Return to Chang'an

Li Qi was stunned.

But Yang Ning had already left.

Li Qi was stunned for so long that the mountain wall next to him, which had been damaged by the shockwave, collapsed and hit him.

Fortunately, it was just an ordinary object.

Li Qi now could chew on iron like a biscuit without any problem, and the impact of a mountain collapsing would only cause him to fall for a moment.

Coming to his senses, he immediately formed a hand Hand Seals, and his body was lifted up by a gust of wind, with the pebbles scattering around him and floating in the air.

Just now, he thought he heard something...

Has Yang Ning given in?

He saw a ghost, didn't he? No, for him now, ghosts are nothing.

This must be an evil spirit possessing them.

He was only stunned for a moment before he floated down and landed on the ground.

Let's continue planning for the Child of Destiny, and then take our time with the matter of dividing the worlds into separate groups outside the realm. There's no need to rush it for a year or two.

It has taken at least several decades just for Shen Shuibi to create the array. If she had encountered any difficulties, it could have taken hundreds of years. And this is considered fast.

This kind of large-scale formation has been around for over a thousand years, and there's not much to say about it.

Fortunately, I didn't have to do it myself; I just needed to memorize the principles and tell Shen Shuibi.

In fact, Mount Luofu itself should have such a formation diagram, but neither Shen Shuibi nor Yang Ning knew how to do it. Those who did... are probably all dead. As for the existing formation diagram itself, it should have already become spoils of war.

However, the most urgent task is to take advantage of this opportunity to expand our channels with the Tang Kingdom; this is a chance we can seize.

After all, Liu Donghe seemed to have been promoted because of the Heavenly Demon incident. Now, he has been promoted to the third rank by virtue of his official position, which can be considered Crimson and Purple Nobles. This connection cannot be abused, but it is also impossible not to use it.

After all, Liu Shenzhi's foundation for cultivation was already established through cooperation with Li Qi, and the karmic connection was already formed. Who could escape from this situation? Unless Liu Donghe simply abandoned his son.

But is it possible?

Therefore, the current production capacity of the Sacred Flame Realm is mainly supplied to the production line of the Witchcraft Silkworm.

Everything is arranged.

So, the next step is to arrange for Gaga to defeat the final enemy.

The Green Mountain God is the Pope of this world, the strongest seventh-rank being in this world. He is the last obstacle and the last omen for Gaga to fulfill his destiny.

To kill him, Gaga needs to experience some more adventures, acquire some treasures, and grow stronger.

Wait, what's going on?

While Li Qi was still planning how to arrange a fortuitous encounter for the Child of Destiny, he suddenly sensed a sharp Sword Qi!

The whole world is beginning to rejoice!

Li Qi could clearly feel the cheers of Heavenly Dao, the joy of fulfilling destiny!

Without thinking twice, Li Qi immediately got up and called for Yang Ning.

Yang Ning, who had just disappeared, immediately reappeared in front of Li Qi, grabbed him, and then vanished from the spot in an instant.

In a Sixth-Rank World, a fifth-grade cultivator can be considered to have 'teleportation', able to instantly move to almost any place.

So in just a few breaths, Li Qi arrived at the place where the Sword Qi was erupting.

Yang Ning also arrived here, and she looked at the center of the battlefield with surprise and astonishment.

There, a sharp, seventh-grade Sword Intent pierced the sky, raising a broken sword proudly towards the heavens.

At his feet lay a seventh-grade Sacred Flame Realm native, critically injured and on the verge of death.

That was the 'final challenge' that Li Qi had prepared for Gaga to deal with. Li Qi also planned to arrange some unexpected encounters so that Gaga could better cope with the opponent.

But now it seems that it is no longer necessary.

"Breakthrough in the heat of battle... How is that possible? How much foundation do you have? How long have you been cultivating?!" The seventh-rank follower of the Sacred Flame Tribe, a loyal follower of the Green Mountain God, roared loudly, his tone full of disbelief.

Gaga looked up at the sky and slowly sat down on the ground. "I just figured out one thing."

But instead of saying what it was about, he thrust his sword down, piercing the skull of his greatest enemy, his long-time nemesis, the lackey of the Green Mountain God, and the culprit who started this great war.

"Wow, that's amazing. I never expected you to break through at this stage, and even manage to kill the enemy commander outside of our plans. How did you do that?" Li Qi floated forward and asked curiously.

Although Yang Ning brought Li Qi here, she had no interest in getting involved in these matters, so she simply watched from a distance.

