Chapter 5

"Wh-What's going on? Wasn't I born with a naturally dull intellect? Although the Refreshing Brain Soup has the effect of invigorating the mind and nourishing the intellect, it shouldn't be able to unblock a naturally dull intellect, right? Could it be...?"

Suddenly, a possibility occurred to Su Lin, and he was greatly alarmed, "I understand now. It's the Dull Intellect Grass. That damned Su Liufu has been adding Dull Intellect Grass to my food for these nine years, which is why I couldn't open my intellect. If it weren't for this bowl of Refreshing Brain Soup from Zijin, I might have had to wait until I passed the child scholar examination to open my intellect."

With his intellect unblocked, opening his intellect was no longer a difficult task for Su Lin. Seeing Su Lin suddenly look delighted, Dong Zijin asked happily, "Brother Su Lin, is there something to be happy about?"

"Definitely! It's worth it. Zijin, thank you for this bowl of Refreshing Brain Soup. Now, I can open my intellect without any obstacles!"

Excited, Su Lin immediately pulled Dong Zijin back to the room. Su Lin sat at the desk and eagerly opened Confucius's "Analects," while Dong Zijin sat on the bed, propping her chin in her hand, watching him intently.

"The higher the level of the words used to open one's intellect, the greater the achievements one can achieve in the future. In the history of Tianren Continent, only the Second Sage Mencius and the Half-Sage Zisi have been recorded as opening their intellects with the words of the Sage Confucius. Today, I, Su Lin, will also give it a try and see how difficult it is to open one's intellect with the Sage's words."

Sitting up straight, Su Lin's eyes were bright. He opened the "Analects" and began reading from the "Learning" chapter, where the recorded sayings of Confucius passed before his eyes. Just like before, the ideas of the Sage Confucius resonated in his chest, but no matter what, he hadn't reached the point where his qi would surge to open his intellect.

"Indeed, just understanding the surface meaning of the Sage's words in the 'Analects' is not enough to open one's intellect. One must truly understand and integrate them, just like Su Wen at ten years old. Because of the oppressive environment created by Su Liufu, he had pent-up emotions. When he saw words related to filial piety and brotherly love, he could empathize and integrate the ideas, breaking through his intellect..."

Using the Sage's words to open one's intellect is not that easy. One must integrate the Sage's ideas into one's own path to break through the intellect. In the "Analects," the Sage Confucius mostly emphasizes the nine ideas of "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, trustworthiness, forgiveness, loyalty, filial piety, and brotherly love," and each of the nine countries takes one of these ideas as its foundation.

As Su Lin read through the "Analects," he wanted to find the idea that represented his own path. Suddenly, he was moved by the phrase "A gentleman is not a vessel" in the "Government" chapter. His thoughts surged like a tide, and he quickly interpreted these few words.

"A gentleman is not a vessel! A gentleman is not a vessel! What does it mean? Why do I feel that seeing these four characters makes my thoughts so clear, and the ideas in my chest are about to break through my intellect?"

By intuition, Su Lin knew that if he wanted to open his intellect with the Sage's words, it must be this phrase "A gentleman is not a vessel." But what exactly does this phrase mean? In a straightforward translation, it means "A gentleman is not like a vessel."

The reason why people find it difficult to open their intellect with the Sage's words is that the ideas contained in the Sage Confucius's sayings are profound, and each sentence has more than just its surface meaning. To thoroughly understand this phrase "A gentleman is not a vessel," Su Lin activated the wordless heavenly book in his mind and quickly searched for all related records about "A gentleman is not a vessel."

In the end, Su Lin found the most credible source for this phrase. In fact, this phrase is part of a story.

The story goes that Confucius called his disciples to his side and pointed to a water container, saying that everyone has a special purpose, just like this water container, whose purpose is to hold water.

At this moment, the disciples began to ask Confucius what kind of vessel they were. Confucius smiled and pointed out each one, and the disciple he valued most, Zizhong, was compared to a hu lian. The hu lian was an ancient ritual vessel used in ancestral temples to hold millet, indicating that Confucius highly regarded Zizhong, comparing him to a hu lian, which means Zizhong had the ability to govern the country.

However, Zizhong, who received such high praise, frowned and boldly asked Confucius, "What kind of vessel are you, teacher?"

Confucius smiled and shook his head, softly saying, "A gentleman is not a vessel!"

Zizhong suddenly understood. The ordinary person is a vessel, like those containers, which have a fixed purpose, while a true gentleman must be versatile and not limited to a fixed purpose.

Zizhong shared his understanding, and the other disciples also understood, praising Zizhong's insight. However, Confucius sighed and remained silent.

The phrase "A gentleman is not a vessel" carries the story of the Sage Confucius and his disciple Zizhong, who later became the Half-Sage Duanmu Ci.

Su Lin's insight was not bad, and he often grasped the essence of things in school. However, from these four characters, he could only understand what Zizhong did, thinking that Confucius meant a gentleman should be versatile and not limited to one talent. But why did Confucius sigh and remain silent at the end of the story? Was Zizhong's understanding incorrect?

"Just a little more! Just a little more, what does it mean?" Su Lin's mind was racing, and the ideas in his chest were gradually surging. "A gentleman is not a vessel. The so-called vessel, whether it's an ordinary water container or a precious ritual vessel like the hu lian, is essentially the same, with a fixed purpose. Since the Sage Confucius said a gentleman is not a vessel, it means a gentleman should not have a fixed purpose. So... it's not what Zizhong said about being versatile. Could it be... Confucius meant..."

Slapping his head, Su Lin suddenly grinned widely, instantly understanding. The true meaning of Confucius's phrase "A gentleman is not a vessel" is not that a gentleman should be versatile, but that a gentleman should not have a specific talent. A gentleman should be a bearer of values and form his own path.

A gentleman, no matter what he does, should always adhere to his own path, his own understanding and values, and not be limited to a specific talent. In Confucius's view, those so-called talents are secondary, while the path of a gentleman is the essence. A gentleman is not a vessel but should be the one who wields the vessel.

"A gentleman is not a vessel, but should be the one who wields the vessel! Ha ha! This is my path, Su Lin's path!"

Suddenly, the idea of "A gentleman is not a vessel" surged in Su Lin's chest, rushing to his forehead, effortlessly breaking through his intellect. A beam of golden light shot directly from Su Lin's intellect into the sky, a sign of true Sage's words opening the intellect.