Chapter 18: Do you dare?

“Joke?”

“Can’t even tell…?”

“Serious, or not?”

While the core disciples were deliberating on the matter, An Shan’s discourse intruded. This time, they could sense something was amiss, different than before. What he had said, was as if mocking the Grand Elder, clearly so. What he had said, implied that the great Divine Scholar, was a clown in front of him… Someone whom he could not take seriously.

“…What did you say?”

Rizhi asked with a heavy tone. He thought to deal with this troublemaker later, letting his followers do the job for him. Yet for him to again brought up trouble so fast…

What’s your problem! Are you jealous of me?

“I said, I can’t even tell whether this is a sick joke of yours, Grand Elder, or you’re actually serious… First the whole lecture, now this,”

“Y-you, you…”

Rizhi’s tongue froze. For him to be so brazen, was this deliberate? Did he want him to be angered, and thus, lose grace? Was there someone backing him? Someone among the senior Grand Elders, plotting to ruin his reputation, no matter how trivial it seemed?

In Absolute Aegis sect, those with the title of elders were plenty, around a hundred thousand. Grand Elders however, were different. The sect’s Grand Elders amounted to only six hundred or so, with minimum cultivation of advance Heavenly Stars Stage. In addition, almost all of these Grand Elders came from influential clan or group within the territory of the sect, and they were elected every ten years by the elders in the sect based on their respective domain. Once elected, these Grand Elders would be responsible for their domain and in addition, responsibility in the High Council of the sect.

Despite the fact that all of them were called Grand Elders, not all of them wielded similar authority. A quick example would be Su Min and Rizhi, having quite a difference in power and influence, with the latter having a lot more authority. Thus, with his kind of authority, it was out of place for such a young disciple to utter such disrespect, more so than before!

‘Not possible, for such a youngster to be so confident. Not other Divine Scholars, impossible. If it’s their doing, they wouldn’t attack during the lecture. So it’s the worldly Grand Elders? Those seculars! Wait, could it be the loyalist?’

Rizhi’s mind kept on guessing, yet he never knew for sure. While these Grand Elders were all from the same sect, that did not mean they were united. There were various interests involved, thus forming factions were natural. There were several notable factions within the group of Grand Elders. Among the most prominent of them were the Divine faction, the Secular faction and the Loyalist faction.

Naturally, the Divine faction was the one Rizhi belonged to. Then again, even among them, their unity was at best described as fragile. Each of them thought of themselves better than others, so debates and tongue-lashings were normal occurrences among them.

“You!”

Hearing An Shan’s tone, elder Tu Li beside Rizhi could not take it. Thus, he shouted.

“Shut up, elder. I’m speaking with your Grand Elder.”

“Y-you…”

Tu Li almost choke blood. An Shan’s tone was commanding; a world’s apart from before. While he did not raise his voice, it was clear who was superior in the exchange. This kind of demeanor… Ling Shuren and the rest of the core disciples, exchanged glance. No longer this could be considered disrespect, this…

A clear authority!

A tone which clearly said, you’re an annoyance!

Hearing him, the young disciples felt perplexed. Never did they see, someone bold enough to speak so in such a tone…

Which one is the junior here?

The hell are you?

Who do you think you are!

While they all had that kind of thought in them, An Shan’s voice and words were straight out insane. Insane enough, for fear to come out of nowhere, freezing them on the spot. At the time, they could feel it… As if a supreme judge, just a sliver away from delivering his final verdict. They could see him telling the convict, any last will?

This kind of bearing…

“You… What is this disrespect! I’ve been patient with you, but you still dare! Don’t you know disrespecting a Divine Scholar, was the same as disrespecting Supreme Ancestor—”

“Enough with your tales,”

“W-what, tales… What tales!”

“Tales, fake stories… Something created out of one’s imagination, usually for entertainment. That’s the thing that you kept on uttering since the very beginning,”

“H-how dare you!”

“Of course I dare. I’ve said this before, if core disciples didn’t dare voice their differing opinion, then what’s use of this disciple rank? If they can’t voice their opinion, it’s better to assign them puppet rank instead.”

“You!”

Boom!

Rizhi unleashed his cultivation. The air in the hall vibrated. Intense shockwave filled the entire hall. Nearby him, elder Tu Li was pushed backwards a few steps, trembling in fear. He had seen his master being angry before, but this… For him to burst from anger!

While Rizhi knew he ought to remain calm, An Shan’s refute was too much for his ego to take. Thus, he erupted.

Kukuku...

The desks and floor of the hall was trembling. Startling power of Peak Heavenly Stars stage cultivator gripped everyone there. While they met Grand Elders on a daily basis, rarely did they witness them going in full power like this. Slowly, they turned to An Shan.

He’s done for!

What is this guy’s problem?!

Could it be, he’s an M…?

