Necessity

What's wrong with waiting a hundred years?

From Shen Shuibi's perspective, it's really not a big deal. The profits from this period have already planted seeds in Mount Luofu. There's no need to rush the rest; we can just take it slow.

A hundred years later, once the formation is complete, we will find an unclaimed cluster of worlds outside the realm and bring it back. Then we will begin mining resources. This method, though not quick, is safe and carries little risk.

But for Li Qi, it wasn't like that. He put his arm around Shen Shuibi's shoulder and said, "There's not much time left. Don't forget why I came to the Tang Kingdom in the first place."

"You came here as a hostage because of the Polaris Golden Core Method." Shen Shuibi asked, puzzled, "But what does this have to do with your trip to the East Sea?"

After Li Qi sat up straight, he began to speak seriously, "It is of great importance. The reason why the Polaris Golden Core Method is so important is because the Polaris Golden Core Method is one of the keys to the Dao Path of the Sun and Moon Path Dao Path. It can awaken the Sun Moon True Lead Cauldron. This matter must not be leaked, especially not to the people of Wushen Mountain."

"So I was faced with three paths: either I would sever my soul and erase my memories, or I would be killed by the Tang Kingdom, or I would simply come to Chang'an and be monitored. In the end, on my teacher's advice, I chose the third path and came to Chang'an."

Shen Shuibi listened quietly, waiting for Li Qi to explain his thoughts. She had always been a very good listener.

Li Qi looked at Shen Shuibi and said, "But there's a problem in Chang'an. I can't stay in Chang'an forever, so Mount Luofu can't just wait like this forever. The Sun Moon True Lead Cauldron and Lady Luofu will awaken sooner or later. This matter can't be left stuck here."

"But from Chang'an's perspective, they wouldn't want Mount Luofu to awaken. After all, the Human Emperor Sword personally took action, and a second-grade Law Treasure destroyed Mount Luofu. This grudge can't be resolved. So, I think if we continue to stay in Chang'an, the road ahead will definitely not be easy."

Shen Shuibi remained silent; the problem did indeed exist.

Ultimately, no matter how 'magnanimous' Chang'an may be now, the Tang Kingdom does not want Mount Luofu to continue to exist. The reason Mount Luofu is able to survive is because of the protection of Wushen Mountain.

But the protection of Wushen Mountain is not free...

Several second-rank Grand Wizards have already expressed great interest in the opportunity of the Sun and Moon Path, and their advancement will not be hindered by other powerful beings.

Therefore, Mount Luofu has only two chances of survival.

One option is to get away quickly, taking advantage of the fact that no one is paying attention and finding an opportunity immediately.

The second option is to continue lying low. This lying low will probably not be something that can be resolved in three to five hundred thousand years. At least it will have to wait until everyone thinks that the Sun Moon True Lead Cauldron cannot be revived and there is no chance, and then they will relax their vigilance. Only then will there be a chance.

If we don't look for a solution at these two opportune moments, then we should give Wushen Mountain and the Tang Kingdom time, giving them a little chance to eliminate other competitors.

It should be noted that the Tang Kingdom and Wushen Mountain are still working together to repel other forces that are trying to seize the Sun Moon True Lead Cauldron, and they are also negotiating internally.

During this period, Li Qi was actually the safest.

With external forces eyeing Li Qi, Wushen Mountain was unwilling to abandon Li Qi, and Tang Kingdom had no choice but to protect him; otherwise, the joint plan with Wushen Mountain to eliminate the threat might be shattered.

With everyone watching, it becomes increasingly difficult to make a move.

Therefore, Li Qi's move was threefold.

Foolish people might think he's foolishly trying to sell Witchcraft Silkworm, but someone who thinks carefully might realize he's a spy, and a deeper investigation might uncover the possibility that Li Qi is 'swindling'.

But only truly intelligent people, after obtaining sufficient intelligence, can see that he is there to stir up trouble.

He wants to take over the East China Sea, including the East China Sea that has already been affected by this war!

This is not impossible, because the East China Sea has already taken part in the conflict, with its war with the Tang Kingdom being the biggest clue, and... Li Qi's arrival will definitely reassure the East China Sea.

Because Wushen Mountain and Tang Kingdom are now working together, they are able to drive out other forces. However, if a young master from Wushen Mountain were to take over the East Sea, the situation of two tigers facing off would turn into a three-way battle.

Will we still be of one mind then?

With the involvement of numerous forces and the undercurrents of conflict, the vitality of Mount Luofu will finally emerge amidst this turbulent situation.

