"Let's leave that aside for now. Tell me how you understand it."
Lin Ke gestured for Xi He to remain calm. He knew that, to people of the Great Wei Sacred Dynasty, refusing to blindly follow superiors or books was nothing short of a tale from the Arabian Nights.
Things might have been a little better in the pre-Qin era.
Or perhaps people could have believed it in a world where the differences in individual power were not so vast.
Still, the underlying principles were much the same.
"Follow neither authority nor books blindly; follow only the facts" was a statement that could stand firmly on its own feet.
But that was a matter for later. Right now, his arms and legs were still thin and frail. Never mind his appointment as chairman of the Great Wilderness Council, or all that talk of taking three hundred masters and three thousand disciples.
In truth, Lin Ke knew he was nothing but a paper tiger, one poke away from being torn through.
He still needed to keep a low profile, lie low, and build his strength.
Once he was strong enough, he could work with the Sage Emperor, Wang Lin, and the others to bring a blade down on the rotten dross of feudal rites and teachings, leaving only their essence.
Keep the essence and discard the dross.
"The new rites... this humble official's understanding..." Xi He slowly steadied his emotions. He wanted to erase that statement from his mind, yet could not help recalling it again and again.
He was prone to unconsciously muttering to himself, and now he feared that one day he might carelessly blurt it out. Would he be blasted to death on the spot?
Then, because of that, he said something that surprised even himself. "Perhaps the