Chapter 737: Intelligence forum

The True Dragon named Chang Qiao was dressed in formal attire from all corners of the world—a very complex outfit with a great deal of ornamentation, especially a very long skirt.

Flower Gods often appeared in such attire, and undeniably, it was indeed very beautiful and well-suited for dancing; this was the essence of 'grand, luxurious clothing'.

Coupled with her state as a Dragon maiden, the faintly visible Dragon scales at her neck, the small antlers on her head, her cyan-gold eyes, and the Dragon Qi emanating from her body all made her appear fresh and radiant.

This made Li Qi even more vigilant. He did not drink the wine that had already been poured, but instead stood up and said, "Young Master, collecting so much... is it because you want to...?"

Li Qi certainly didn't believe this was some kind of fan behavior!

Such collection, it was fortunate that Chang Qiao was a Dragon; if the other party had been a Shaman, he would have already attacked!

If a Shaman obtained so many items linked by Karma, it would mean the other party was full of hostility!

Although these items had no deep connection to Li Qi and posed little threat to the current Li Qi, from a Shaman's perspective, doing such a thing already represented 'unfriendliness'.

For example, Li Qi had a million, and someone stole five dollars from him.

These five dollars were nothing to Li Qi, but the act of stealing was a clear act of hostility towards him!

After all, as a Shaman, when he started collecting someone's personal belongings, or even hair or blood, it meant Li Qi was preparing to do something to that person.

That was a Shaman.

However, Chang Qiao tilted her head, her eyes filled with confusion.

Seeing Li Qi stand up, Chang Qiao was somewhat puzzled and rose as well: "Ah, didn't I say? I have admired Young Master for a long time, so naturally I have some fondness for these. Bringing them out this time was merely to ask Young Master to distinguish which are real and which are fake. If they're fake, I'll throw them away. Is something wrong? I also know the taboos; these items have no profound meaning and cannot be used to connect to Young Master. I merely play with them for my own amusement, so what's the issue?"

She continued, still puzzled: "It's natural for people to collect items belonging to famous individuals. When Great Powers shed a scale or a hair, even the small demons below them would be eager to hide them. Isn't it the same on the Human Dao side? A Great Scholar's handwriting, even if it's just practice drafts, is specially collected by people."

"Do Shamanes not have this tradition? That can't be, can it?"

This left Li Qi momentarily stunned.

But on closer thought, it did seem to be the case.

Personal items of Great Powers, even just a used pen or a cup they drank from, would be collected by people. Let alone others, even if Li Qi encountered something like the Buddha's meditation mat or the Shaman God's belt, even if they had no power, could he really resist collecting them?

It was just that he was a little... unaccustomed to his own things being collected by others.

To be precise, he hadn't even realized that things he had used before would be collected by others...

Now that he understood the reason, Li Qi gave an awkward smile and said, "It's just a little... unfamiliar... Is Young Master truly only doing this?"

In fact, as Li Qi asked, he had already nearly arrived at the answer in his heart. He had already begun to deduce along the Karma lines of these items and had not received any negative feelings. His Shaman's sixth sense also remained undisturbed.

It was clear that the other party was truly just collecting them.

Seeing Li Qi's awkward expression, the originally puzzled and confused Chang Qiao suddenly couldn't hold back a soft laugh, which quickly turned into hearty laughter, making her double over. She then put her hands on her hips, her laughter like silver bells.

When she had laughed enough, she sat down again and patted her chest: "Young Master seems to be unaccustomed to his current status. You are a very famous person now. However, the more I look, the more adorable you seem."

Li Qi did not sit down, but shook his head and replied seriously, "Don't say such things. Let's get straight to the point."

But after Li Qi said this, Chang Qiao began to examine Li Qi instead, her cyan-gold eyes sparkling with light, as if her interest was growing even stronger.

Li Qi couldn't stand this gaze; it always felt awkward. So he sat down again and emphasized, "Chang Qiao, you specifically called me down for this kind of thing?"

Chang Qiao looked at Li Qi with amusement. In just two or three minutes of conversation, Li Qi had stood up multiple times, looked greatly surprised, and frowned. Such behavior was truly—

Adorable.

Indeed, he was still a young man. Although his cultivation was profound, his Dao Heart firm, and he had witnessed many terrifying things, he had only been born less than two thousand years ago.

