Lin Wenruo and Qing Yuanzi had a quiet conversation on the stage for a quarter of an hour.

Zhao Rong's expression changed from relaxed, to calm, to serious, and finally to a frown.

Until a burst of applause like a rainstorm exploded in his ears, Lin Wenruo walked off the stage sadly.

Of the two debaters, Lin Wenruo had the advantage in topic selection at first, but Qing Yuanzi was no pushover either. He had a solid foundation in literary debate, rich evidence, and clear logic, so he was able to hold his own at the beginning.

But if Qing Yuanzi was just like that, Lin Wenruo, who had studied his opponent thoroughly, would not be afraid of him at all.

After the conversation began, Lin Wenruo took every step carefully, gradually expanding his advantage and making steady progress. Qing Yuanzi gradually found it difficult to resist and began to respond passively.

In a debate, being passive is a disadvantage and is often a precursor to defeat.

Just when Zhao Rong was calculating that Qing Yuanzi would be defeated within ten sentences, the purple-robed Taoist priest with a long beard suddenly came up with an argument that Zhao Rong could not have expected, and Lin Wenruo dared not even think about...

As a result, Qing Yuanzi took the initiative and the outcome was completely reversed!

Zhao Rong let out a sigh of relief, feeling that the loss was worth it, as the opponent's hidden back-up plan was indeed powerful.

The second debate was the "debate on existence and non-existence".

"The debate between being and non-being" is a classic Taoist proposition, which originates from the "Tao Te Ching" that "all things in the world are born from being, and being is born from non-being."

Lin Wenruo holds the view of "respecting existence", while Qing Yuanzi passively holds the view of "valuing nothing".

The reason why Lin Wenruo chose it was not only because he discovered Qing Yuanzi's weakness in his previous research on Qing Yuanzi's discussions, but also because the "debate on existence and non-existence" in this world has developed to the present day, and the "non-existence" that was originally widely revered has been found to have many loopholes and contradictions by scholars of all generations.

“Nothing” is “Tao” in Taoist classics, and “existence is born from nothingness, reality is born from emptiness” was originally recognized by everyone, such as “Tao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things.”

However, there are two fatal contradictions.

First, it is a simple but fatal dialectical inference. If "existence comes from non-existence", then what does "non-existence" come from?

If we continue to ask questions like this, we will inevitably fall into an infinitely progressive logical dilemma and be unable to extricate ourselves.

Second, according to the original statement, "nothing" precedes "something" in time and is in "something" in space. It is "Tao", an absolutely independent void entity.

Since "nothing" comes before "something", "nothing" is the producer and "something" is the produced, then how does "something" come from "nothing"?

How can the same origin of "nothingness" produce a variety of material entities?

Although Taoist saints in the history of Xuanhuang Realm put forward some remedial explanations, they still failed to get rid of this theoretical dilemma.

The above two points are the loopholes in Qing Yuanzi’s “no matter how noble” theory, and they are also the defects of the Taoism that have not been repaired by the great Taoist masters.

Therefore, Lin Wenruo had already made Qing Yuanzi lose half the battle just by choosing the topic.

Unless you, Qing Yuanzi, can add to the Taoist ideological system and put forward new theories, you will definitely fail.

But.

This "unless" really happened.

Qing Yuanzi put forward a theory which can be summarized as "taking nothingness as the basis".

Simply put, the so-called "taking nothingness as the basis" has a dual meaning.

One is that "nothing" is the generator of "something".

Second, "nothing" is the basis for the existence of "something".

His new theory was logically self-consistent and well-founded. It could correct the loopholes in Taoism's past "debate on existence and non-existence" and further develop the "value of no matter".

When Zhao Rong heard Qing Yuanzi put forward this theory, he was extremely surprised, not because of the theory itself - he had learned this theory in his previous life, and he even knew its advantages and disadvantages and subsequent development - but because of its appearance.

After Zhao Rong woke up in this world, he combined the memories of this life with what he learned from many "miscellaneous books" that the development of Taoism's "debate on being and non-being" had only stopped at a very superficial stage. Now Qing Yuanzi suddenly came up with its next stage of advanced theory, which really surprised him.

