Those words echoed above the entire Heavenly Court and Earthly Immortal Realm, clear in sound and unmistakable in meaning, striking everyone like a sharp blow to the head.
Not for fame, not for profit, but with a sincere heart!
All the scholars murmured to themselves, repeating Big Chef's words over and over. With each repetition, they seemed to gain another layer of understanding. There was love for their country, devotion to the people, to heaven and earth, to all living beings, and the understanding that trees took ten years to grow, while nurturing people took a hundred. Those words captured a scholar's moral character with penetrating precision.
An old schoolteacher slowly closed his eyes and only opened them again after a long while. "To secure a livelihood for the people. Good, well said! No wonder this immortal called him selfish and petty. That's right. If he truly cared about the nation and its people, why wouldn't he endure humiliation and compromise, instead of indulging his pride and walking away without a care? Some fine scholarly integrity that is!"
After speaking, the old teacher bowed three times toward the sky. One, two, three-more and more scholars, regardless of age or class, began pondering those words carefully. Then light shone in some of their eyes. The young men's blood ran hot, their entire bodies seeming to burn. They had sensed what true moral character meant. It was not proud defiance; it was something more compassionate, more sublime.
At that moment, the young men brimmed with ambition, as though they had suddenly found a goal to strive toward, unwavering in their resolve.
Tiny specks of white light began drifting from their bodies. In swift succession, they unconsciously bowed three times toward the sky. Among any three people, there was someone one could learn