Chapter 57: Debating Machines

  Just after drinking a cup of wine, a noisy footsteps came from downstairs, and then someone said: "It's them who have arrived".

  They were all students of Qingyang Academy, but they were not in the same grade as Chen Jiu and his friends, but rather one grade above.

  First and foremost is a refined young man with a white shirt, an extraordinary elegant face.

  Chen Jiuxi smiled and said: "Who knows who is below?"

  Chen Yi's eyebrows moved slightly: "The first person among the students of the previous session, Liu Sheng".

  "It is said that this Liu Sheng was quite arrogant, whether it was poetry or couplets, he had never lost before, so he changed his name from Liu Yong to Liu Sheng."

  "This guy is also too extreme!"

  "Although his character is not good, he still has some real knowledge." said Yi Xiao Xiao.

  Chen Jiudian nodded and said frankly that although he was a student of Qingyang Academy, he didn't really understand some things about Qingyang Academy.

  The second floor's private rooms are very large, many doors can be opened and then connected to form an even larger private room.

  Chen Yi looked at the group of people below, then hurriedly ran downstairs and came to Liu Sheng's side, bowing: "I've seen Brother Liu".

  Liu Sheng came back to his senses from the conversation and looked at Chen Yi with a puzzled expression: "Who are you?"

  "Below is the new student Chen Yi, I heard that the senior students are going to set up a poetry club on the first floor, so all of us in Class A felt it was interesting and came to join in the fun."

  Liu Sheng nodded: "We were the top class of the previous session, you are the new top class of this session. If you want to learn from us or ask for advice on your studies, that's okay, let's do it together".

  After finishing speaking, he pushed open Chen Yi and led a group of students upstairs.

  Chen Yi stood facing Chen Jiu with a pale face and clenched fists.

  Chen Jiuxiao smiled lightly: "Playing the old card? It's just that they came a year earlier than us, what's the big deal?"

  After finishing speaking, he lightly flicked the wine jug in his hand, and the jug flew out like lightning, landing on the table.

  This move made everyone's eyes light up.

  Just then, a man pushed the door and walked in, looked up at the ceiling, glanced at the people present and said: "Aren't you all here to learn? Come on, hurry up and open the private room."

  Yi Xiao's temper was bad, and he was about to get angry, but was pressed down by Chen Jiu. All the new students present looked at Chen Jiu with their eyes.

  Chen Jiu is a figure with the appearance of a saint, at least a first-class semi-saint in the future, and is the unobjectionable leader among the crowd.

  Chen Jiulian smiled lightly: "Thanks for showing me the way."

  The student hummed and turned around to walk out.

  After walking out of the private room, he came to a large private room formed by several students. Liu Sheng was sitting in the middle of the students, boasting and talking loudly.

  "Nice to meet you, Brother Liu," Chen Jiu said with a slight bow.

  "Hmm" Liu Sheng nodded and said condescendingly: "It's rare for you young people to be so eager to learn, today I'll let you broaden your horizons".

  Chen Jiuzhen's eyes narrowed slightly, and a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Younger brother saw a sentence some time ago, didn't quite understand it, please ask older brother to enlighten him".

  "Oh, the poetry meeting hasn't started yet, you go ahead and recite something for me to hear."

  Chen Jiufu gestured to the crowd behind him to calm down: "Humility is the foundation of all virtues, and arrogance is the leader of all vices. May I ask, senior, how do you instruct me?"

  Chen Sheng pointed at Chen Jiu with his finger.

  This sentence is Chen Jiuxi scolding him for not knowing humility, how could he not hear it.

  "Haha, I also have a story for you, young brother," Liu Sheng said with a deep breath.

  "Please enlighten me, senior fellow student," Chen Jiubai said indifferently.

  "A piece of gold, you put it in the fire, no matter how much it is refined, it's not afraid, this is called true gold not fearing fire refining. However, what it fears is that the gold is fake, and doesn't dare to show itself to people, otherwise what would it be afraid of."

  "Alright, a true talent isn't afraid of being tested. You have great eloquence, but don't think you can compare yourself to gold."

  "A rude child" said a scholar standing behind Liu Sheng.

  "Who are you again?" Chen Jiu put his hands behind his back.

