Chapter 438: A Pair of Discerning Eyes

"Professor Chen has rather heavy dark circles under his eyes." Chen Banxia tilted her head and leaned into her younger brother's ear.

"Professor Chen has been staying up all night reading the Autobiography of the Holy Ancestor every day recently; he hasn't even been watching his stocks. It's fortunate he's a Cultivator, otherwise, he might have already ascended to immortality." Chen Shu also glanced at Professor Chen, who was making preparations on the podium. "I heard he's reading for twenty hours a day; he doesn't even want to eat."

"Professor Chen is truly hardcore."

"He's even more ruthless than the young people..."

"Are you saying I..."

Chen Banxia leaned into her brother's ear again, but before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by her brother.

"I can hear you!"

"Then I'll speak a little quieter~"

"? You most likely have some kind of problem."

"Fine, fine."

Chen Banxia glanced at the classmates sitting nearby and stopped leaning into her brother's ear to speak, but this felt somewhat awkward—her cultivation level was clearly not as high as her brother's; if she spoke a little louder, she was afraid of disturbing others, and if she spoke too softly, it sounded very quiet even to herself, and she would worry that her brother couldn't hear.

"Do you think if I took a picture and sent it to Wei Lvshi, Professor Chen would get scolded again?"

"You underestimate Professor Chen."

"That's true, Professor Chen and Wei Lvshi have been married for so many years after all, he still carries weight in Wei Lvshi's heart. Since he's busy with work on this business trip, Wei Lvshi will probably still care about him first."

"No, I mean that Professor Chen has long been used to being scolded and just pretends he can't hear it."

"Bet!"

"Bet on what?"

"Barbecue!"

"Fine."

So Chen Banxia took out her Mobile Phone, aimed it at Professor Chen, and kept zooming in; the lights on the podium made Professor Chen look even more haggard.

"Click!"

Chen Banxia: 【Image】

Chen Banxia: @Wei Lvshi

Wei Lvshi: This silly thief!

Wei Lvshi: Is he not sleeping at night again?

"Heh..."

Chen Shu yawned, shook his head at Chen Banxia, and said, "You've never been in a relationship, so you don't know; sometimes scolding someone and caring about them are not mutually exclusive."

Chen Banxia's expression was already complicated, and upon hearing this, it became a bit more so.

Chen Shu lowered his head to look at the school forum.

Someone posted a question: Has Professor Chen's history lecture started? Can I still get in? Is it crowded?

Chen Shu looked around.

He replied: It hasn't started yet, you can still get in, it's crowded but there are still seats, come quickly, I've already seen the content Professor Chen is going to talk about, super shocking, it turns out Xia Chengzong was not the biological son of the Shengzu, and the current Buddhist Sect and Daoist sects were also founded by the Shengzu, you'll regret it to death if you don't come...

Half a minute passed.

That person replied: Coming right now! Save a seat for me!

Just at this moment, the sound of testing the microphone and speakers came from the front, and Professor Chen's presentation slides appeared on the Wall Projector.

"Emmm..."

It seems that classmate won't be able to make it.

Chen Shu put away his Mobile Phone, and the large auditorium quickly changed from noisy to quiet.

A young teacher from the History Department stood by the podium; Chen Shu had dealt with him before, and today he was acting as the moderator.

"Today, it is a great honor to have invited Professor Chen Jinguang from Yuanzhou Academy. I believe everyone knows Professor Chen; whether you are a student of the History Department or a history enthusiast, you have certainly read his great works, so I won't introduce him much further. Let us welcome him with applause."

A burst of enthusiastic applause followed.

"Hello, everyone."

The voice of Professor Chen on the stage was steady and not as haggard as he looked: "I am Chen Jinguang. It is an honor to be here to have an exchange with everyone. Recently, due to researching some newly discovered historical documents regarding the Shengzu, my sleep hasn't been good, and I look a bit terrible; I hope everyone will excuse me.

"I won't say much idle chatter.

"Today, let's talk about the Xia Dynasty, talk about the Shengzu, and talk about that history which is not in the history books.

