Chapter 591: Liu Junyi

Symbolic meaning, in many cases, possesses substantial influence.

Especially for a Shaman, who bases their spells on a vast quantity of 'symbols', sacrifices are filled with arrangements of various items, followed by the famous notation 'to symbolize so-and-so'.

For instance, “Set three hundred and sixty-five flags and sails, to symbolize the number of the Heavens”.

Or: “Set up a five-colored altar, to symbolize the welcome of the Five Directions, uniting the gods of the Five Directions.” Something like that.

For rituals like the Nuo sacrifice, where people wear masks and pretend to be ghosts to be driven away, it can genuinely dispel ghosts and pestilence.

Therefore, from the perspective of a Shaman, symbolic meaning is not so simple.

So, as the 'First Battle of the Vanguard', it truly wasn't simple. Up above, the Shaman Gods might even be waiting for this victory, to serve as the beginning of a huge ritual.

If it failed, the losses would be far more than just those on the battlefield.

Li Qi became solemn, immediately feeling the responsibility on his shoulders. This was truly a coincidence… his luck wasn't very good.

However, within coincidence, there is also inevitability hidden.

Because Li Qi's重视 of this war far surpassed that of others, he prepared several centuries in advance and expelled the Human Dao envoys early on.

According to what Li Qi himself knew, in many places, the Shaman Dao envoys and Human Dao envoys fought fiercely against each other, some even for several centuries, and even after both sides started the war, no victor had been decided.

After all, everyone was an official member of a great Dao Orthodoxy, and the gap wouldn't be that large.

Only a few people, like Li Qi, quickly defeated their opponents, using the remaining time for preparation.

And among these people, Li Qi was the most thoroughly prepared. Concerning Shui Bi's safety, Li Qi naturally put all his effort into preparing for this matter wholeheartedly.

The ultimate result was that the world cluster he was responsible for was the first to arrive on the battlefield, possessing the greatest advantage and the best geographical position in the local war zone.

Thus, the Vanguard Battle naturally fell upon his shoulders, and the ultimate result was that Shui Bi would join this Vanguard Battle.

Within coincidence, there is always inevitability hidden. However, Li Qi now believed it was truly just a coincidence.

Because he knew very well that in this great war, even the Shaman Gods were incapable of orchestrating these 'coincidences', so... he could only accept his fate.

Therefore, Li Qi immediately got straight to the point and said to Zhu Fengdan: “Lord of Warfare, in that case, the first battle probably won't be limited to my Rank, will it? I should only be responsible for the local battlefield at my Rank. Since it's about the Vanguard Battle, how many people above will be paying attention?”

“No, it will only be at your Rank. Continued investment, turning it into a piecemeal tactic, is unnecessary. That would no longer be a 'Vanguard Battle', but a 'Full-scale War'. Therefore, we will provide some intelligence assistance, but we will not invest more high-Rank cultivators,” Zhu Fengdan said.

Li Qi understood.

So, this matter was a ceremonial struggle from the very beginning.

What is a ceremonial struggle? It means that, although this is a fierce battle where people will die, it is actually governed by rules. Everything must satisfy the rule of a 'Vanguard Battle'.

In this battle, the Human and Shaman factions are actually similar to a 'bet' in underground boxing. Underground boxing can use any means, but it always remains a one-on-one fight between two people; no one else joins.

This local war is the same.

If the Human Dao wins, they can destroy the 'Vanguard's Sharpness' of the Shaman Dao and prevent the Shaman Dao from using this to initiate a large ritual site.

If the Shaman Dao wins, they can further expand their advantage with the help of the vanguard's sharpness.

If this battle were likened to a game of chess...

Then, Li Qi's war is like the rock-paper-scissors before playing chess, a small game to decide who goes first.

However, this small game can determine who goes first, so it will certainly influence the final outcome to some extent.

After all, in any game, the advantage of going first is significant.

Li Qi immediately felt immense pressure.

Without support, for 'symbolic meaning', this was a solitary battle.

However, the good thing was that the Human Dao would also not dispatch reinforcements. Generally speaking, both sides were relatively fair, because if the Human Dao also sent reinforcements, it would break the symbolic meaning, ultimately escalating into a full-blown conflict between the two sides, which would not yield any benefits and, frankly, would be meaningless.

Even if they wanted to increase investment and overturn the table, it would be when the outcome was about to be clear. Rather than letting the Shaman Dao gain the initiative, it would be better for neither side to have it.

