An Abrupt Visit

One night passed.

Li Qi and Shen Shuibi were so engrossed in their conversation that they wished they could jump back in time a few months and go back to pet the rabbit fur.

While touching it, you can also do other things.

It's a pity you can't touch it. Talking through the screen is fine, but you can't reach out your hand.

Li Qi had a sleepless night.

I tossed and turned, finding it hard to fall asleep.

Fortunately, he doesn't mind not sleeping for a long time, and his energy won't be affected in a short period of time.

This "short period" could be several decades. After several decades without sleep, he would probably feel tired and start to be affected by fatigue.

After lying there all night, Li Qi went to work and school as usual the next day.

No matter how grand the plan, in the end, we still have to take it one step at a time and do it step by step.

From then on, Li Qi studied and worked diligently every day.

Aside from calling Rabbit at fixed times to catch up on their relationship, and occasionally chatting with his fellow disciples from Wushen Mountain about their experiences in the Tang Kingdom, nothing else strange or unusual happened.

Li Qi experienced the most peaceful period of his cultivation journey.

Sure enough, time at school is stable and always seems to fly by.

In the blink of an eye, more than four months have passed.

During these four months, Li Qi lived a typical life of going back and forth between home, work, and school, but his progress was also very obvious.

Daily learning and reinforcement bring about direct changes to the microcosm of one's being.

He went from being a beginner in the seventh rank to finally stabilizing his cultivation level at the beginner level of the seventh rank.

His body no longer suffered from various internal friction problems due to the surge in his cultivation level. From now on, he can be considered a true seventh-rank cultivator, able to act recklessly without worrying about sudden internal Dao struggles causing him to explode.

It wasn't actually that difficult to do exactly how.

Within Li Qi's body, there existed three major Dao Path: Human, Witch, and Dao, which together dominated his microcosm. Among them, the Shaman Path held an absolute advantage, and the entire foundation was built upon the Shaman Path, while the other two existed merely as a supplementary element.

Therefore, his outward appearance and Divine Ability are actually based on Shaman Path. To others, he is a practitioner of Shaman Path. The Human Path within him can only be said to exist more as a 'hidden danger' than as part of his cultivation.

Now, after learning within the Human Path System, the Human Path and Shaman Path within Li Qi's body can finally coexist harmoniously, becoming components of his cultivation.

The method Li Qi chose was the method of Military School strategy.

Integrating the chaotic Human Path within the body and then reshaping it using the methods of Human Path Military School, although it is equivalent to cultivating both, it is still barely compatible in essence.

From this point on, Li Qi could officially call himself a Military School strategist.

After receiving systematic guidance from the Ranger General at the Imperial Academy, he had become a professionally trained Military School strategist.

He can also condense Soldier's Qi, Military School Divine Ability, and regulate the energy within his body using military law.

After doing this, the impact of Human Path on Shaman Path was greatly reduced.

Compared to Confucianism, which frequently discusses the great principles of heaven and earth and how the world "should be," the influence of Military School in this regard is much smaller. Therefore, they do not challenge the original territory of the Shaman Path, nor do they seize the Shaman Path's ultimate right to interpret the microcosm of the human body.

If Li Qi were to practice Confucianism, then he would have to explain whether 'sacrifice' should be performed by humans or by shamans.

This question could make him expose himself.

This is also the reason why he chose the Military School.

The Military School is a very pragmatic Dao Lineage, which makes it easier to control the metaphysical and abstract aspects. Furthermore, the incorporation of Daoist thought has allowed Li Qi to thoroughly solidify his cultivation.

He can now also use

As for Daoist thought, Li Qi subtly and gradually permeated his entire being, using it for harmonization.

However, this also allowed Li Qi to practice some Daoist Sorcery, such as the most basic Five Elements Technique and breathing techniques, so that he could pretend to be a Daoist of about the eighth rank. People below the seventh rank probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

This is a change in his cultivation level.

In addition, the concept of boundaries in Military School strategy is not just in its rudimentary form, but has developed into a complete framework.

The students of the Imperial Academy, including Li Lieqi, worked together with Li Qi, and the class finally managed to create the basic framework of this method.

There is still room for optimization, but this is no longer just an idea. It has become a Military School strategy that can be copied, taught to others, and reproduced by anyone who learns it.

We haven't decided on a specific name yet, but overall it's already showing great potential.

