Chapter 323: It is done

A pile of different kinds of meat chunks can do nothing when separated.

However, meat chunks can be combined into a person, and then a person can cultivate.

Similarly, a single person cannot generate Qi.

However, many people can combine into an army, and then they can generate Qi.

It seems that small things, at a certain boundary, will qualitatively transform into other large things.

So, if people are first combined into an army, and Qi is generated first.

Then, using this small army to combine into a large army, and using this Qi to break through that layer of boundary, what could be gained?

This is one of the gains Li Qi made after more than ten days of non-stop comprehending the Dao, conducting experiments, and trying various exhaustive methods; it has a wide range of applications.

Although he did not find the essence of the boundary, he could indirectly utilize the wonder of the 'boundary'.

By defining large and small, and defining groups and individuals, he freed Qi from the shackles of 'neat military formation', allowing the army to maintain immense destructive power even in chaotic, desperate charges, as long as small groups maintained order without affecting the overall army's Qi.

Li Qi continued, "After understanding the mechanisms of the various cities in this cave heaven's southern country, I used local communities as a foundation and friendship as a bond, allowing these soldiers to form small groups that could naturally stay together without being forced by military orders to stand by each other."

"As long as these small groups remain in order internally, even if the entire army is chaotic, the Qi will remain as before, because from a holistic perspective, the combined effort continues," Li Qi explained.

This is just a simple principle; its specific implementation is very troublesome, and there are no stable Divine Abilities that can be replicated.

To put it bluntly, it is very immature, just a simple application of 'boundary'.

However, it was this simple application that, by taking advantage of an unexpected opportunity, overwhelmingly defeated Li Lieqi's army.

Li Lieqi's army could not maintain Qi in such a chaotic situation; after Li Qi's charge took effect, she could have reorganized, but because the mobilized personnel could not re-form a collective Qi, they could not confront him head-on.

The natural result was a complete rout, with the entire force scattering and being unable to reorganize.

Li Qi's narration made these matters clear; even in Li Qi's eyes, Li Lieqi was not a very intelligent person, but she should still be able to understand.

Li Lieqi fell silent, then opened the record and continued to observe it repeatedly.

The person had already explained the key points; if she still couldn't understand, she would feel ashamed herself.

And that Youqi General, although still wearing that stoic face, had a hint of surprise in his eyes.

He looked at Li Qi and asked, "You comprehended it yourself?"

"A Senior gave me a hint, and I was stimulated by the principle of Qi, so I thought more about it," Li Qi replied humbly, cupping his hands.

This was indeed the case; Great Shaman Mi Xin had told him that to solve impossible major problems, one must start with possible minor ones.

Coupled with the differences between groups and individuals, this gave Li Qi a certain understanding and application of the boundary.

"Your actions today already show the雏形 of 'using troops like a Divine Ability'; to advance by the Military School of Thought's method, this is something you must master. Water has no constant form, and an army has no constant disposition. If it cannot form Qi when it leaves its formation, then the Military School of Thought's activity area will be greatly restricted. Therefore, to advance, each person must be part of the collective while also being separate from it."

"Your method is still very immature, but the idea is very good. If you comprehended it yourself... then I can only say that you are a Genius, and very suitable for the Military School of Thought's path. Keep up the good work."

Li Qi nodded and then bowed.

He did not rejoice at receiving his teacher's praise; he was merely contemplating what his teacher had said to him.

To make each person part of the collective while also being separate from it.

In other words...

Suppose there are one hundred thousand soldiers, dispersed into different cities... or even dispersed into different worlds.

While they are dispersed, they are still a collective; can their Qi still be linked together?

If so, would it be possible that whenever you face any single soldier of this army, you are simultaneously confronting the combined power of everyone in this army?

Damn it...

It wouldn't be that outrageous, would it?

However, such a thought only crossed his mind for a moment. Li Qi immediately struck while the iron was hot and said to the Youqi General, "Then, teacher, since this technique is so important, and I don't intend to keep it to myself, may we stay here after class and study privately using the equipment here?"

Hearing Li Qi's suggestion, the General's eyes moved.

