The low-key prince summons trainees from the Imperial Household Department at the start of the game.

In the backyard of Mingdao Academy, there is an old locust tree with a canopy that blocks out the sun.

Under the tree were several old stone benches and a polished blue stone chessboard.

The five teachers then sat around the old locust tree and began their first "discussion on the Dharma".

There was no tea, no snacks, only paper and pens brought by each of the five people, and a bellyful of knowledge they had been holding back for a long time.

Hu Yuan was the first to speak.

He sat on the stone bench, his back ramrod straight, his voice not loud but clear and articulate: "Gentlemen, the five of us are all at the peak of the third-grade literary cultivation. We have cultivated our righteous energy for twenty or thirty years, yet we are all stuck at the same threshold."

"This threshold is the key to enlightenment."

"Without the right method, even the strongest Qi will only disperse throughout the body and cannot be condensed into true literary cultivation power."

"What is the Dharma Gate?"

"In essence, it is the way to transform the righteous spirit from 'dispersed' to 'gathered' and from 'cultivated' to 'utilized'."

"The five of us each have our own area of ​​expertise. Today, let's share our opinions. What do you think is the core of this Dharma?"

Ma Rong sat opposite him, his beard and hair fluttering gently in the breeze. This master of Confucian classics from the Eastern Han Dynasty pondered for a moment before taking the lead: "In my opinion, the core of the Dharma lies in the 'scriptures'."

"The classic means the constant, the unchanging way that lasts for all ages."

"The sage transmits but does not create; he believes in and loves antiquity, and he contains the complete Dao of Heaven and Earth in the Six Classics."

"When later scholars read, annotate, and interpret the classics, they are in sync with the heart of the sages."

"All the family traditions and teachers' methods that I have seen in the Han Dynasty are based on the classics."

"Those who study the Book of Poetry use the Book of Poetry to enter the Way; those who study the Book of Documents use the Book of Documents to enter the Way. Every classic is a gateway to the Great Way."

"The same applies to the way of literary cultivation in this world."

"The so-called Dharma gate is nothing more than being based on a single scripture."

"When the righteous spirit cultivated in one's heart is verified with the meaning of the classics, the mind will be clear when the meaning of the classics is understood, the Qi will flow smoothly when the mind is clear, and the Qi will flow smoothly when the Qi flows smoothly, one's rank will be broken."

"To abandon the scriptures in search of the Dharma is no different from abandoning the boat in search of crossing, or abandoning the steps in search of climbing higher."

As soon as he finished speaking, Huang Gan gently shook his head.

This disciple of Zhu Xi, who was usually calm and reserved in his speech and actions, retorted without any politeness: "What Mr. Ma said is certainly reasonable, but I think it is still lacking in one aspect."

"Scriptures are inanimate objects, but people are living beings."

"If the core of this Dharma is only in the 'sutras,' then why have there been so many commentators on the sutras throughout history, yet so few who have broken through the four grades of esoteric Buddhism?"

"Why do some people spend their entire lives studying classics, reciting them fluently, yet remain stuck at the lowest rank, unable to advance an inch?"

"In my humble opinion, the core of the Dharma is not in the 'scriptures,' but in the 'mind.'"

Zhu Xi once said, "The way to learn is to investigate the principles of things, and the key to investigating the principles of things lies in reading books."

"Reading is a means to investigate principles, not an end in itself."

"True investigation of principles involves thoroughly investigating the principles of Heaven and one's own heart, and verifying the words of sages in books with the principles in one's own heart."

"When it is confirmed, it is called 'sudden enlightenment'. At that moment, the mind opens up and righteous energy naturally gathers."

"In my humble opinion, the Dharma is something that is realized through enlightenment, not something that is read aloud."

Zhen Dexiu, standing to the side, couldn't help but slap his thigh and chime in, "Brother Zhiqing is absolutely right!"

"To investigate the principles of things in order to acquire knowledge, and to reflect on oneself in order to put it into practice, is to investigate the principles of things in order to acquire knowledge. This is the first step, but it is by no means the last step."

"The principles must be put into practice, into action, and into action."

"My deepest realization over the years is that the principles clearly written in the classics will remain just theoretical if you don't put them into practice."

"For example, the saying 'The benevolent love others' can be read ten thousand times, but it's not as effective as going to a soup kitchen and serving a bowl of porridge to starving people."

"When you ladle that bowl of porridge, the warmth in your heart is the stirring of righteous energy, rising upwards."

"Unfortunately, we didn't have the method; that energy dissipated halfway up."

"Therefore, I believe that the core of the Dharma is not the scriptures or the mind, but 'practice'. It is necessary to verify and inspire it through practice."

Ouyang Shoudao listened silently the whole time, holding the old book in his hand, his fingertips gently stroking the rough cover.

