'Gentleman'

"Who is it!?" The seventh-rank merman immediately realized what was happening and decisively stood up!

But Li Qi revealed himself directly, stepped forward, and asked in confusion, "The Bai Zhu family... relies on this to produce Mother Clam?"

At the same time, he also revealed his most imposing form.

"Who are you? This is the Bai Zhu family's secret territory. Unauthorized entry... may cause misunderstandings." The seventh-rank merman was originally prepared to take action directly, but when he was about to actually fight, he decisively chose to back down.

The person before them easily broke through the Pearl Formation and strolled here leisurely...

This seventh-rank merman could only say that he absolutely could not do it, and... the hope of doing so within his lifetime was also slim.

This formation was personally crafted by a master formation expert from his Lineage, and he couldn't even understand it. Yet this person in front of him... could break it with ease.

If he were to make a move rashly, the other party would definitely be able to easily suppress him, and... he could sense the aura emanating from this person.

An indescribable sense of oppression, like some kind of all-consuming void, made the shadows around him seem to twist and writhe.

Even though they were both seventh-rank, he believed that the other party could kill him in an instant, and he would not have any chance to react.

The Demonic Path!

This is absolutely and completely demonic energy, and it is extremely Higher Vehicle demonic energy with an unimaginable purity.

If Li Qi were to use an analogy, if ordinary demonic energy were coffee beans, then the demonic energy surrounding him would be caffeine crystals after processing and purification.

One can only bring pleasure, while the other can directly destroy a living organism's nervous system.

This is the result after the demonic energy has been removed by the Witch God. If the demonic energy that the Heavenly Demon directly poured in back then were used, Li Qi's purity would be so high that it would be indescribable and incomprehensible. The Heavenly Demon's demonic energy could even completely distort reality and create a new life form.

In fact, they did achieve that.

However, this seventh-rank merman wondered why such a demon would seek him out.

Li Qi ignored all that. He simply gradually withdrew the demonic energy he had created around him and walked to a distance of two zhang from the seventh-rank merman.

Only then did the seventh-rank merman finally see Li Qi's face through the veil of demonic energy.

His pupils contracted, and his body stiffened slightly.

"What? You recognize me?" Li Qi said with a smile.

"Your Excellency... Your Excellency—" The seventh-rank merman looked nervous and stammered.

I definitely recognized him.

This is the outsider that the gentleman offered as a reward to draw his attention to.

But... the gentleman said he was Shaman, but he never said it was a demonic path.

"Hmm, it seems to be true. The Flood Dragon arranged for the Bai Zhu family to spy on me? So... Baizhu Zhaoyue knows me, but she's very good at hiding it. Your Lineage's younger generation has much better acting skills than you." Li Qi said lightly.

As he spoke, he had already reached the center of the mansion, where the Flood Dragon scales were located.

Li Qi compared the auras.

That's right, it's that Flood Dragon that used a mirage to deceive itself.

So... the reason why the other party used a mirage to confuse them is also obvious.

My arrival at this East Isle was essentially guided by the mirage, because the algorithm I obtained pointed directly to this East Isle. The Flood Dragon has power here, but that might not be the case on other East Isle.

If you let yourself wander aimlessly in the East China Sea, you might not be able to reach Dongyu East Isle.

"Hmm... the Flood Dragon's purpose, and the Bai Zhu family..." Li Qi pondered for a moment, then looked at the scale.

The Mother Clam of Baizhu's family appears to have been formed by the Dragon Qi.

The Dragon Qi was extracted from this dragon scale and, with the help of this formation, is being transmitted to some smaller pearl oysters.

These pearl oysters, controlled by this special formation, have forcibly absorbed Dragon Qi and are now...

This formation is quite strange. Li Qi couldn't understand the principle behind it, but it seemed to be manipulating the Mother Clam's body and inducing Mother Clam 'mutation'. What a wonderful method!

I don't know how to describe it, is it a mutation, or 'evolution'?

The Flood Dragon 'Dragon Qi is stimulating these Mother Clam, forcibly growing them into' Mother Clam ', but this is obviously not a good thing for the Mother Clam.

The inner world of the Mother Clam seemed to have developed cracks due to this growth, and her Dao Path was also distorted, and her lifespan was drastically shortened. Although she was forcibly promoted to the eighth rank, each Mother Clam only had less than ten years left to live.

Under normal circumstances, these pearl oysters can live for hundreds of years. If they can cultivate themselves to the eighth rank, they can easily live for hundreds of years.

