions, dissecting my words to refute my words, is that all you've got?"

"Alright, then I'll ignore your petty tricks and talk to you about reason," the fifth-rank Confucian scholar said casually.

He didn't think it through carefully. The junior in front of him was only a seventh-rank official, not worth his trouble. If he were to seriously debate, regardless of the outcome, he would have already lost from the start.

"You said that everyone takes advantage of others, but there is a fundamental difference between taking advantage of others and clinging to others. If the person who takes advantage of others has a conscience, then he will definitely be grateful and appreciative. To use the example of father and son, the father is kind, so the son will be filial. It is because the son takes advantage of the father's influence that he is grateful and therefore behaves properly. He uses propriety to restrain the kindness in his heart, and only in this way can the world be at peace."

"A wise man once said: "Ritual is something that is practiced from the top down and applied from the first to the last. Therefore, if a father is not kind, his son will not be filial; if an elder brother is not friendly, his younger brother will not be respectful; if a husband is not righteous, his wife will not be obedient. A father becomes kind because of ritual, and a son is grateful because of ritual. In the end, both father and son are kind and filial, and everyone is happy. This is the result of leveraging power and lingering blessings."

"But the sophistry you spout is not like that. The Trumpet Flower God has no feelings of gratitude in her heart, only the intention to use. If there were feelings of gratitude between father and son, then the son would not leave his father, nor would he abandon his original father just because another father is stronger or richer. This applies to husband and wife, brothers, and master and disciple."

"But those who seek to curry favor have no feelings or thoughts in their hearts. Confucius said: 'If one's conduct is upright, people will follow even without orders; if one's conduct is not upright, people will not follow even with orders.' So this is the difference between borrowing power and currying favor."

"The Trumpet Flower God is such a despicable person, rude and heartless. She clings to those who are valuable and abandons them when they are not. When she clings to someone, she will say the sweetest words. When she abandons someone, she will do the cruelest things. She is so despicable that she should be expelled from the Upper Garden. How can she still have the face to swagger around here? She is simply an eyesore and a disgrace to the reputation of all flowers!"

The Trumpet Flower God.

The others around them also began to whisper among themselves, their eyes shifting back and forth between the Trumpet Flower God and the fifth-rank Confucian scholar.

In this round, the opponent has the upper hand.

This fifth-rank Confucian scholar was polite when he argued with Li Qi, but when it came to the Trumpet Flower God, he immediately pointed his finger and started cursing.

Li Qi felt a sudden headache.

Clearly, this fifth-rank Confucian scholar knew the key point and wasn't fooled by Li Qi at all. He probably just wanted to laugh at Li Qi's little trick.

Arguing with Li Qi? What's the point?

He came to drive away the Trumpet Flower God, not to argue with Li Qi!

The key is to directly insult the Trumpet Flower God of the Trumpet Flower God Creeper, letting others understand her despicable nature.

Li Qi realized this, but he could only smile wryly, as there was nothing he could do about it.

Those at the fifth rank are absolutely stubborn; the synonym for stubbornness is 'firm in their Dao heart '.

Their values do not originate from any particular person or thing; they come from their own hearts and are derived from their own understanding, not from being transmitted by others.

Therefore... they are exceptionally stubborn, or rather, patient and determined.

Conclusions drawn purely from one's own heart are the most solid and least susceptible to external influences.

These words drew the attention of the surrounding crowd to the Trumpet Flower God.

Meanwhile, a group of people gathered around the Trumpet Flower God.

These are the people she won over through various means to write praises for her. By the time they finished writing, it was too late for them to turn back.

The Trumpet Flower God used Liu Donghe's authentic calligraphy as bait to lure them to choose sides. If they switch sides now, they will become fickle and treacherous people.

This is the trick of the Trumpet Flower God; she easily bound some people to her side.

They had previously written articles praising the Trumpet Flower, and unless they now admit that they were talking nonsense and lying, it will be difficult to change their stance. So now they are caught in a dilemma and can only pretend to be defeated and retreat to the side. They can do nothing but bolster their morale.

Anyway, if they lose, they can just hide away; there's no need for their reputation to be ruined along with that of the Trumpet Flower God.

Besides these people, there were also some original supporters of the Trumpet Flower God who stood on her side.

These are the true die-hard supporters.

At this moment, someone stepped forward and said, "Nonsense! You say Ling Xiao is disrespectful and ungrateful, but are only your Confucian principles of propriety correct in the world?!"

Just as this person was about to say something, Li Qi gasped and quickly made a hand gesture to the Trumpet Flower God!

Seeing this, the Trumpet Flower God reached out and persuaded the man to stop, poured him wine, and whispered a few words to him.

The man stopped speaking, displeased, and prepared to watch Li Qi's performance.

Li Qi, on the other hand, was startled and broke out in a cold sweat!

Holy crap! This guy's got some nerve!

Discussing the matter of the Trumpet Flower God, or arguing about whether the Trumpet Flower God is good or bad, is all trivial and doesn't matter.

