Secrets

Li Qi's answer is clearly correct.

The Human Emperor did indeed have such a situation.

As the absolute supreme being of Human Path, a first-rank official in this world, and every generation is a first-rank official, and he is also the ultimate fierce man with the first-rank official position of "Heavenly Policy General". The Human Emperor is definitely one of the most powerful and terrifying among the first-rank officials.

But this ultimate tough guy unexpectedly died young.

None of the emperors lived very long; in fact, it could be said that they might not have survived without Li Qi.

This situation directly led to the fact that even though the emperor was strong, he might still be 'uninformed', which is why the Hanlin Academy was established, with a group of scholars serving as the emperor's advisors and strategists.

The Hanlin Academy encompasses a wide range of subjects. It has been said before that "wherever the Hanlin Academy is located, there are scholars of literature and classics, as well as those skilled in divination, medicine, and arts. They are all housed in separate courtyards for those who wish to meet with the emperor. This place is where those from all over the country who are summoned for their arts and skills reside."

Their duty was to attend to the emperor and wait for a summons to immediately provide him with useful advice and their own knowledge.

The existence of the Hanlin Academy is tantamount to telling the whole world that the Emperor doesn't actually know much and that his lifespan is not long.

Because if the Emperor had a long enough lifespan, all of this would be unnecessary, and the Hanlin Academy would no longer have any meaning. The Emperor could master all skills on his own and become one of the most learned people in the entire universe.

Moreover, putting aside everything else, let's just talk about things from the last few hundred years ago.

It really has only been a few hundred years; to high-level cultivators, it feels like yesterday.

That massive rebellion that occurred during the Human Path led to the death of the previous emperor, and the new emperor has only been in power for a few hundred years.

All of this points to one thing.

The Human Emperor is a consumable.

It might sound a bit silly, but the Human Emperor, as the absolute supreme being and sole leader of Human Path, is actually just a consumable. He will run out of resources and die every so often.

Moreover, it's real death; don't even think about reincarnation.

White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva sat opposite Li Qi and laughed, "The Human Emperor is a first-rank official, yet he dies so easily, even shorter than some fifth-rank officials. Do you have any guesses? Don't be afraid, just say whatever you want. Human Path won't be so petty."

"This junior does not know." Li Qi shook his head decisively.

How could he dare to guess such a thing? He was just a lowly sixth-rank official. Even if he were incredibly audacious and dared to speculate, he would definitely be wrong.

Who knows what happened to the Human Emperor?

White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva, remained calm. "I was hoping you'd guess, but since you won't guess and don't know, how dare you come looking for me?"

"It is precisely because I did not know that I dared to come. If I had known, I would never have been able to leave Wushen Mountain in my entire life," Li Qi said with a wry smile, mocking himself.

"Really? That's certainly a possibility. Well then, since you're already here and so determined... well, I still can't tell you directly. Let me ask you first: what do you want to do here? Don't think I can see it. Sometimes you know... what you think in your heart and what you say are different."

Li Qi immediately cupped his hands and said, "This junior is absolutely sincere and has never lied to anyone."

"I believe you're not lying, but sometimes, what you think in your heart isn't necessarily what you really think. Only by speaking it out will you know whether that's what you really think. If not... you'll deny yourself," said White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva. At the same time, a plate of cherries suddenly appeared in her hand, and she started eating them herself, waiting for Li Qi's answer.

Cherry lips, cherry lips—these two words are probably the perfect description of this scene.

Looking at the beautiful woman who didn't resemble a Bodhisattva at all, Li Qi calmed down and realized that what she said made some sense.

Sometimes, you think that's what you're thinking, but that's not actually the case. You might not even be able to distinguish your own thoughts.

That's why we need to think, to ponder, to examine, to bring out all the thoughts in our hearts, to question them one by one, to engage in a battle of Celestial Person, and finally to arrive at what we truly want.

The White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva wanted Li Qi to speak, not because he really wanted to hear what Li Qi had to say, but because he wanted Li Qi to sort out his thoughts and understand what he needed to do.

Only with such a firm resolve would White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva cooperate with Li Qi.

