The debate between Li Nanzhu and Huixin had reached a fever pitch.
Faced with Li Nanzhu’s tricky question—"Does the Buddha bless the success of the thief, or the peacefulness of the victim?"
Huixin’s brow furrowed slightly before smoothing out once more. He regained his compassionate smile and began to cite scriptures, speaking at length about the profound principles of the cycle of cause and effect, suffering one's own karma, and how everything was a trial and a form of tempering.
He spoke at a steady pace, referencing Buddhist parables with ease, attempting to use the depth of the Dharma to confuse Li Nanzhu and make her back down.
However, Li Nanzhu proved to be a tough nut to crack.
Though she was unfamiliar with Buddhist scriptures, she had been a journalist in her past life. She understood logical structures perfectly and reacted with incredible speed, always finding tiny loopholes in Huixin's seemingly perfect arguments to hurl pointed questions back at him.
"Master, you say everything is a trial. Does that mean your attempt to rob us of our points is a trial the Buddha gave to us? Conversely, would our resistance then be a trial the Buddha gave to you? A test to see if you can successfully snatch them?" Li Nanzhu blinked her large, innocent eyes. "So, who exactly is testing whom? Or is the Buddha too busy and failed to organize this properly, leaving us to test each other?"
"Master, you say we suffer our own karma. If our points are stolen, it’s our own karmic power at work, and we deserve it. But if you successfully steal them, it's because your karmic power is good and you're meant to have them. Does that mean whoever’s fist is bigger has better karmic power? If so, should cultivation just be about working hard to raise one's power without caring about compassion at all?"
Her questions became increasingly pointed. Though they sounded like mere sophistry, they often struck directly at the essence of Huixin's theory—that might makes right. This forced Huixin to spend more effort refining his explanations, and the rhythm of the debate was gradually being led by Li Nanzhu.
The smile remained on Huixin's face, but deep in his eyes, a flicker of gravity appeared.
He had not expected this young girl to have such a nimble mind and sharp tongue. She did not act like an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator at all.
He had to focus with every fiber of his being to respond.
Right then!
Click... roll...
A faint but distinct sound suddenly came from the side of the arena!
Everyone instinctively looked over. They saw Suisui in Feng Qingping’s arms, seemingly getting excited while listening. As it shifted, a few rice-grain-sized pale bone beads rolled off it and fell onto the rocky ground by Feng Qingping’s feet, making a crisp sound as they bounced.
Feng Qingping seemed startled and let out a soft cry, quickly bending over to pick them up. In her haste, her skirt brushed across the ground, seemingly inadvertently sweeping the small bone beads into a nearby crevice in the rocks. Then, she carefully stabilized Suisui, patting it gently as she whispered, "Suisui, don't move around."
This interlude was extremely brief, appearing like nothing more than a restless pet accidentally dropping some trivial trinket.
Amidst the intense debate and the gaze of dozens of cultivators, it seemed insignificant. Even Ji Yanzhi only gave a cold glance before looking away.
Feng Qingping’s expression remained normal as she continued to focus on the debate as if nothing had happened.
But only she and Suisui knew that another miniature, extremely well-hidden triggered array node was nearly in place.
These nodes were scattered about and seemed unrelated, but once triggered by a specific frequency of spiritual energy, they would instantly produce an unexpected effect.
On the other side, Duan Xianxing and Liu Qingyang’s social activities were also making progress.
The Wuji Sect disciple whom Duan Xianxing was being friendly with had started off wary and stiff. However, he eventually seemed to be drawn in by the debate, and with Duan Xianxing’s "we’re both poor souls forced to listen to a monk chant" attitude, he even occasionally whispered a response or two.
"Sigh, you're not wrong... Senior Brother Ji is just too cautious..." the disciple muttered. Though he immediately realized his slip of the tongue and shut his mouth, his attitude had clearly softened.
Liu Qingyang, meanwhile, had begun discussing which vegetarian meals were tastier and which temples were most famous for their food with the young monk from Mingguang Sect, leaving the little monk completely dazed.
Time passed second by second, and the incense stick was nearly burnt out.
Ji Yanzhi’s patience seemed to be reaching its limit. He glanced coldly at the incense, then at the still-talking Huixin, letting out a nearly inaudible cold snort.
At this moment, Li Nanzhu’s eyes were incredibly bright, filled with a naive curiosity. She furrowed her brow slightly, appearing deeply troubled by a difficult problem.
"...Master, everything you’ve said about karma, karmic power, and letting go of attachments sounds a bit familiar to me." Li Nanzhu’s voice carried a hint of confusion, as if she were trying hard to remember something. "Ah! I remember now! A while back, I heard people talking about an old story. They said there was an evil cultivator in the southwest who would kill innocents and seize their essence blood and souls just to refine malicious treasures or increase his cultivation. He even killed people to steal their treasures. At the time, I thought such actions were intolerable by heaven and constituted an unpardonable crime."
She raised her clear eyes to look at Huixin, her tone innocent. "But after hearing your words today, Master, I’ve become a bit... confused."
"Because when that evil cultivator was finally caught by righteous seniors, he shouted before his death that the cultivators he killed were weighed down by deep karma and were destined for such a fate. He claimed that killing them and stealing their treasures was acting on behalf of heaven, helping them find liberation and re-enter the cycle of reincarnation earlier!"
"So now I'm thinking, when those evil cultivators kill and steal, are they thinking the same thing as you?" Li Nanzhu tilted her head, as if trying her best to understand the mind of an evil cultivator.
"Look, when that evil cultivator killed someone and stole their treasure, look at the result. First, he made that cultivator let go of their attachment to their treasures and their life, liberating them from the suffering of the mortal world. Wouldn't that be... a different kind of deliverance?"
"Second, the evil cultivator obtained the treasure and increased his strength, perhaps using the false to cultivate the true to do even greater things in the future. Wouldn't that count as him obtaining resources and opportunity?"
Her voice grew lower, carrying a chilling innocence. "So, in that case, isn't that just practicing a... more extreme form of the Dharma? Their methods might be a bit crude, but their intentions... perhaps they were good as well?"
She counted on her fingers, mimicking Huixin’s earlier tone, and began to analyze the situation with a serious face.
"Master, tell me... how are we supposed to distinguish which seizure of resources is a Buddhist opportunity consistent with the Dharma, like that of the Mingguang Sect, and which is an act intolerable by heaven, like that of an evil cultivator?"
"What, exactly, is the standard for judgment? Is it just based on who wins in the end?"
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