"Immortal... you arrived so quickly."

"As far as this world is concerned, I can appear anywhere at any time. You should be used to it by now. How does it feel to break through? It took me quite a while to get used to the extraordinary nature of my body." Li Qi said to Gaga as he walked among the piles of corpses of the Sacred Flame Tribe.

This is a battlefield, so it's only natural that corpses litter the ground.

But Gaga did not answer Li Qi's question. He simply said, "Immortal, I have the answer to your question."

"Oh? I'm all ears." Li Qi immediately became solemn and listened attentively.

This is about a person's understanding of their own 'Tao'. Even if he is a ninth-rank person, he should still be taken seriously, let alone Gaga, who is already a seventh-rank person.

Although he is the Child of Destiny, a seventh-rank cultivator forcibly bestowed upon him by the world, reaching this point is essentially the end of his Dao Path.

"The problem you mentioned, that thing called a car, always runs people over, but I can stop the car so no one will get hurt," Gaga said, barely managing to sit up.

"It's difficult. You can't stop all the cars. There will always be one that can overtake you, and you'll end up getting run over," Li Qi said, shaking his head.

There is no definitive answer to this kind of question, only one's own answer, but... the answer Gaga is giving is a bit too idealistic.

"I've already taken the first step," Gaga said.

Upon hearing this, Li Qi looked around.

The surrounding battlefield can be roughly divided into two parts: one is the army protecting the civilians, and the other is the main force. It seems that the enemy wants to intercept Gaga and prevent him from taking away people, so they split their forces into two groups to attack where he must defend.

This is a classic trolley problem.

Who should we save?

Should we protect the main force of the army, or protect the people?

The choice that Gaga faced at that time must have been very bitter.

However, that's why he came to this answer.

He took the initiative and acted alone, using his eighth-rank cultivation to launch a surprise attack on a seventh-rank opponent, breaking through in the heat of battle and killing him.

This achievement may have been exaggerated in many ways. For example, Gaga cultivated the most powerful methods in the world, while this seventh-rank cultivator was just a native who couldn't even achieve immortality. Or Gaga was the Child of Destiny, and the world would naturally favor him. But in any case, he did it.

This achievement even surprised Yang Ning, let alone others.

Even if Child of Destiny, doing this one thing is enough to prove many things.

"Then I wish you all the best on your Dao Path. Your answer... was actually not bad." Li Qi nodded.

There's no need for further explanation; Li Qi already knows Gaga's choice. Since that's the case, there's no need to say anything more.

However, if it were Li Qi, he felt he wouldn't make the same choice as Gaga.

Gaga's choice... is difficult.

He completely disregarded the 'big picture' that Li Qi had planned for him and chose the 'best outcome' through his own actions.

Like most people, everyone knows what the right path is, and everyone knows that studying hard, working hard, exercising, living a healthy life, and striving for progress are the right choices.

But very few people would choose that.

There's no other reason than that it's too difficult and too painful.

That's all.

For example, Li Qi decisively gave up martial arts.

However, there are always some people who don't believe in such things and want to try and see just how bitter and difficult it really is.

Let Gaga give it a try, after all, he has already taken the first step.

Li Qi could clearly see that Gaga's martial arts heart and his foundation of Dao were the answer.

It was because he obtained this answer that his foundation was laid, and with the world's relentless and frantic investment, he broke through to the seventh rank in battle.

He is admirable, but his future path will not be as easy as it is now.

The reason is simple: the reason he improved so quickly is because the world improved without regard to cost, and the seventh rank is the upper limit that the Sacred Flame Realm can infuse. The road ahead... he has to walk it on his own.

Li Qi noted down this answer. Since someone chose this option, there must be something to learn from it. Perhaps in the future, we can see the consequences of this answer in Gaga's ending.

"Then, from now on, you are the new Sacred King, Yang Ning. Let the people of Mount Luofu take over this place. You should have people who can talk to you properly, right?" Li Qi turned his head and looked at Yang Ning.

Yang Ning appeared in front of Li Qi in an instant and said in astonishment, "You want Mount Luofu to manage this place?"

"It's not management, it's liaison. Also, I remember saying that I wanted Mount Luofu to be involved in this matter. Otherwise, am I supposed to keep living here? I still have to go to school. I've been skipping classes for months, and I haven't been to school this semester." Li Qi shrugged.

Gaga, who was listening intently nearby, felt a chill run down her spine.

Is this immortal still in school?

"But you conquered this place." Yang Ning frowned.