"So... then, you did it on purpose?" the General suddenly asked a baffling question.

Li Qi understood the question immediately, then cupped his hands and bowed his head, saying, "Teacher saw through it?"

What the two were talking about was the issue of casualties within the cave heaven.

It had been said before that Li Qi's sudden attack and pursuit only routed Li Lieqi's soldiers, but did not pursue and kill them.

In other words, the actual casualties were very few, probably only a small number died from trampling.

Because he won directly and overwhelmingly, the battlefield did not turn into a meat grinder, and the casualty rate was less than one percent.

"You deliberately preserved the lives of the soldiers on both sides of the battle, and now you want to share; are you truly a good person?" the Youqi General pressed Li Qi.

Upon hearing this, Li Qi sighed.

This wasn't an act; he genuinely couldn't help but sigh.

He heard 'arrogance' in the Youqi General's words.

To say such a thing meant that both Li Lieqi and the Youqi General in front of him only regarded these cave heavens as teaching tools.

"Whether I am a good person or not... this student merely feels that the soldiers in these cave heavens are also living beings. Their becoming our teaching tools is a last resort, and I cannot change the current situation, so within my capabilities, I merely let them live a little longer," Li Qi said politely, yet with a certain distance.

This is the fundamental difference between Shaman Dao and the Dao of Man.

The Dao of Man, truly, only cares about 'people'.

For things that are not self-identified as human, they have no mercy whatsoever.

Shaman Dao, on the other hand, treats all living beings in natural equally.

This 'equal treatment' is not a good term; Shaman Dao does not care whether they live or die. It is natural for sheep to be bitten to death by wolves, and no one will intervene.

But the advantage is that Shaman Dao will not deliberately change their position in the Universe; it neither helps nor harms.

Mountains and rivers are there, and a Shaman will not change them, only find their own place within them. As for the births and deaths of life in the mountains, that doesn't matter, as long as the mountains and rivers as a whole don't go wrong.

But the Dao of Man will open mountains and reroute rivers for their own needs. As for what the fish, shrimp, and wild beasts in the mountains think, they don't care.

Shaman Dao's attitude of ignoring them and letting them develop on their own, compared to the Dao of Man, is already considered benevolent.

After hearing Li Qi's answer, the Youqi General said, "I heard you are the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain."

"What Teacher said is correct," Li Qi admitted.

"I see. Then it's normal for you to have some feminine compassion. However, while you can still be humble and benevolent in school, if you wish to practice the Military School of Thought's method, you should discard these," the Youqi General said.

"Li Qi accepts the teaching," Li Qi replied, cupping his hands to indicate he understood.

However, he referred to himself as Li Qi, not 'this student'.

His attitude was clear: he would not take this advice to heart; he would simply pretend not to hear it.

The Youqi General also understood the unspoken meaning and shook his head. Li Qi was already at the Seventh Rank, and his Dao path was not for him to dictate; everyone chose their own path.

However, since the other party, as the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain, was willing to share these things with the students of Tang Nation, he could not obstruct him, otherwise, he might gain a reputation for being petty.

So the Youqi General said, "Then there's not much else to discuss. Since you are willing to share, I cannot stop your desire for knowledge. I grant you permission to stay in the school for two hours after class for discussion and study, but no longer. The cave heaven also needs rest, and if you stay in it, even without using Divine Abilities, it may not be able to bear it."

Having obtained what he wanted, Li Qi showed no joy, bowed again, and then withdrew, as if this were a very ordinary matter.

It was just about staying a little longer to study; would the teacher prevent students from self-studying after class? Students just wanted to borrow teaching materials; could he refuse?

However, as he turned, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

Regardless of what the teacher thought, Li Qi's matter was settled.

He used this method of boundaries as bait to conceal his true purpose.

He claimed to stay and share with everyone, according to the agreement of mutual exchange, for everyone to learn from each other.

In reality, Li Qi just wanted to stay and ponder these cave heavens when the teacher wasn't around, to obtain data on these cave heavens, and then slowly plot to piece them together.