  "I'm just an unknown small person, but I have one sentence to give you."

  "Oh, you're just a nobody, why should I listen to you? It's really strange," said Chen Jiu, shaking his head with a bewildered expression.

  One side's Yi Xiao Xiao, fearing the world would not be chaotic enough, said: "It's extreme, it's extreme. This world has too many nameless small soldiers. If every person says a sentence to us, won't our ears become deaf from listening?"

  "You, you, you..." Under the gaze of all the students, that student was so ashamed that he became excited and fainted.

  "With this kind of mentality, you still want to achieve great things? You're just dreaming." Yuán rolled his eyes in disdain.

  Liu Sheng touched his own collar, smiled lightly, and didn't mind the scholar being stunned at all: "It seems that someone has already forgotten how I got my reputation."

  "We, who are present here, are all your seniors, we entered school earlier than you, is this the attitude you have? The tradition of respecting teachers and valuing morality has not been embodied in any of you." Liu Sheng said slowly.

  Chen Jiuyu's mouth slightly curved: "Being born early or late doesn't make much of a difference, the only difference is that you live for a bit longer, and eat a bit more white rice. Some people may live to old age but still amount to nothing, while others can become a marquis at a young age."

  Chen Jiu didn't look at Liu Sheng's face, and continued: "To be honest, you're just one year ahead of us in school, how can you talk about being a senior? Is your generation really that high? Or do you simply not know what it means to be an elder, or what etiquette is?"

  When he said this, the students behind Chen Jiu all booed and jeered, causing Liu Sheng's face to turn bright red. Chen Jiu scolded him for not knowing etiquette or hierarchy, and recklessly putting on airs.

  "Junior brother's debating skills are really impressive." Liu Sheng dodged and changed the subject.

  "It's just a tiny bit of cleverness."

  "Cleverness is not desirable, it will hinder the younger generation's pursuit of the great cause. Younger brother must not take a wrong path."

  Chen Jiu was so angry that his teeth itched, this guy really had no shame, he just humbled himself a bit, but was caught by this guy and lectured in a tone of seniority.

  "Elder brother, your words are wrong." Chen Jiuzheng said sternly.

  Liu Sheng's face turned serious, knowing that Chen Jiu's big move was coming again: "Oh, what's not right about it? Please instruct me, young brother."

  "May I ask what is great wisdom? What is petty cleverness?"

  Liu Sheng thought for a long time and finally said, "Being clever can easily harm others and oneself, great wisdom has no sharp edges, and its power is hidden in the scabbard."

  "Isn't it that great wisdom can appear foolish and cleverness can be misled by its own cleverness?"

  "As soon as the word 'good' came out, the whole hall erupted in applause."

  "What a great wisdom in foolishness and cleverness being misled by cleverness, good words, good sentences."

  “······”。

  Chen Jiu didn't respond to the applause below, but instead looked at Liu Sheng: "You said that eloquence is petty cleverness?"

  Liu Sheng nodded: "Not bad, clever."

  It was previously said that debating is just a small cleverness, if you don't admit it now, then you're slapping your own face. Although Chen Jiu's counterquestion at this time is somewhat inappropriate, he can only grit his teeth and continue.

  Chen Jiu revealed a triumphant smile and bowed deeply to Liu Sheng: "In that case, I willingly concede defeat."

  As soon as this was said, everyone was stunned. What's going on? How could he admit defeat so easily? How did things change so quickly?

  But soon someone came back to their senses, this time Liu Sheng lost.

  Liu Sheng originally felt a slight relief when he saw Chen Jiu concede, but inadvertently caught sight of Chen Jiu's sarcastic smile and quickly reacted, after all Liu Sheng as the champion of the previous session was not a fool.

  Seeing Liu Sheng's red face, there was no joy of victory at all. The people present thought for a moment and then clapped their thighs in admiration.

  Awesome

  "Awesome."

  "It's absolutely awesome."

  A refined-looking young man touched his head and asked the big laughing guy next to him, "Brother, what's going on?"

  The scholar next to him clapped his hands: "That guy automatically conceded, isn't that saying that his debating skills are inferior to Liu Sheng's? And Liu Sheng had previously said that debating skills are petty cleverness, this guy fell into the trap".