Reasons for Victory

Envoy Pang knew one thing: although he had set up the standard and regulated the surrounding world, Li Qi was still able to intrude, even break his Technique Method, and allow the warrior to continue to get close.

This means that one's background has been completely exposed, seen through by the enemy, and one's intelligence has been completely lost.

However, although I am still somewhat confused and do not know how I lost, I am very clear about the fact that I lost.

However, everyone has their own Trump Card. They are all disciples of the Dao Lineage. Even if they are not as good as Li Qi and lose this world group, it is not a problem for them to keep their lives.

After all, he Human Dao envoy, and envoys have immunity. If Li Qi were to kill him... Li Qi wouldn't dare to do so.

To put it bluntly, the war hasn't even started yet, so everyone still has to save face.

In Envoy Pang's view, even if Li Qi were to be killed, he might not necessarily pay with his life, but there would definitely be a lot of wrangling afterward, and it might even implicate other envoys, or even make Li Qi himself a target of retaliation. It would be a losing proposition and not worth it.

So he said again, "Li Qi... I have lost this time, but I don't understand how you did it? Explain yourself and return my companions, and I will step back and hand over this world group."

Seeing his opponent admit defeat, Li Qi breathed a sigh of relief.

He wasn't entirely confident either, after all, who knew what Trump Card the other side had up their sleeve? But you can't always be 100% sure before you act, or it would be too late, so he launched his attack directly.

Fortunately, we won it directly.

Since the other party wants to know, there's no harm in telling them.

So Li Qi said, "It's just a small trick. You are indeed skilled at controlling thoughts. If this continues, I will never be able to beat you."

"After all, the people of the Lingchou Realm... don't care about what the Dao is. And if they don't care about the Dao and only care about practical benefits, then the temptation of the Law Treasure assembly line is too great. Such things are like poison for a world without the Dao, a poison that you can't stop drinking once you've had a cup."

Envoy Pang nodded slightly. This was also the reason why he was so confident of victory. Therefore, he could understand Li Qi's mentality of wanting to launch a surprise attack and Winning with a Clever Move.

But he still didn't understand how his Dao Lineage and his position had been exposed, and how... how a sixth-rank cultivator could silently refine a fifth-rank Heavenly Dao.

The Lord of Lingchou Realm should have intervened, so how did he manage to do all this?

This is exactly what he wants to hear.

Li Qi understood what the other party was curious about, so he said, "Refining the Heavenly Way is actually not difficult. The Heavenly Dao has two aspects. One aspect is the manifestation of natural rules, such as clouds, rain, wind, sunshine, mountains, rivers, seas, and land. The other aspect is the desires of all living beings. The collective consciousness of all life in the world can also influence the Heavenly Dao."

Upon hearing this, Envoy Pang suddenly realized. "So, the recent chaos in thought is not only my doing, but also your doing, to stir up trouble and disrupt the Heavenly Dao?"

"That's right. While you were stirring up the ideas, I was also behind the scenes, using the Witchcraft Silkworm to erode the native species of this world. After all, collective consciousness is not just about civilization, but actually includes all life. You've been hiding too far away and haven't realized that many species in this world have become extinct and many terrains have changed."

"The extinction of species, the change of the natural environment, and the tearing apart and chaos of civilizations have weakened the local Heavenly Dao to its limit. Moreover, this was done by you and me together. If you hadn't pushed the civil war with all your might, I wouldn't have been able to complete the tearing apart of the ideology so quickly. I can only say that you are indeed very good at manipulating the ideology. I am ashamed to admit that I am not as good as you." Li Qi cupped his hands and said from the bottom of his heart.

Honestly, if Li Qi were to handle this himself, he wouldn't be as adept as the other party.

However, this move of using someone else's strength against them successfully weakened the Heavenly Dao.

Envoy Pang shook his head slightly, never expecting that... all the efforts of his team were actually benefiting others.

He then added, "But even so, it's still impossible for a sixth-grade cultivator to refine a fifth-grade Heavenly Dao. You must have other tricks up your sleeve."

"It's not that mysterious. It's difficult, but... I'm used to it, and besides, I'm very strong," Li Qi said.

Back then, in the world where Li Shiwei lived, Li Qi refined the Heavenly Dao in just a moment.

This was not an outburst under duress, but rather something Li Qi did on a whim.

The same principle applies now that it's been changed to the fifth rank.

To Refining the Heavenly Way, one must be impacted by the collective consciousness of the Heavenly Dao. The collective consciousness of a world is itself traceable, and this trace is "consensus".