But the more he was like this, the more endearing he became, didn't he?

Thus, the next moment, Chang Qiao's body suddenly expanded.

She rapidly transformed from a beautiful cyan-gold maiden, her soft hands becoming slender but sharp Dragon claws, and the tail behind her suddenly lengthened, instantly turning into a True Dragon four or five li long!

With cyan-gold scales, Dragon whiskers fluttering like tassels, and eyes of exquisite beauty, like magnificent gems, shimmering with an indescribably brilliant light, her overall coloration was like that of a peacock, giving one a sense of freely roaming the world.

Although her body was enormous, proportionally, her Dragon body was quite slender, not so robust, so even though she was several kilometers long, there was a deceptive impression of being 'slender and graceful'.

Li Qi was puzzled and surprised.

Uh... why did she suddenly transform into her true form? Is there any meaning to this?

"Ahaha! I knew Young Master would have this expression! It's just as I guessed!" Chang Qiao playfully flipped her tail. As her Dragon tail swished, it splashed the surrounding Spiritual Liquid, but it quickly coalesced again, as if these mercury-like Spiritual Liquid possessed self-aggregating properties.

"So, Chang Qiao, what exactly do you want to do?" Li Qi's expression was displeased. He truly didn't understand what this female Dragon was doing. If this continued, he wouldn't want to exchange pleasantries with her anymore.

Chang Qiao reined in her smile, casually swaying her Dragon body, and said, "Nothing much. I just feel that you seem to need 'meaning' in everything you do, so it's rare to see you once, and I just wanted to verify it. Sure enough, you really only want to talk about 'serious business,' huh? No, Young Master Li Qi, you are already at the Fourth Grade. You must already possess the quality of 'freedom,' no longer constrained by time and external factors, able to endure merely by your own being."

"Then why do you still care so much about 'time' and 'meaning'? I observe Young Master's expression, always in a hurry, just like a Mortal. Perhaps you are even deliberately maintaining a Mortal's perspective. Is there something special about this? Although it's especially cute this way, it doesn't seem to have any meaning, does it?"

At this point, Chang Qiao finally said two meaningful sentences.

This kind of conversational rhythm was more suited to Li Qi, so he replied, "Time only has meaning when it is utilized. Time spent like a stone is as if it hasn't been spent at all. A meaningful thousand years has more power than a hundred million years spent in a daze, waiting for it to pass."

"What is meaning? Oh well, everyone has a different answer to that, so it doesn't matter. But for me, what just happened also had meaning. Young Master's reaction is the source of my joy for the past few hundred years," Chang Qiao said with a cheerful tone, swaying her tail.

Li Qi couldn't quite understand, but he ultimately chose to be accommodating. After all, there were many things he couldn't understand. He didn't understand why the other party would do this, but he understood that everyone cared about different things.

Moreover, while he was currently unaccustomed to his belongings being collected by others, he wasn't completely unable to accept it.

So, Li Qi nodded and said, "This, this, and this sword, are not mine. I don't use swords. In fact, I rarely even use Spiritual Artifacts."

Li Qi pointed at Chang Qiao's collection, beginning to identify which items were his and which were not.

Chang Qiao, in turn, began to discard the fakes, cursing some unscrupulous merchants as she did so, and telling Li Qi that she would definitely seek them out later.

Finally, Li Qi picked out all the items that weren't his. Chang Qiao contentedly put away the remaining ones, which were all personally confirmed by Li Qi to have been used by him!

Then, she looked at Li Qi with those fluttering, gem-like beautiful eyes: "Then, Young Master, could you perhaps bestow upon me another personal item? Preferably with an autograph. I know Young Master is here on official business, and I have some influence here. As a return gift, if Young Master desires any information or intelligence, Chang Qiao will gladly provide it."

This touched upon Li Qi's needs. He was here to find something, and if a local power could help, it would naturally be much easier.

So, Li Qi thought for a moment, then appraised himself.

Uh... Looking at himself, besides the clothes he was wearing, he didn't seem to have any accessories.

Li Qi was originally dressed very simply and didn't like to use Spiritual Artifacts. He did have a hair tie, as Li Qi had long hair, so he used a string to tie it up to prevent it from flying around...

