Chapter 537: Secret

Li Qi’s answer was clearly correct.

The Human Emperor indeed had such a situation.

As the absolute Supreme of the Human Dao, a First Grade in the current era, and every generation being First Grade, and also the ultimate tough guy with the First Grade official title of 'Heavenly Strategist Supreme General ', the Human Emperor was definitely among the First Grade as extremely powerful and terrifying.

But such an ultimate tough guy was unexpectedly short-lived.

Every generation of Human Emperors did not live long; in fact, it could be said that they might not even live as long as Li Qi.

This situation directly led to the Human Emperor, though strong, potentially appearing to 'not understand' things, which is why the Hanlin Academy came into being, allowing a group of Hanlin scholars to serve as the Human Emperor’s strategists and advisors.

The Hanlin Academy encompassed everything; it was previously said, “Hanlin, wherever the imperial carriage is, there must be scholars of literature and classics; down to those skilled in divination, medicine, and various arts, all are placed in a separate academy to await imperial audience, and this place is where those summoned for their artistic and technical skills from all under Heaven reside.”

Their duty was to attend to the Human Emperor, and when summoned, they would immediately go to provide useful advice and knowledge they possessed to the Human Emperor.

The existence of the Hanlin Academy was tantamount to telling everyone in the world that the Human Emperor did not know much, and the Human Emperor’s lifespan was not long.

Because if the Human Emperor had a sufficiently long lifespan, none of this would be necessary; the Hanlin would no longer have a reason to exist, and the Human Emperor could learn all arts by himself, becoming one of the most knowledgeable people in the entire Universe.

Moreover, putting aside other things, just considering events from a few hundred years ago.

It was truly only a few hundred years ago, which for high-grade cultivators felt like yesterday.

In that great rebellion that occurred in the Human Dao, the previous Human Emperor died in it, and the new Human Emperor only took office a few hundred years ago.

All of this indicates one thing.

The Human Emperor is a consumable.

It might sound a bit flippant to say, but the Human Emperor, as the absolute Supreme and sole leader of the Human Dao, is actually just a consumable, consumed and dying every so often.

And it’s true death; Reincarnation and rebirth are out of the question.

Bodhisattva Baichen Fox King sat opposite Li Qi and smiled, saying, “The Human Emperor, being First Grade, dies so easily, even shorter-lived than some Fifth Grades. Do you have any conjectures? Don’t be afraid, just speak freely; the Human Dao wouldn’t be so petty.”

“Junior does not know,” Li Qi shook his head decisively.

How could he dare to guess such a thing? He was merely a humble Sixth Grade; even if he were audacious enough to truly speculate, he would certainly be wrong.

Who knows what’s going on with the Human Emperor.

Bodhisattva Baichen Fox King still had a calm expression: “I was still hoping you’d take a guess, but since you won’t guess and don’t know, then how did you dare to come find me?”

“It is precisely because I do not know that I dared to come. If I knew everything, Junior would never be able to leave Shaman God Mountain in this lifetime,” Li Qi said with a bitter, self-deprecating smile.

“Is that so? Indeed, there is such a possibility. Well then, since you’ve come and your resolve is so firm… I still cannot tell you directly. Let me ask you first, what do you wish to do by coming here? Don’t say I can see; sometimes, you know… what you think in your heart and what you say are different.”

Li Qi immediately cupped his hands and said, “Junior’s words absolutely match his heart; there has been no deception.”

“I believe you haven’t deceived me, but sometimes, what you think in your heart might not truly be what you think. Only by speaking it out will you know whether you truly think that way. If not… you will deny yourself,” Bodhisattva Baichen Fox King said, and at the same time, a plate of cherries suddenly appeared in her hand, which she ate leisurely, awaiting Li Qi’s reply.

Cherry lips, cherry lips—these two words probably describe such a scene.

Looking at the beauty who showed no trace of being a Bodhisattva, Li Qi composed himself, feeling that what she said made some sense.

Sometimes, you think you are thinking something, but in reality, you are not; you can’t even distinguish your own thoughts.

That is why thinking is necessary: first ponder, then consider, pulling out the many thoughts in one’s heart, questioning them one by one, engaging in a battle between heaven and man, and finally arriving at what is truly desired.

Bodhisattva Baichen Fox King asking Li Qi to speak was not truly to hear what he would say, but to let Li Qi clarify his own thoughts and understand what he wanted to do.

Only with a firm resolve would Bodhisattva Baichen Fox King cooperate with Li Qi.

