Chapter 772: Meeting humanity

Evasion and retreat are absolutely impossible for the Human Dao.

For example, 'biding one's time' is a strategy that would be advisable in many places.

After all, with a powerful enemy at hand, if you just act submissive, belittle yourself, and kowtow to others, you can deceive your opponent and gain precious time to breathe. That would be truly excellent.

Throughout the entire Universe, there are many, many examples of successfully using this strategy to turn defeat into victory. Cultivators who are good at this strategy are often praised as having 'endured hardships' or 'borne humiliation to achieve a great goal,' thereby avoiding many catastrophic disasters, achieving a comeback from a desperate situation, and becoming a temporary legend.

However, for the Human Dao, this is not the case.

Even if the Human Dao is deeply familiar with history, and even if it has been in deep trouble several times, such as the great rebellion the Human Dao experienced thousands of years ago when the Demonic Army and rebels had already attacked Chang'an, the Human Dao still did not choose to 'bide its time.' Instead, it self-destructed its Dragon Vein, seeking survival in death.

Perhaps an individual of the Human Dao might choose to temporarily bow their head for the ultimate victory, but at the strategic level of the entire Human Dao, even if they deeply understand the effect of bowing their head, they have never deigned to use it.

When walking the path of 'replacing Heaven with humanity,' they naturally know that they will face many enemies.

First are the Shaman Dao, who will never accept their views. Replacing Heaven with humanity is simply absurd nonsense in the eyes of the Shaman.

As the Divine Dao to be replaced, even if Haotian has never expressed an opinion on this, many high-ranking Divine Officials have also expressed their unacceptance of the Human Dao's actions.

The Demonic Dao is even more eager for chaos, not to mention that there are many high-grade worlds outside the domain that dislike the Human Dao.

The path of replacing Heaven with humanity is destined to be bumpy.

However, the Human Dao as a whole, when facing various severe difficulties and being surrounded by fierce enemies, always appears openly and honestly, grandly crushing its opponents, walking past all obstructors with an absolute kingly demeanor, never engaging in biding its time or acting subservient.

In this situation, when Li Qi went to the Human Dao's camp alone, it was absolutely impossible for the Human Dao to close its doors and refuse to see him, even if they clearly knew that Li Qi was there to gather intelligence.

With this view of the Human Dao, Li Qi did not delay too much. After finishing his business here and leaving a Dharma body as a communication terminal, he immediately went to the Human-Shaman border, which is the Human Dao's Southern Frontier.

Almost instantly, Li Qi arrived at that place. Spatial distance was no longer a limitation for Li Qi.

He could easily traverse billions of light-years, and the time spent was incredibly short. Because he possessed substantiality, 'Karma' no longer applied to him, and he could easily break the speed of light.

If a being without substantiality surpassed the Heavenly Dao's limit and broke Karma, then the existence without substantiality would directly perish.

Because they cannot sustain themselves solely by themselves, if Karma is broken, then the 'cause' of their existence is gone, and their own 'effect' as an existence will also disappear, and the entire person will simply vanish.

This is what it means to lack substantiality. Mortals exist by relying on their entanglement with this world, but high-grade Cultivators with substantiality exist for no other reason than themselves. They do not need to rely on a certain 'cause' to maintain themselves.

Mortals who lack substantiality rely on too much: they rely on external physical rules to maintain their material being, rely on Karma to ensure their existence, rely on spacetime continuity to guarantee the continuity of their actions... and so on.

But for Cultivators with substantiality, none of these are needed; they can rely solely on themselves.

This is 'Self-Existence'.

This is a Realm that Mortals without substantiality cannot comprehend, and it is also the reason why high-grade Great Powers can arbitrarily break various Universe rules.

This difference also makes Mortals feel immense pressure in front of Li Qi... as if facing another Universe...

For example, at this moment.

Li Qi stood at the location of the Human Dao's Southern Frontier.

It was already evening, and twilight shrouded the surroundings—

The afterglow of the setting sun scattered a dim yellow light, illuminating the waterfall and pond, casting a colorful and brilliant rainbow beside the figure.

These colors reflected on Li Qi, elongating his shadow, making him particularly conspicuous in the setting sun.

Li Qi looked up at the Human Dao's Southern Frontier before him.

Massive city walls were built on the mountain path, and armies could be seen on them. The generals maintained strict military discipline; once an order was given, the soldiers, ramparts, banners, and Formations were solid and heavy, each adhering to their ranks, the ramparts swirling like the heavens, striking like lightning, all orderly.