This was Li Qi's plan.

The purpose of this journey to the East Sea is to give the true dragons a reason and an opportunity to begin vying for control of the sun and moon.

Do you know where the sun rises from, since it rises in the east and sets in the west?

Ah, the land of the Far East, the legendary Tang Valley.

Ancient books say, "There is Fusang in Tang Valley, where the Ten Suns bathe. It is located north of Heichi, in the water, and has a large tree."

A large tree in the water, the place where the sun rises.

The East China Sea is where the sun rises; wouldn't they covet the Sun and Moon Path?

Therefore, Li Qi's idea is feasible. His identity does allow him to do this, and it is risk-free, requires no investment, can quickly expand production capacity, and can find a breakthrough for Mount Luofu.

However, there is still one problem.

After understanding Li Qi's meaning, Shen Shuibi looked worried and grasped Li Qi's hand. "Li Qi, can you represent Wushen Mountain... If not..."

The rabbit didn't continue speaking.

If not, then it means that Li Qi made a decision on his own, using the name of the mountain sect to participate in such an important matter, and even privately taking sides, thus plunging Wushen Mountain into a vortex of struggle and affecting the overall situation.

Will Li Qi be able to withstand it by then?

It should be understood that what Li Qi was trying to do was to privately represent Wushen Mountain and introduce a third-party force, which was tantamount to Wushen Mountain and the Tang Kingdom suffering a silent loss.

This is what truly caused great damage to Li Qi.

"Don't worry, when that time comes... I believe the teacher will definitely stand up for me." Li Qi spread his hands and said with a smile.

His smile seemed somewhat forced.

To be honest, this is the source of Li Qi's confidence.

He never doubted this.

Zhu Fengdan will definitely stand up for him; there's no doubt about that.

Moreover, Teacher Zhu himself has done this kind of thing quite often, so he is quite familiar with it. This can be considered as inheriting the fine tradition of his teacher's school.

Of course, that's just to comfort myself; the risks of this situation are obvious at a glance.

After hearing this, Shen Shuibi paused for a moment, then said, "We owe Dazhu Great Shaman. If there is an opportunity in the future, we will do anything for him, even at the cost of our lives."

Then, she hugged Li Qi, rested her head on his shoulder, and said, "I owe you so much too..."

She knew why Li Qi did these things, and she also knew what responsibilities Li Qi was shouldering.

Although there is no so-called 'risk' at present, all of this will come at a price in the future.

Li Qi laughed and said, "We are husband and wife, we are one, how can there be any debts? If something happened to me, would you stand idly by? There's no need to say such things."

"Then I'll go to the East China Sea with you," Shen Shuibi said.

"..." Li Qi frowned slightly and did not reply immediately.

He thought for a moment and said, "Your going won't help. I'm safer going alone. If you go with me, it will only increase our worries. After all, they won't touch me. Even if they find out and arrest me, they'll just put me under house arrest and release me later. But you don't want that."

"Staying here and perfecting the formation is more important than anything else. After all, we will still need this formation for our next step. I have never seen any force that cannot establish itself in the outer realms."

Establishing a foothold outside the domain isn't just about conquering the world; it requires at least dragging a world cluster to an area that can be quickly reached, such as Golden Platform and Liesu.

Currently, a round trip to the Sacred Flame Realm takes more than seven days, which is too inefficient. If this world were moved to a location within the reach of the Golden Platform, such as next to Douxiu Six, a trip would only take a few Chen, which would be much more convenient.

To move the entire world group, such a large-scale formation would be needed to move it slowly.

It should be noted that the world group where the Sacred Flame Realm is located was originally very far away. The reason why it is only three days away from Douxiu Six is that the Sky Swallowing Demon Lord and the others spent a hundred years slowly dragging it over. They also wanted to place it within the range that Golden Platform could reach.

Shen Shuibi closed her eyes and remained silent for the time being.

Li Qi didn't say anything, and the two fell into silence.

After a while, the rabbit opened its eyes. "How long are you going to be gone this time?"

"I'll go after my studies are finished this year, during the holiday, and come back before the next class starts, which will take about three months," Li Qi said.

Three months is the three cycles of Taiyin's changes.

The moon, or Taiyin, is a celestial body that emits its own light. As a celestial body the same size as the sun and capable of emitting its own light, its changes do not depend on sunlight or the position of the earth, but are entirely self-transforming.