“So, this is a vanguard battle limited to Rank Five, and… I am fully responsible for it. I must win, and I don't need to consider anything else,” Li Qi summarized, saying so.

“Yes, if you win, many fewer people will die,” Zhu Fengdan said. “This war, you could say, was brought about by you and me. If fewer people die, the burden on you and me will also be lighter.”

“Understood. Farewell, Lord of Warfare.” Li Qi bowed.

“Be careful, your opponent is an acquaintance,” Zhu Fengdan said.

“An acquaintance?” Li Qi was surprised. Among his acquaintances in the Human Dao… was there anyone who could fight him? Yan Ke and the others were still Rank Seven, and similarly, Liu Canzhi should also be around Rank Seven.

Could it be the Lord of Pestilence?

The Lord of Pestilence's cultivation should be very slow; it was unlikely for him to Breakthrough to Rank Six in a few centuries.

Then who else could it be?

However, Zhu Fengdan didn't play coy or act mysterious, like saying, “You'll know later.”

He straightforwardly stated the name: “Liu Junyi.”

“Liu Junyi? He was only Rank Eight back then, and now he's Rank Six?” Li Qi's eyes widened. What kind of speed was this?

He himself had fought with all his might, almost damaging his future, and now he was still carrying a debt that he might have to repay at Rank Three, just to reach Rank Six. How could Liu Junyi do it?

“What? Only you are allowed to be fast? Let me tell you, in terms of cultivation speed, you will never be able to surpass him. Liu Junyi is now on par with the Little Celestial Master and the Demonic Prince. His cultivation speed will only get faster and faster. The time it takes him to Breakthrough to Rank Five might even be shorter than the time it took him to Breakthrough to Rank Six,” Zhu Fengdan said.

Zhu Fengdan's words completely baffled Li Qi.

What the hell? What is this all about? Getting faster and faster?

“What, do you look down on other upright gentlemen? In this Dao lineage, the lower the Rank, the slower the cultivation, the more emphasis on foundation. You wouldn't think it's simple to meet the standard of a 'gentleman', would you? However, once self-cultivation is complete, cultivation will advance by leaps and bounds, directly reaching Rank Four without obstruction, because when he was Rank Eight, he had already overcome all Bottlenecks below Rank Four,” Zhu Fengdan casually explained.

This left Li Qi stunned.

Rank Eight, and he had overcome all Bottlenecks below Rank Four?

What kind of monsters are the Geniuses of this world!

However, while Li Qi was lamenting, he forgot that in the eyes of ninety-nine percent of people, he himself was an out-and-out monster.

This is how the world is.

No matter how strong you are, there will always be someone stronger than you. In the nearly 'infinitely vast' Outer Void, nothing has not happened. In infinite quantities, monsters and Prodigies will only emerge endlessly.

Perhaps only at Rank Three and above are you qualified to say you are 'unique'.

Zhu Fengdan clapped his hands: “So, fight quickly. Be careful if it drags on for ten years or so, he'll be Rank Five. At that time… under your command, besides that rabbit, no one will be a match for him. He alone can tie up half of your army, and then you will undoubtedly lose. Alright, enough small talk, get out.”

After he finished speaking, Li Qi's separated consciousness returned to his body.

Alright then.

Known intelligence —

Must fight quickly. If it drags on, the BOSS will enter a second phase, and then victory will be almost impossible.

However… since he's an old acquaintance, why not pay him a visit?

Liu Junyi is a humble gentleman and won't play too many tricks. Going to communicate with him could also be… a farewell?

After all, after this battle, it might be difficult to have a good conversation for the rest of their lives.

Moreover, a conversation could also help understand the opponent's situation and formulate corresponding strategies.

Li Qi felt that going to his opponent's doorstep to understand his background would give him an advantage, because no matter what, even if they exchanged information, Li Qi was confident he could change his style at any time, but Liu Junyi probably couldn't do that.

His consciousness returned to his main body, and Li Qi was still continuously dealing with those 'once-in-a-lifetime problems'.

He was like an ICU doctor.

All ICU patients probably only enter once in their lives, and this one time is already unforgettable enough. Entering means facing a near-death experience and preparing for the worst, just waiting for the doctor to show their skill and see if they can save them.

For the patients, it's like this, but for the doctor, he can receive many such patients in a day, and each one must be dealt with.

