Chapter 433: Gift (Part 1)

Actually, what Li Qi wanted to say was: if the world is bad, then change the world.

Unfortunately, he couldn't do it.

Everything has a reason. The reason for the chaos in Baiyue lies in the conflict between humans and Shamanes. As a buffer zone, it was inherently squeezed by two types of Dao Orthodoxy.

Additionally, because of the special existence of 'Country Lord', a large number of frustrated Cultivators gathered there.

The difficulty for Li Qi to 'change the world' was truly not ordinary; he would at least need the ability to suppress the entire Baiyue to be qualified to say such a thing.

So, it was better to leave. He planned to send the Paibo Gang members to Song Kingdom.

Song Kingdom is currently governed by the Human Dao Orthodoxy. Although it hasn't been directly incorporated into the territory, the Human Dao Orthodoxy is flourishing there. The original Shamanes have basically been expelled from Song Kingdom, but other Dao Orthodoxys, including the Divine Dao Orthodoxy, are still preserved.

He would send them to Song Kingdom to see another world.

Then… after Li Qi returns from the East Sea, he would send them to Annam.

This way, the Paibo Gang members would naturally make their own choices.

They became this way because the world was this way.

Therefore, Li Qi decided to show them more of other worlds, giving them choices.

If anyone wanted to return to Great Deer Kingdom, Li Qi would send them back.

If anyone wanted to stay in Song Kingdom, Li Qi would not force them.

If they wanted to continue following Li Qi to Annam, that would also be good.

The most important key was that Li Qi would give these old brothers a gift, a gift that Li Qi considered invaluable yet most suitable.

It wasn't a Spiritual Artifact, nor a cultivation method, nor wealth or beautiful women.

It was an opportunity to choose.

This is actually a very precious thing.

In this world, how many people have the opportunity to choose at a critical moment in their lives?

Even Li Qi himself had no choice.

See more of the world, and then choose your own Dao. This way, even if you return to Great Deer Kingdom or somewhere else, it's fine.

Li Qi didn't expect these old brothers to all make the right choices, but he only hoped that they could all walk their 'own Dao' instead of being constantly swept along by this 'world', becoming unrecognizable to themselves.

This was the most precious gift Li Qi could give.

More precious than any Spiritual Artifact or cultivation method.

Li Qi himself even wanted this gift.

He also wanted an opportunity to choose, but no one would give it to him, and no one had the ability to give it to him.

From the moment he provoked the Heavenly Demon, Li Qi completely lost his choice.

With numerous thoughts swirling in his mind, and also contemplating the cultivation of many Dao methods, he didn't realize it until dawn broke.

Before dawn, the entire Sect Gate was already filled with the sounds of 'hey-ha, hey-ha,' which were shouts during practice.

Even the Paibo Gang members were up practicing. Even though they were drunk yesterday, no one dared to stop their morning practice.

This was the foundation of their standing, the basis for all Martial Artists.

Practice punches daily, train in the coldest and hottest days, never slack off for a single day.

Slacking off for one day meant three days of wasted effort, so naturally no one would be lazy.

Even playing mobile games for daily tasks can motivate so many people to do them every day, let alone practice. As long as there's even a tiny bit of a Martial Artist's perseverance in their hearts, they won't be vague about practicing.

Li Qi quietly waited for their daily practice to end.

After it ended, he saw Sixth Uncle dismiss the ordinary Disciples, keeping only the most trusted brothers.

Most were the original veterans of the Paibo Gang, with only a few newcomers who had recently gained trust.

Sixth Uncle gathered everyone and said to them, "No one is allowed to leak what happens today, understand?"

Sixth Uncle was not ranked, and in fact, his Carp Current Intent was not practiced very well. Everyone present could easily defeat him, but no one would question Sixth Uncle's authority, even though he was weak.

As a Gang Leader who had come up through the Paibo Gang, his actions had always been apparent to all.

He was not partial, nor did he seek personal gain. Even now, he has never married.

Actually, Sixth Uncle used to have a wife, but after she died, he never remarried and has no children to this day.

In many people's eyes, if you don't even have children, what's there to be partial about? After all, you can't take it with you, and without children, there are no inheritors, so no matter how much you accumulate, it's useless.

This relationship, coupled with the trust the original Paibo Gang veterans had in Sixth Uncle, made him the undisputed Sect Leader.

So, facing Sixth Uncle's warning, everyone immediately cupped their hands: "Understood!"

"I've dismissed the irrelevant people, so do you know why I called you here?" he asked the others.