So, he pulled off his hair tie, lightly tapped it with his hand, and Spiritual Qi gathered like ink, writing the characters 'Li Qi' on the hair tie.

"I have no courtesy name, so I'll just write my given name," Li Qi said with a smile, then handed the hair tie to Chang Qiao.

But Chang Qiao didn't take it.

Her Dragon body twisted violently, then she suddenly did a backflip. With a clear Dragon roar, she spun several times in the air, the generated wind blowing the Spiritual Liquid river apart, only for it to re-coalesce under its aggregating properties.

Then, Chang Qiao coughed twice and said, "Ahem... My apologies, Young Master, I lost my composure a bit."

But she still eagerly picked up the hair tie with her Dragon claw and placed it among her collection.

Then, she placed the Jade Slips in front of Li Qi and said, "There's one last thing. Chang Qiao is currently writing a biography for Young Master. Young Master, these are the preliminary materials. Please correct any errors and fill in any gaps."

"Writing a biography?" Li Qi's expression was subtle, and he said, somewhat at a loss, "I'm not yet great enough to warrant a biography, am I? It would be best to stop such a thing..."

Chang Qiao, however, was unfazed and immediately seized the opportunity to persuade him: "It's not for others, nor will it be published externally. It's just for my own appreciation. As I said before, Chang Qiao has admired Young Master for a long time, and now that I've seen you in person, I naturally must seize the opportunity. Young Master can just treat it as telling stories. Oh, and earlier, I saw Young Master was very interested in information. Why don't you tell me who or what you are looking for? I'll immediately arrange for people to do it."

"Finding people and items also takes time. In the meantime, Young Master might as well stay here. We can then discuss matters in detail and enjoy drinks together."

How to put it...?

Li Qi felt so awkward.

He was so unaccustomed to this.

So, he asked, "Chang Qiao... why?"

"Why? Oh, I understand. Young Master means why am I so enthusiastic? Why do I have such feelings? It's simple, doesn't Young Master think you are very charming?"

Li Qi immediately said guardedly, "Chang Qiao, I already have a family—"

"Of course! What were you thinking? I even know your wife is named Shen Shuibi. Ah, speaking of that, I really love the development of your relationship! Could you tell me about it too?" Chang Qiao said excitedly, wagging her tail.

It must be said, these few lines of reasoning left Li Qi utterly bewildered.

So, to maintain his sanity, Li Qi took a deep breath, suppressed all his doubts, and then said, "Chang Qiao, you calm down, and I'll calm down. Now I ask, and you answer."

"Uh-huh, alright," Chang Qiao replied happily, playing with Li Qi's hair tie.

"First question, where did you learn about me?" Li Qi asked.

"From other people, of course. There are many places with such things now, aren't there?" Saying this, Chang Qiao began to demonstrate.

She opened something similar to a Human Dao terminal and launched a forum.

Li Qi swept it with his True Knowledge Dao Resonance. He had initially thought this was on the The Axis of All Realms network, but on closer inspection, this forum was actually not running on the The Axis of All Realms.

This was a 'private network' maintained solely by a few Great Powers, relying on special connections established by them, independent of The Axis of All Realms, with separate lines.

If the terminal was a large internet, this was like a membership-based small website, the kind that required an invitation code to register, and it was not processed by anyone, belonging to a completely independent website. It also seemed capable of connecting anytime, anywhere.

How to put it, a few words popped into Li Qi's mind.

Myriad Heavens Chat Group.

It really was exactly the same.

Then, Chang Qiao displayed her private network and said, "Young Master, please see, this place of ours is probably where we discuss you all."

Li Qi looked at the terminal, and on the light screen, the title was prominently displayed—

Prodigy List.

What is all this?

On closer inspection, it actually contained sections and rankings, including the Demonic Prince, Little Heavenly Master, White Dragon Lord, Little Overlord, Shaman Mountain Goddess, Liu Junyi, Lord of Pestilence, Hundred Flowers Demon Lord, Gluttonous Star, and himself, and about twenty to thirty other people.

Roughly... they were all top Prodigies from the world, and high-grade worlds outside the domain.

Then, each person had their own dedicated section, collecting information about themselves and others, as well as comments and summaries from other people, incredibly detailed and precise down to the year.

Wait—

This is... an intelligence forum?