Otherwise, if Li Qi himself can't make up his mind, and then Li Qi goes back on his word after the cooperation is finalized, it won't just be one or two people who suffer.

Having grasped the meaning of White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva, Li Qi closed his eyes and began to carefully consider his words.

What is it that I really want?

Without a doubt, Li Qi came here for two purposes, which he had already planned long ago.

First, travel to the Western Paradise to find Buddhist methods to suppress demons and try to suppress his demonic thoughts to some extent. In this way, he can suppress the interference of the heavenly demons.

After all, no matter how strong the Heavenly Demon is, it is still under the suppression of the Pure Land Dharma and the Formless Heaven. It is impossible for it to go in and out every day, or it will really be beaten.

Secondly... this time the conflict is against Human Path, and it may even be a full-blown Human-Shaman War, with the involvement of true dragons. Therefore, Li Qi wants to find a powerful figure who has a grudge against Human Path to help him, as a spy, to ensure safety and greatly improve Shen Shuibi's safety.

That should be all, right?

After careful consideration, Li Qi revealed all his thoughts without any concealment.

After listening to Li Qi's words, the White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva smiled and said, "Is that all?"

"I myself don't know what I'm thinking, but all I can think of right now is this. I hope the Bodhisattva can enlighten me," Li Qi replied directly.

Please enlighten me, Bodhisattva. These words are already very straightforward. It's like telling the other person directly, "Draw out a plan for how to do it. If it works, great; if not, we're done."

"Alright, then I'll be blunt. It's actually quite simple. I just want to know if you really have the courage to turn against Human Path. You know, I actually really want to join forces with the Shaman Path, especially with a young master like you. After all, it's well known that the Shaman Path and Human Path have a conflict. If it weren't for some reasons, I wouldn't want to contact the great witches directly, otherwise I wouldn't have waited until now." White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva was very straightforward, directly stating his position.

She looked at Li Qi and said seriously, "If you do this yourself, then you will have no enmity with Human Path, only a struggle for the Dao. But if you involve me, then the cause and effect will be intertwined. Young master, do you really have the courage... to stand on the opposite side of Human Path?"

Upon hearing this, Li Qi felt a surge of anger.

Even when facing a third-rank official, he couldn't suppress his anger.

Courage.

It takes courage again.

Teacher Zhu Fengdan mentions it every day, and now even White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva mentions it.

Could it be that Li Qi is really a coward? Everyone has to be suspicious.

Li Qi was furious, but he was also rational; he was no longer swayed by his emotions.

However, White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva, glanced at Li Qi with some curiosity, and she could clearly see the anger in Li Qi's heart.

Did something upset him?

Well... thankfully, at least I didn't do anything reckless out of anger.

Courage is not recklessness.

What is recklessness?

If you get provoked by someone's words and rush out to challenge a powerful enemy, you're not being brave; you're just being controlled by anger.

In this situation, if the enemy frightens you, you might get scared too, your enthusiasm will cool down, and you'll be controlled by fear, making you a deserter without hesitation.

Therefore, recklessness may lead to seemingly courageous actions, but it is not true courage. At crucial moments, one may be controlled by anger, and then by fear. How can one accomplish anything by going back and forth like this?

Fortunately, although Li Qi lacked true courage, he was still more than capable of reason. He would not be controlled by anger, which meant he would not be controlled by fear either.

This could be considered touching the edge of courage, right?

Just as White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva was thinking about this, Li Qi suddenly spoke.

"Bodhisattva, my master has also mentioned your suggestion to me, but... Li Qi is dull-witted and still hasn't figured out what true courage is." Li Qi put his hands together and made a gesture of worship.

White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva remained silent, instead looking intently at Li Qi, awaiting his reply, as Li Qi clearly did not intend to apologize and leave.

"However, although I don't know what courage is, Li Qi do know that everyone has their own area of expertise. Some people are born fearless and have a courage in their hearts, unafraid of powerful enemies or death," Li Qi said.

As he said this, he thought of his old friend from the Righteous Sword Palace, Zhang Lan.

He was the kind of person who was born with a chivalrous spirit. Even when he challenged the Chanzhi with his lowly status, he never showed the slightest fear and remained carefree.