The Soldier's Qi generated through this method is not affected by battle formations, but rather focuses on the unity of the people.

Instead of using individuals as the basic unit to build Soldier's Qi, small groups are now the basic unit.

In this way, individuals become less important, and as long as these small groups do not experience large-scale collapses, Soldier's Qi will not be affected.

In other words, as long as this method is used in the military, flexibility can be greatly improved, allowing for wave-like assaults, with small teams collectively leading infiltration and attack operations.

These charging squads also benefit from the protection of Soldier's Qi, greatly enhancing their survivability, lethality, and mobility.

Instead of the previous practice of having to arrange troops in formation and rigidly arrange positions according to the formation.

With roughly equal combat strength on both sides, one side can move around freely while the other can only stand still and deal with the situation, giving them a significant advantage.

This also proves that Li Qi's victory over Li Lieqi was essentially due to his superior Divine Ability, rather than his superior military strategy.

But it doesn't matter anymore, a win is a win.

Now, thanks to the combined efforts of these students and Li Qi, everyone has mastered this even more powerful method, which will greatly benefit their future Military School careers, paving a wider path for them.

Everyone was very happy, and Li Qi's relationship with these classmates naturally became more familiar. Even the deadpan Ranger General has been smiling at them frequently lately.

Presumably because they did a really good job, their cultivation levels improved by leaps and bounds, and four months later, everyone received an A grade in the test.

Moreover, Li Lieqi was the only one in the class to receive a Class A ranking.

She saw this as a sign that she had won over Li Qi, and was smug, believing that she had finally avenged herself. Her attitude towards Li Qi improved a lot.

Li Qi was also impressed, because he really didn't hold back and managed to get into the top class by going all out.

Unfortunately, he only devoted less than 10% of his energy to studying military strategy; most of his energy was focused on surveying the caves and developing the Witchcraft Silkworm.

As for military strategy... I can think about it in my spare time, but I don't make a living from it. As long as I can follow the fundamental principles of Military School, that's enough. At most, I might study Divine Ability of Military School.

What's the point of studying military strategy? He doesn't command large armies in battle.

That's pretty much the situation in the class.

Furthermore, Li Qi's exploration of the cave is nearly 80% complete.

There are a total of forty-nine grottoes, and thirty-nine have already been surveyed, so it's almost complete.

This is very complicated because it involves not only the terrain, but also the earth's veins, water veins, and even some more mysterious and esoteric things.

The difficulty is roughly equivalent to taking the Earth apart, making a mess of it, and then, after several hundred years, asking you to put the Earth back together as it was hundreds of years ago. If you put it back together incorrectly, it's useless.

If that's not intuitive enough, you can think of it as plate tectonics. The continents on Earth today are the result of plate tectonics drifting after the original supercontinent Pangaea tore apart.

Now I'll show you what the Earth's continents look like, and I'll ask you to piece together the supercontinent Pangaea back together, and you can't make a single mistake. Every coastline, every mountain range, every river channel must match perfectly; if you're wrong, it's useless.

Even Li Qi was at a loss when it came to this. He could only try his best to gather current information, deduce past information, and finally attempt to reconstruct the original appearance before proceeding with the jigsaw puzzle.

To be honest... this is also an 'impossible thing'. Li Qi predicts that it is unlikely to be completed in a short period of time. It is necessary to break it down into small tasks and proceed slowly.

Next, there was the matter of the Witchcraft Silkworm.

The progress of the Witchcraft Silkworm was not so rapid. Li Qi and Liu Shenzhi's progress was stuck at the upper limit of three nests of Witchcraft Silkworm, and no matter how hard they tried, they could not make them go any further.

Of course, besides the two people running out of inspiration, another important reason behind the stagnation of this research was that the sacred flame that Li Qi brought back had run out.

Holy Flame possesses higher activity and stronger activation ability than the remnant souls of Demon Beast, so all research on enhancement is based on Holy Flame.

However, the number of Holy Flames that Li Qi brought back from the Sacred Flame Realm was limited. In the past few months, Li Qi only had some Holy Flames left as samples.

He was planning to use these samples for marketing. If he met the right person, he could say that he had something called Holy Flame. There are thousands of things called Holy Flame in the myriad worlds, so who knows what Li Qi was talking about?

So the samples definitely need to be kept, just in case.