After Zhen Dexiu finished speaking, he slowly opened his mouth, his voice not loud and his pace not fast, but every word was firm: "What you gentlemen have said makes sense."

"The scriptures are the foundation; without a foundation, it is just a castle in the air."

"The key is the mind; reading without the mind is like swallowing a book whole."

"Practice makes perfect; learning without doing is just empty talk."

"But I'd like to ask: how did we get to where we are today?"

"It is through the guidance of a wise teacher, through exchanges with fellow students, and through my own repeated practice in the study."

"If the three things of sutra, mind, and practice go their own way, they will be like three parallel rivers that will never flow into the same place."

"I believe that the core of the Dharma lies not in any one of them, but in the word 'comprehension'."

"Connect the scriptures, the mind, and the practice, and transform them from three parallel rivers into a single, interconnected loop."

"If we can do that, we may not need any ready-made methods; we can find our own way."

"Just like growing crops, no matter how good the seeds are or how fertile the land is, if you don't water them, weed them, or fertilize them, the crops won't grow on their own."

Upon hearing this, the courtyard suddenly fell silent.

Hu Yuan, who had been sitting quietly listening, suddenly stood up, paced around the chessboard twice with her hands behind her back, then stopped, turned around, and said, "Mr. Gongquan is right!"

"Our debate over the past half day, with its three interpretations of scripture, mind, and practice, may seem to have different emphases, but in fact, they are not contradictory at all. On the contrary, they are progressive and interconnected."

"Without scriptures, it is like water without a source; without a foundation, knowledge is like a castle in the air."

"Without heart, one is merely swallowing knowledge whole; no matter how many books one reads, one will only be a walking encyclopedia."

"Without action, it's just empty talk; no matter how much righteous spirit you cultivate, it's just stagnant water."

"When these three elements are integrated and interconnected, it means taking the scriptures as the foundation, the mind as the bridge, and action as the result, thus fully integrating all the knowledge and cultivation accumulated throughout one's life. At that moment of integration, the Dharma gate will open naturally!"

The five people looked at each other and stood up at the same time.

They suddenly understood the significance of the argument.

They came from different eras and different schools of thought, and each person's understanding of the "Dharma Gate" was deeply imprinted with the mark of their lifelong academic pursuits.

These marks brought their respective paths to an end, and these marks also led them to find new directions in new collisions.

In the days that followed, the five embarked on an unprecedented path of "jointly creating a Dharma gate".

Hu Yuan used the philosophy of "understanding the essence and applying it" to take overall control of the situation and was responsible for integrating the various schools of thought into a complete theoretical framework.

Ma Rong meticulously annotated every key point of the Dharma with the rigorous foundation of Han Dynasty Confucian classics, ensuring a solid and impeccable theoretical foundation.

Huang Gan used the depth of Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism to repeatedly examine the path of Qi circulation, clarifying the correspondence between "investigating principles" and "facilitating Qi circulation".

With a practical spirit of applying knowledge to practical matters, Zhen Dexiu broke down the Dharma into actionable cultivation steps, allowing each step to be verified in specific situations.

Ouyang Shoudao used the simple wisdom of teaching in a village school to compile the entire method into catchy rhymes, making it understandable even for the most ordinary students.

During the day, they each taught students at the academy, and at night they would gather under the old locust tree to discuss and refine their teachings.

Sometimes they would argue until late at night about the workings of a key mechanism.

Sometimes, in order to verify a hypothesis, people take turns practicing on the stakes.

Sometimes, someone would suddenly have a flash of inspiration, and the other four would gather around, using their respective knowledge to repeatedly examine and refine it.

Two months later, late one night!

Huang Gan finished marking the last Qi circulation route.

Hu Yuan read through the entire theoretical framework of the method from beginning to end, confirming that all aspects were perfectly aligned and without any loopholes.

Ma Rong, Huang Gan, Zhen Dexiu, and Ouyang Shoudao watched him intently, holding their breath.

The night birds in the locust tree fluttered up, as if startled by something.

Hu Yuan slowly put down the manuscript in her hand, looked up at her four companions, and a very faint but extremely confident smile appeared on her lips: "It's done."

"This method is based on classical studies, uses Neo-Confucianism as its core principle, practical learning as its path, and village schools as its ultimate destination, integrating the lifelong learning of the five of us."

"It is not as profound and mysterious as the methods of its predecessors, but it has a characteristic that none of the methods of its predecessors possess."

"The methods of our predecessors were private treasures, passed down only within their own families, while our method was created jointly by five families and is a public knowledge."

"It can be taught to anyone, without needing to join any family or attach oneself to any power."

"It is a door opened for scholars from poor families all over the world."