At this moment, a burly man stepped forward.

His name was Liu Bo, a Innate Martial Artist of the Paibo Gang. He wasn't an old member of the Paibo Gang; he was a newcomer who had joined with existing skills.

"Sixth Uncle must have a reason for calling us here, but to do it so grandly, and even bring in the inner sect deacons and the Elder Council… Is it because of the person who came yesterday?" Liu Bo asked.

Liu Bo's appearance was quite rough, with a stout body, broad shoulders, and a thick waist. No muscles were visible, only layers of fat. His skin was fair and glistening with oil, as if he had just climbed out of the water.

His entire face was also round, with long hair tied into a ponytail, two small mustaches, squinting eyes, and thick lips. He was simply a pampered, fair-skinned fatty.

However, if one were to fight him, they would know that beneath all that fat were rock-hard muscles. His Physical Body cultivation surpassed everyone in Paibo Gate. If it weren't for the double explosive power of Carp Current Intent, no one in Paibo Gate could contend with him in strength. Even in the current Paibo Gate, his combat power was firmly among the top three.

"Yes, it's the person who came yesterday. His name is Li Qi, he was a former member of our sect, and his status was very high, he was the Paibo Gate's this." Sixth Uncle raised an index finger.

This was a slang term, meaning something like a strategist or mastermind in the local context.

"So that's it, I understand. No wonder there was such a commotion yesterday. So the strategist is back! Then please invite him out quickly so I can meet him. Yesterday, it was crowded and I didn't get a chance to see him!" Liu Bo said with a smile.

Sixth Uncle, however, patted his fat belly and said, "Yesterday, he arrived suddenly, and everyone was so happy that they forgot about these things. It wasn't intentional to neglect you, don't take it to heart. Look, today, you're the first one I sought out. Everyone doesn't consider you an outsider."

Sixth Uncle had already seen that Liu Bo was sulking because of yesterday's grand feast. He had thought he was already considered an insider of Paibo Gate, but then someone he didn't know suddenly appeared.

But this person was very familiar to all the old gang members, which immediately gave him the feeling that "the Paibo Gate members were all tacitly keeping something from me."

With this feeling, there would be a grudge no matter what was said. Sixth Uncle saw this point, so he directly cleared things up, so as not to cause overthinking.

The result was as expected. Since Sixth Uncle had said so, Liu Bo also felt awkward saying anything more. He naturally couldn't say anything else, only nodded and stepped back.

He secretly hid the grudge in his heart, though he was curious to see what the 'strategist' of Paibo Gate looked like.

"So everyone knows why we're here today, and you all have a good idea. Keep your mouths shut and watch carefully. Think hard about who brought us these good days now, and whatever Li Qi says later, you should also consider it carefully in your hearts." Sixth Uncle instructed the crowd.

Some rough men shouted loudly, "What's there to think about, Sixth Uncle! Isn't Brother Li's mind brighter than ours? If he has a plan, we'll just listen!"

"Exactly, exactly!"

"Does this even need a reminder? Everyone remembers it when they practice every day!"

The echoes of agreement were constant. The current members of Paibo Gate all deeply understood that the cultivation method they practiced daily was brought back by Brother Li at great risk, and for this, after Li Qi handed over the cultivation method, he left in a hurry, surely fearing that they would be implicated.

Now that Brother Li was back, everyone was too happy to even think about causing trouble!

"That's good, then let's go see Li Qi. Remember what I just said." Sixth Uncle said, and then led everyone into the courtyard.

Liu Bo, who had been listening to the previous conversation, became even more curious.

He was clear about the strength of Paibo Gate, and they were all a bunch of reckless fighters who didn't care about their own lives when fighting, only the opponent's. Saying they were vicious was definitely not wrong.

What kind of person could make the people of Paibo Gate so completely convinced and respectful?

Carrying this curiosity, he followed the crowd into the courtyard.

In the courtyard, the original meat scraps, grease, and feast leftovers had been cleaned up. Li Qi was standing in the middle of the courtyard, looking at them.

Li Qi smiled and said, "You've come? Sixth Uncle, is this all that's left?"

Although he was mentally prepared, he was still a little disappointed to see that only a little over a third of the Paibo Gang remained.

Dozens of brothers, until their deaths, never got a chance to choose.

"Such a large family fortune, did it come for nothing? We're supporting their wives and children, leaving behind their lineage. Even the bachelors have found nephews to continue their family line. For those without nephews, we've found orphans to take on their surnames." Sixth Uncle stepped forward to comfort Li Qi.

