All new students at Bailu Academy were required to attend large lectures at first.
Once you had made so initial progress in your studies, you could then begin learning directly under one of the academy’s teachers.
Xiao Mo felt ’this is a bit like the universities from my past life.’
’Undergraduates attend large lectures, while graduate students follow a specific professor.’
Every day, shortly after the Hour of the Rabbit, Xiao Mo would wake up.
By this ti, Bai Ruxue would have long been awake. She would have heated water for Xiao Mo to wash up and prepared his breakfast.
After breakfast, Bai Ruxue would walk Xiao Mo to the courtyard exit.
Only long after Xiao Mo had disappeared from sight would Bai Ruxue slowly pull back her gaze, return to the courtyard to do her chores, and wait for him to co ho.
Xiao Mo’s large lectures were held in the Nineteen Schools on Sanxing Peak.
Each school had about twenty new students.
They ca from different nations; Xiao Mo even encountered scholars dressed in the style of Beimang.
There were both n and won among the new students, though the n far outnumbered the won.
However, Xiao Mo was a bit puzzled. So of the students didn’t seem to take their studies very seriously. They would often chat and laugh, sighing dramatically at the howork assigned by the teacher, as if they had co to Bailu Academy for a vacation.
Later, Xiao Mo learned that most of these young n and won were the children of the Royal Families from the Secular Dynasties.
Besides the Confucian Academy, the Four Great Academies all granted extra enrollnt spots to the Ten Great Human Race Dynasties, allowing the children of nobles to study there.
They would stay for four years at most, after which they would leave.
If any of them showed a certain aptitude for Confucian studies and wished to remain, it was not impossible.
But such people were extrely rare.
Perhaps because Xiao Mo was quite handso and had an outstanding temperant, and because the news of "Xiao Mo becoming Mr. Qi’s disciple" had gradually spread, many of the nobles wanted to befriend him.
This was especially true for many of the noblewon, whose beautiful eyes would seem to ripple with emotion whenever they looked at him.
Toward these people, Xiao Mo was neither distant nor close. He remained polite and simply maintained a certain distance.
The academy teacher who taught Xiao Mo was nad—Wang Spring.
Wang Spring was a good friend of Qi Daoming and had been the Academic Palace Dean.
He later ca to Bailu Academy to serve as a teacher.
After Wang Spring learned that Xiao Mo was Qi Daoming’s Closed-door Disciple, he made a point of calling on Xiao Mo in class every day. He would test his knowledge, and his strictness toward Xiao Mo surpassed that toward any other disciple.
Fortunately, Xiao Mo always answered fluently, leaving Wang Spring very satisfied.
As for this Mr. Wang, although Xiao Mo found him a bit stubborn, even an old traditionalist, his scholarship was beyond question.
Moreover, Wang Spring’s research on "Observing Things and Gaining Wisdom" was incredibly profound.
But one day, three months later, Xiao Mo seed to have thoroughly infuriated Wang Spring.
During class that day, Wang Spring, on a whim, began to explain to the students so of his own understanding of "Observing Things and Gaining Wisdom."
Mr. Wang emphasized that "Observing Things and Gaining Wisdom" ant understanding the universal heavenly principles through outward exploration, study, and rational dialectics.
He spoke of "preserving heavenly principles and extinguishing human desires."
He stated that Confucian ethics such as benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom were the core content of "principle," and that human nature is principle itself.
From perceiving through observing things to the awakening of attaining wisdom, then to sincerity of will and rectification of the mind, an internal transformation, and finally to cultivating the self, regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world.
After he finished speaking, Wang Spring noticed Xiao Mo was frowning. Assuming Xiao Mo was confused, he invited him to ask a question, offering to clear up his doubts on the spot.
But Xiao Mo did not pose a question.
Xiao Mo proposed his own, different viewpoint.
Xiao Mo argued that the objectivity of "principle" could lead to the externalization of moral practice.
In the middle of the class, Xiao Mo voiced the concepts that "there is nothing outside the mind, there is no principle outside the mind," that "innate knowledge" is heavenly principle, and that all things are one.
Upon hearing this, Mr. Wang flew into a rage and began a fierce debate with Xiao Mo.
Most of the students only vaguely understood the debate between their teacher and Xiao Mo.
As for the children of the nobles, they understood even less. They only felt that Xiao Mo had sohow crossed a line with Mr. Wang, provoking the teacher to such anger.
"Xiao Mo, without the accumulation of broad ’observation of things’ and a profound understanding of heavenly principle, so-called ’action’ is blind and without basis. Your claims today are nothing but empty talk about the nature of the mind!"
"But, Teacher, knowledge is the beginning of action, and action is the completion of knowledge.
True knowledge must contain the direction and motivation for action.
True action is the natural realization and completion of knowledge.
The two are inseparable.
To know and not to act is to not yet know.
If one knows but does not act, it ans this ’knowledge’ does not stem from their true innate conscience, but is rely shallow, superficial cognition or secondhand learning."
Xiao Mo retorted.
"You... you..."
Mr. Wang pointed at Xiao Mo, speechless for a long mont, before finally flinging his sleeve in anger.
"Class is dismissed for today. Xiao Mo, you need not co tomorrow."
Mr. Wang stord out of the classroom. The students all scrambled to their feet to see him off, and Xiao Mo also bowed with his hands clasped.
After Mr. Wang left, everyone in the school turned to look at Xiao Mo.
That afternoon, Wang Spring arrived at Qi Daoming’s courtyard.
The mont he stepped into the yard, Wang Spring snatched the teacup from Qi Daoming’s hand and drained it in one gulp.
"You’ve really taken on a fine disciple!" Wang Spring said angrily, sitting down next to Qi Daoming. "He nearly angered to death in class today!"
Qi Daoming smiled, looking at his good friend. "Is that so? But why do you look so pleased to ?"
"Do I?" Wang Spring glared at Qi Daoming.
Qi Daoming nodded. "Yes, you do!"
Wang Spring and Qi Daoming stared at each other.
After half a cup of tea’s ti, Wang Spring stroked his beard and burst out laughing. "HAHAHA... That boy, Xiao Mo! To think he’d propose ’human nature is heavenly principle, knowledge and action must be one’ in the middle of class. Honestly, this old man never even considered it. How fascinating!"
"Then why were you in class, cursing him out and calling his ideas a deviant path?" Qi Daoming shot his friend a look.
Wang Spring shook his head and sighed. "Daoming, Xiao Mo’s philosophy is no small shock to the Confucian studies of today. If he can succeed, he might be able to establish a new school of thought and walk a different Confucian Dao.
But that path is an incredibly difficult one to walk.
If he cannot hold firm to his own beliefs—if he gives up just because I say a few words—then how will he withstand the overwhelming attacks that are sure to co in the future?"
Wang Spring looked at his friend. "Today, I will write a letter about this matter and send it to the Academy. As for Xiao Mo, I have nothing left to teach him. It’s useless for him to attend my classes anymore."
Qi Daoming smiled and poured his friend a cup of tea. "So, do you think he can succeed?"
"Who knows?"
Wang Spring gathered his sleeves and raised his head to look at the vast heavens.
"It’s just that... our Confucian School hasn’t produced a new Confucian Saint in I don’t know how many years."
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