Otherwise, if Li Qi’s own mind wasn’t settled, and cooperation was established only for Li Qi to go back on his word, the harm caused would not be simple for one or two people.

Understanding Bodhisattva Baichen Fox King’s meaning, Li Qi closed his eyes and began to deliberate on his words.

What exactly did he want?

Undoubtedly, Li Qi came here with two objectives, which he had thought through long ago.

First, to tour the Western Heavens and seek methods of Buddhist demon suppression, striving to suppress his demonic thoughts to a certain extent. This would allow him to suppress the Heavenly Demon’s interference with him.

After all, no matter how strong the Heavenly Demon was, it was under the suppression of the Pure Law and the Heavens of the Formless Realm; it couldn’t jump in and out every day, or it would truly be beaten.

Second… this time, he was confronting the Human Dao, and it might even be a full-scale Human-Shaman Dao war, with True Dragons also intervening. So, Li Qi wanted to find a Great Power who had a grudge against the Human Dao to help him, as a hidden card, an insurance, which could greatly enhance Shen Shuibi’s safety factor.

That should be all, right?

Li Qi deliberated repeatedly, then spoke all his thoughts and ideas, without any concealment.

After listening to Li Qi’s words, Bodhisattva Baichen Fox King smiled and said, “Is that all?”

“I myself do not know all the thoughts in my heart, but I believe for now, this is all there is. I hope Bodhisattva will enlighten me,” Li Qi replied directly.

“Please Bodhisattva enlighten me” was already very direct, equivalent to telling the other party directly: “Tell me what to do; if it works, it works; if not, I’ll leave.”

“Alright, then I shall enlighten you. It’s actually very simple. I just want to know if you truly have the courage to fall out with the Human Dao? You should know that I actually really want to cooperate with Shaman Dao, especially with a Young Master like you. After all, it is well known that Shaman Dao and the Human Dao have a Dao conflict. If it weren’t for some reasons, I wouldn’t want to directly contact the Great Shamanes; otherwise, I wouldn’t have waited until now.” Bodhisattva Baichen Fox King was truly direct, stating it plainly.

She looked at Li Qi and said seriously, “If you do this yourself, then you actually have no grievances with the Human Dao, only a Dao conflict. But if you involve me, then Karma will be intertwined. Young Master, do you truly have the courage… to stand on the opposite side of the Human Dao?”

After Li Qi heard these words, a surge of anger rose within him.

Even when facing a Third Grade, he couldn’t suppress his anger.

Courage.

It was courage again.

His teacher, Zhu Fengdan, mentioned it every day, and now Bodhisattva Baichen Fox King also mentioned it.

Could it be that he, Li Qi, was truly a soft shell? Did everyone have to doubt him?

Li Qi was furious, but he also had rationality; he was no longer affected by emotions.

Bodhisattva Baichen Fox King, however, looked at Li Qi with some curiosity; she could clearly see the anger in Li Qi’s heart.

Did it provoke him?

Hmm… but, fortunately, he didn’t act rashly out of anger.

Bravery is not recklessness.

What is recklessness?

If you are provoked by words, your blood boils, and you rush out to challenge a powerful enemy, then you are not brave; you are merely controlled by the emotion of anger.

In such a situation, if the enemy scares you, you might get scared, your blood cools down, and you are controlled by the emotion of fear, directly becoming a deserter.

Therefore, recklessness can lead to seemingly brave actions, but it is not true bravery. It is very likely that at the critical moment, just like being controlled by anger, one is again controlled by fear. How can anything be accomplished with such back and forth?

Fortunately, although Li Qi did not possess true courage, his rationality was more than sufficient; not being controlled by anger meant not being controlled by fear either.

This counts as touching the edge of courage, right?

As Bodhisattva Baichen Fox King thought of this, Li Qi suddenly spoke.

“Bodhisattva, my teacher also told me your suggestion, but… Li Qi is dull and has not yet been able to figure out what true courage is,” Li Qi clasped his hands together, performing a Buddhist salute.

Bodhisattva Baichen Fox King did not speak, but looked at Li Qi seriously, awaiting his answer, because Li Qi was clearly not preparing to apologize and leave.

“However, although I don’t know what courage is, Li Qi also knows that each has his own specialty. Some people are naturally fearless, with a kind of courage in their hearts, unafraid of powerful enemies and death,” Li Qi said.

As he said this, he thought of an old friend from Orthodox Sword Palace, Zhang Lan.

He was the type who naturally possessed a chivalrous spirit in his heart; even when challenging Chan Zhi as an Eighth Grade, he never showed the slightest fear and was always carefree.

