During the Qin Dynasty, he brought chaos to the seven kingdoms.

Chapter 26 I Don't Eat Beef

An unnamed mansion.

In front of the two wooden houses, there was a large table.

Beside the desk, an elderly man with an air of otherworldly wisdom and a refined and handsome appearance knelt.

Opposite the old man was a blank soft cushion for kneeling, clearly indicating that he was waiting for someone.

The sun was high in the sky, its rays intense.

Nearly a hundred Confucian disciples, dressed in Confucian hats and robes, sat or stood, surrounding the old man in circles.

Outside the nameless mansion, there were also several hundred people surrounding it, all of them city guards clad in iron armor and carrying powerful bows and crossbows, standing ready for battle.

The sudden gathering of a large number of Confucian disciples in Linzi was bound to attract attention.

Within Linzi, the Prime Minister Hou Sheng was especially anxious and worried.

The reason was simple: Hou Sheng had slandered Xun Kuang before the King of Qi, falsely accusing him of having secret dealings with other countries. As a result, the hot-tempered Xunzi beat him to a pulp on the spot.

King Jian of Qi was furious.

Nameless, the guardian of the Qi royal family, stepped forward to plead for his teacher.

King Jianqiang of Qi ordered Wuming to sever his master-disciple relationship with Xun Kuang, or he would be executed.

Xunzi, knowing Wuming's nature, took the initiative to dissolve the master-disciple relationship to protect Wuming, and accepted Lord Chunshen's invitation to go to the State of Chu to serve as the magistrate of Lanling County.

Until three or four years ago, he returned to Xiaoshengxianzhuang to cultivate his character and take on disciples to support his family.

Hou Sheng hid on a high building, looking at the large number of Confucian scholars in the nameless mansion from afar, his face gloomy.

"Damn Xun Kuang, don't let me find an opportunity!"

Because Xun Kuang had beaten him up back then, he harbored resentment towards him and instigated the King of Qi to move Wuming out of the palace and exile him to this desolate and abandoned mansion.

"Um?"

Just as Hou Sheng was pondering how to strike at Xiaoshengxianzhuang and Xun Kuang, he suddenly saw a young man carrying his family walk into the nameless mansion.

It was Jing Ni and that kid... Hou Sheng flashed back to the scene of Cao Yuan insulting Lord Chang'an Cheng Jiao that day, and his heart was filled with doubt and uncertainty.

Could it be that the Luo Wang (a secret police organization) and the Confucian school are in some kind of collusion?

Hou Sheng was first surprised, then delighted.

If it were true, wouldn't it be easy for me to deal with Xun Kuang?

"Your Excellency, the official documents from various countries have arrived."

A thin, frail retainer handed over several documents.

Hou Sheng didn't take them, and asked calmly, "What countries are they all from?"

The retainers said: "The states of Zhao, Chu, Han, and Yan."

Hou Sheng narrowed his triangular eyes slightly. "Is there no Wei Kingdom?"

"There has been no movement from the Wei Kingdom."

Hou Sheng thought to himself, "It seems that Wei Yong, the Grand Minister of Works of Wei, is indeed in cahoots with Qin."

When will they arrive?

"About ten days, before the end of the month."

Hou Sheng glanced at Jing Ni, who had followed Cao Yuan into the nameless mansion, and gave a cold smile.

"very good."

The fact that the four states of Yan, Zhao, Han, and Chu entered Qi was itself a signal.

This alliance, involving at least four states, is enough to threaten Qin and give me leverage to negotiate with Lü Buwei, remove the assassins from my side, and send that bitch Jing Ni to his bed!

……

Inside the mansion.

After Cao Yuan and his entourage passed through the heavy armored soldiers and entered the mansion, they were met with a great deal of attention.

Cao Yuan kept his eyes straight ahead and walked forward, finally understanding why there were so many Qi soldiers outside the mansion.

The hundreds of scholars, looking at the calm and composed Cao Yuan, each had their own thoughts and consciously parted to make way for him.

"Young friend, you're late."

Xunzi rose to show courtesy and respect, but his words carried a hint of displeasure.

Regardless of status or seniority, Cao Yuan should have arrived on time. However, Cao Yuan not only failed to arrive on time but was also a little late. If it weren't for his self-cultivation and detachment from worldly affairs over the past few years, even if he was almost out of martial arts skills, he would have given Cao Yuan a good lesson.

Cao Yuan glanced at Li Wu, who looked completely innocent. If it weren't for the nightmare he had, where Li Wu ran into his room in the middle of the night and pinched his nose, he wouldn't have gotten up so late.

