Chapter 798: Relaxed kings

Under Li Qi's subtle manipulation, hundreds of thousands of various chess pieces began to move.

The world of Baiyue… quietly snapped.

That's right, this was the application of the Dao of Heaven’s Evolution, and Li Qi already knew how to use it.

The Baiyue Kingdom Lords were naturally not unaware of Li Qi's actions.

In fact, some smart people had already realized what Li Qi was doing.

Quietly, the Baiyue Kingdom Lords, using their respective small groups and friendships, contacted each other through sorcery.

For example, the Great Deer Kingdom Lord had a good relationship with the Green Mountain Kingdom Lord, An Yang Kingdom Lord, and Wen Lang Kingdom Lord; they often hung out together, and their personal relationship was quite close.

Now, this situation was somewhat beyond their expectations, so the small group of four of them quietly held a private meeting.

In the communication spell, An Yang Kingdom Lord spoke first: "Things are not looking good; this Young Master's current arrangements are as if he doesn't trust us."

Wen Lang Kingdom Lord said: "He is severely injured, with only his wife supporting the overall situation, and the Human Dao is pressing closer step by step. We, this group of people, are not trusted by him, so he naturally can't rest assured about us. Now, it's best we don't act rashly on our own, lest we be caught by him like Lingxiao and be killed as a warning to others."

"That's natural." The others also echoed in agreement.

At least on this, there was a consensus among the Country Lords.

Li Qi's strength was evident to all; the terrifying power he displayed when fighting that Fourth-Rank Deputy Commander had already convinced all the Country Lords.

Therefore, even though Li Qi was severely injured, no one dared to retaliate.

Oh, it wasn't that no one dared; Lingxiao Kingdom Lord dared. She used this opportunity, and her relationship with Li Qi, to stir up some internal strife and gain some treasures for herself.

As for what happened later… everyone knew: after Li Qi woke up, the first thing he did was behead Lingxiao Kingdom Lord and send her head for everyone to see.

A former Flower God, now a Country Lord, died just like that. Although she didn't die without a burial place, her true spirit could still reincarnate, which was considered leaving a way out…

As a result, everyone naturally understood the Young Master's meaning.

The Young Master doesn't want to fall out with everyone; he still needs you to help him, but you'd best not be ungrateful and don't treat this Young Master as a soft persimmon to squeeze.

Even if I am severely injured now, killing you should still be no problem. Work honestly; this is not just for me, but also for you. You wouldn't think that when the Human Dao arrives, you'll come out ahead, would you?

This was a clever psychological hint.

If Li Qi were in his full strength, such an approach would certainly provoke resistance from the Baiyue Kingdom Lords, because it would be too overbearing. Constant pressure would only make them rebel. The Baiyue Kingdom Lords also knew that they actually had value and could not be bullied like this. If push came to shove, they could always defect to the Human Dao. While their Fifth-Rank might not be guaranteed then, their lives certainly would be, unlike working under Li Qi, where they could be slaughtered like pigs at will.

But this time was different; Li Qi was injured, and Lingxiao Kingdom Lord was at fault first.

So Li Qi's behavior became understandable. Everyone also knew that perhaps due to his injury, this Young Master was more extreme now, and everyone needed to tolerate him a little.

Facing a Young Master at full strength who actively attacked, and a severely injured, dying Young Master with an emergency response, the Baiyue Kingdom Lords' attitudes and tolerance limits were different.

This difference was also within Li Qi's expectations.

However, at this moment, the Great Deer Kingdom Lord sighed and said, "You're quite open-minded, but on my side, bordering Song Kingdom, Song Kingdom is now destroyed, and the Song Kingdom Lord is also dead. I will be the next to bear the brunt. How should I handle his attitude?"

The Green Mountain Kingdom Lord comforted him, "Don't worry, it's nothing major. The Human Dao's current offensive doesn't seem large, and not many Fifth-Rank combatants have been deployed. The scale of the war below is not small, but the impact is not great. It's estimated that their Fourth-Rank was severely injured by the Young Master and won't be able to organize an effective attack for a while."

But the Great Deer Kingdom Lord sighed, "The less it seems, the more uneasy I feel. You all know the Human Dao's temperament: still as a mountain, moving like thunder. The calmer they are now, the bigger the things to come. My frontline, directly facing the impact… I wonder if it can hold out."

