Choice

Seven days later, the banquet proceeded as scheduled.

Eight Chen before that, Ling Xiao returned first.

When she returned, she was in very poor condition, listless and looking exhausted.

"Senior... I'm back." She patted her face, forcing herself to cheer up, and bowed to Li Qi.

The etiquette was poorly performed, not only because she was very tired, but also because she knew that this senior from the Heaven-Piercing Realm wouldn't even glance at her.

However, to her surprise, Li Qi actually looked up at this moment.

Looking up, he said, "You look terrible and your complexion is poor. Is the invitation not going well?"

With that, Li Qi raised his hand, and a surge of Yang Energy emerged from his fingers, then entered Ling Xiao's body, causing her to feel a jolt and a sense of refreshment.

Li Qi could clearly see that her Yang Energy was weak and her spirits were low, so he just needed to replenish it; it was very simple.

The health of the human body's microcosm depends on the balance of Qi. For Shaman who make their microcosm an open system, they only need to absorb external Qi to maintain the balance within their bodies. Therefore, they rarely get sick or tired, except for mental fatigue.

But Ling Xiao was clearly not only mentally exhausted, she was also physically exhausted.

If Li Qi hadn't known the reason, he might have thought the man had gone to mine.

Ling Xiao felt her body gradually recovering, and a warm feeling rose in her heart, but more doubts shrouded her mind. So she didn't suppress them and said directly, "It went very smoothly... but I don't understand, senior, why did you make the invitations anonymous?"

Yes, Li Qi's invitation was anonymous.

There are 3,000 tickets in total. Whoever gets one can go to the upper-level banquet, and those who don't can go outside to eat at a buffet.

"Why? Isn't this more convenient? I don't know who the people are, or how many want to come. Writing down their names one by one would be too much trouble for me. So I'll just send out anonymous invitations. They can come in with just an invitation. Anyway, there are more than three thousand invitations. I don't think there will be any missed. I think we have more than enough." Li Qi said.

However, Ling Xiao shook her head vigorously. "No, that's not how it is. Senior, you must know about this situation!"

Ling Xiao didn't believe that Li Qi really thought that way!

Because she knew very well that Li Qi had once said, 'The amount of resources isn't important; what matters is the percentage of resources that are used.'

A larger percentage of a group determines who becomes the majority, regardless of the total amount of resources.

Just like Li Qi's invitation.

Three thousand invitations are more than enough, enough for one invitation for each person.

But if everyone comes, what's the difference between that and no one coming?

So, faced with three thousand anonymous invitations, a conspiracy and chaos erupted in the city over the next seven days.

It's really hard to describe the level of chaos during those seven days.

Intrigue, betrayal, purge.

Espionage, loyalty, assassination.

The city was rife with undercurrents, everyone harboring their own secrets. Countless people racked their brains for an invitation, resorting to robbery, deception, or even seduction—all sorts of shady tactics. Over seven days, thousands of suspenseful dramas unfolded in the city, each with an incredibly captivating script.

Even Ling Xiao was exhausted both physically and mentally after spending seven days like this, so much so that she looked like a dead person when she arrived, and Li Qi had to help her perk up.

Ling Xiao absolutely refused to believe that Li Qi was unaware of these events.

She even felt that Li Qi was definitely manipulating everything behind the scenes, and that the reason he sent out the invitations was to watch this chaos unfold.

But Li Qi just shook his head and said, "My motive was really just that I was too lazy to write my name. As for what happened, that was your choice."

"You know what's going to happen..." Ling Xiao's face scrunched up.

"Of course I know." Li Qi nodded frankly. "But to be honest, I know more."

Li Qi stood up and patted Ling Xiao on the shoulder. "You have many choices. You can choose to do it like a few days ago, or you can choose to split it equally, or you can choose to bid. There are many choices, and I know how to do each one."

"I know many, many possibilities for the future, but the one thing I don't know is which future you will choose."

"So when I said I didn't know, I didn't mean I didn't know what would happen, but rather that I didn't know how you would choose. I didn't interfere with your choices. It was your own choice that things turned out this way, and it has nothing to do with me."

After Li Qi finished speaking, he patted the other person's head and said, "Get some rest and don't think too much. This is their own choice, and it has nothing to do with you or me."

