"You... you..."
At those words, the Assistant Director of the Children's Education Bureau's constant smile changed.
An uproar swept through the crowd.
"He... what did he just say?"
"Young Master Lin Ke, you must have misspoken just now, didn't you?!"
"Sage Emperor above, Lin Ke is actually questioning it!"
"Those were the words of Mencius!"
The onlookers cried out in alarm, clearly frightened by what Lin Ke had said.
They had not paid attention to the latter part of his statement. The opening alone had already terrified them.
Lin Ke was actually questioning the Sacred Path?!
Mencius was a mighty figure at the eighth realm of the Confucian Path, a Second Sage.
He had said that the will needed to be tempered through suffering, and the spirit needed to be cleansed through hardship.
Even the Assistant Director of the Children's Education Bureau was too stunned to speak.
Seeing this, Lin Ke shook his head and reminded them again, "As I said, suffering is not worthy of praise. What we should praise are the strong who endure suffering without wavering in their resolve."
"There is nothing wrong with the Way of Mencius. He merely overlooked the role people themselves play in suffering."
"It is people's own will that saves them, not suffering!"
"In the world today-or throughout all history-how many have been tormented by suffering? How many have ultimately achieved greatness?"
"Mencius said: Shun rose from the fields; Fu Yue was raised up from among those building earthen walls; Jiao Ge was raised up from the fish and salt trade; Guan Zhong was raised up from prison officers; Sun Shuao was raised up from the sea; Baili Xi was raised up from the marketplace."
"But why was Shun the only one to rise from the fields? Why was Fu Yue the