Moreover... just like the Mother Clam outside, the Mother Clam here were also immersed in the illusion. This species is not very intelligent to begin with. Unless they can improve their rank, their thinking ability is very average. So they were completely captivated by the illusion and did not feel anything was wrong. They will probably spend their lives in a daze.

Is this the Bai family's method? And is it a method permitted under the Way of Evolution?

But thinking about it carefully, it's true.

The Way of Evolution... perhaps it is to have no scruples whatsoever, and to survive, and to survive better.

On many Dao Path, survival is not the goal.

For example, in martial arts, in order to uphold the spirit of martial arts, one should throw a punch at a stronger opponent, even at the cost of death. If one flees in the face of battle, the result may be the collapse of one's Dao heart.

But the Way of Evolution will never lead to such an outcome. Natural evolution is about adaptation, adapting to everything, whether it's being adapted as food or as a predator, it doesn't matter.

Pearl oysters are not smart; they will never realize there is anything wrong with them in their entire lives. But what would they think if their cultivation improved, their souls grew stronger, and their thinking organs gradually shifted from the brain to the souls, and their souls began to take over their consciousness and thinking abilities?

They are following their biological instincts and continuing to lie around and do nothing. After all, the illusion must be wonderful, and living may not be as wonderful as the illusion for them.

Or... give full play to our initiative?

Li Qi suddenly had an inspiration: the Way of Evolution... is it passive evolution, or is it an active struggle?

He felt that only a few pearl oysters would rebel, because reality was far more cruel than illusion.

If we follow this line of thought, then subjective consciousness is involved here—

Thinking of this, Li Qi suddenly shook his head.

He realized that he hadn't come to find a way to break through; he had come to investigate clues.

Enlightenment, or finding a breakthrough opportunity in a certain method, is something that others need to grasp firmly, and may only happen once in a lifetime, but for Li Qi, he is used to it.

This kind of thing is quite common for him, and not unusual.

However, since this matter concerned the Way of Evolution, he briefly noted down the meaning of this inspiration and then put it out of his mind.

We can think about this later.

Let's get down to business first.

But the seventh-rank merman noticed that the terrifying demon in front of him suddenly started to daze, and after a few seconds shook his head, as if he was fighting against some distracting thought.

I've heard that demonic cultivators are filled with demonic thoughts, which constantly backfire on them. Is he currently experiencing this backfire?

The mermaid was overjoyed and even considered making a runaway.

Unfortunately, the demon cleared his mind in just a few seconds, and his eyes regained their clarity.

This greatly disappointed him, but also made him even more hesitant to leave.

"What did that Flood Dragon want from you?" Li Qi asked softly, appearing very amiable.

"The gentleman only instructed us to keep an eye on you. We know nothing else. You should be able to see that there is no reason for us to be enemies. Moreover... although the Bai Zhu family is no match for you here, we are, after all, the local tyrants of the East China Sea coast, and we have a fourth-rank patriarch in our family. Please be mindful of your actions."

"Furthermore, although you are strong, you are only a seventh-rank official. You can certainly be high and mighty towards someone like me who is ignorant and only rose to the rank of seventh-rank through the power of pearls. But you, sir, are Flood Dragon about to cross the sea, a dignified fifth-rank official, and not someone you or I can afford to offend..."

The seventh-rank merman considered it carefully before speaking.

Since we can't beat them, we should at least try to see if we can scare them.

Li Qi shook his head. "As a fifth-rank official, if he dares to attack me, he's courting death. If we disciples of major sects are killed by someone of the same rank, we have only ourselves to blame. But if we are killed by someone of a higher rank, that's bullying the weak, and someone will come to take revenge."

Upon hearing this, the mermaid felt temporarily at ease.

Okay, now you don't have to worry about his safety. He's not a hothead; he knows the rules.

In a place like this, the difference between having connections and not having connections lies here.

Bullying the weak is likely to invite retaliation. No one wants their junior to be killed before they've even grown up. If it's a fight between peers and the one who's less skilled is fine, that's one thing. But if a higher-ranking person kills a lower-ranking one, then you'd better prepare to face the elders of other sects.

Moreover, there might even be such a thing as a protector.

Of course, if the younger generation is deliberately provoking you and doesn't know what's good for them, then punishing them won't cause any problems.