Uh oh, he’s gotta be pissing in his pants now…

Contrary to their belief, An Shan had an aloof look. His eyes looked down upon Rizhi. With eyes as if sleepy, he was looking at him if he was a pitiable person.

"We're in an academic setting, Grand Elder. Yes, I’m challenging you, but we're still academics. Let's settle this academically, you can throw me out when you win,"

His voice was calm, yet there was a certain grave feeling he delivered with it. Within, An Shan was annoyed. Yet to him, it was still better to deal with this matter with logic, with truth. Only when the other side turned to force, he would strike.

…No, there was no need for him to do so.

For the one above him would, and she was more than enough.

“Since we’re in academic setting, we have to settle our differences likewise. Grand Elder, I, core disciple An Shan, challenge you for a debate on everything you’ve said before. I dare say, without doubt, with clear conviction, that everything you’ve said about Ancestor An Shan, had no basis. Do you dare accept this challenge?”

An Shan?

His surname is An?

From the Founding Ancestor’s clan?

Finally hearing his name, the audience realized that fact. While he probably not a direct descendant, having the surname An in Absolute Aegis sect meant that he was related to that clan. Thus, he would no doubt, had considerable standing!

“No wonder he’s so arrogant!”

“So he could afford offending the Divine Scholar,”

“Then again, to challenge the beloved like this, what he’s up to?”

Beside him, Ling Shuren was bewildered. Not because of his identity, for she realized that fact when they first met. It was the fact that, again, he stirred up trouble!

Brother, can’t you be reasonable?

Even if you don’t like him, don’t just challenge him like that!

And even if you challenge him, warn me first at least? Me being by your side, what would others think?

Ling Shuren had tears in her eyes. Within, she was screaming at the top of her lungs… em, mind. Down below, Rizhi had a mental shock. He expected the young man to possess some background, yet he did not expect him to come from the An Clan.

“Y-you, from the founding clan?”

“What, you don’t dare accept the challenge? Fine, just admit everything you said was wrong, then kowtowed to the One in the Heaven for forgiveness. Others aside, you actually spread lies about Him, and that’s a grave offense,”

Spread lies? Offense?

Kowtowed to the Heaven three times?

The crowd could not believe their ears. It was as if seeing a tranquil mountain all silent a moment ago, all of a sudden came crashing down onto them. This guy actually dared to demand such a thing!

Moreover, to the Divine Scholar!

“You, what tone! Just cause you’re from the founding clan, you think I dare not teach you a lesson? Disrespecting your elder!”

“Want to suppress me with your status? It’s just a debate, scholars do it all the time. What, you dare not accept a challenge?”

“Y-you… Fine, I accept! When you lose, kowtow nine times in front of me, admit your fault, accept your punishment!”

“No problem, and when you lose, do the same, Grand Elder. Kowtow to the Heavens nine times, admit your fault, accept your punishment!”

Hearing this, Rizhi almost spurt blood.

You said three times before, but now it’s nine? Are you mocking me?

‘Damn it, so it’s An Clan… The Loyalist faction! They’ve been silent all these years, why now? Hmph, whatever! Debating me in my field? See me crush this twerp like the bug he is!’

…

“Shall we begin? Then, Grand Elder, allow me to bring into attention again, that the claims you’ve made during lecture, are conjectures. I’ll tell you my first refute…”

An Shan mentioned what he had heard. He refuted that Ancestor An Shan was the Light of Creation, that to reach the apex one must follow his sayings. In addition, it was not true that to gain paradise one must acknowledge him.

“…For he himself could not be sure of his own fate,”

“Blasphemy! And you call yourself of the An Clan, even sharing his name! Disgraceful, preposterous, unfilial piece of—”

“Save all those name callings for savages, Grand Elder. This is an academic debate,”

“Fine! You said it’s academic debate, then what’s your proof he’s not the Light of Creation?!”

“My proof is simple, that you, Grand Elder, did not have one. That’s my solid proof,”

“Ha, you’re joking… Ignorant, you don’t even know the chain of narration,”

“Oh? Go ahead and enlighten me, Grand Elder.”

“Hmph!”

Explaining, Rizhi stated that the whole of his lecture was based on secure information. It was secured by a chain of narration from credible people, recorded as trustworthy and with adequate mental ability. The book he used was written by Sages of the past, so well regarded and respected!

So who dared to tell that they were faulty? That they were wrong?

Proof? That was his proof!

Hearing his explanation, the core disciples breathed deeply. The Sages of the past, notable people who had dedicated themselves to the study of Supreme Ancestor… They had assembled all kind of stories about him, sacrificing a lot of time doing so. These people were legendary, deserving respect. How could anyone dare tell them, that these Sages were wrong?

Who would be so bold, so insane?

Yet for An Shan, this explanation tickled his ears.

“Funny,”

“What’s so funny?!”

“Funny, cause you’ve put those so-called sages above being a human. Even great cultivators are human. Any human would be liable to mistakes, no matter how well their intentions and efforts were.”