Li Qi couldn't do it because that was the other person's trait, not Li Qi's.

"However—" he changed the subject. "Although Li Qi doesn't understand what that is, I also have my own special qualities, namely, I am good at deep thinking. Although I am slow, I am unlikely to make mistakes."

"I don't know if I have the courage to stand completely against Human Path, but this decision is one I have thought about carefully. I have been considering it for more than ten years and it is a plan I have devised. This decision is not made out of courage, but out of reason. I feel that only by doing this can I possibly protect my wife's life."

"Therefore, Bodhisattva need not worry that I will back down."

White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva glanced at Li Qi, then said to him, "I understand your rationality, but do you know why I asked you about courage? It's because sometimes rationality leads to retreat."

"Once your reason has weighed everything and you choose to back down, then what?"

White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva asked this point sharply.

Li Qi laughed freely, abandoned his Buddhist bowing posture, and instead raised his head, saying, "Then we'll have to ask the Bodhisattva for courage. Is the Bodhisattva willing to take this risk? I can't bear everything, right? Does the Bodhisattva have the courage to bear the consequences of my escape?"

Upon hearing Li Qi's words, the White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva smiled.

"Well, of course I have them."

A day later, Li Qi bid farewell to White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva, exhausted from the test conducted by this third-rank official.

Just a little trick before it started left Li Qi exhausted, but... thankfully it was settled.

At the same time, he also learned the reason why the human emperor died young.

The White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva said something to him.

"He who bears the nation's disgrace is called the master of the Altar of Earth and Grain; he who bears the nation's misfortune is called the king of the world."

As the supreme ruler of Human Path, one enjoys the combined power of the entire Human Path. Upon ascending to the throne, one can be directly promoted to the first rank, but this does not come without a price.

To accept the power of Human Path as a whole means to bear the weight of Human Path as a whole.

The entire Human Path, including the Dragon Vein, the Nexus of All Realms, the entire imperial court, and even all the people and countless Human Path worlds in the heavens, must be shouldered by the Human Emperor alone.

Just to mention one point—

Centuries ago, Human Path suffered a major rebellion. The rebels even marched to Chang'an, forcing the previous emperor to detonate his Dragon Vein. In the end, with the united efforts of the people, Human Path paid a huge price to preserve its remaining foundation.

This event happened only a few hundred years ago, but can we see any signs of decline in Chang'an and in Human Path today?

Li Qi had personally visited Chang'an and stayed in the Tang Kingdom for quite some time. He could not sense any trace of disaster. Even those who had lived for tens of thousands of years, or even those who had personally experienced that great upheaval, showed no signs of dejection, but were all full of vigor.

The reason for all this is the death of the previous emperor.

The previous emperor died from overwork.

According to White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva, the previous Human Emperor made countless choices at almost every historical turning point, accomplishing an unspeakable and exaggerated task, which was quite exaggerated even for a first-rank official.

Already severely injured, he even self-destructed his Dragon Vein, yet the Human Emperor still did it, ultimately dying from exhaustion, and the current Human Emperor succeeded him.

White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva did not say directly how this was accomplished, but her original words were. "History is made up of countless choices. As long as you interfere with all the choices, you can interfere with history."

Li Qi dared not think about what had happened.

All choices, which "all"?

All of the world? Or... all of the myriad realms?

Does it include other first-class items?

Forget it, there's no need to worry about these things. After all, when the other party said that, they probably just wanted to see if Li Qi would back down.

Fortunately, although Li Qi was afraid, he did not back down.

Thus, the two sides officially reached a cooperation agreement, Li Qi also obtained some secret knowledge, which was some secrets about the Human Path Army, which would probably come in handy on the battlefield in the future.

Li Qi also contributed his knowledge to this end, mainly including the Human Path situation he witnessed in Chang'an, primarily the affairs of the Shangyuan Garden.

The Imperial Garden was, after all, a place of pleasure and entertainment in Chang'an, and it still had many uses.

This intelligence is of little use to Li Qi and certainly doesn't involve any secrets, but these clues might give White Chen Fox King Bodhisattva a little inspiration, allowing her to make a better judgment.

Having finished his business here, Li Qi got up and prepared to tour the 'heavens'.