But now... it's obvious that the Flood Dragon made the first move, arranging a group of attacks on Li Qi, so Li Qi isn't afraid that it will take the initiative to attack.

The seventh-rank merman relaxed, knowing that the other party would not kill him so easily. So he said, "In that case... have you heard of the name 'Gentleman'?"

"I came all this way just to ask you this, didn't I? Tell me, it was all my doing, it has nothing to do with you." Li Qi found a place to sit down and said while observing the process of the pearl oysters being matured by the Dragon Qi.

Learning is very important. It's like Discussing the Dao between two people. If you can truly refute the other person based on your own understanding, you will definitely be able to create corresponding Technique Method to defeat them based on that understanding. Therefore, daily accumulation is extremely important.

Since all living things make this choice, is it possible that this method could be applied to the Witchcraft Silkworm?

If Dragon Qi can mutate and induce the evolution of the Witchcraft Silkworm, even if the lifespan of a brood of Witchcraft Silkworm is reduced from more than ten years to half a year, or even two or three months, it can make the Witchcraft Silkworm much stronger, right?

If Li Qi's Witchcraft Silkworm breaks through from the Subordinate Seventh Rank to the sixth rank, it means that Li Qi's Witchcraft Silkworm has successfully overcome the plan to mass-produce sixth-rank Law Treasure.

Dragon Qi has no effect on the Law Treasure assembly line because the Law Treasure assembly line is an inanimate object.

But the Witchcraft Silkworm is a living insect, only it has no brain and no soul...

Li Qi listened to the merman's words while deep in thought.

The seventh-rank merman relaxed considerably and said, "Thank you for your understanding. Then I will speak frankly..."

"This gentleman, whose name is Tianhong Jun, is known as a gentleman. He has a volatile temper and is notorious in the surrounding waters. As a fifth-rank Flood Dragon, he is about to set sail—"

The seventh-rank merman began to tell Li Qi about the information regarding the Flood Dragon.

It turns out that this Flood Dragon is named Tianhong Jun, and it is a household name in the vicinity of East Isle.

The reason is simple: Tianhong Jun acts rashly, acts entirely on impulse, and doesn't think much, so he often does things that only a fool would do.

These tasks include some thankless ones, such as digging waterways. Although the benefits are long-term, the current construction is hindering the movement of East Isle. East Isle cannot create ocean currents by moving, which changes the ocean currents and causes a lot of complaints. Nobody is happy about it.

For example, he personally opened the sea for a snail maiden who refused to be enslaved and was forced to escape. Apart from the snail maiden, everyone complained that he made a mountain out of a molehill. Given his status, he could have just said something. Why did he have to personally cause the sea to churn and even stun the giant whales near East Isle?

On another occasion, a friend of his encountered a cataclysmic disaster during the collapse of a high-grade world in the outer realms. He lost most of his Law Treasure while trying to escape, and was also being hunted by his enemies. He had no choice but to seek refuge with him.

He not only generously gave away his money to help his friend make a comeback, but also joined forces with him to eliminate their enemies, all without asking for anything in return.

But...

On several occasions, simply because he was woken up from his sleep, he would eat alive innocent members of the street's drum and gong troupe.

There have been times when he had a happy occasion, held a banquet, and feasted with others, and a funeral procession passed by his door, and he buried all the people in the funeral procession together with them.

It's hard to tell what kind of person he is. Sometimes he's charitable and generous, with a sense that money can be returned even after it's spent. But if you anger him, he'll kill without hesitation, acting recklessly and entirely based on his mood.

Because of this personality, some people gave him the title of "gentleman," though it's unclear whether it was meant as mockery or praise.

However, Benlong quite liked this and would refer to himself as a gentleman whenever he met someone. As a result, he was called a 'gentleman' by many people.

Li Qi listened to Tianhong Jun's introduction.

Um...

In other words, he is, at least on the surface, a very straightforward person. He wears his heart on his sleeve and expresses everything he feels, whether it is anger or good intentions.

So... would he target someone he doesn't know?

The probability is very low, right?

In other words, is someone behind this?

The person who gave the instructions was fishing.

He's definitely fishing; this is bait—the people of Reason Way and the spiritual realm along the way, and the evolutionary method of the Witchcraft Silkworm before him.

Who is my enemy?

Or rather, it's not an enemy, but a true dragon?

That's when things really get interesting.

Li Qi's goal in coming to the East China Sea was to catch a real dragon.

I feel like I won't be able to have a good New Year if I lose a lot of orders.