However, in Zhao Rong's opinion, the theoretical version of "taking nothingness as the basis" that Qing Yuanzi talked about on the stage was still very rough, and another very important "theory of the unity of body and function" involved was also ambiguous.

Thinking about it this way, it is possible that he did not come up with this idea himself, but heard it from somewhere.

But even though it was a very crude theory, it was also brand new. To Lin Wenruo, who heard it for the first time, it was simply unbelievable and caught him off guard. He could only resort to sophistry, but still lost in the end.

Zhao Rong witnessed the whole process.

He wanted to go up and help Lin Wenruo, but this time the discussion was forbidden, so he could only watch his friend being torn between two directions by the other party's argument, losing sight of the big picture, and finally leaving the stage in despair.

"This cannot be the Tao he came up with! If he could do this, he would have already become a Taiyi cultivator! There is no need for him to participate in any idle discussions. He can wipe out the Lanxi Lin Clan with just one finger."

Lin Wenruo's steps were unsteady, and he looked at Zhao Rong who was supporting him with lifeless eyes, muttering to himself.

"He, he has been to the Jixia Academy. Only the Taoist scholars in the academy can do this. Before I came back from the academy, I had never heard of any wise man in the Jixia Academy improving the 'debate on existence and non-existence'... This must have happened after I came back..."

"I know, I know. The news that I sent people to inquire about Qing Yuanzi's seclusion and cultivation in Wangquezhou was false. He actually went to the Jixia Academy in Tunanzhou!"

Zhao Rong supported the downtrodden man, pursed his lips tightly, and remained silent.

The Jixia Academy is one of the largest academies in the Xuanhuang Realm. It is a holy place for scholars all over the world, the place where the various schools of thought contend most fiercely, and the core of the storm of the Hundred Schools of Thought that swept across most of the world of cultivation.

There were still unexpected events in the plan, and I didn’t expect that something went wrong in this place.

I just don't know whether the news of Qing Yuanzi's seclusion was a mistake made by Lin Wenruo or was deliberately done by Chongxu Temple.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the lecture platform was like a powder keg that had exploded, and the overwhelming noise swept in like a tsunami that covered the sky and the sun.

Zhao Rong supported Lin Wenruo and looked around.

The audience in the stands behind him were all praising Qing Yuanzi's noble philosophy of "taking nothingness as the basis" and discussing it a lot.

Many Taoists from the Chongxu Temple opposite rushed forward and eagerly surrounded the victorious Qing Yuanzi, making the place extremely lively.

In contrast, on the Lanxi Lin family's side, everyone was silent, which was out of tune with the atmosphere on the lecture platform at the time.

Zhao Rong held the white jade at his waist tightly with one hand and held it horizontally in front of his abdomen.

The surrounding noise receded like the tide, and he seemed to be in a grand pantomime.

His expression was calm and he glanced at everyone.

Lin Wenruo was breathing heavily, his eyes were wandering and unfocused.

Chen Muzhi's face turned pale and the feather fan fell to the ground.

Lin Qingxuan lowered his head and said nothing.

Su Xiaoxiao clasped her hands together, clenched her fists in front of her chest, bit her lip and looked at him.

Liu Sanbian, the Yulin Guards, and many of the Lanxi Lin family's allies all had solemn expressions.

From the Chongxu Temple across the street, there were looks of contempt, ridicule, and gloating.

Lan Yuqing smiled playfully, and Qing Yuanzi raised the corners of his mouth.

The old man in the Nanhua scarf looked at her calmly, neither happy nor angry.

Qingjingzi sneered, his eyes lingering on Su Xiaoxiao.

Zhao Rong responded calmly.

"It's over, Ziyu, it's over, you guys hurry up and leave Zhongnan Kingdom immediately, there are arrangements at the foot of the mountain..." Lin Wenruo recovered from his despair, took a deep breath, suddenly grabbed Zhao Rong's hand, stared at the ground, and said in a deep voice.

“Not yet.”

"What?"

Lin Wenruo looked up blankly.

"One win and one loss, we haven't lost yet."

The young scholar said calmly.