Nine Star Hegemon Body Art

The scholar finished kowtowing to the ants three times and then put them inside his sleeve.

He had kowtowed extremely hard, causing his forehead to bleed. But he didn’t mind. He only glared at Long Chen with rancor.

“What? Did you kowtow so hard to get sympathy? Do you want to make yourself seem like the victim? I looked down on you before, but now I look down on you even more. Do you think you're so great that only you are allowed to trample over others?” Long Chen looked at him disdainfully.

“Shut up! You are challenging all the scholars of the Vermilion Bird Empire to war! Do you think you're so clever?! Then let’s make sure to compete properly today!” raged the scholar.

“Are you stupid? It has always been the case that there can be no number one in learning and no number two in martial arts. In martial arts, it’s possible to determine who is first. But in terms of learning and culture, who can say that they are number one? In martial arts, someone could claim to be number one because that person truly could be standing at that height. But in terms of learning, anyone who dared to claim themselves as number one would either be a madman or an idiot. Other than that, I came to talk reason with you, remember? I’m not here to compete. If you want to compete, why compete with me, a martial artist? Just how inferior do you feel to make such a challenge?” scoffed Long Chen.

“All paths lead to the same end! At the highest realm, there are naturally standards that can be used to judge! You say that there can be no number one in learning because you haven’t reached that height! Do you dare to accept the challenge?” demanded one person.

He was a thin scholar who had tried to interject himself several times but failed. But now, he finally had a chance.

“Then have you reached that highest realm?” asked Long Chen.

That person was left speechless. He was not even a Hanlin scholar. How could he dare to say that he had reached that height?

“Even without reaching that height, there are ways to determine who is superior. Perhaps we aren’t enough to evaluate others, but when it comes to evaluating you… Hmph, it’s clearly more than enough.” Someone else immediately spoke up to help that person out of his predicament.

“Can you have some face? Second-rates such as yourselves don’t even have standards for judging. Who can say whose logic is right and whose is wrong? Oh, I know, you’ll use numbers to shout that the person you like is right and the person you dislike is wrong, right? You wish to be the judge and the competitor at the same time? Haha, in all my years of fighting, from the mortal world to the immortal world, I’ve never seen anyone as shameless as you lot. Fine, when it comes to shamelessness, I am willing to accept you as number one,” praised Long Chen.

They wanted to compete with him with no standards at all, and the winner would be determined by whatever they said—such shamelessness. Long Chen’s eyes had been opened to the world.

“Nonsense! Every single person here is a hardworking nobleman with immense learning and wisdom. Don’t judge them as petty little plebeians like yourself!” raged that scholar.

“Your jealousy gave rise to resentment, and then you all started attacking me. You did so because you all thought that you were superior to me. You say that you are a nobleman? How come I can’t see any sign of nobility from you all?” said Long Chen.

“Naturally, it depends on who the nobleman is talking to. To fellow noblemen, one’s words are like jade. For little plebeians, can noble words even be heard? Can such words even enter their hearts?”

“If you were a nobleman, you would know that you can always learn from someone, no matter who it is. All things in this world have their own principles, their own inner essence. Even plebeians have their own strong points, their own code for survival. They don’t steal from you and simply rely on themselves to survive. However, you keep talking down to them, calling them petty little people in order to make yourself look bigger. Who gave you the confidence to look down on others?” demanded Long Chen.

Long Chen’s words were sharp and struck right on target, startling the cultivators present. If they couldn’t sense the raging Blood Qi from his body, they might even think that he was another scholar.

“Most plebeians are dogs, thieves, trash that will harm others for the slightest profit! Their nature is ugly, and as they reproduce, they inherit that inferiority! Even if they get food and shelter, they refuse to improve themselves. They refuse to read or learn and would rather be degenerates that roll in filth! They will always live in poverty. In their entire lifetime, they will never enjoy status or wealth!” argued another scholar.

“A nobleman cultivates the body through calm behavior, cultivates morality through frugality, and lives a simple life to demonstrate nobility. But you are using wealth to decide morality, to decide who is inferior and who is superior. Such a thing is even worse than a plebeian, so how can you enter the ranks of noblemen? Does putting on airs allow you to look down on other people’s broken clothes? Does decking yourself in luxury allow you to laugh at other people’s poverty? If your inner heart is so broken, how can you even talk about learning? The only reason you can stand here isn’t because you are so amazing or because you worked so hard. It is only because your father and mother have the power to provide for your learning,” said Long Chen disdainfully.

This person definitely had a problem. His inner heart was so dark. But fortunately, he chose to be a scholar. If he was a cultivator, who knew what kind of calamity he would bring about on the poor? Using his logic, poor people simply deserved death.

Thankfully, he was just a troll who liked to talk big. If he was a powerful cultivator instead, Long Chen would make sure that he wouldn’t live to see tomorrow’s sun.

“The Dao of the Heavens is the survival of the fittest. Man follows the earth, the earth follows the heavens, the heavens follow the Dao, and the Dao follows the natural path. Even the heavens wish the strong to thrive while the weak are eliminated. That means that the Heavenly Daos are displeased by the weak. This brother’s words were not wrong, so why are you speaking about his heart? If you wish to condemn someone, there’s no need to come up with such excuses,” said one of the previous scholar’s friends.

“If the Dao follows the natural path, that means that the laws are flowing smoothly. If there is heaven, there is earth. Because there is Yin, there is Yang. There are high and low, rich and poor. Tell me, without the earth, where are the heavens? Without Yin, where is Yang? Without a high, how can there be a low? Without the poor, how could there be the wealthy? Heaven and earth face each other, Yin and Yang support each other, high and low need each other, and the poor and rich establish each other, a manifestation of the differences within all things. This is the natural Dao. What is this nonsense about the Heavenly Daos being displeased? Next!” snorted Long Chen.

“Only those with no desires can achieve the Dao. What qualifications do you have to speak of the Dao?!” shouted one person.

“Only those with no desires can achieve the Dao? You can’t even control your own tongue, yet you speak of the Dao? Just keep your mouth shut. Next!” Long Chen couldn’t even be bothered to explain such a thing.

An intense verbal sparring ensued. Unlike before, rather than debating them, Long Chen directly raised some problems from the actual questions, stifling them.

“Next!”

“Next!”

…

Dozens of people were all shut up. In the end, no one dared to ask another question as they were all dumbfounded.

Long Chen’s knowledge was so wide that it didn’t matter what they asked, he was able to get straight to the essence of the question and then grasp some openings to counterattack, leaving them with no words to retort.

In the end, no one amongst the scholars dared to speak again. On his own, Long Chen had managed to leave them speechless, causing all the cultivators to feel like prostrating themselves toward him in admiration.

“No one else? Then I’m leaving. I still have important matters to deal with.” Seeing those furious gazes from the scholars, Long Chen patted his butt and prepared to leave.

“Brother Long, that was a marvelous debate. Junior sister has experienced what it means to be erudite and wise. May I ask brother Long to give junior sister some pointers as well? If you could pick out the flaws in my music, I would be endlessly grateful.” Just as Long Chen was about to leave, the yellow-robed woman stopped him with a sincere expression.

“Do you really want me to give you criticism? You just heard what kind of critique I am. I’m not subtle or polite. I might offend you.”

Long Chen looked at this yellow-robed word with a touch of severity. For some reason, Long Chen detected some aura from her that made him feel uncomfortable.

The aura seemed to come from her herself, yet also as if it came from her cultivation technique. This uncomfortable feeling stemmed from the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art. Thus, Long Chen very much wished to know what was going on.

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