The city walls were magnificent, a thousand zhang high, with countless Formations inscribed on them, carved with White Tigers and Qilins, shining brilliantly, with various Cultivators in attendance. Their might and grandeur were indeed unparalleled in the world.

It could be seen that the beacon towers on the city walls were carved from mountain tops, ridge after ridge, peak after peak, the narrow passes were unfathomably deep, and the paths were deeply cut between the roads.

Such a massive city wall, extending for tens of thousands of miles, was entirely made of Spiritual Artifacts. If every part were fully activated, this city wall could even block Li Qi. With just one pass, it could easily cut off mountains and rivers, and even the atmospheric gale layer, achieving full monitoring of land, water, and air, completely blocking the Baiyue's path.

Such a spectacle was truly rare.

Moreover... the difference between the Baiyue and the Human Dao was clearly visible. Separated by a single wall, the Baiyue side was almost entirely wilderness, and demons and other creatures dared not live there, making it appear particularly desolate.

But on the other side of the city wall, the Human Dao was as prosperous as ever, with splendid roads, melodious music, harmonious people, strict order, schools like forests, thriving trade routes, intertwined exchanges, dense crowds, and people embracing virtue and singing praises.

However, those were all relatively distant places. The soldiers on this city wall were somewhat nervous at the moment.

The soldiers gripped their weapons, looking at the parts of the Formation they controlled, and a sense of fear arose in their hearts, because the person in front of them... was their great enemy this time.

The opponent, alone, had deeply penetrated enemy territory, even standing before the enemy's Formation. This act brought considerable pressure to the ordinary soldiers of the Human Dao.

At this moment, a Human Dao general stepped out and waved his hand sharply: “All troops, listen! Form up!”

With his command, the soldiers, who had been somewhat trembling before, immediately straightened up and began to move.

Thousands of armies roared like thunder, and tens of thousands of cavalry surged!

Spears pierced the clouds, feathered banners swept away rainbows, battle flags unfurled, reaching the sky and breaking the wind, military Qi blazed, emitting light, and the entire city wall activated, spitting flames and generating wind, roaring through fields and spraying mountains, eclipsing the sun and moon, and shaking mountains and rivers.

However, in Li Qi's view, this was like a wild beast by the roadside, baring its teeth, its fur bristling, trying to appear mighty and terrifying, merely to scare away its enemy.

Unfortunately, it couldn't scare Li Qi.

Li Qi looked up at the city wall, several thousand zhang high, and said softly, “Shaman God Mountain… Invoker, Di Qi lineage, Li Qi, has come to pay respects.”

As Li Qi spoke, an aura descended.

The soldiers who were waving banners, activating Formations, and generating military Qi also quieted down.

There was no need to put on a show anymore; their backbone, the commander who could contend with Li Qi, had arrived.

A sturdy man with a full beard descended from the city wall.

He wore a suit of Mingguang armor, his demeanor and movements were extremely calm and steady, and his gaze was resolute.

If Li Qi's previous opponent, Liu Junyi, was a humble gentleman like a willow branch swaying in the wind, with an aura of purity, then this burly man before him was a tall mountain, unshaken by any breeze.

He landed on the ground without a loud thud, leaving only two footprints.

Then, this General walked over and looked down at Li Qi.

Yes, looked down, because he was too tall, over two meters. Li Qi's build and height were not bad, but compared to him, Li Qi seemed like a little chick.

Just as Li Qi had guessed, the Human Dao would absolutely not choose to shrink back. Even if the other party clearly knew the existence of True Knowledge Dao Resonance, they would directly step forward.

“Young Master Li Qi, I am Qiu Zhi, the Deputy Commander of the Tang Nation’s Zhennan Prefecture,” the other party looked at Li Qi and introduced himself.

The various Prefectures of the Human Dao's Tang Nation are the military deployment units of the Human Dao, including Zhennan, Zhenbei, and so on, roughly similar to military regions, led by a third-grade 'Grand General of the Southern Command.'

Below the Grand General of the Southern Command, there are Deputy Commanders, whose ranks are not fixed: the Upper Prefecture is a genuine fourth-grade, the Middle Prefecture is a subordinate fourth-grade, and the Lower Prefecture is a genuine fifth-grade. The Zhennan Prefecture is definitely an 'Upper Prefecture.'

If Li Qi's previous opponents were other Geniuses, then... Li Qi was now encountering not a Genius, but a seasoned powerhouse.

