Arrangements

Having received the clues provided by the Sea Cooking Pot, Li Qi suddenly understood!

He suddenly realized something: why he couldn't find the existence of these boundaries in any ancient texts.

Because this thing itself is somewhat secretive, only a few people know it, it is not something that is common knowledge.

Therefore, it is very difficult to place one's hopes on finding these practical things in those great classic texts.

If you want to gain inspiration, information, or something more fundamental about boundaries, there are only two ways.

First, you have to exhaustively search for clues and gradually figure it out yourself.

Secondly, we should seize this opportunity to obtain sufficient information within this grotto, thereby saving hundreds of years of research time.

Li Qi felt that choosing the second option was necessary.

There's no other reason; several hundred years is simply too long.

Li Qi was not even thirty years old. Although he was said to have achieved immortality, he had no real sense of immortality and had not developed the concept of time that an immortal should have.

To put it bluntly, several hundred years is still a bit too much for him to bear. Since there is a shortcut in front of him, why not take it? It would save him several hundred years!

So Li Qi asked Guo Penghai, "Demon Dragon? Is there such a thing? Brother Guo, why don't you tell me more about it?"

Guo Penghai smiled and said, "Actually, there's not much to say. It's a very simple matter. After that Demon Dragon was killed, its horns, scales, skin, and bones were used as materials to refine Law Treasure, its blood and flesh essence was used to refine pills, and its internal microcosm was cut up and made into those dozens of desks. There's nothing special about it."

Hearing the other party's nonchalant tone, Li Qi shook his head.

Guo Penghai, which was nothing special for him, but it was not the case for Li Qi.

"What I mean is, what is the origin of that Demon Dragon? How can it still have some vitality even in this situation, and not be completely dead? This is quite interesting to me. Could you elaborate on this, Brother Guo?" Li Qi immediately asked.

"Oh, you're asking about that? Well, it's nothing, it's not really a secret. You know what Demon Dragon is, right?" Sea Cooking Pot asked.

Li Qi nodded, indicating that he understood.

In their lifetime, demons have one chance to Form Transformation and acquire some of the characteristics of the Form Transformation. This is their innate nature.

This is not a technique of transformation, but a real change in the essence of things, so choosing to Form Transformation is a very serious matter.

Over the years, the monsters themselves have also figured out the optimal solution for Form Transformation.

This optimal solution varies depending on the region, and the things that monsters hope to Form Transformation are also different depending on their birthplace.

For example, in the Central Plains and the Southwest, which are the territories of the Tang Kingdom and Wushen Mountain, Human Race are the dominant race, and demons tend to take human Form Transformation.

In the East Sea, demons tend to Form Transformation into dragons.

This kind of dragon, Form Transformation of a demon, is called Demon Dragon.

In contrast, there are true dragons, which are born as dragons.

"This Demon Dragon, I remember it used to call itself the Earth Dragon. It was something that was neither insect nor beast, with a very strong vitality. It also had a technique for creating clones, which was extremely mysterious," Sea Cooking Pot continued.

Li Qi nodded and searched his memory for records about earth dragons.

Earth dragon...

Earthworms?

Li Qi, uh...

No wonder life is so tenacious; how could earthworms not be tenacious?

The four-legged snake phantom I saw was just an earthworm Form Transformation into a dragon.

It even calls itself an earth dragon... I can only say that it seems there's really no problem with that; it should indeed be called an earth dragon.

But then Sea Cooking Pot continued, "I don't know much about its specific origins, but this earth dragon is very skilled at creating Divine Ability. It is said that it has 84,000 segments, each of which can transform into a clone. Each clone has a complete soul and consciousness. If you take it out alone, people would believe that it is an independent life form."

"Most importantly, this clone technique allows you to separate and reunite at will. When separated, each clone looks exactly the same, and when reunited, they look completely different, without any resemblance whatsoever," Guo Penghai continued to explain.

Upon hearing this, Li Qi immediately perked up, pricked up his ears, and prepared to listen carefully!

Isn't this nature of differentiation and aggregation precisely the 'boundary' that Li Qi was pursuing?!