Li Qi couldn’t do it, because that was the other person’s characteristic, not Li Qi’s.

“However—” He changed the subject: “Although Li Qi doesn’t understand what that is, I also have my own characteristic, which is being good at deep thought. Although slow, I never make mistakes.”

“I don’t know if I have the courage to completely stand against the Human Dao, but this decision before me is one I’ve made after careful deliberation. It’s a plan I’ve thought about and outlined for over a decade. This decision wasn’t made out of courage, but out of rationality. I believe that only by doing this can I possibly protect my wife’s life.”

“Therefore, Bodhisattva, you need not worry that I will shrink back.”

Bodhisattva Baichen Fox King looked at Li Qi, then said to him, “I understand your rationality, but do you know? The reason I ask you about courage is because, sometimes, the result of rationality is retreat.”

“When your rationality weighs everything and chooses to retreat, what then?”

Bodhisattva Baichen Fox King sharply questioned this point.

Li Qi smiled freely, released his Buddhist salute, and raised his head, saying, “Then we must ask about Bodhisattva’s courage. Is Bodhisattva willing to bear this risk? It can’t be that I bear everything, can it? Does Bodhisattva have the courage to bear the consequences of my escape?”

When Li Qi said this, Bodhisattva Baichen Fox King smiled.

“Then, I naturally have it.”

— — — — — — — — —

A day later, Li Qi bid farewell to Bodhisattva Baichen Fox King. He was exhausted from being tested by this Third Grade.

Just a small maneuver before the start had left Li Qi utterly weary, but… fortunately, it was settled.

At the same time, he also learned the reason for the Human Emperor’s short lifespan.

Bodhisattva Baichen Fox King said a sentence to him.

“To bear the filth of the nation is to be the lord of the altars of soil and grain; to bear the misfortunes of the nation is to be the king of all under Heaven.”

As the Supreme of the Human Dao, enjoying the combined strength of the entire Human Dao, ascending directly to First Grade the moment one takes the throne, it is not without cost.

Accepting the power of the entire Human Dao means bearing the heavy pressure of the entire Human Dao.

To shoulder the entire Human Dao by oneself, including the Dragon Veins, The Axis of All Realms, the entire court, and even the common people, countless Human Dao worlds among the Heavens, all depend on the Human Emperor alone.

Just one point—

Hundreds of years ago, the Human Dao suffered a major rebellion; the rebels even reached Chang’an, forcing the previous Human Emperor to directly detonate the Dragon Veins. In the end, with everyone working together, a huge price was paid to finally preserve the remaining foundation of the Human Dao.

This event was only a few hundred years ago, but can one see any signs of decline in today’s Chang’an, today’s Human Dao?

Li Qi had personally been to Chang’an and stayed in Tang Nation for a considerable time; he felt no trace of disaster. Even those who had lived for tens of thousands of years, or even personally experienced that great turmoil, showed no despondency but were all full of vigor.

The reason for all of this was the death of the previous Human Emperor.

The previous Human Emperor died from sheer exhaustion.

According to Bodhisattva Baichen Fox King, the previous Human Emperor made choices at countless historical turning points, completing tasks of an indescribably exaggerated scale, even for a First Grade.

Already heavily wounded, he still detonated the Dragon Veins, but the Human Emperor still did this, and finally died from exhaustion, with the current Human Emperor inheriting the position.

Bodhisattva Baichen Fox King did not directly explain how this was accomplished, but her original words were: “History is composed of countless choices; by interfering with all choices, one can interfere with history.”

Li Qi dared not imagine what happened.

All choices, which ‘all’?

All under Heaven? Or… all of the Myriad Worlds?

Did it include other First Grades?

Never mind, there’s no need to care about these things. After all, when the other party brought this up, they probably just wanted to see if Li Qi would retreat.

Fortunately, although Li Qi was afraid, he did not retreat.

Thus, the two sides officially reached a cooperation. Li Qi also gained some hidden knowledge, some secrets about the Ministry of War of the Human Dao, which might be useful on the battlefield later.

Li Qi also paid with corresponding knowledge, mainly including some Human Dao situations he saw in Chang’an, primarily concerning the Imperial Garden.

After all, the Imperial Garden was Chang’an’s pleasure quarter, and quite a lot of useful information could be derived from it.

This intelligence was of no use to Li Qi and certainly did not involve any secrets, but under the clues, it might give Bodhisattva Baichen Fox King a little inspiration, allowing her to make better judgments.

Having completed the matters here, Li Qi got up, preparing to tour the ‘Myriad Worlds’.