Chapter 38: Qi

Li Qi didn't go for breakfast that morning; instead, he strolled around, testing his ability to observe "Qi."

He saw water Qi in the river.

This Qi flowed through the city, carrying the Yin Qi of the city into the river, and then taking it away.

He could see that the coughing beggars sleeping on the streets had a mixture of illness Qi in their bodies and even in their breath.

It should be illness Qi; he didn't recognize it and was just guessing.

Normal people have both Yin and Yang Qi, along with defensive Qi, nourishing Qi, Life Qi, and many other types of Qi mixed together, but he couldn't distinguish them at all.

It was like a forest that looked lush and green, just a swath of green, but only by going deep into it would one realize that a forest is actually an ecosystem with countless species, an immeasurable number of plants and animals, making it impossible to distinguish each one.

Qi seemed like the atoms of another world, the basic building blocks of all matter in this world; everything was composed of Qi, and the nature of Qi determined the nature of matter.

Unfortunately, the book "Zhu" did not describe the principles of Qi in detail, only some common properties of Qi used in sacrifices or Cultivation and methods of utilizing them.

According to the book, the Daoist sect was the expert in studying Qi, while Shaman Dao was comparatively inferior in this regard.

Li Qi walked and studied the book in his mind, learning its knowledge with insatiable hunger; he knew this was his foundation for future survival, so he dared not be negligent in the slightest.

And he could also see the progress bar for his reading of this book...

Of course, it was very, very, very, very slow.

After three hours of emergency reading upon waking up that morning, and another two hours of careful reading outside, the progress bar was still 0%.

In other words, he hadn't even finished 0.1%.

How much stuff was recorded in this book anyway... Was it really a massive database?

He estimated it would truly take over a year and a half to read.

He continued reading like this until the sun had fully risen.

Then, the entire city came alive.

Bustling crowds, some going out of the city, some coming in from outside, rickshaw pullers, deliverymen bringing goods to various shops, rising smoke from chimneys—the entire city suddenly sprang to life.

Weavers started their looms, farmers walked out with hoes on their shoulders, shops opened, government offices rang bells, everyone woke up and busied themselves with their daily livelihoods.

The city at night was like a sleeping giant beast, and now, it had awakened.

Li Qi was deeply shaken by this scene!

Qi! Qi that shot straight into the sky!

He didn't know how to describe it, but it was just so shocking.

It was as if an earth-shaking giant beast was awakening, and the Qi emanating from it was so magnificent, so terrifying, shooting straight into the sky.

Even the Qi of the constellations in the sky could not compare, and the Di Qi (Earthly Qi) on the ground could only retreat; the Qi of countless people formed a unique, indescribably oppressive Qi.

What should this be called... Popularity Qi?

Li Qi seemed to see laws, norms, human hearts, vitality.

These Qi, following certain norms, slowly operated, supporting a "City"!

A city is not just a collection of buildings put together.

A city is for holding people, like millet and grain in a vessel.

For the first time, Li Qi so intuitively understood the words "Sheji" (altars of land and grain, symbolizing the nation) and simultaneously gained a clearer understanding of what a "City" meant.

"This... this, this is, the Dao of Man?" Under such power, Li Qi couldn't help but mutter to himself, yet he unconsciously stammered.

He was very smart, almost immediately finding clues from the books he had read and his previous conversation with Young Master Zhu about the conflict between the Dao of Man and Shaman Dao.

He guessed, perhaps he could realize...

This, this was the Dao of Man.

These Qi, these were the power of the Dao of Man!

At this moment, as a Shaman Priest, he was deeply shaken by the power of the Dao of Man.

And this was just a county town! Feng County only had about two hundred thousand people!

What about the concept of Li Prefecture's capital city?

What about the concept of a Tang Nation's provincial capital? What kind of sight would it be if it were the capital of Tang Nation, which could be called the center of the Dao of Man!?

Li Qi wiped away the Azure Dragon Divine Qi attached to his eyes.

Everything before him immediately returned to normal.

Bustling traffic, surging crowds, a perfectly normal day began in Feng County.

Every day was like this.

But Li Qi's heart remained restless for a long time.

This was... the world of Cultivators?

The power of just one county town was so strong, what if his guess from last night was true?

What level was the nine-rank classification method that governed all Cultivators in the world?

If he could see it, what would that sight be like?

What would the laws and decrees that bound the entire Tang Nation look like if he could see them?

Li Qi dared not even imagine; he felt that all of this had already surpassed the limits of his imagination.

He began to miss Li Prefecture's capital city a little.

The morning market in a normal county town was already so spectacular.

What a grand occasion would the annual river opening ceremony be if he were to witness it now!?

"This is... the world of Cultivation?" He took a deep breath.

He couldn't see it now, but would he never be able to see it?

As long as he climbed step by step, there would always be a day when he could see it with his own eyes!

At this moment, Li Qi had never been so eager to Cultivate; it was as if all his motivation had ignited, and he couldn't wait to become stronger.

Not for wealth and glory, not to become a superior person, nor for deep-seated hatred or ancient grievances; he was neither oppressed nor pursued by any calamity.

There weren't so many strange things.

He just wanted to see.

He wanted to see the "Dao" above!

The Dao of Man in a small, peripheral county town was already so magnificent.

What about the others!

He wanted to climb up and see, climb to the mountaintop, climb to the very top, to survey the "Dao" of the entire world!

Li Qi, filled with excitement, felt his heart pounding.

His blood was boiling.

He clenched his fists, trying to calm his emotions.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

No matter how grand his dreams, he was currently just an unranked minor Shaman Priest, probably on the level of a village shaman.

Perhaps even worse; village shamans had a lifetime of experience, but he had nothing; he even had to flip through books and follow instructions step by step for Cultivation and sacrifices.

"I still need to study, read, and make progress every day," he thought.

Unfortunately, daily Cultivation only needed to be done once a day; doing more was useless and ineffective.

So, to improve quickly, he would have to rely on other things.

"A horse doesn't get fat without night fodder; a man doesn't get rich without unexpected wealth," Li Qi muttered to himself. To improve quickly, at this stage, he had to cling to his benefactor, Young Master Zhu.

Then, he should find Empress Luofu early; she was also a powerful figure, and he might be able to get some benefits from her.

He had to set off early!