In a civilized society, there must be certain consensuses, such as 'moral concepts', 'customs and habits', or even 'specific life pursuits', etc. These things will prompt the conscious but unconscious being of the Heavenly Dao to resist.

But at this moment, the collective consciousness was already in disarray, so the intensity of resistance was naturally lower, and these things became even more noisy...

This is where Li Qi excels.

He is best at handling noisy and disordered information flows.

Thus, in a highly risky attempt, he withstood the shock of the entire world and completed the silent refining process over six years.

With the full cooperation of Human Path, Envoy Pang used all the wisdom of his team to weaken the Heavenly Dao of this place. In addition, Li Qi himself was strong enough, and thus they accomplished such a surprising suppression.

Envoy Pang sighed, then said, "Indeed impressive. So, how did my background get exposed? It couldn't have been me who exposed myself, could it? I remember my hands and feet were clean, and there shouldn't have been any trace of me."

"Of course we can't find any trace of it, but didn't you send a message to Chang'an through the terminal?" Li Qi blinked.

Envoy Pang instantly sprang to his feet, shouting angrily, "Absolutely impossible!!"

Envoy Pang's reaction was astonishing! Just now Li Qi pointed out that he had been misled and had done a favor for Li Qi, and he was only regretful, but he could still bear the failure.

He only failed once or twice, but he was broad-minded enough to accept it.

But when Li Qi mentioned the terminal, he immediately flew into a rage, even losing control of his emotions and shouting angrily!

Then, he went on to refute Li Qi: "The terminal is a second-grade Law Treasure, a component of the Nexus of All Realms. You... and even everyone in Wushen Mountain, cannot possibly affect the Nexus of All Realms!"

Li Qi rolled his eyes. "Nonsense, I know that too, but just because the Nexus of All Realms won't have problems doesn't mean you won't."

"What do you mean?" Upon hearing this, Envoy Pang suppressed his fear and waited for Li Qi to explain.

What do you mean 'you won't cause any problems'? Did I really do something stupid? But he's always been meticulous in his actions, so it's impossible for him to make a mistake.

"Nothing special. Why do you think I would publicly reveal the Witchcraft Silkworm?" Li Qi retorted.

The implication of these words is that Li Qi deliberately used the Witchcraft Silkworm, to lure Envoy Pang. With the Witchcraft Silkworm's guidance, Envoy Pang would naturally find Liu Shenzhi...

Envoy Pang understood Li Qi's implied meaning, but shook his head and said, "You mean Liu Shenzhi helped you? Absolutely impossible! Although you and Mr. Liu are close, he is not incapable of distinguishing right from wrong. He would never help you."

"Your Human Path is quite united, but that's true. Liu Shenzhi won't reveal any information to me, and it's impossible for him to have any contact with me at all. But the Witchcraft Silkworm ... is alive," Li Qi said.

Yes, the Witchcraft Silkworm is alive.

Li Qi explained casually, "Look at you all, in order to understand the Witchcraft Silkworm and its influence on thought, you will definitely buy Witchcraft Silkworm from the Human Path and the Lingchou Realm to study, obtain information, and then make the next judgment."

"We have eliminated all the Technique Method and then deactivated them before bringing them in, so there won't be any problems," Envoy Pang said.

He is always cautious in his actions, so of course he took this into consideration.

"Yes, of course you know that someone has to do the work of eliminating the Technique Method and extinguishing the life force inside the Witchcraft Silkworm. You might be wholeheartedly dedicated to the Witchcraft Silkworm from the outside world, but you probably won't be as dedicated to the comparison samples of Witchcraft Silkworm sent by Liu Shenzhi, right?"

"The result of not being careful enough was that the two types of Witchcraft Silkworm were combined, triggering the Technique Method on them. And you probably didn't expect that Technique Method either, did you?" Li Qi smiled and snapped his fingers.

At this moment, one of the members of Envoy Pang's team exclaimed in surprise, and a demonic thought suddenly arose in his mind!

He immediately reached out and extinguished his demonic thoughts, but then he saw a wisp of demonic energy emanating from his body.

"Demonic methods... I see. I never imagined that Shaman would possess such profound demonic techniques. I miscalculated. Now, only one question remains: how did Young Master Li discover my origins? Even with demonic energy as a guide, you shouldn't know my background." Envoy Pang asked respectfully, addressing him as "Young Master" as well.

He truly accepted his defeat wholeheartedly, and thankfully he had a way to save his life; otherwise, he probably would have had a very difficult time escaping.