"When Professor Shi invited me over, he said he hoped I would share some experience and insights on researching history. I felt that was too dry, so it's better to talk about what I know best and what everyone is interested in, treating it as a story session, a history forum. The vast majority of the history of the Xia Dynasty has been submerged in the dust of history, and how did we find this history? So, the experience and insights of delving into history are all right here."

Everyone listened with rapt attention.

Chen Shu and Chen Banxia also each had a lollipop in their mouths, with only the plastic sticks showing, staring intently at their old man.

Professor Chen's presentation slides still only had titles and keywords, occasionally with one or two sentences summarizing the central idea. These slides only served to make the lecture more structured and help students remember and understand; Professor Chen himself did not use a script, and the slides had also changed somewhat from before.

Professor Chen had adopted Chen Shu's suggestions, adding content about ancient deities like the Spirit Saint, the Buddha, and the Daoist Ancestor, as well as several legendary generals. The gains from his study of the Autobiography of the Holy Ancestor over the past few days were also reflected in this lecture.

The most intuitive part was the two points of contention.

And Professor Chen soon reached one of them.

"Were the later emperors of the Xia Dynasty really the bloodline of the Shengzu? This question has troubled the world for a long time.

"Some people believe that the Shengzu's power reached its peak, and there wasn't a beauty in the world who didn't admire him—all sorts of exotic styles, female Cultivators, right? And since he was a top-tier powerhouse, there were no physiological defects, and having lived for so many years, there is no reason he wouldn't have descendants. Another group of people believes that the talent displayed by the later emperors of the Xia Dynasty was truly unworthy of the Shengzu Emperor; even after piling up so many resources, it was difficult for them to even reach the Ninth Stage. No matter how you look at it, they don't look like his biological children."

Chen Shu couldn't help but pull out his lollipop, turn his head, and whisper to Chen Banxia: "Professor Chen knows so much. Record it quickly and send it to Mom so she can learn."

Chen Banxia twisted her body while smirking.

The smirk was because she found it interesting, and the twisting was to express her dissatisfaction with him—how could a younger brother say such things to his older sister?

"I also considered this question in the past, until the Yuanzhou Fangti was unearthed a few years ago. There was a set of bamboo slips we call the Daxia Bamboo Books. It hinted that the Shengzu never established an empress or took concubines, as well as the origin of Xia Chengzong, but because there were no explicit records, we didn't dare say that it was definitely the truth.

"You can see that the author of the Daxia Bamboo Books didn't dare to write that the emperor was not born of the Shengzu, but whether in the imperial court or among the common people, no one wanted to see a fact that everyone knew be distorted. People have reason, but also integrity, so he left behind the term 'Broken Goose Lonely Swan', and specifically recorded the fact that the Shengzu had adopted a foster son in his early years on another adjacent scroll of bamboo slips, luckily avoiding inspection.

"So, students of the History Department, in the process of reading history, you must be careful and read it word for word. Sometimes, out of reason, the official historian has no way to lay out the truth directly, but out of integrity, they cannot bury it, so they use very obscure methods to leave it behind. We must solve it like solving a riddle; sometimes it requires patient reading, and sometimes it even requires using one story as a key to unlock the truth of another story."

"To study history, one must have a discerning eye.

"The truth will never be buried; it only awaits your discovery.

"Now, with the appearance of the Autobiography of the Holy Ancestor, I can finally tell everyone here with great responsibility that the debate is over: the later emperors of the Xia Dynasty were truly not of the bloodline of the Holy Ancestor, and you all will be the second people, besides me, to know this result.

"Because I am still currently studying this Autobiography, once I have organized it, most of the fog surrounding the Xia Dynasty and the Holy Ancestor will be cleared away."

The auditorium was silent.

Chen Jiaoshou took a sip of water and continued speaking.

Another point of contention is whether the Buddhist Sect and the Daoist Sect were created by the disciples of the Holy Ancestor inspired by him, or if they were created by the Holy Ancestor through the hands of two disciples?

There is a certain distinction here.