However, if you put forward the idea that "only Confucianism is right," then that's just a damn debate about doctrines.

The conflict between the two sides will lead to deaths! Two people will definitely die here today.

Li Qi didn't want to be one of them, so he quickly interrupted.

Moreover, he also discovered some clues.

The loyal followers of the Trumpet Flower God Creeper... seem to be mostly devout followers of Confucianism. At first glance, they are mostly alchemists or those who make a living with their skills, and a small number of monks.

Looking at the other supporters of the Trumpet Flower God, it's the White Horse Temple. The monks probably just wanted to avoid suspicion, so they didn't come today; only a small number came to show their support.

That's why they blurt out topics that could spark controversy without thinking.

Therefore, Li Qi had to speak first, even if he couldn't find anything to say, he had to hurry and speak first.

So, before the fifth-rank Confucian scholar could speak, Li Qi spoke first, "Senior, you don't need to worry about those things. However, something has indeed blinded you, causing you to misjudge the Trumpet Flower God, which is why we have this conflict today!"

The fifth-rank Confucian scholar's face had already darkened, but upon hearing Li Qi's words, he looked at Li Qi and asked, "Oh? Young man, what are your thoughts?"

Li Qi cupped his hands and said, "What you said earlier, senior, is that because one has benevolence in one's heart, one's behavior is courteous, and thus one has compassion and filial piety, and the world is in harmony. May I ask you, senior, what is benevolence?"

"A gentleman cannot succeed without benevolence, nor can he live without righteousness. Benevolence and righteousness are the nature of True Person; this is the reason for benevolence," the Confucian scholar solemnly replied.

The understanding of benevolence and righteousness is of paramount importance in Confucianism, so he appeared very serious when answering this question, which shows his respect and emphasis on his own Dao Path.

Therefore, Li Qi said, "As the elders said, those who are not benevolent lose their original intentions. If they indulge in restraint for a long time, they will become promiscuous, and if they indulge in pleasure for a long time, they will become licentious. Only the benevolent are at peace with their benevolence and will not deviate from it. The wise benefit from benevolence and will not easily adhere to it. Although the depths of benevolence differ, neither of them can be taken away by external things."

"So, is the Trumpet Flower God still greedy for the benefits she desires? Or is she deeply aware of her fondness for it and determined to obtain it?"

"Everyone knows that the Trumpet Flower did not rely on her powerful backer to act arrogantly, so what does that have to do with her lack of benevolence?"

"What the senior said about her daring to come back because of Liu Donghe's support seems to me to be just cowardice. She lacks the confidence to speak up. While it is admirable to be fearless of power, does that mean she should be despised if she can't do it?"

Li Qi's words were a quote from a famous saying, meaning that acknowledging the restraint of benevolence on one's nature can make people feel gratitude.

So here's the question: the Trumpet Flower God is said to be opportunistic and sycophantic, but is what she did really just sycophancy driven by greed and desire?

I was just trying to exonerate the Trumpet Flower God.

At this point, Li Qi was already feeling a headache coming on. He couldn't refute the other party logically and could only resort to wild guesses to exonerate Trumpet Flower God by pointing out her character... which meant he had completely fallen into a disadvantageous position.

"How could it not be?" the Confucian scholar asked, raising his head.

Clearly, in his view, the Trumpet Flower God was this kind of person.

Then he continued, "Young man, you don't know the true nature of the Trumpet Flower God. Let me tell you, she had a bad reputation in the Shangyuan Garden. She turned a blind eye to those lesser Flower Goddesses who were not well-known, but was keen to attend the banquets of the great Flower Goddesses. It was despicable. When she was a sixth-rank Flower Goddess, the sunflower, photinia, and hibiscus were all humiliated by her, while the five-rank Flower Goddesses, magnolia, forget-me-not, and cherry blossom, were often befriended by her."

"And afterwards, she climbed the Buddhist wall of White Horse Temple. Did Xinyi, Wangyou, and Yingtao receive her invitation?"

"The Trumpet Flower God Creeper is more evil than good. She is resolute in nature, but what she hates is poverty and lowliness. She is truly despicable!" the fifth-rank Confucian scholar loudly denounced.

Li Qi was speechless.

There's no other way.

He couldn't out-argue this Confucian scholar. After all, the scholar was a fifth-rank official. Putting aside his cultivation level, his knowledge and experience were far superior to his own. It was already quite impressive that he had managed to withstand these few moves...

He clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, shook his head helplessly, and stepped back.

Let the Trumpet Flower God die; she did her best.

But...

The Trumpet Flower God, standing to the side, couldn't help but tremble when she heard Li Qi say, "He's just rather cowardly and lacks confidence."

She looked at Li Qi outside, cupped her hands in greeting, shook her head, and withdrew from the circle.

For hundreds of years, she never imagined...

A single sentence was enough to shake her Dao heart.

The person next to them suddenly noticed something and asked in confusion, "Flower Goddess, your aura... why is it disordered? What's wrong with your cultivation?"