"Please forgive me, Master. There were too many patrols in the city, and we were checked several times, which is why I am late."

Xunzi paused for a moment, then quickly understood the reason.

"It's my fault."

Admitting mistakes is his principle.

Not far away, under the shade of a tree, Han Fei and Li Si, both with bruised and swollen faces, looked like "giant pandas" as they leaned against the tree.

"Brother Cao is truly remarkable; he managed to make the teacher admit his mistake."

Han Fei mumbled incoherently, "If only the teacher would apologize to me. I did go to a brothel, but I didn't do anything..."

Li Si, clutching his swollen face and grimacing from a toothache, said, "Senior brother, this isn't the first time you've done this. How can Teacher believe you? Alas! Your junior brother is ruined because of you!"

As the saying goes, "If you walk by the river often enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet." Even after letting Han Fei keep watch more than ten times, he still got pecked in the eye by a goose.

Last night, after being dragged back by the teacher, I was beaten several times.

While beating them, the teacher kept saying that he wasn't good at fighting and that they were the ones who forced him to do it.

He really is...

Han Fei chuckled and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's enjoy the pain as it comes."

"Since our teacher debated with the renowned master Gongsun Long, he has never debated with anyone again. This time, however, he took the initiative to debate with someone, a young man who is a bit younger than us. This shows that our teacher regards Brother Cao as an equal scholar."

Li Si's expression turned solemn. "Senior brother is right, but what if teacher loses and becomes enraged..."

Han Fei chuckled and said, "Then I can only say that Brother Cao must pray for his own good fortune."

Everyone in Xiaoshengxianzhuang knows that their teacher was known throughout the states for his fiery temper when he served as the chief priest of Jixia Academy three times.

Because he was inferior to the master of martial arts in his debate with Gongsun Long, he found a pretext, such as not being good at fighting, after the debate and beat Gongsun Long up.

From that point on, their teacher never argued with anyone again.

As for the reason...

Cao Yuan looked at the old man Xun in front of him and asked in surprise, "Master, do you want to debate with me?"

Xun Kuang said with a serious expression, "That's right. Young friend, you believe that human nature is inherently good, while I believe that human nature is inherently evil. Since our views differ, we should naturally debate and reconcile."

Cao Yuan's lips twitched slightly.

He didn't expect that Xun Kuang's invitation wasn't for a meal, but rather for a war of words.

Should we start with something this difficult?

"Young friend, are you unwilling?"

Cao Yuan immediately felt malice coming from all directions, as if the whole world was oppressing him.

Is this the power of a Grandmaster?

Cao Yuan, recalling the information Jing Ni had mentioned, felt a surge of excitement: If only he possessed such power…

Tonight he declared, "I won't eat beef," and entered the bridal chamber with Jing Ni, fathering three children. He then made Li Wu his concubine, creating a situation where one dragon teases two beauties.

"Since you wish to debate with me, I will respectfully comply."

Cao Yuan thought to himself that since he was just an unknown nobody, losing to Old Man Xun was no big deal. If he accidentally won, he would be making a huge profit.

Xunzi waved his sleeve.

"Very well. Young friend, please kneel and sit down."

An anonymous person lit incense to keep track of time, while a person named Fu Nian spread out books to record events.

Zihan sat among the Confucian scholars, eagerly awaiting the outcome with hundreds of disciples from Xiaoshengxianzhuang. He both hoped that his beloved brother Cao would win the debate and did not want his uncle to lose, so his feelings were quite complicated.

Han Fei and Li Si, who were not far away, shook their heads, which had been swollen from being beaten by Xunzi, and neither of them had a good opinion of Cao Yuan. Only they, who often learned from their teacher, could truly understand how terrifying their teacher's profound knowledge was.

Young and naive, Meng Jiang was filled with excitement and joy, waving her delicate pink fists to cheer on her beloved.

Jingni and Liwu, however, had different thoughts. Their beautiful eyes, filled with surprise, rippled as they looked at Cao Yuan.

How profound must one's knowledge be to warrant an invitation from Xunzi, one of the Five Masters of his time, to engage in a debate?

It is common knowledge that the higher one's level of knowledge and understanding, the easier it is to break through in cultivation and reach a higher realm.

This is why many powerful figures emerged from the various schools of thought during the Warring States period.

If Cao Yuan were not bound by the constraints of the Absolute Spirit Body, would he have had the opportunity to become one of the Five Greats qualified to pursue the Celestial Realm?

Pity……

Jingni and Liwu were thinking the same thing at the same time.