Therefore, the research there was temporarily put on hold. Anyway, no matter how hard everyone racked their brains, they couldn't come up with any good ideas, and even if they did, they didn't have enough equipment to do it.

There was nothing he could do. Li Qi could only tell Liu Shenzhi that he would take Liu Shenzhi to the Sacred Flame Realm in a few months when he had a holiday, and then there would be enough Holy Flame to collect.

Liu Shenzhi had no choice; he couldn't fly over to get it anyway, so this was the only option.

He wanted to skip class and go directly, but Li Qi had a lot of things to do here, so he couldn't skip class and could only wait for the natural holiday to start.

In summary, these have been four months of steady but rapid progress.

It was another ordinary day. Li Qi got up, washed, changed his clothes, and prepared to go to school as usual.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Li Qi's expression darkened.

He did not sense anyone outside the door, meaning that the visitor was beyond his perception capabilities.

Who is it?

This is Chang'an, nothing should happen here, right?

He became secretly alert, prepared himself, and then replied, "Who is it? Coming right away."

As he spoke, he walked to the door and opened it.

But then they saw a dashing-looking man standing at the door.

He wore black boots and a black robe, had a small crown and long hair, and a box hanging at his waist containing a three-foot-long white silk ribbon. Behind him was a heavy aura, flowing like Mount Tai pressing down on him.

His clothes were embroidered with a dark gold tiger. He was tall, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes. He wasn't exactly handsome, but he gave off a very calm and trustworthy feeling.

Beside him stood a black greyhound, its tongue lolling out.

His cold gaze startled like lightning, his majestic figure left an indelible mark; one look was enough to tell he was no ordinary man.

"May I ask who you are?" Li Qi asked the imposing man before him, bowing respectfully.

"My name is Wan Wuheng. I am a thief apprehended by the Dali Temple. I was ordered to investigate the matter of the Heavenly Demon entering the capital. Now the clues have led to you, young master, and I have come here specifically to inquire. Please forgive me, young master." He said, cupping his hands and showing his token.

His basic information was displayed on the token.

Name: Wan Wuheng.

Position: Thief catcher.

Rank: Sixth Rank (equivalent to Subordinate Sixth Rank Ceremony)

The token contains only this much information, along with a peculiar fluctuation, similar to... an anti-counterfeiting certificate?

Li Qi didn't think the other person was faking it.

He knew that there was indeed such a group of people.

The position of "thief suppressant" hired by the Dali Temple has no official rank, but the Dali Temple relies heavily on these hired personnel, most of whom are highly skilled and can act independently.

In other words, it's about 'getting a license to do dirty work'—legally killing people and legally using illegal means, provided, of course, that it doesn't go too far.

Even the Tang Kingdom had its shadows.

Things that are in the shadows are best dealt with in the shadows.

In order for the majority of 'ordinary people' living in the sunlight to freely enjoy a safe life, there must be a group of people who go deep into the shadows and nip it in the bud before it spreads into the sunlight.

After realizing what was happening, Li Qi immediately cupped his hands in greeting and said, "So it's Wan Jidao. Please come in quickly."

"If you need to investigate anything, just ask. I, Li, will tell you everything I know without holding anything back. I will do my best to help Wan Jidao catch the criminal organization that is causing trouble in Chang'an."

Li Qi said with absolute certainty.

Wan Wuheng smiled, shook his head, and then said, "Young master, there's no need for such formality. I'm just here to inquire about some simple matters. May I ask if you've encountered anything related to the Heavenly Demon recently?"

"No, the Heavenly Demon hasn't shown itself since last time," Li Qi immediately replied.

In his memory, it was the same. Ever since the incident in Chang'an, it seemed that the Heavenly Demon had completely forgotten about this place and had not made any further moves.

"Is that so? Then it seems the intelligence is accurate, and the young master has indeed suffered greatly." Wan Wuheng sighed, "The young master's elder, an unknown great shaman, informed the Dali Temple that there is a Heavenly Demonic Dao Charm in the young master's body."

"Huh?" Li Qi was taken aback.

"That great shaman frankly said that he had already sensed something, but wanted the young master to realize it on his own. However, he found that the young master was getting deeper and deeper into it and probably couldn't extricate himself. So he sent us to take the young master away with this wisp of Daoist essence," Wan Wuheng said.

But Li Qi was dumbfounded.

Is that true?