It is written very clearly in the Autobiography of the Holy Ancestor that the Cultivation Spiritual Method, Core Secret Method, and religious concepts of the Buddhist Sect and Daoist Sect were almost all established by the Holy Ancestor, but his two disciples also participated in this process, so as to who the founders of the Buddhist Sect and Daoist Sect really were, everyone can judge for themselves.

In the words of Chen Jiaoshou, segments of history carrying the weight of five thousand years fell into this auditorium.

It seemed plain, yet it also seemed to carry the weight of a thousand catties.

For a time, no one in the crowd discussed it, only listening quietly.

It was not until Chen Jiaoshou finished speaking and left fifteen minutes for exchange that people began to ask questions one after another. Most asked questions they were interested in themselves; Chen Jiaoshou answered rigorously and sincerely, and for those that truly had no conclusion, he also tried his best to give an answer, as for what the truth was, he left it for everyone to decide for themselves.

Soon, one person stood up:

"Hello, Chen Jiaoshou. I am a student at the Biology College. I have always been very interested in history, especially history regarding the Holy Ancestor. In recent years, there have always been people on the internet saying that the Holy Ancestor was a transmigrator. May I ask what your take on this is?"

Someone below chuckled.

It seemed they felt this question belonged only on the internet; even if they themselves were conflicted, it did not prevent them from feeling it was absurd and unworthy of a formal setting.

Chen Jiaoshou, however, remained sincere and gentle, nodding repeatedly at this student, then pondered seriously and gave an answer: "In my view, this question is not only a matter for our history studies, but also a matter for Space and Plane Studies. At the very least, the Autobiography of the Holy Ancestor does not mention that he was a transmigrator. Before we historians can investigate whether he was a transmigrator, perhaps we need scholars of Space and Plane Studies to first prove the feasibility of 'transmigration'.

"Of course, the erudition of the Holy Ancestor truly exceeded our imagination. A person's wisdom and energy should be limited; we cannot imagine for a moment how one person could be extremely accomplished in so many fields, and it seems only 'transmigrator' can explain it. It is normal for everyone to be interested in this."

Speaking to this point, Chen Jiaoshou took another sip of water:

"But in my view, whether he was a transmigrator is actually inconsequential. There is meaning to it, but compared to other things, it appears less important. What is important is that he truly existed; he truly and tangibly existed, and he truly created this civilization. He is the ancestor of our Central Huaxia civilization and truly made great contributions to the creation and continuation of this civilization. We can read from historical materials his feelings for this country and these people. Therefore, the several hundred years he existed in this world are far more real and important than where he came from."

Applause rang out from below.

The lecture ended, and the crowd rose one after another.

"Hey! We..."

"Hey?"

Chen Banxia patted her younger brother's shoulder. Once he reacted and turned his head to look at her, she smiled and asked, "What? Were you listening so intently that you were lost in it?"

"Yeah, Chen Jiaoshou spoke too well."

"I don't really understand history, but listening to it also felt very impressive," Chen Banxia said. "Let me tell you, actually many girls like boys who have a deep understanding of history; they feel they know a lot."

"And you?"

"I might have been sick of it since I was little..."

"What were you going to say just now?"

"Oh, right!" Chen Banxia then remembered, "Should we call Chen Jiaoshou when we go out for barbecue?"

"... We should call him. Chen Jiaoshou hasn't been eating well lately; we should help him nourish himself," Chen Shu thought for a moment and added, "However, Chen Jiaoshou probably still has to chat with the teachers and leaders of the History College for a bit. You give him a call and tell him; we'll wait for him."

"Got it, got it!"

Chen Banxia subconsciously followed her brother's instructions.

"If he doesn't agree, just say that Wei Lvshi is already very dissatisfied with him; threaten him with that anyway."

"Brilliant!"

Chen Banxia had already dialed the phone.

Chen Shu continued to sit in his seat, placing his legs at an angle to let the students inside pass. He leaned back, resting against the plastic backrest, seemingly staring at the crowd coming and going after the event, but in reality, his thoughts had drifted far away.