Ranked Shaman once told Li Qi that the future is unpredictable; if the future could be predicted, then the future would become the present.

True prediction of the future does not exist.

Therefore, Li Qi did not know what the future would hold.

He knew that every path ahead was like a crossroads, and Li Qi, standing high in the sky, could clearly see every detail of that crossroads.

Choices must be rooted in reality. Once you understand reality, you can see people's choices clearly, just like you can see where a crossroads leads.

However, when a person stands in the middle of a crossroads, Li Qi doesn't know which way he will go.

He genuinely didn't know how these people should choose.

Just like it is now.

Li Qi sent out invitations, which only placed a crossroads in front of these people.

Regardless of their choice, Li Qi knew what would happen next.

The only moment Li Qi couldn't be sure of was when he made the choice.

Before they make a choice, the four possible directions at the crossroads are in a superposition state, and the superposition state cannot be solved.

Within this superposition state, there are also differences in probability. The probability of going to the left may be greater than that of going to the right. Observing and confirming this probability is the original meaning of 'divination'.

Ling Xiao was speechless in the face of Li Qi's answer.

She couldn't find a way to refute it.

"Don't blame me for not stopping you. There's no difference between stopping you from doing bad things and forcing you to do bad things. You know I'm just observing; I don't actually want to interfere with you," Li Qi said.

"Yes... but, senior, did you get what you wanted?" Ling Xiao looked at Li Qi, a sense of panic rising in her heart.

The man in front of me—

It was so distant and aloof that it instilled a sense of fear in people.

It's like facing—

Upper Heaven.

Heaven's Will watches over the world, but never interferes.

But what Ling Xiao didn't know was that Li Qi could truly become Heaven's Will.

Moreover, there is a saying in Daoism that describes this statement.

Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs. They are empty yet unyielding, and the more they move, the more they produce. Too much talk leads to exhaustion; it is better to remain centered.

It's better to stick to the middle.

When Li Qi began to attempt to simulate the Heaven's Will, his thinking naturally rose to the level of the will of Heaven's Will.

But for ordinary people, this way of thinking is a bit too cruel.

But... this is Li Qi, isn't it?

The influence of Shen Shuibi, the Daoist ideas within him, and his own Shaman practices all shaped him. The more he learned, the more he understood the importance of this silent attitude.

Before sentient beings truly understand their own path, they cannot attain true happiness. Therefore, forcibly imposing happiness on them is a form of coercion.

In response to Ling Xiao's question, Li Qi smiled and said, "What I want, you can't give me."

"However, I can piece it together myself, little by little."

Upon hearing this, Ling Xiao sighed deeply, "So... Senior, you want to use our performance to piece together something so magnificent that even we ourselves could not have imagined?"

"You're quite poetic, but that's about it. I'll find the answers I'm looking for in you... or at least fragments of those answers." Li Qi smiled.

"I understand, so... can I still draw portraits of my senior?" Ling Xiao asked again at this moment.

"Of course, I was the one who entrusted you with this task, so I'll trouble you then." Li Qi nodded slightly.

The conversation with Ling Xiao ended, and the two fell silent again. Li Qi continued with his own business.

Eight Chen later.

The banquet proceeded as scheduled, but the location was in the wilderness on the outskirts of the city. The area was also a mining area, smoky and polluted, with a rather poor environment.

Ling Xiao led more than three thousand people, lined up in order, and each used their own methods to arrive at this desolate wilderness in the most glamorous way.

Someone was riding a mount, a huge spirit beast swaying its tail and snorting loudly.

Some people arrived in sedan chairs, with a large retinue of servants beneath them. Everyone had an invitation, as if it were free.

A group of people arrived, adorned with Law Treasure and glittering jewels.

But when they arrived, their expressions were all somewhat stiff.

What happened?

This wilderness has nothing but rocks.

"It seems everyone has arrived. The banquet is ready, so please take your seats." At this moment, Li Qi walked out.

All eyes turned to Li Qi as he stepped out.

It was this invitation, this invitation from the Heaven-Piercing Realm, that triggered a series of troubles.

Ultimately, everything, all the brutal fighting among those who held invitations, was for the sake of seeing the other person in person, hoping to pry open even the smallest thing about them.