Li Qi continued, "As for your background, it was indeed well hidden, but I didn't rely on any underhanded tricks. I simply... recognized it."

"The Legalist School standard is the lineage of Guanzi, and it also has the musical scales Yellow Bell to determine Yin and Yang, the timing of the heavens, the primordial spirit, and the five musical scales."

"Your Yellow Bell is made from the middle of a millet grain, one millet's width, one full and one variable, half for a clear sound, twice for a slow sound, the bell is two feet two and a half inches long. Each bell is also measured in pitch, twice and half. The original weights and measures are all derived from this."

"Seven modes form one equal measure, twelve equal measures make eighty-four modes as the complete system, declining with the Chou (丑) mode, the standard is renewed, from the seventeenth degree of Wei (危) to the fourth degree of Kui (奎) —"

That wasn't all; Li Qi continued to talk eloquently, revealing the other party's background one by one.

It wasn't some strange method, nor was it any intelligence work; it was just pure observation.

Because Li Qi himself had absorbed the Daoist essence of a third-grade Legalist School cultivator, his understanding of Legalist School principles was probably even stronger than that of the cultivator.

In addition, Li Qi was originally a bookworm. Now, after reading books voraciously in the library of Wushen Mountain for so many years, his knowledge is so profound and his insights so broad that it is no exaggeration to say that he is unmatched among his peers.

"So, you lost because of this. You didn't underestimate your opponent, but you underestimated them," Li Qi said.

"I am completely convinced. If you spare my life today, I will give way to you in the future to express my gratitude." Envoy Pang bowed respectfully and said politely, "Please return my companions. We will leave this world group now, and I will also resign from my post. I will now hand this place over to you."

Li Qi nodded. "Of course, take care."

With that, he handed over the few true spirits he had captured, then watched them bow again before leaving.

After they left, Shen Yijun walked over and sneered, "You call this fighting? It's like children playing house. Even children get angry and fight to the point of bloodshed. It's laughable that you orthodox youths fight like this."

Li Qi shook his head. "Sigh, that's how aristocratic wars are. Do you think I don't want to kill people? The problem is I can't. You saw that Lü Lü Qi) too. Does the old man have a way to break through it?"

Shen Yijun snorted coldly and said, "There's nothing we can do, but even if we can't break through, we can't be this polite. They're the enemy, and enemies are meant to fight to the death. What kind of behavior is this, all alluring and sentimental? When you fought that Demon Prince, every strike drew blood."

Li Qi shook his head. "That's about right. Everyone's life is valuable, and they can't die easily."

Shen Yijun curled his lip. This old man was quite straightforward, saying, "Yes, the direct descendants of the Dao Lineage cannot die easily. So why are you fighting wars? Or is it that your lives are so precious?"

The logic of aristocratic wars is that simple: life is precious, and no one wants to die, so why not let everyone live? It's settled then, the outcome is the nobles' business, and life and death are the business of the common people below.

Just like the chaotic thoughts in the Lingchou Realm and the species invasion and extinction brought about by the Witchcraft Silkworm, countless people died because of this chaotic thought in the Heavenly Dao. Li Qi even personally took action to exterminate dozens of species of beasts and plants, disrupting the entire ecosystem, all in order to refine the Heavenly Dao of this place and turn the Lingchou Realm into a sacrificial ground. In this way, he would have the advantage of timing and location, and be able to prevail from all sides.

In this way, with the support of Shen Yijun, the two of them can launch a surprise attack and break through the enemy lines, achieving victory through unexpected means.

This victory was gradually built up over six or seven years of struggle. Envoy Pang is gone, but the damage to the Lingchou Realm... that is irreversible.

That's why Shen Yijun scoffed at Li Qi, saying that if he didn't even have the will to fight to the death, what kind of war was he?

Li Qi simply waved his hand. "It's not time for a fight to the death yet. This is just the prelude. Everyone is just vying for the advantage of terrain. Sparing their lives won't break the rules and will only provoke retaliation from the other side."

Shen Yijun nodded in agreement. He could accept this reason. Indeed, killing would break the rules, and it wasn't that Li Qi didn't want to kill.

However, if the Human Path is spared, then if the Human Path wins in another world, it will also spare the life of the loser of the Shaman Path. This is a tacit understanding.

The reason for not harming prisoners is that we do not want our comrades to be harmed after becoming prisoners.

As for what happens after the war begins...

Once the battle lines are set up, etiquette will no longer be an option.

At that time, even a third-rank official would perish, and a second-rank official would be in dire straits.