Beauties in Simulation Cross over into Reality

Chapter 137: Chapter 122: Then I’m Afraid I Must Give Offense

Duanya Academy was located in Sichuan and Shu.

As one of the Four Great Academies under the main Confucian Academy, Duanya Academy’s reputation was naturally renowned.

However, compared to the other three great academies, the culture at Duanya Academy was far more conventional. Its scholars mostly revered antiquity and were zealous in their pursuit of ancient learning.

In other words, the scholars of Duanya Academy were generally more hidebound and less receptive to new ideas.

This was especially true after Xiao Mo founded Heart Learning. Once his philosophy began to rise in prominence, Duanya Academy fiercely denounced it.

They even hoped Xiao Mo would come to Duanya Academy for a scholarly debate.

They were utterly confident, certain they could send Xiao Mo away in disgrace, so he would never dare to promote Heart Learning again.

Thus, when Xiao Mo arrived at Duanya Academy, everyone was rubbing their hands in glee, chomping at the bit. It was as if he were the prey they had long been waiting for.

Bai Ruxue even felt that as the scholars stared at her Xiao Mo, their eyes held a faint, predatory green glint.

These scholars of Sichuan and Shu gave her a rather strange feeling.

The Duanya Academy scholar tasked with receiving Xiao Mo led him to the shore of a lake on the academy grounds.

By then, over a thousand scholars were already seated cross-legged on the grassy shore, with many more standing farther back to watch.

These scholars included some who had traveled from other academies and new disciples of Duanya Academy itself. Most were simply there for the spectacle.

Xiao Mo knelt properly on a cushion, a faint smile on his face. “Which gentleman would care to begin the debate with me?”

“I shall go first!” a Mountain Master of Duanya Academy declared, taking a seat with quiet composure opposite Xiao Mo.

“Please,” Xiao Mo said, gesturing for his opponent to begin. And with that, the debate officially commenced.

The Mountain Master opened with a full-throated assault. His words were sharp, as if unleashing a bellyful of pent-up rage, and he aggressively sought to crush this heretical scholar.

At the start, Xiao Mo and the Mountain Master were indeed locked in a fierce, back-and-forth exchange.

Soon, however, the Mountain Master began to falter. Faced with Xiao Mo’s layered, logically airtight arguments, he found himself at a loss for a rebuttal.

His responses became halting and clumsy until he was finally rendered speechless. His face paled, his Dao Heart was severely shaken, and he could only retreat from the stage, crestfallen.

His dazed eyes were filled with profound doubt about his own scholarship.

Immediately, a second debater took the stage.

This continued for five days and five nights.

From the common teachers of Duanya Academy to the Deans and even the revered Sacrificial Officers of the Academic Palace.

Xiao Mo lost count of how many scholars he had bested in debate.

Aside from the Academy Director of Duanya Academy, who had yet to participate, Xiao Mo had faced nearly every master and teacher in the institution.

The Academy Director had not participated, but it wasn’t due to a reluctance to use his seniority against a junior. After all, in the pursuit of knowledge, mastery takes precedence over age; the depth of one’s scholarship has no bearing on how many years one has lived.

He remained silent because he recognized the sophistication and maturity of Xiao Mo’s system of Heart Learning.

He could see that the core tenets Xiao Mo championed—such as “learning for the sake of application” and “the unity of knowledge and action”—served as a profound supplement and corrective to the shortcomings of traditional Neo-Confucianism.

He knew full well that if he were to enter the debate himself, it would likely end in his own hasty and undignified defeat.

’Since that’s the case, why should I bring humiliation upon myself?’

“After today, the foundations of Xiao Mo’s Heart Learning can be considered to have all but reached Great Success.”

Not far away, the Academy Director of Duanya Academy gazed at Xiao Mo’s back, sighed, and spoke to his personal disciples beside him.

“Once his travels are over, he will likely enter seclusion to consolidate everything he has learned from these debates. When he finally puts his philosophy to paper, I fear he will truly forge an entirely new Confucian Dao.”

Hearing their master give Xiao Mo such high praise, the disciples were all stunned into silence.

To forge an entirely new Confucian Dao!

This meant their master did not see Heart Learning as some heterodox path. Instead, he believed it held immense practical significance and extraordinary value. It might even allow Xiao Mo to become the next Confucian Saint, his name immortalized in history.

The title of “Saint” was not something the Confucian Academy could bestow. It referred to a state where, upon reaching that stage, Xiao Mo would trigger a resonance with the literary fortune of the Great Dao itself. In doing so, he would instantly become an Ascension Realm Cultivator.

“Is there anyone else who would care to debate with me?”

Xiao Mo asked slowly. His voice wasn’t loud, yet it reached the ears of everyone present with exceptional clarity, seeming to carry a power that resonated deep within their hearts.

But no one else came forward.

Just as the Academy Director of Duanya Academy was about to publicly concede defeat, a Communication Flying Sword tore through the air and shot precisely toward him.

The Academy Director of Duanya Academy reached out and caught the Flying Sword, his heart jolting in surprise.

This type of Flying Sword was a Magical Artifact used exclusively by the Confucian Academy for transmitting the most urgent intelligence.

Not daring to delay, he quickly removed the hidden missive from the body of the Flying Sword.

As his gaze swept over the black characters on the white paper, the Academy Director’s heart plummeted.

He read the letter again and again, almost wondering if he had misread the words.

On the grassy shore, seeing that there were no more challengers, Xiao Mo rose to his feet. He offered a respectful, deep bow to the Academy Director of Duanya Academy, who was hovering in mid-air.

“Director, it seems no one else from your esteemed academy wishes to debate. I shall take my leave now and trouble you no further.”

“Your scholarship is astonishing, Nephew Xiao. I am truly impressed. Your future is limitless, and I shall await the day you publish your work and your name is known throughout the world.” The Academy Director of Duanya Academy regarded Xiao Mo with a complicated expression, his tone calm. “You are free to go, Nephew Xiao. However, I must ask Miss Bai to stay behind.”

“Hm?” Xiao Mo turned to glance at Bai Ruxue, his expression puzzled.

Bai Ruxue looked equally baffled, shaking her head in confusion.

Xiao Mo turned back to the Director. “May I ask why you need Ruxue to stay?”

The Academy Director of Duanya Academy sighed deeply, held up the letter, and read its contents aloud in a voice imbued with his Cultivation:

“Sacrificial Officer Fang Shan of the Academic Palace, while leading seven Deans to the North Sea to sign a treaty, was ambushed by the North Sea Demon Race. They were surrounded and tragically slain!

Companion Saint and Sage Ding Chen has personally led five hundred elite Cultivators to the North Sea to suppress the rebellion and is now locked in a bloody battle with the North Sea Demon Race.

By order of the Academy: The North Sea is in rebellion. Arrest the Lord of the North Sea—Bai Ruxue!”

As his voice faded, the Academy Director of Duanya Academy turned to Xiao Mo, his expression deeply resigned. “Nephew Xiao, that is why I must ask Miss Bai to stay.”

“Impossible!” Bai Ruxue took a sharp step forward, her voice turning icy. “This must be a conspiracy! My sister would never do such a thing!”

“I do not know the reasons behind this, but an order from the Academy cannot be defied. Please, Miss Bai, remain here for the time being.”

“And what if I refuse to stay?”

“Then… I’m afraid I will have to be discourteous.”

The Academy Director of Duanya Academy slowly shook his head, saying nothing more.

With a light wave of his sleeve, the surging aura of scholarship around him instantly transformed into countless shimmering chains. Like ethereal serpents, they shot swiftly toward Bai Ruxue, seeking to bind her.