Chapter 370

"Ah, yes, yes, yes!"

"That's right, if you explain it like that, isn't the black horse just Elder Sun's beloved steed?!"

"So it could be explained this way too?! This is simply using their own methods to treat them!"

……

The discussions of the bystanders all fell into the ears of this old man named Sun Long, and the old man's complexion changed again and again.

The theory that "a white horse is not a horse" was one of the classic doctrines of their School of Names.

He had intended to use this forum on Chinese studies to consolidate the strength of the School of Names once more by relying on this theory.

But he hadn't expected that before the forum even began, he would be directly defeated by the sudden appearance of Ye Xuan?!

In astonishment, the old man tightened his expression, thought for a moment, and then asked in succession.

"Does an egg have hair?!"

As soon as the question was out, several people in the crowd couldn't help but speak up.

"An egg is smooth, how could it possibly have hair?!"

"Is there something wrong with this question?"

……

Just as the crowd looked on with skeptical eyes, Ye Xuan shook his head slightly and said in a calm, unchanging tone.

"According to the School of Names, an egg can hatch a bird, and a bird has hair, therefore an egg has hair."

The light, airy voice fell into the old man's ears. The old man's expression became increasingly serious, and his forehead was knitted into a 'chuan' character.

Seeing that his own question hadn't stumped Ye Xuan, the old man swallowed hard, stared intently at Ye Xuan opposite him, and threw out the next question.

"How many claws does a chicken have?"

"A chicken has a left claw and a right claw, but there is also the saying of 'chicken claws,' therefore it has three claws."

Seeing Ye Xuan explain it without the slightest effort, fine beads of sweat appeared on the old man's forehead, and he quickly threw out the question he had just thought of in his mind.

"A tortoise is longer than a snake, how do you explain that?"

Almost as soon as the question left his mouth, Ye Xuan's answer followed immediately.

"Although the snake's form is long, its life is not long; although the tortoise's form is short, its life is very long. Therefore, the tortoise is longer than the snake."

Seeing that Ye Xuan's speed of answering had not slowed down in the slightest, and that it was as easy as picking something up, the old man's speed of questioning became increasingly difficult.

"Then, 'the eye cannot see'... how do you explain that?"

"The eye's perception of objects is limited by many conditions. For example, the attributes of a stone are white and hard.

Generally speaking, white can be seen, but hardness cannot be seen. But if there is no light for the white, it cannot be seen either.

Therefore, the eye cannot see."

……

The old man threw out five or six questions in a row, all of which were solved by Ye Xuan in an understated manner.

The association president on the side was already dumbfounded.

The crowd of onlookers had long since begun whispering to each other.

"A chicken having three claws can be explained like this too?!"

"'The eye cannot see'—this is one of the sophistries of the School of Names!"

"Damn, how is it that questions I can't answer at all are so easy in Ye Xuan's hands?!"

"I even suspected the questions were flawed; I didn't expect there to actually be answers?!"

……

At this moment, the old man had no extra energy to pay attention to the crowd's discussion. He racked his brains, but couldn't think of any new questions. Finally, he could only tremble his lips and ask this.

"Mr. Ye, how do you know so much about the doctrines of the School of Names?"

Seeing that there was no defiance in the old man's eyes, but rather a look of earnest seeking, Ye Xuan asked slowly.

"What exactly is the 'name' that the School of Names pursues?"

Upon hearing this, a daze flashed through the old man's eyes, and he subconsciously began to mutter to himself.

"The School of Names abandons the 'substance' and only pursues the 'name.'

It is precisely because in this life, all beauty, power, and status are empty.

The lives of most ordinary people are nothing more than struggling for this ethereal 'name' for their entire lives."

Noticing the light in the old man's eyes, Ye Xuan asked the next sentence.

"In the view of the School of Names, is there a distinction of high, low, noble, or base among all living beings?"

As soon as the question was out, the old man blurted out.

"Names have no high, low, noble, or base, so naturally, people have no distinction of high, low, noble, or base."

Ye Xuan asked again.

"Then what about birth, aging, sickness, and death?"

The old man followed up without hesitation.

"Birth, aging, sickness, and death are also all 'names'..."

After these two consecutive questions, the old man felt as if he had grasped something, but it also seemed as if he hadn't grasped the most critical thread.

For a moment, the confusion in the old man's eyes gradually increased.

Why did Ye Xuan ask these two questions?!

What do these two questions have to do with the School of Names?

In a flash of insight, thinking that everything being a 'name' is equivalent to everything being 'empty,' all his thoughts suddenly condensed into one voice, and the old man couldn't help but blurt out.

"Isn't that just 'everything is empty'?"

Vaguely, the old man felt as if a bottleneck that had been blocking him before had suddenly been cleared.

In his daze, he had an even stronger premonition.

Having broken through this layer, the doctrines of their School of Names could definitely go a step further in the future!

In other words, Ye Xuan's few simple sentences could simply allow the School of Names to save ten years of taking the wrong path!

Seeing that the old man seemed to be immersed in the idea that "everything is empty," Ye Xuan nodded slightly.

Rather than going further and further down the path of sophistry, the School of Names might as well carry forward the idea that "everything is empty."

At the same time, seeing that the School of Names bigwig Sun Long had fallen into deep thought because of Ye Xuan's few sentences, the surrounding discussions grew even louder.

"The School of Names, actually lost?"

"The forum hasn't even started yet, and it's already this intense?"

"I didn't expect Mr. Ye Xuan to be so formidable!"

"Mr. Ye is not to be underestimated the moment he opens his mouth!"

……

The discussions grew more numerous; it was obvious that the representatives of other schools were all eavesdropping!

Ye Xuan didn't care about these voices. After greeting President Wang, he was the first to follow the Peking University president back to his room to get familiar with things.

However, he had no idea that his remarks from just now had already spread rapidly throughout the entire Jiuhua Shanzhuang.

The representatives of the Confucian, Mohist, Taoist, and Legalist schools were all shaken by these words of Ye Xuan.

"I didn't expect Ye Xuan to be only in his twenties, yet he understands the School of Names so thoroughly!"

A middle-aged man with a refined air, a square face, and sharp, sword-like eyebrows watched the short video of Ye Xuan's speech from the afternoon over and over again, sighing continuously.

The more he savored Ye Xuan's answers, the more he felt there was true meaning within them.

"I must revise the content of our Confucian school; when the time comes, I will debate with Ye Xuan and hear his thoughts."

After speaking, the middle-aged man immediately took out his computer again, his hands tapping on the keyboard, and began to revise his speech draft.

At the same time, in another room at Jiuhua Shanzhuang.

"Kid, you are really too far behind compared to Mr. Ye."

Looking at his son, who was also in his early twenties, the Mohist representative saw the stupidity revealed in his son's clear eyes and suddenly felt his hands itching.

What should he do if he wanted to take off his shoe and hit his son again?!

Seeming to sense his old man's familiar gaze, the young man on the side looked up and immediately twitched the corners of his mouth.

"Dad, wake up, that's Ye Xuan!

You're comparing an ordinary person like me to an immortal; isn't that just asking for trouble?!"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man nodded subconsciously.

And the next instant, his nodding motion stopped abruptly. ===== CHAPTER 373 =====