"It will hold. Even if you can't hold, Shaman God Mountain will definitely step in to help you hold it." Wen Lang Kingdom Lord suddenly said mysteriously at this point.

The other three simultaneously uttered an "Hm?" and focused their attention on Wen Lang Kingdom Lord.

"What do you mean? Do you know some inside information?" the Great Deer Kingdom Lord quickly asked.

"I do know a little something, but this matter is something I heard from other Country Lords. You can only keep it to yourselves and must not mention it to anyone else," Wen Lang Kingdom Lord warned.

The other three immediately agreed, promising never to tell anyone else.

Only then did Wen Lang Kingdom Lord cautiously send out an encrypted message.

Even though it was already encrypted once within the communication spell, he still chose to encrypt it a second time, appearing profound.

The others immediately began to decipher the information using their small group's unique cipher table.

After reading it, they all gasped in cold air.

It wasn't that they couldn't keep their composure, but that the news was simply too shocking.

The news was that—

Below Great Deer Kingdom, there was a Holy Emperor Relic.

The Primordial Sage Emperor once passed down the Dao Orthodoxy in Great Deer Marsh, transmitting the position of Holy Emperor.

Now, if these Primordial Sage Emperors didn't become Great Powers, then most of them would have long been buried. And only a minority could become Great Powers after all.

But, even if they died, the symbolic meaning of the relic itself could not be erased.

Even the Great Deer Kingdom Lord himself didn't know that right beneath his feet… was a Holy Emperor Relic.

"No… why did you name it Great Deer Kingdom back then?" At this moment, the Green Mountain Kingdom Lord suddenly asked the Great Deer Kingdom Lord.

The Great Deer Kingdom Lord appeared somewhat flustered at the moment. He said, "This name wasn't given by me. When I arrived, this place was already called Da Lu, so when I established the country, I didn't change the name. You also know that renaming a place is very troublesome, involving many Karma and symbols. I also didn't know this place was originally a relic."

An Yang Kingdom Lord immediately said, "…If that's the case, then perhaps this war is for the relic beneath your feet."

Upon hearing this, the Great Deer Kingdom Lord felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

If that were truly the case…

Then his problem would be huge.

"Don't panic yet." Seeing his friend suddenly fall silent, An Yang Kingdom Lord immediately comforted him, "If that's the case, Shaman God Mountain will definitely protect you with all its might."

Wen Lang Kingdom Lord immediately echoed, "Yes, that's what I said before, Shaman God Mountain will definitely step in to help you hold on, so personally, you shouldn't have to worry. It's just… you must not have second thoughts. In that case… as much effort as Shaman God Mountain used to protect you before, it will use even more effort to kill you now."

"I understand, I understand." The Great Deer Kingdom Lord wiped away his cold sweat, but didn't respond.

This bombshell news shattered their desire to continue discussions, so, at the suggestion of the Green Mountain Kingdom Lord, everyone quietly muted their microphones and began to calmly deliberate on their own.

First, take a moment to think about what to do, then discuss other things.

However, what the four Country Lords didn't know was…

The same rumor was spreading at an extremely fast pace among the small groups of various Country Lords.

What was originally unknown to anyone would soon become common knowledge.

And all of this… was clearly Li Qi's doing behind the scenes.

Once this news was leaked, the Country Lords would clearly spread it spontaneously.

Then, the Country Lords would also immediately realize Shaman God Mountain's determination and will. For them, the words Primordial Sage Emperor were like a calming pill.

With a calming pill, Li Qi's current situation being what it was, plus the situation not being too bad, the tolerance of these Baiyue Kingdom Lords could instantly be raised a notch.

And Li Qi would then have more time and space to do what he wanted to do.

However… there was still one problem.

That was the Human Dao's reaction.

Why hasn't the Human Dao actively attacked? Why are they still unwilling to escalate the intensity of the war?

The current battle, limited to four or five Fifth-Ranks fighting, was certainly not the full strength of either side; it could only be called a skirmish, used merely to probe each other's strength.

After all, Shaman God Mountain had several hundred Fifth-Ranks, and the Human Dao also had dozens.

A battle of a few Fifth-Ranks could only be considered a small, localized battlefield.