"It was 'us,' and we didn't conquer it. We just helped the Sacred Flame Realm drive out the foreign enemies. Remember we just said that this is the new starting point of Mount Luofu, but not a stronghold."

"Alright, haha, this is Yang Ning. As for your ascension to the throne, that's up to you two to discuss. The order of this world depends on how you two negotiate. I'll be leaving now." Li Qi waved his hand and left.

Gaga's expression instantly turned serious. He knew what 'order' meant; it was something he had been pursuing for years.

Is it finally going to happen?

Yang Ning was left frowning, and after a few seconds, she sighed.

She wasn't stupid; she fully understood Li Qi's thoughts.

Well then, let's leave it at that. Perhaps Shen Shuibi is right; she was indeed worrying a bit too much.

The matter of the Sacred Flame Realm has come to an end, but it has also left Li Qi with a little bit of interest.

Did you choose the most difficult path...?

When Li Qi returned, he seemed to be deep in thought.

But in any case, everything has to develop gradually.

Li Qi returned to the Imperial Academy and continued to be a student. Time flows faster in the Sacred Flame Realm than in the rest of the world, so although Li Qi stayed in the Sacred Flame Realm for more than half a year, only three months Upper Heaven. Li Qi only missed one month of classes.

Moreover, skipping classes was commonplace for students at the Imperial Academy, so no one found it strange.

Bo Yu and Liu Shenzhi complained the most, saying that without Li Qi, many studies had to be temporarily put on hold.

Li Qi's True Knowledge Dao Charm is practically cheat code in research, directly analyzing the essence of a thing. Although the intensity of the analysis cannot be too great, and the so-called 'essence' must be understandable to others, these essences are perfectly fine at the current stage.

Does anyone not understand this?

Li Qi is not incapable of analyzing even seventh-grade matters, so with Li Qi around, progress can be made rapidly, just like being able to look at the answer key when doing homework.

You can see the material directly on the underwear, and you don't need to test it to know its properties. It's so convenient that once you use it, you won't want to leave.

Furthermore, the addition of Bo Yue has accelerated the progress at an alarming rate.

The reason is that it directly reduces research costs significantly.

Often, some experiments are 'probable to succeed' rather than guaranteed to succeed, and there is a possibility of errors. Sometimes, even extremely important materials must be tested, which may result in failure.

But all of this is nothing to Bo Yue.

Using the Demon Seed, he can easily steal knowledge from the cracks in time. The Time Shard created by the Demon Seed contain the real world. He can start over if he fails, and he can keep trying with a rare material until he succeeds.

Although this drained Bo Yue, causing his cultivation to decline and his spirit to weaken, it must be said that it was indeed very powerful.

As for Liu Shenzhi, he didn't have the mysterious abilities of the young masters of Wushen Mountain, but after all, Tang Kingdom was his hometown, and he had a father who was a third-rank official. The entire research facility was basically supplied by him. Various materials and necessary equipment could not be obtained by Li Qi and others, but with the help of Liu Donghe, these things could be easily accomplished.

With the three of them working together and having access to the entire world's supply of holy flames, their production capacity exploded a thousandfold after a period of accumulation.

Human Path principles played a significant role in this situation.

The people from Mount Luofu, including the Daoist priests, have now settled in the Sacred Flame Realm. They are responsible for collecting Sacred Flames from various sources, as well as local supplies, and then sending them to Li Qi.

At the same time, they also gained Granny Mei's approval and became Li Qi's assistants. With the help of these Daoist priests from Mount Luofu, Li Qi realized that some things were actually quite simple.

Production and sales involve many steps, from raw materials, manufacturing, sales, and liaison with various parties, all of which require people to handle. In the past, Li Qi handled all of these tasks himself, but now that the Daoists from Mount Luofu are here, these steps can be entrusted to them.

As for the final benefits, including those derived from the transformation of the Holy Flame and the price from the sale of the Witchcraft Silkworm, after deducting the portions given to Bo Yue and Liu Shenzhi, Li Qi gave the remaining portion that belonged to Li Qi to Mount Luofu.

He doesn't need these external things or the ways of Shaman; he only seeks within himself.

In this way, a virtuous cycle finally began.

The debts of the people of Mount Luofu have finally begun to lessen, rather than increase.

In this way, Li Qi gained the trust of Mount Luofu and was no longer seen as a 'lecherous man who came to steal a bride'.

Another day has come to an end.

Li Qi stretched and left Liu Shenzhi's courtyard, preparing to go home.

Just then, a voice sounded behind him:

"Son-in-law."