In the early days of the Paibo Gang, they dared to fight and struggle. How else could they have the good life they have now, with so many servants and wives?

Wasn't the death of so many brothers for this very moment?

"Very well, then let it be." Li Qi nodded, passed by Sixth Uncle, and looked at the people of Paibo Gate.

He cleared his throat and cast a spell, using the wind to make his voice travel farther and louder.

"Brothers, I have something I want to tell everyone."

Everyone listened quietly. Even Liu Bo didn't speak at this moment. He wanted to see what kind of ability this strategist named Li Qi possessed.

"I want to take everyone to Song Kingdom to stay for a period of time. If you're not satisfied, you can return. If Song Kingdom is good, then I'll send everyone to Annam. This will probably take four or five years. After everything is over, you can do whatever you want." Li Qi said.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other.

Not only the Paibo Gang members, but even Sixth Uncle frowned.

"Brother Li, it's not that we don't trust you, but you need to give us a reason to abandon our homes and livelihoods, right?" At this moment, an Innate Martial Artist standing nearby spoke up.

Martial Dao Ninth Rank, in the 'Jianghu' of Baiyue, is called Innate.

Li Qi recognized this person. He was also an old member of the Paibo Gang from before, named Zhang Erdi. It's just that he didn't have much of a presence before, and Li Qi didn't expect him to suddenly become a Ninth Rank.

The parents of the Paibo Gang members generally didn't have a high level of education, so most of the Paibo Gang members' names were numbers, like Erdi, Huang Si, and Sixth Uncle's 'Sixth' also came from his name.

"Zhang Er, when have I ever acted without reason? Don't be anxious, sit down and let me explain in detail." Li Qi waved his hand.

Zhang Erdi nodded, took two steps back, and waited for Li Qi to explain the reason.

"Do you know how big Great Deer Kingdom is?" Li Qi asked the people around him.

Of course, everyone didn't know and shook their heads.

But at this moment, Zhang Bo, the outsider, stepped forward: "Great Deer Kingdom has thirteen prefectures and one hundred sixty-nine counties. We are in Li Prefecture. The entire Great Deer Kingdom spans over a million li. I wonder why Brother Li asks this?"

Li Qi heard the correct answer, slightly surprised, and looked at Zhang Bo: "That's right, it is indeed so."

Originally, Li Qi was planning to wait for everyone to shake their heads and say they didn't know, and then explain, but he didn't expect someone to actually answer correctly.

So he looked at Zhang Bo with some surprise, then said, "That's right, Great Deer Kingdom spans over a million li. Do you think it's big?"

"That's naturally incredibly big! The furthest I've been is to Yi County. Afterwards, I still want to go see White Snake Prefecture. I heard White Snake Prefecture is very big, and White Snake Mountain is as magnificent as Li River!" Huang Si immediately said.

He was naturally lively, just like how he eagerly took many wives, he also wanted to travel and see the world after becoming wealthy.

"Then look, at that mountain." Li Qi pointed to a mountain about four or five li away. It was a quarry, and it seemed that a powerful individual had confined the landscape there, turning it into a dead land specifically for quarrying, so there was no need to worry about attacks from mountain spirits or wild beasts.

Everyone didn't know why Li Qi's topic jumped so quickly, so they could only look at the mountain, which covered an area of two or three li.

Someone immediately reminded Li Qi: "Brother Li, that's Qianji Gate's quarry. What's wrong? What does this have to do with how big Great Deer Kingdom is?"

"Watch closely." Li Qi said, extending his hand.

Suddenly, a Dharma Idol appeared behind him.

It was an extremely fragmented Dharma Idol. Its limbs were not attached to its body, but barely connected, like a puppet with dislocated joints, held up by a strange force.

Its left hand held a flower with Buddhist light, and its right hand grasped a heart with a demonic claw.

Its head sat with a Shaman Nascent Soul, and its eyes showed the light of the sun and moon.

Its body emanated the myriad aspects of the Human Dao Orthodoxy, and its feet stepped on Yin and Yang fish.

This Dharma Idol symbolized Li Qi's fragmented Dao path, but it was also a manifestation of his power.

When the Dharma Idol appeared, the Paibo Gang members felt a suffocating sensation!

Then they saw the Dharma Idol extend its hand and flip its palm.

A mountain covering two or three li was instantly flattened with a roar!

Then, before anyone could speak, they heard Li Qi say, "But if you ask me, this Great Deer Kingdom is too small."