“How disrespectful! These are Sages we’re talking about—”

“Sages? Could you guarantee me, these Sages, they never forgot something in their entire life? That they never calculate something a little off, or believe something that was not quite accurate?”

“T-that’s… That’s normal, we’re talking about the details about Supreme Ancestor. In that, they hardly have any wrongs!”

“Oh? Actually, in this specific case, you cannot guarantee it, can you? You say it’s a chain of narration… These narrators are not Sages, are they? If you could observe, every single one of these narrators was regular cultivator who could not have lived more than two hundred years. They lived apart from each other too, and many of them left no significant legacy to even consider. When news was delivered from one person to the next, it was prone to some changes. How could they tell what was true, and what was not? Your story for narration by itself was the proof of its fault, isn’t it?”

“Proof of its fault… You cur, what slander!”

“Slander? Think about it, they were narrated orally. Words of mouth, with no written record in between. How reliable can that be? Let’s say these cultivators really did exist. Back then, none these people even write it down… Instead, they narrated it from their memory. Excuse my bluntness, even for a Soul-Titan, having a perfect memory was not possible. When one piece of news went from a person to person, by words of mouth, what would happen?”

What would happen…?

Everyone there was directed into thinking… If news were to go from a person to another, it would be subjected to alteration, to human bias. That was normal. For human, no matter well-intended, could not escape from making mistake, or adding up their very own view into things they spoke of. Some, might very well altered news to fit their very own interest.

“T-this… These narrators have perfect memory, and high moral values! To be saying such a thing about them? Drivel, slander!”

“Slander again? You really like that word… I’m just saying humans are prone to mistakes. How could that constitute a slander? Tell me, the book you have, when was it written? You said in the lecture, it was a thousand years ago… Proudly so, you claim that it was the very first edition! Then what about the earlier thousand years? Ancestor An Shan lived around two thousand years ago. If these narrations were indeed so important, why would they not have written it down before, and secured it from any possible changes? Intentional or not,”

“…You, you can’t judge them like that,”

“You called it chain of narrations, Grand Elder. Praising it to be a noble term, a noble endeavor in the study of our Ancestor… But actually, our language already had a shorter word for it. Do you know?”

“Word? Y-you… I don’t, and I don’t care!”

“You don’t? Pity. Well, I’ll tell you. It’s called rumors. Rumors,”

Hearing his last words, the Grand Elder was red up to the ears.

He was boiling with anger!

“Blasphemy! You’re rejecting the truth, you must have sold your soul to the demons!”

“…Cut the crap, Grand Elder. You’re embarrassing yourself with your no basis claim… Ah, I forgot, you’re too used to it,”

“Y-you…”

Rizhi held his chest. Never in his life he was angered to such extend. Even when facing his bittermost enemy, he never had to face such a situation. Moreover, what the youngster had said, he could not refute. Observing his surroundings, it seemed what he had said resonated with more than a few core disciples. They had their head up, eyes looking at each other as if realizing something, as if they had just woken up. Some even had the finger on their chin, honestly considering what was presented just now.

Some even recorded it down!

Stop, you fools! Why are you writing his drivel…

Seeing his admirers and soon-to-be followers turning to this bitter no-name adversary, his innards turned green.

“You don’t know what you’re saying! You’re merely a greenhorn, don’t act like an expert, hmph!”

Rizhi flung his sleeve, as if that act alone was enough to denounce everything An Shan had said.

“Don’t act like an expert, eh…”

Since this Rizhi still did not admit to it, An Shan brought into attention one additional fact;

“Since you still refused to admit it, I’ll say this… If the chain of narration really was true, then why was it that in the narration, there was none of Ancestor An Shan’s family members?”

Rizhi staggered, while the disciples widened their eyes. That’s right! Each chain of narrations had over 20 or 30 people, yet no members of the Supreme Ancestor’s family? How is that possible!

Shouldn’t one’s family be the closest to him? And even in the story and historical records, Ancestor An Shan was someone who valued his family and relations. Would it make sense that none of his succeeding family members be involved in the oh-so-important narration?

Eh, but wait…

“What nonsense! The narration had Supreme Ancestor’s esteemed wife, Ancestor An Ling…”

“Stop, check your facts. That’s not part of narration, Grand Elder. She was said to be the origin of such saying, focus on the word was said. And the one who first tells the story, who was it? How significant was this person, recorded in our history? Your chain of narrations itself admit it was a hearsay… Thus your so-called narration has no right to include her,”

Hearing him mentioning his late wife, An Shan mood turned a bit dark. Not only this guy and his group of so-called Divine Scholars spread false teachings about him, they even involved his late wife.

She had given her life to protect this continent.

And you dared slander her?

It had always been his style to give chances for people to repent, yet right now… He felt, ah, how wonderful it would be, to just ignore his values and screw the rules!

An Shan sighed in a low voice;

“…Now, what to do with you?”

…

=== Chapter 18 End ===