Chapter 1745: Kong’s Philosophy

Education has always been a core concept of the Literary Way, but debate over who should be educated has been ongoing for an eternity. Most scholars believed that only the human elite should have the right to education. A few moderate people believe that humanoid or allied races should have access to education, including the elite. Only a few extremists, such as Kong and the Great Sage Qi, believed education was for everybody: elites, ordinary individuals, slaves, and all non-human races.

Unfortunately, such a philosopher is hard to spread or even proven to be viable. The first obstacle or argument against them is, of course, the limited resources. With a limited amount of resources, how can everybody gain access to education? Such an action would eventually destroy the world’s balance, plunging it into great chaos.

However, Kong disdained such an argument. The Chaos Universe is vast beyond what most of these scholars are aware of. Grand Dao has designed the world to maintain the perfect balance of birth and resources available. And even if that was not the case, with human efforts, this Golden Balance could be achieved. In Emperor Kong’s eyes, such an argument was simply because those scholars already hoard 99% of the world’s resources and refuse to share a tiny bit.

The second argument against education for all is the battle of races. The human race, in most worlds or timelines, has slowly crawled from the bottom of the pyramid of hierarchy. The most common trait of the entire human race across the Infinite Trichiliocosm is their endless battle against other powerful races to rise to the top. Such battles have created a history of conflict, hatred, and generations of trauma. Now that the human race has reached the pinnacle of all races, why would they educate their enemies? Why would they even associate with them in the first place?

’Education is the only way to end this cycle of hatred,’ Emperor Kong thought. While listening to this sermon, he was also refining his own ideology. Through education, Kong believed the human race could end the generational conflict with other races. The fact that they were not extinct means the human race can’t do so. Instead of continuing this endless cycle of fighting and suppressing these races through violence, a more peaceful and ideological approach might lead to better results.

Was there any danger to this approach? Of course, there were. Those races might not appreciate the peace effort and use the knowledge bestowed upon them to elevate their civilization before betraying the human race. Such concerns are the strongest argument for the philosophy of education for all, and Kong acknowledges them. But those concerns do not mean that they should not try.

His counterargument has always been the demon race as an example: they are cruel and wild due to their animalistic nature and powerful bloodline. What would happen if they could completely embrace the Literary Way’s righteous way? They would be able to use its power to control their wild nature, purify their souls and bloodlines from the remnants of wills left by their ancestors who relished chaos, strength, and power.

A demon race with the power of righteous qi will be more rational, and it may even increase their average understanding of their race, which is far lower than that of humans. A more rational demon race that does not see the human race as food is a perfect ally; an ally capable of working with the human race to end their long history of conflict.

However, while Emperor Kong is more than happy to share the power of Righteous Qi with the demon race and work together with them for a better future, he would never share knowledge about Pill Refining or other professions.

With a perfect Pill Refining System comparable to humans, the demon race will have too many ways to purify their bloodline or increase their already powerful bodies; they would become even more wild and bloodthirsty. Humans, especially in their early stages of development, relied heavily on the Dao of refining, using weapons to make up for the gap with the demon or other powerful races. In Kong’s philosophy, he would never share the full knowledge of these Daos with the demon race.

The thought of a demon race with purified souls, a controlled mind, endless pills, powerful weapons, puppet armies, mighty arrays, and new poisons that perfectly fit with their bloodline was simply a nightmare for the human race or any others for that matter. Is it hypocritical for Kong to call himself a Sage when he is only willing to share partial knowledge with others based on their circumstances?

It is, and he admitted. In his mind, he was not a Virtue Saint who was the embodiment of all that is good, just, and righteous. At his core, he is still a human — meaning not only does he have flaws, but he also has a racial priority. Maybe one day, when Kong has transcended all, he might create a perfect utopia in which humans share all their knowledge with all races. But that’s only because by that point, he’ll know that no one can stop him if he chooses to deviate from the course if something goes awry.

Zhang Ji — Master Kong’s new identity — calmly listened to Great Sage Qi’s sermon, comparing his ideologies with his. One part caught his attention, so he focused and listened more attentively. A sigh almost escaped his mouth.

’As expected, he’s still a bit conservative compared to me,’ Emperor Kong thought. While their ideologies share many similarities, they also differ on some fundamental things. ’Such a difference might pose a problem. Luckily, I’m prepared,’ Kong thought. However, he remained focused since now was not the time to address this issue.

The sermon lasted three years, which was relatively short. Based on records, he knew the [Lord Selection] event usually takes a significant amount of time. Each path has its own requirements for choosing its leader, but the process is usually grueling since they are designed to select the best person. In some ways, those selections reflect the Infinite Divine Court’s values of selecting competing individuals. Sadly, the current chaos forced the Nine Council to accelerate the process.

"It’s saddened me that we only have three years to share our ideals," the Great Sage Qi said with a sigh. "However, fate can be fickle, so there is nothing we can do. For the next three years, I will choose individuals to ask questions or refute my ideas. Let’s start with Paragon Chen Yi."

A handsome scholar with red hair, a blue robe, an elegant demeanor, but mischievous eyes, stood and bowed politely. "Great Sage, it’s an honor..."

’As expected, he will only choose people from the top 10,’ Emperor Kong thought. Great Sage Qi was not popular among his peers for many reasons, and it’s not just because of his philosophy. His approach to doing things is also considered rigid. For example, for his lecture, he refused to reserve any spots for members of powerful clans or families, insisting on using a test administered by his people to choose the seating.

At such a crucial moment in the election, he should be rallying allies and supporters from these powerful clans, and the best way to start was to support their members by giving them a spot in his lecture. But the stubborn old man refused, insisting on doing everything purely on merit.

’Over the next few years, I’ll need to slowly change his pedantic way of acting, so I’ll need a reason for such a change. While the competition might be a reason, it’s not enough,’ Emperor Kong thought. It would be suspicious if the Great Sage Qi started to operate differently than before without a reasonable explanation. And since he didn’t change even while the selection was proceeding, the test alone cannot be the only reason for the change.

The lecture’s Debate Session continued for an entire year. The Great Sage Qi selected ten Paragons (the top 10 scorers in the exam) and granted each a month and a half of speaking time. Finally, it was time for the Empyreans, and as the first in the exam, Kong was finally chosen.

"Respected Sage, I have a question," Zhang Ji said. "Let’s say you have two disciples and you have been teaching them the Way of Medicine for years. Disciple A is a genius and can master everything, but Disciple B has limited talent. One day, he discovered he had a talent for body refinement. What would you do?"

Everybody pondered this simple question. No one doubted this man would spot nonsense or dare try to humiliate him. Anyone who can become a Great Emperor is not stupid, let alone an Empyrean who can take first place in a Sage’s test.

"A teacher’s duty is to enlighten, and a student’s job is to be enlightened," Great Sage Qi calmly replied. Emperor Kong was not surprised by this comment. Most scholars had the same ideas: whatever the teacher taught was what the student learn. This fundamental ideology is why choosing a teacher/mentor/master is crucial in the Literary Way. A teacher with a wide range of knowledge will have many ways to teach their students, while a specialist in one field must ensure they find the right talent.

"But his talent does not lie with your teaching. Wouldn’t it be better to teach him according to his aptitude? And even his interest?" Kong asked.

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