Perhaps the opponent did not possess the extraordinary talent and astounding brilliance of Liu Junyi or the Demonic Prince, but the seasoned techniques and steady aura made Li Qi feel pressure at this moment.

This pressure came from 'deduction'.

Just after the opponent revealed himself, Li Qi had already scanned him thoroughly. Although he couldn't guarantee a 100% understanding, he estimated it was close to eighty or ninety percent.

In this situation, with the power of the fourth Realm, it was already enough to deduce battles. In that brief moment, Li Qi had already deduced... or rather, divined the results of hundreds of thousands of battles.

Without a doubt, the winning rate was four-six, with Li Qi at six.

This extra 'one' was the effect of the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lord.

Indeed, the skill level was similar.

However, such divination or deduction... was merely a simple estimation and should not be taken as absolute, as Li Qi could not deduce the third-grade power behind him.

So, Li Qi nodded and responded to the other party, “Is the Grand General of the Southern Command confronting my teacher? It looks about the same... So, my teacher and I are facing the entire Zhennan Prefecture?”

“The entire Zhennan Prefecture? No, not that much. The strength of the entire Zhennan Prefecture is enough to flatten the Baiyue. Deploying all of them to deal with you would be too wasteful; it would mean sacrificing gains on the extraterritorial battlefield, which is not cost-effective,” Qiu Zhi said.

The consideration of combat power is multifaceted. It's impossible to commit too much force for just one local battlefield; that's not cost-effective. How to deploy the right amount of troops at the right time to achieve the desired results is a lesson commanders must learn.

This is the case now. The Shaman Dao and Human Dao are currently fighting on four fronts, with war extending across countless worlds. Every minute and every second, trillions of worlds are reduced to ashes. The intensity of this battle means that even the combat forces of both sides are somewhat stretched.

Opening another Baiyue battlefield at this moment means the forces that can be deployed are limited. Assuming the entire Zhennan Prefecture is committed, it could indeed crush Li Qi and easily obtain the Holy Emperor Relic, but a large part of the extraterritorial battlefield might collapse.

“True, but in that case, things won't be so simple, General Qiu Zhi. The Baiyue currently has over three hundred fifth-grade Baiyue Kingdom Lords, but I see that the number of people you've deployed is less than a hundred,” Li Qi said, glancing at the city wall behind him.

“The Baiyue Kingdom Lords? A bunch of good-for-nothings. I have a total of eighty-seven fifth-grade Cultivators here. In terms of combat power, we could kill the Baiyue Kingdom Lords a hundred times over without suffering any casualties,” Qiu Zhi said.

His words were very blunt, but they were the truth.

The Human Dao's demands for 'humans' are simply unimaginable. In many countries outside the domain, the Human Dao is called the 'Nation of Perfected Humans' or the 'Ideal Nation.' The reputation of the Human Dao's people is quite polarized outside the domain.

Although their attitude is poor, for many worlds, the Human Dao is 'absolutely trustworthy.' Their official documents do not lie, they always face all challenges with the most abundant posture, their abilities are astonishingly high, everyone is a 'protagonist,' everyone is a 'hero.' Although they may have various personalities, different strengths, and even many flaws, they are all true 'humans,' with their own convictions in their hearts.

It can even be said that despite their differing personalities, every single one of them is like Pavel Korchagin, tempered steel.

Therefore, many worlds are willing to be driven by the Human Dao, hoping to become such 'perfected humans,' drawing closer to them, and believing in the power of the Human Dao.

And the Human Dao is generally friendly towards them, though not to the point of equality, but willing to cultivate their Dao-seeking hearts, allowing them to escape that 'large paramecium' stage.

The Human Dao's extreme style has also made their reputation very extreme. Those who like them consider the Human Dao an ideal, perfect nation, while those who have been harmed by the Human Dao consider it a cold and arrogant executioner.

Given this personnel screening situation, if the scattered Baiyue Kingdom Lords were to engage in battle with the other side...

One-on-one, they might barely escape with their lives, and some stronger Country Lords might even win.

But if it were ten against ten, they would be beaten to a pulp.

Even fifty against ten, there would be almost no chance of victory.

If more than three hundred people attacked the eighty-something on the other side, they wouldn't even be able to escape; everyone would die there, and the Human Dao side might even suffer no casualties.

What can I say...

Li Qi couldn't refute it.

So he decisively changed the subject and said, “But the Human Dao is the attacking side. I have already set up an impenetrable defense, waiting for the General to come and die.”

This made Qiu Zhi laugh heartily. (End of chapter)