Water is composed of countless water molecules, but a water molecule is a water molecule, and water is water; a water molecule does not possess the properties of water.

When do those water molecules, piled together, become water?

How many water molecules are needed to make a substance to be called water?

What is that boundary?

This is the question Li Qi wanted to ask!

This is also the ability displayed by this earth dragon.

Each of his clones is a water molecule, and he himself is water. How many clones came together to form him? What is the relationship between him and his clones? What exactly is the 'boundary' in between?

Li Qi pricked up his ears to listen carefully, but Guo Penghai said, "Apart from that, there's nothing special. Later, he was hacked to death and turned into material."

Li Qi was stunned for a moment.

Uh... it seems like he wasn't wrong after all.

"You don't know anything else, Brother Guo?" he asked, somewhat unwilling to give up.

"Yes, I'm just a cook. It's already quite good that I know this much. Besides, isn't this enough?" Guo Penghai spread his hands, indicating that he was somewhat puzzled.

That's still not enough. What exactly does Li Qi want to know? Could it be the specific method by which the earth dragon can create clones?

That's overthinking it. That's someone else's secret Secret Method; how could Guo Penghai possibly know it?

Li Qi knew this in his heart, and understood that he wouldn't get anything out of him by asking any more questions, so he nodded. "Thank you, Brother Guo. This is already a lot, and it has been a great help to me!"

Guo Penghai chuckled, "It's good that I can help you. When you taste the food later, you'll have to pay attention to it for me."

"Of course, definitely!" Li Qi readily agreed.

After that, it was the usual meal, small talk, then writing down thoughts and notes, and analyzing the plan for the Sea Cooking Pot.

After all that was done, it took less than half a Chen to finish.

Li Qi bid farewell to the Sea Cooking Pot and ignored everyone on the way, running all the way back to his home.

Once home, Li Qi began to make his plans.

This earthworm... oh no, it's a ground dragon.

The earth dragon wasn't completely dead yet, because it had the ability to create clones. Even though its body was cut up like that, its essence wasn't destroyed.

So, if we piece together the pieces of the earth dragon's body, could we revive him?

Even if you can't gather all the parts, you should be able to gather most of them, right?

So, when he awakens, will I be able to directly observe the process of the 'clone' merging into the 'main body'?

In this way, it's as if you've witnessed the moment of crossing that 'boundary'!

In this way, you can save yourself the time of exhaustive searching.

Li Qi thought it over and over and it seemed feasible, even if it meant taking some risks.

Because it's really important to him.

His personal microcosm is undergoing a transformation from the illusory to the real, from illusory qi to actual matter, and even to the construction of a real world.

So, if he grasps the secret of this boundary, he can actively accelerate or control this process, which will greatly benefit his consolidation of his seventh-rank strength and his subsequent development at the seventh rank.

Li Qi even felt that this might be something he needed to study in depth throughout the entire seventh rank, and that he should start building his foundation in the seventh rank from this direction.

Now that you've made up your mind, go for it.

Li Qi wasn't one to procrastinate; he immediately decided to piece together the pieces of the earth dragon's corpse.

Let's start with those forty-nine desks... no, forty-nine grottoes!

How can we put these desks together? We can't physically put them together, and we can't ask the Imperial Academy to help us put them together, since these are public property and they won't approve it.

They couldn't even tell the Imperial Academy about this.

Because this is their own foundation.

If this matter is told to the Imperial Academy, it would be equivalent to the fact that Human Path knows that the foundation of one's seventh rank is this 'limit'.

That's far too dangerous, practically suicide, so you have to do it secretly by yourself and not tell anyone else.

Therefore... we need to understand the nature of those grotto-heavens first, and then figure out a way to fight for them.

Understanding the nature...

Um...

Yes.

Isn't this a lesson in Military School?

If we can use challenges, exams, or friendly exchanges as pretexts to get the teacher's permission to enter different grottoes, then everything will be fine, right? We can then actually learn about the nature of these grottoes.

After gaining a better understanding, you can then slowly consider how to piece it together. Only by doing things step by step can you possibly complete it.

Li Qi made the arrangements and choices, and immediately decided to do it this way.

