Zong Ming and the other three hurriedly lowered their heads, horrified.
None of the four had expected that Fang Yun would receive such high recognition from Zongsheng with just a few words. Zongsheng even believed that Fang Yun was already qualified to discuss "The Analects of Confucius" with him. This was almost the highest praise from the human race and also the highest recognition for Fang Yun's reading of the scriptures.
Even the semi-saints agree with it. Apart from Confucius, no one can deny Fang Yun in this regard.
The four of them pondered it in their hearts, but still couldn't understand its meaning.
"Your Majesty, your praise is too much. I am unworthy of it." Fang Yun said modestly.
"The Tianchang Divine Division Technique requires a firm mind and an unshakable determination. I see that your mind is different from others, and it seems that you have encountered something else. It is okay to learn this technique. However, you need to go to the Lu Sheng family and read the original version of "Lüshi Chunqiu" before you can fully master it."
After saying that, Zongsheng stretched out his hand and pointed at Fang Yun's forehead.
The two were clearly less than ten feet apart, but Fang Yun felt that the finger was thousands of miles away.
A ray of spiritual light flew in from the fingertips of Zongsheng and fell into Fang Yunwen Palace.
Fang Yun sat there in a daze, his eyes empty, his mind already wrapped around the spiritual light, and he began to learn the Tianchang Fen Shen method.
Slowly, the sky darkened.
Fang Yun did not move, Zong Sheng was still sitting there drinking tea, and the other four did not dare to move.
When dawn came, nothing had changed.
Three days and three nights passed before Fang Yun blinked his eyes, with joy in his eyes.
"Thank you Mr. Mo Ju for your guidance." Fang Yun said.
"snort!"
Zongsheng snorted coldly and waved his hand again. A point of silver light flew into Fang Yun's brows, and then he turned away, stepped into the void, and disappeared without a trace.
The silver light fell on Fang Yunwen Palace and turned into fragments of Wenqu Star, flying upwards and merging into the miniature Wenqu Star.
Fang Yun stood up, bowed deeply in the direction where Zongsheng disappeared, then continued to sit in Wu Hou's carriage and left Jiutaoju.
After leaving the gate of Jiutaoju, Fang Yun was about to fly away, but suddenly stopped and looked at Zong Ming.
"If you are troubled by your studies in the future, you can ask me for help."
After saying this, Fang Yun rode away in the Wuhou carriage.
Zong Ming bowed deeply to bid farewell to Fang Yun. When Fang Yun left, he looked helpless and said, "Three great masters, Fang Yun and I have absolutely nothing to do with each other!"
The three of them didn't care, they were just thinking.
One person said, "According to what our ancestors said, if we were to choose the best sentence in the Analects, it would definitely be 'When you see a virtuous person, you should think about how to be like him; when you see an unvirtuous person, you should reflect on yourself'. And Fang Yun... Ahem, Fang Xusheng actually has the same opinion as our ancestor. If our ancestors asked you, which sentence would you choose?"
The Zong family members are used to calling Fang Yun by his name, and rarely use honorifics. But now Fang Yun is mentioned together with the Zong Sheng. If they do not use honorifics on the other party, it will lower the Zong Sheng's status. So they have to respect him as the nominal Saint.
The other three shook their heads slightly and kept silent.
"The saying 'When you see a virtuous person, you should strive to emulate him; when you see an unvirtuous person, you should reflect on yourself' is not controversial, but what does Fang Xusheng mean by 'Virtue is not the same as goodness; reflection is not the same as improvement'? In my opinion, there is no difference between the saying 'When you see a virtuous person, you should strive to emulate him' and the saying 'Three people walk together'."
The four of them thought for a moment, and Zong Ming suddenly said, "A good person may not be a virtuous one."
The three university scholars' eyes lit up.
"Your understanding is indeed extraordinary. This is the finishing touch that breaks through the fog. A wise man is capable, and a good man is more inclined to benevolence."
"That's right. In the Analects, the previous chapter about seeing a virtuous person and wanting to emulate him is about the difference between a gentleman and a villain; while the previous chapter about three people walking together is about strangeness, power, chaos, and gods. The virtuous and the gentleman echo each other, while the good and the strange and chaotic echo each other, so there should be a slight difference."
“Although there are good people among the three people walking together, it is difficult for them to be canonized as saints. It is different for sages. Those who are called sages are either famous scholars or great scholars, and they are naturally higher than good people.”