Many people have already rehearsed their speeches countless times and prepared all sorts of different interpretations.

I'm just waiting to meet this person at the Heaven-Piercing Realm so I can rush up and try to impress him.

However, although many people had good ideas and well-planned strategies, they all stopped in their tracks the moment they actually saw Li Qi.

A sense of oppression.

Even though the other party did not use any Technique Method, did not show any hostility, and even deliberately concealed their aura, a terrifying sense of oppression still came over them.

They were intimidated by the mere pressure emanating from the Heaven-Piercing Realm. It was pure suppression of rank; facing the opponent was like facing a restless monster.

So they all stopped in their tracks. No matter how many times they had prepared their plans, at this moment they just felt... afraid to move forward.

But not everyone is like that.

Then, the city lord stepped forward, calmly bowed to Li Qi, and said, "I am Ling Hezhou, the city lord of Shuiling City. I greet you, senior. How have you been these past few days?"

"It's alright, I quite like the person you arranged." Li Qi smiled. "Looks like everyone's here."

"Yes, there are three thousand people in total, not one more and not one less, all of them have arrived. But... do you know where the banquet is being held?" City Lord Ling Hezhou asked.

"Right beneath your feet," Li Qi said.

After saying that, Li Qi took a step forward.

In an instant, a world unfolded.

The scenery of this world has been blocked out, and a brand new world has forcibly inserted itself, replacing the view before our eyes!

Suddenly, everyone found themselves in a bamboo forest.

The clear and green Xiang River, the Yunmeng Mountains of Kuaiji, have thousands of acres of bamboo groves. The wind in the wilderness is calm for thousands of miles. The fresh green covers the mountains. If you stand up and look out, you will see nothing but misty green.

Amidst the astonishment of the crowd, many rose to their feet, moving about, standing, running, and jumping, feeling the mountain light caressing them, the frost-covered courtyard and moonlit railing, the rustling of leaves, their spirits wandering amidst the verdant thickets.

A gentle breeze blew, and the warbling of orioles was melodious. Everyone seemed to turn around in surprise, fearing that their sweet dream would be broken.

The scene before them was so dreamlike that they felt as if they were in a dream or an illusion.

The scenery was beautiful and fantastical, but it wasn't shocking enough for them. What was truly shocking was the terrifying underlying nature of these bamboo groves, forests, and even the land itself.

The air here is so pure and of extremely high quality. It is also very easy to digest. One year of seclusion here is far better than ten years of seclusion outside!

Looking further afield, Li Qi had specially erected twenty sacred mountains.

The sacred mountain is ten thousand feet high, and the Daoist rhyme resounds within it. The mountains and waters are beautiful and the land is spiritually rich and the heavens have bestowed rare treasures upon it. As the Daoist rhyme resounds, light dust and snowflakes fly in the air, appearing like falling fairy flowers.

This must be an illusion, right?

What kind of move is this?

As everyone can see, there are twenty different auras of the Heaven-Piercing Realm on those twenty divine mountains!

In other words, there are more than twenty Heaven-Piercing Realm, or corresponding treasures!

This--

It's definitely fake!!

Everyone tried their own methods to distinguish between the real and the fake.

They used every means at their disposal, employing all sorts of Technique Method and Divine Ability powers, but soon they discovered...

That's true.

It is absolutely true.

Some people have even lay down on the ground to absorb the earth's energy for cultivation, and found it to be truly effective.

This means that...

It's true. Whether it's the extremely pure air around us or the twenty sacred mountains not far away, they're all real.

And it really is true.

The twenty Heaven-Piercing Realm that Li Qi had devoured, as well as the one from a Sword Lord. Li Qi simply couldn't learn the Martial Way Divine Intent of the latter, so he couldn't keep them and could only let them dissipate.

However, Li Qi did retain a portion of the other party's possessions. Although he couldn't use them, they could be used as spoils of war to help people understand the aura of the other party.

For Li Qi, comprehending these things was meaningless, but for those at the sixth and seventh ranks, comprehending the aura of the fifth rank was an incredible fortuitous opportunity!

Everyone, including Ling Xiao, began to breathe heavily.

They never expected that such a gift would appear at this banquet!

Yes, they were convinced that this senior in front of them couldn't have spoken without reason.