So he didn't try to exhaustively search for answers that night, and instead went to bed early.

The next day, he went to see Liu Shenzhi first.

Tell this young master of the Liu family that the research and development of the Witchcraft Silkworm can be restarted; Li Qi Qiteng has made his move.

After all, Li Qi decided to temporarily abandon the exhaustive search, so the extra energy could be focused on this.

Liu Shenzhi was overjoyed and immediately said that he could restart it right away, and that he would be ready to start whenever Li Qi arrived.

After saying goodbye to Liu Shenzhi, Li Qi resumed his regular classes.

Of course, only compulsory courses and Military School courses are taught.

The compulsory courses are those scriptures.

We'll talk about the other courses later... we can catch up on them slowly.

After freeing up enough energy, he spent the whole day preparing, ready to shine in the Military School class.

You have to beat up your deskmate first before you can have a reason to challenge other students.

That was his preparation.

One by one, I challenged all the students who were practicing Military School strategy.

Because this challenge is comprehensive, Military School need to survey the terrain and even measure the feng shui. Li Qi could also use the excuse that he has the methods of Shaman to gain a strategic advantage.

In this way, he can carefully survey every nook and cranny in every desk and obtain all the data!

With detailed data, it becomes much easier to devise a plan on how to piece things together.

Thinking about all this, Li Qi pushed open the classroom door in the evening.

Unlike his usual hurried and deadpan expression, Li Qi wore a bright smile today and sat down next to Li Lieqi.

That expression sent a chill down Li Lieqi, even though he was already annoyed.

Her martial artist's sixth sense told her that something bad was about to happen.

Nothing should happen... right?

This is the Imperial Academy.

Regardless of those things, Li Qi quickly stepped forward and said, "Li Lieqi, starting today, shouldn't we be learning how to fight between two armies?"

As he spoke, Li Qi even rubbed his hands together, looking as if he couldn't wait.

"Yes... After the march is over, the two armies will begin to clash. What's going on?" Li Lieqi said warily, looking Li Qi up and down.

Seeing this man's appearance, Li Lieqi was no longer angry, but rather somewhat surprised and uncertain.

What happened?

Li Qi used to always have this "I'm so busy" look on his face, acting like he was just taking time out of his busy schedule to play along with you guys.

How could they show such a true color after only one day?

"That's good. Actually, I've always felt that the previous training was too boring. I've had some experience with it, but I've never actually used it in real combat. Today, I can finally have a real battle." Li Qi said with an excited but warm smile.

Upon hearing this, the other students, including Li Lieqi, all nodded in agreement.

That makes sense.

Li Qi's previous good grades were because he was very familiar with this method, which is why he was uninterested but still achieved excellent results.

The current live-fire exercises were completely new and unfamiliar to him, which explains why he suddenly became excited.

Everything happened so naturally.

Li Lieqi understood this point, and said, "I see. So, will you stay here today to review and practice, and share your knowledge?"

"Of course, I've finished all the things I was busy with the past few days, and now I can fully devote myself to the Military School course," Li Qi said immediately.

Hearing this Li Lieqi's anger subsided considerably.

Since the other party had their reasons, it was inappropriate to blame them. A few days' delay was nothing, as long as things could proceed normally afterward, that would be fine.

The two parties agreed.

Then, class began.

After class started, the teacher launched into another round of rote learning.

For struggling students, this kind of cramming instruction is basically useless. They can't digest what they hear anyway, and they'll forget it all in a few days. They just can't learn it.

However, for students like those at the Imperial Academy, whose academic quality is exceptionally high, this type of school is actually the most suitable.

Everyone here is smart; you don't need to explain things slowly. Just be direct and the students can go and study it themselves.

The cramming is over.

The march was almost over. Although it was supposed to last three days, everyone's skill level was high enough to complete such a march in one day, so in reality, no one gained much of an advantage.

Upon entering the cave, each person arranged their troops and formations.

A direct confrontation is imminent.

Li Lieqi was very confident. As someone who had managed to get the lowest grade in the test, she was not going to lose to a novice on the battlefield.

After a class.

She stared wide-eyed in bewilderment.

How did she lose?