"Ritual of Propriety!"
Fang Yun felt a mysterious power spread through his entire body. It seemed to be the highest law between Heaven and earth, making him bend over involuntarily, grasp his brush, and write upon a blank sheet of paper.
Those four words were plainly simple, yet Fang Yun discovered that an invisible, majestic force was preventing him from writing them. It was as though, once he finished those four words, that force would crush him to powder.
Fang Yun knew that this was the Classic Interpretation examination, far stranger than Appealing to the Sage's Words or composing poetry.
Fang Yun took a deep breath, and the source of the phrase surfaced in his mind.
Mencius, Li Lou, Lower Section: Mencius said, "Rituals that are not ritual, righteous acts that are not righteous—great men do not perform them."
Fang Yun slowly lowered his brush and wrote the four words "Ritual of Propriety" on the paper. As he completed the final character, it was like piercing through a layer of window paper.
A thunderous voice exploded beside Fang Yun's ear.
"What is ritual?"
Fang Yun froze for a moment. Ritual was actually a broad term: it could refer to the systems of an entire society, the standards governing personal moral conduct, books such as the Book of Rites and the Rites of Zhou, or something as specific as weddings, funerals, marriages, and burials. To directly answer what ritual was seemed easy, yet it was also an exceedingly difficult matter.
Even the Strange Book World could not help him answer this question. At this moment, Fang Yun could only answer based on what he had learned these past days.
"Ritual is rules," Fang Yun answered calmly.
The invisible force suddenly vanished. Fang Yun lowered his head and saw that the words