After hearing the story of the "Top Scorer's Debate," fine beads of sweat broke out across many foreheads.
Once one believed words like "choice matters more than effort," one could find excuses—but in doing so, one would completely lose the chance to change.
Xu Changren suddenly said, "Blessing is a miraculous elixir. Filthy Beggar, even Complete-Understanding Duke was not omniscient and omnipotent. I had a friend who believed in goodness, yet in the end, evil destroyed his household and killed his family. Afterward, he no longer believed in goodness. Do you think he believed wrongly, or chose wrongly?"
Hearing this, everyone nodded lightly. It seemed to strike at the heart of the matter.
But Filthy Beggar smiled and said, "The mayor is wise. What you could think of, the students present could think of as well. Someone asked that very question back then. Complete-Understanding Duke asked that person in return: 'Do you believe in goodness, or do you believe only in goodness? Do you believe goodness alone is enough, or do you believe that besides goodness, other things are needed as well?' What Complete-Understanding Duke meant was that you thought what you believed in was enough, when in truth, it was far from enough. Do you think Complete-Understanding Duke accepted an imperial decree in his front courtyard, then killed his corrupt enemy in the rear courtyard to avenge his former benefactor, merely because he believed in kindness? Clearly, Complete-Understanding Duke also believed in learning, in himself, in effort, in progress, in strength, and in many other things. Your friend was not wrong to believe in goodness. His mistake was mistakenly believing that everything he believed was right, failing to discover the other mistaken or missing beliefs within himself, and thus making the wrong choice."
Xu Changren slowly said, "Blessing is