Zong Ming said: "A good person is a wise person, and a wise person is a saint!"
The four of them suddenly realized something and were overjoyed.
"What about self-reflection and change?"
Zong Ming said: "Every wise man has his own holy way. If you see that you are not wise, you can know it in your heart and change naturally, or you don't need to change."
But another university scholar said, "There is something incomplete in this statement. Your virtue may not be virtue to me; my virtue may not be virtue to you. For example, there are naturally contradictory and controversial things among various schools of thought. Therefore, what Fang Xusheng said is that self-reflection is enough, and it must not be changed at will. Things that can be changed are small virtues, and self-reflection without change is a great virtue!"
"That's the truth!"
"But why do you two gentlemen put the most emphasis on emulating the virtuous when reading the Analects?" Zong Ming was puzzled.
The three university scholars looked at each other but were unable to answer the question immediately. After a long discussion, they finally came to some conclusion.
"We are not yet great scholars, but we are blinded by a leaf and cannot see Mount Tai. However, diligence can make up for our shortcomings. Combining your opinions, the most likely possibility is that there are thousands of ways in the Analects, including politics, gentlemanly affairs, benevolence, virtue, righteousness, and courtesy. It is difficult to see all of them. The wonderful thing about learning and practicing from time to time is also wonderful, and the three-person walk is also wonderful. The other ways are equally wonderful, but they are only suitable for people like us who have no hope of becoming saints. We should choose one way to follow. People with talent like our ancestors and Fang Yun can fully understand the wonders of the whole book and have their own saintly way, so they must not choose the saintly way in the book, so they should choose to emulate the virtuous. Emulating the virtuous is a common way to the saintly way, not a single saintly way."
Zong Ming suddenly said happily: "That's right. It seems that there are three studies in the Analects, which are progressive. The first is to learn and practice it from time to time, the second is to always have a teacher among three people, and the third is to strive to emulate the virtuous! The lower ones are for ordinary people, the middle ones are for virtuous people, and the upper ones are for saints."
After Zong Ming finished speaking, the heaven and earth shook slightly, and then a faint voice was heard in the sky, repeating what Zong Ming had just said.
Then, a small dragon gate rose in the small river outside the old Taoshan Mountain.
The sound of the Tao.
"Good!" The three university scholars were pleasantly surprised. They did not expect that the clan would produce such a promising talent. In time, he would surely become a great scholar, or even a literary master. There would even be some chance for him to be canonized as a saint.
The starlight of the literary music in the old Taoshan suddenly became thicker, and then a silver beam of light fell on Zong Ming and disappeared immediately.
The three university scholars were stunned for a moment, looking at each other with shock in their eyes.
Zong Ming did not think much about it, but sighed: "The difference between Fang Xusheng and me is more than a thousand miles, but a thousand worlds. The scraps of his conversation with the ancestor let us chew on it, and we can get the sound of the great way. If his thoughts are fully revealed, I am afraid that the world will be shaken. I know now that the two of them have already grasped the essence of the old peach discussion, and they are no longer just talking, and have long surpassed the realm of inducing the sound of the great way. Just as the Saint Xingwenhui said, your body and name will be destroyed, but the rivers and streams will flow forever!"
The three scholars were thinking of other places. Although the sound of the great way is rare, it will occasionally appear as long as one becomes a great scholar. It appeared in Shu a few days ago. However, after Fang Yun promised to solve Zong Ming's doubts, Zong Ming was blessed by Wenquxing. This was too strange.
A university scholar hurriedly said: "The Zong family has long been unable to learn Fangxu's holy war poems, and even if they learned them, they would not be able to use them. You have learned "The Arrow in the Stone", so try to perform it."
Zong Ming immediately recited "The Arrow in the Stone" fluently.
The poem was finished, an arrow was suspended in the air, and murderous intent surged.
All three university scholars tried, but none of them succeeded.
Zong Ming suddenly came to his senses and sighed, "I only knew that the ancestor had a broad mind and could tolerate Fang Yun and grant him the holy technique. I never thought that Fang Xusheng also had such a broad mind. It is admirable."
A university scholar could not hide his admiration and said, "It is easy to be virtuous, but it is difficult to be virtuous. Fang Yun is truly a man who is unrivalled and will never be surpassed!"