However, he still found time to condense a Golden Dais.

Now that he had witnessed and understood the operation of the Divine Dao, his Golden Dais became even more powerful. This was what Li Qi was best at: collecting information and then utilizing it.

Anything Li Qi had seen would have the effect of 'definitely usable next time'. He was skilled at unearthing useful things from the most minute details.

He was now preparing to use this characteristic of his to exchange information with Liu Junyi.

Even if the value of the exchanged information was the same, Li Qi believed he could apply it better and make it play a greater role.

With the Golden Dais condensed, Li Qi's consciousness split into two.

In fact, he could directly separate the consciousness of the Golden Dais and make it like a Clone, so he wouldn't need to multitask.

However, Li Qi was allergic to Clones now. He would probably never use Clone techniques again in his life.

The Golden Dais left his body, descended in the distance, and then quickly departed.

At this moment, the Star-Mansion Array was already operating at full power, so by finding an opening of the Star-Mansion Array, he could quickly rush to the Human Dao's war fortress, 'Gansong Prefecture', and he wouldn't need to use his brain to pay for the ride like before.

Unfortunately, large army groups cannot pass through the Star-Mansion Array, as this army group was simply too large.

Even worlds are counted in billions, let alone people. With so many people, even if the overall load on the Star-Mansion Array was negligible, just queuing would be enough to kill people; by the time they got their turn, it would be too late.

This situation was like wanting to relocate a server. It could be transmitted via fiber optics, or the server racks could be directly transported by truck.

In reality, trucks would be much faster than fiber optics.

Even if these separated Star-Mansion Array interfaces could transfer dozens of worlds at once, it was still far from enough. It was better to let the worlds move on their own; that would be faster.

The same applied to the Human Dao's Golden Dais side, so there was no need to worry too much about the difference in troop transport speed. However… one needed to pay attention to highly cultivated elite assault teams, who might use the power of the Golden Dais to launch surprise attacks and operations.

But those were matters for later, let's talk about them then.

The journey took several hours, and Li Qi quickly arrived at the nearest Star-Mansion Array entrance.

Then, accompanied by a sound, the Golden Dais quickly arrived in front of that light band.

Just by passing through here, he could enter the Human Dao's territory.

Li Qi didn't even hesitate, stepping directly through the light band.

At the moment of Transmigration, his Golden Dais disintegrated for an instant. Li Qi immediately made adjustments, suppressing the surrounding Dao with his spell and re-stabilizing the Golden Dais.

“…All the rules have changed. The combination of Qi has collapsed, unable to form worlds,” Li Qi murmured to himself.

Matter is formed by the aggregation of Qi, but here, the speed of Qi aggregation has slowed down, so the speed of matter formation has also slowed down, making it more difficult to form matter.

Consequently, the density of matter would also decrease, and all material structures would eventually disintegrate and fall apart. Additionally, the fission temperature also decreased.

Those countless worlds collapsed on their own for this reason, dispersing matter, which then aggregated under the influence of gravity, turning into suns. The Human Dao could then conveniently collect and utilize these materials.

Indeed, it was merely for 'convenience'.

Now, as Li Qi passed through the light band, the Qi that formed his Golden Dais also dispersed. However, he was now forcibly anchoring his Golden Dais with a spell, preventing it from scattering too quickly.

However, after Li Qi arrived here, he did not immediately explore the Human Dao's war fortress but instead stood still.

Because…

Liu Junyi, amidst a glow emanating from the Golden Dais, descended here.

Somehow, Liu Junyi seemed to have calculated that Li Qi would come, so the moment Li Qi arrived, he also came here via the Golden Dais, facing Li Qi directly.

He was as gentle and amiable as ever, his expression calm with a slight smile. He cupped his hands and softly said: “Li Student, it's been a long time since we last parted.”

“…Brother Liu knew I would come?” Li Qi asked.

“It's not hard to guess. Given Li Student's temperament, after learning that this war zone is under my command, it would be impossible for you not to come. So, I left a few 'eyes'. When you arrived, I could come directly to greet Li Student,” Liu Junyi said politely.

“Hmm… Brother Liu couldn't refuse to see me, and was also afraid that if I visited, I would thoroughly read the war fortress, so we meet here?” Li Qi retorted.

“This is good for everyone. It neither disrespects the etiquette between Li Student and me, nor does it expose state secrets, wouldn't you agree?” Liu Junyi replied with a smile.