In the outer domain, the scene might be larger, but on the world's battlefield, even without the threat of heavenly punishment, the suppression of the world's own rank was still present.

Fifth-Ranks in the world still couldn't break through the Heavenly Dao's limit, and their range of damage was greatly reduced.

However, this great reduction could still destroy an area of tens of thousands of miles. One should know that back then, Green Mountain God Jin Chi, when he was Sixth-Rank, a single glance affected a range of two thousand miles.

Although some Fifth-Ranks might not be able to defeat the Lu Mountain God, just considering the affected area, not the direct killing power, the range of a Fifth-Rank would clearly be even greater than his.

Under these circumstances, if the Human Dao truly thought the Grand Ritual node was very important, they should have already invested heavily in the war.

But now, both sides were tacitly maintaining this slow investment. Li Qi wanted to use Song Kingdom to suppress the Baiyue Kingdom Lords, so what did the Human Dao want to do?

Li Qi's inner body spirits were currently damaged, and his Nascent Soul needed to bear the consumption of the Inner World, so he couldn't fully deduce, thus he didn't know.

But it didn't matter.

Regardless of the Human Dao's specific goal, they must achieve it through some means. Li Qi didn't need to be a diviner or prophet; he only needed to observe their actions behind the scenes and then respond accordingly.

Just like that, at the border of Great Deer Kingdom, a strange standoff emerged.

Unbeknownst to them…

Sixty years had passed.

That's right, sixty years.

Both sides had been silent for sixty years; neither Li Qi nor the Human Dao's Southern Frontier had made any major moves during this time.

Border skirmishes and the struggle for the Song Kingdom's Grand Ritual node had become a daily activity.

For many lives in Baiyue, going to war with the Human Dao… didn't seem particularly special.

Newborns didn't feel affected, and in fact… life seemed to have improved.

The entire society became more vibrant.

It was like during the Cold War.

They said they were at war, but in reality, war had become a 'routine matter,' and no one was in a hurry.

However, there were still some changes.

For example…

Everyone in Baiyue, yes, everyone.

Every country, every prefecture, every county town, knew that they were currently at war, and it was with the 'Human Dao,' even though most of them had never seen what the front lines looked like in their entire lives.

Many places circulated legends about the Human Dao, even though most people had never truly experienced what 'Human Dao' was.

And, for the first time ever… Baiyue knew that it was called Baiyue.

In the past, the Baiyue Area was always referred to as Baiyue by other places; they themselves didn't know they were called Baiyue. If one were to go back in time and ask Li Qi, who was a Lifter thousands of years ago, to answer where he was, he would most likely say he was in Li Prefecture, and if pressed further, he would say he was in Great Deer Kingdom.

That was no longer the case.

Great Deer Kingdom was his entire world.

As for what Baiyue was?

He didn't know; he had never heard of anything called Baiyue.

But now they knew that the land beneath their feet was called Baiyue.

Moreover, Baiyue was also at war with other places, and if they lost, everyone would suffer.

Therefore, they had to contribute money, effort, and people to help in other places, just to keep the 'Human Dao' at bay.

They couldn't see the front lines, but they could see the armies departing year after year, the supplies being transported out. Everything seemed to indicate that the Human Dao truly existed and that they were truly at war.

Furthermore, some astute individuals even knew that beyond 'Baiyue,' there was an entire 'world.'

This seemed nothing special, just knowing a few place names. They still couldn't leave the three-thousand-mile radius around them.

But…

Sometimes, merely 'knowing' can open a door in people's hearts.

When moving forward in the dark, having a glimmer of light ahead, and having no light, provides completely different motivation.

For those who cannot endure darkness, that light is their only hope.

"Worst case, I'll join the army!" This phrase inadvertently spread.

No matter what they did, what dissatisfactions they had, what their lack of ability was, or anything else, they could join the army; this was an absolute way out.

Moreover, roads were built everywhere to transport military supplies.

Roads connected the formerly isolated Baiyue, with each country spontaneously extending roads to connect with other places.

With the motivation to go out, and with roads…

The entire Baiyue, from a stagnant pool, instantly transformed into a boiling river.

Exchanges between regions became incredibly frequent. Over sixty years, under the pressure of the Human Dao, the world of Baiyue became much more relaxed.