The waxing and waning of the moon are both changes of Taiyin itself, which formed the concept of the moon. This 'change' is also one of Taiyin's powers.

"Three months... Okay, then I'll wait for your news. Oh, by the way, here you go." Shen Shuibi said, handing over a small bag.

It's made of gauze, and the whole thing is silver-gray. There's not much decoration on it, but it feels nice to the touch and has a fresh scent.

"A sachet?" Li Qi took it and asked curiously, "What spices are used? This scent... it seems familiar..."

"I put some... hair from his back. Don't smell it. This isn't a sachet; it's a talisman." Shen Shuibi quickly Xia Li Qi's hand, which was trying to continue smelling the sachet, and then tied the talisman to his belt.

"This is not a sachet, so don't smell it. I've cast some Technique Method inside to protect you. For those below the fifth rank, it won't harm you in the slightest for a quarter of an hour. I don't know if that's enough, but it can't be any better."

Then, seemingly feeling somewhat undignified, she stood up and said, "I'm going to rest for a bit."

As she spoke, she shrank back and shrunk onto the bed.

She used a rather clever angle to cover her tail.

However, Li Qi could still clearly see that the fur on her back was intact.

Is the hair in this sachet really from the back?

Forget it, don't think about it, it's impolite.

The two temporarily ended their conversation; since they had already finalized what to do, there was no need to say anything more.

After that, Li Qi returned to his daily life.

The handover of the sacred flame, daily learning, preparing daily food reviews for the Sea Cooking Pot, research and development of the Witchcraft Silkworm, and occasionally handling after-sales or pre-sales inquiries.

His life gradually filled with peaceful study and work.

Of course, life with the rabbit was also very happy, nothing unexpected happened, and everyone was doing well.

Everything is peaceful and developing in an orderly manner.

Six months have passed.

Li Qi's wealth has also increased, although the growth is not fast due to the bottleneck, but he now controls six or seven Sixth-Rank World.

Of course, this is just a unit; in reality, all the resources he has are stored in the form of silver, but Li Qi doesn't just use silver and is looking for an opportunity to exchange them all for physical goods.

Silver... it's really mysterious. Li Qi couldn't convince himself to believe it, but Bo Yue and Liu Shenzhi seemed to have a lot of trust in silver. Bo Yue even said to Li Qi, "As long as the Tang Kingdom doesn't fall, are you worried that silver will become worthless? This is the foundation of a Minister of Personnel of the Imperial Secretariat."

Regardless, Li Qi still felt that the supplies he held were more trustworthy than ordinary equivalents.

Time passed, and at the end of the semester, Li Qi finally completed his Military School course.

Within the Imperial Academy.

In class, after the assessment, the silent, burly teacher announced the results, "Final result: Li Qi, A-level."

"Landy, B, go ahead."

"The Plague Lord, Jia Zhong."

"Li Lieqi, in armor."

"This is the last batch of assessments. Congratulations on mastering the Military School curriculum. From now on, you are qualified to lead troops. This is all that the school can teach you, but it's just the tip of the iceberg on the battlefield. However... I see that among you, apart from Li Lieqi, none of the others have any intention of leading troops. So let's just consider it as cultivating our character and strengthening our will."

"Well then, get out of class dismissed. You've already got your marks for this lesson."

After saying this, the fifth-rank teacher turned and left. The course was over, and there was no need for him to say anything more.

As for Li Qi, he stretched and prepared to leave.

But at that moment, the Plague Lord called out to Li Qi: "Brother Li, may you wait a moment?"

"Hmm? Plague Lord, what's wrong?" Li Qi turned his head and replied.

Plague Lord only attended the Military School course this year, and it was recommended by Li Qi.

The Military School's use of collective Soldier's Qi is similar to the collective power of the Plague Lord, which is a good way for him to learn. After all, strictly speaking, the Plague Lord himself is actually a large army with a unified mind.

That's why he readily accepted Li Qi's suggestion and became Li Qi's classmate.

"The courses for this year are over. How about we have a meal together in the cafeteria? Knowing your personality, it might be hard to see you again in the future," Plague Lord said with a smile.

Li Qi felt somewhat ashamed upon hearing this.

That's about it. He's usually very busy and has a lot of things to do, so he runs off as soon as get out of class is over and doesn't talk much with his classmates.

"Why do you say that, Plague Lord? How could I refuse an invitation from a classmate? Please, then." Li Qi wiped his sweat and readily agreed.

So, the group went to the cafeteria.

Li Qi, however, discovered—

It seems... the Plague Lord has something to say?