If Li Qi's guess was correct, when he pieced together this remnant, he would be able to witness the instant the boundary shifted.

As long as he could record it, he would gain a deeper understanding of this peculiar Dao.

Li Qi felt that this 'boundary' of qualitative transformation between different things could involve many aspects and would definitely help him go a long way.

Not to mention too far, as long as he could comprehend the boundary from the ethereal to the substantial, then his personal small Heaven and Earth would probably undergo a qualitative transformation.

Li Qi was wondering how to transform the ethereal Qi into substance at the Seventh Rank.

He sat down, waiting for the other classmates to finish their respective matches.

Afterward, things proceeded smoothly.

After these classmates emerged from the cave heaven, Li Qi stood up and clapped his hands: "Fellow students, look at me, I have something to tell you."

The others were still discussing among themselves. Hearing the commotion, they all stopped what they were doing and looked towards Li Qi.

Li Lieqi's expression was somewhat gloomy, but she also looked over.

There was no other way; she knew that Li Qi was about to step on her, and she couldn't refute him.

Li Qi then walked forward, coming before everyone.

He was indeed going to step on Li Lieqi.

The reason he wanted to show off in front of Li Lieqi was to make everyone realize the importance of this method!

After crushing Li Lieqi, because of Li Lieqi's early-stage 'A' grade evaluation, everyone had realized the gap in their respective levels. If Li Qi revealed the method by which he defeated Li Lieqi, it would surely pique their curiosity.

At this point, if he then offered to teach them, with the idea of mutual exchange, they would have no reason to refuse.

Once the others had gathered, Li Qi opened a Jade Slip and first displayed a scene of Li Lieqi's great defeat.

Although Li Lieqi was mentally prepared, her face was still a bit green.

She prided herself on being a Military School of Thought Genius, easily admitted to Imperial Academy. She was only nineteen this year, had cultivated for seventeen years, and was already at the Eighth Rank, having conquered several Ninth Rank worlds in practice.

She had never been so publicly humiliated before.

Unfortunately, she also knew that this was Imperial Academy, where there were many Geniuses. She estimated she would have to slowly get used to such things.

But in the eyes of the others, Li Lieqi was indeed worthy of pride; only a few were rated 'A' upon entering Imperial Academy. Therefore, everyone was very surprised to see Li Lieqi suddenly defeated.

"What... what happened?" Someone couldn't understand at all.

"This kind of charge, with a disordered formation, unaligned military banners, the main general completely left behind, and a disconnect between front and rear, should have been scattered as a disorganized rabble. How did it instead break through a strict formation?" Someone noticed the strange point but couldn't figure out why.

Everyone watched and discussed animatedly.

"Look, on the east side of the battlefield, there's a Divine Ability cast by Young Lady Li Qi using a military formation, but this Divine Ability was nullified, which means the Qi was still effective. Is that the reason?"

"Oh, it really is! This part had clearly become separated from the main force, so how did it still maintain the main force's Qi?"

It goes to show that there's strength in numbers. Li Lieqi was stronger than all of them, but what she couldn't figure out, eight students, through their back-and-forth discussion, quickly guessed the truth.

Just as these students guessed the truth, Li Qi immediately interjected, saying, "The reason I asked everyone to come over is for this. Previously, I've been busy thinking about and experimenting with this matter. Now I finally have some clues, and I thought of mutual exchange, so I'd like to learn and progress together with everyone. I wonder if everyone can spare some time for us to exchange ideas after class? Let's see if we can perfect this technique."

"Although I came up with this, I feel there are still many shortcomings, and I hope to use everyone's wisdom to fill these gaps."

Li Qi said politely to everyone.

He spoke very courteously and politely, with humble words, not making others feel arrogant, and even willing to share the benefits.

Everyone looked at each other.

Since Li Qi had said so, if they refused, wouldn't they look like a stingy person?

Moreover, that method of controlling Qi was truly enticing.

So, these students immediately cupped their hands: "Naturally willing! We will certainly spare no effort to jointly perfect this method!"

Li Qi smiled upon hearing this answer.

It was done.

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