Walking the Ten Thousand Daos

Chapter 69: Analysis

Li Qi maintained a calm, nonchalant expression.

But his mind had already begun to churn wildly.

Let's analyze this.

Dragon Steed Shadow Trace, could that be the old horse's name?

The old horse was the mount of a general from Song Kingdom? A horse worth a thousand gold pieces, coveted by a Tang general who wanted to take it back and tame it, but it escaped?

Now, that Tang general was trying to recover the old horse and had hired a large number of diviners.

Li Qi had been illiterate before and didn't know much, but he hadn't been idle. Ever since being hunted by the soldiers, he had asked Shen Shuibi many questions about military systems, to better assess military strength in the future.

The rank of General wasn't actually that high. Tang's military hierarchy was roughly divided into: Marshal, Guard General, General, Staff Officer, and Squads, clearly layered.

A squad consisted of five men, led by a Squad Leader.

Two to ten squads formed a team, ranging from ten to fifty men, led by a Team Leader or Flag Officer.Several teams formed a battalion, a battalion having one hundred to five hundred men, led by a Battalion Commander.

Several battalions formed a prefecture, the number of men in a prefecture was unfixed, but it was often established for temporary military encampments, led by a Prefectural Commander.

Several prefectures supported a military.

A military, known as a jun, consisted of at least ten thousand men. A General was the leader of a military of at least ten thousand men.

A General, capable of leading a military, must possess extraordinary strength. If a Song Kingdom general could be Seventh-Rank... then a Tang general should be even more formidable, right?

A powerful individual within the Seventh-Rank? Or... a Sixth-Rank expert?

Li Qi felt that he could now lift twenty to thirty thousand jin of rock, easily kill dozens of strong men, and his thick skin was impervious to blades. If prepared, he could easily wipe out ordinary gangs.

Yet, he hadn't even entered the ranks yet.

He had fought a Ninth-Rank expert, but purely because the opponent had used most of their power to sever mountain roots and water veins, and he had also ambushed them with the willow branch, injuring their spirit-soul. Furthermore, the fight was underwater, where Li Qi had the geographical advantage, and he had even deliberately removed his armor to enter the water.

With so many advantages combined, Li Qi was only just able to kill a Ninth-Rank expert, and he himself almost died afterward. If Shen Shuibi hadn't used her body as a barrier, using her Immaculate Body to block the Underworld Yin qi, he would have surely died.

So, what level exactly was Sixth-Rank...?

Was it like the Commander of the Li Prefecture Armed Forces, whose single sword strike could sever the Li River, making its flow cease?

Being targeted by such a person was not a good thing.

So, could this diviner be trusted?

Definitely not. Li Qi would never trust someone who immediately threw a "bomb" at him.

The other party said that through some clues she knew, plus seeing him with her own eyes, she inferred that he had found Dragon Steed Shadow Trace and had even killed a Ninth-Rank officer.

This might be true, but there must be something she was withholding. At the very least, she must have other clues, otherwise she couldn't have inferred these things.

However, ultimately... cooperation was possible.

Because compared to that Sixth-Rank general, this diviner was clearly weaker, which made negotiation possible.

As long as he remained vigilant, even if negotiations failed... he could still resort to force.

Thinking these thoughts, Li Qi had already made up his mind.

But Li Qi did not immediately agree. Instead, he shook his head: "I can find other diviners to do it. I don't need you."

"If you wish to sever the karmic connection without resorting to blood-corrupting arts, then you must invite a diviner of Seventh-Rank or higher. Senior Brother, though your status is high, inviting such a diviner is not an easy task, is it?" The blind old woman spoke with clear logic.

"...It seems you know a lot, but I can't trust you after what you did earlier," Li Qi sighed.

"No matter. How about this old woman first earns Senior Brother's trust? Senior Brother, please retrieve that saber, and I will first remove the karmic clues from that Tang Saber to prevent others from divining its location. After that, Senior Brother can listen to me narrate the strange events my son encountered. How does that sound?" The old woman remained self-possessed.

"Very well." It had to be said, Li Qi found her proposal quite reasonable.

Since that was the case, he might as well try.

He would see what he was dealing with first.

If it really came down to it, he could always flee.

Since they had agreed, Li Qi simply turned around: "In that case, I won't take advantage of you, old one. Why don't you tell me what it is you need me to resolve."

The blind old woman quickly bowed: "Thank you, Senior Brother."

Then, she grabbed her bewildered son, the wealthy man, and together they bowed to Li Qi.

"Don't be in such a hurry to bow. First, tell me what it is," Li Qi said.

"Does Senior Brother not wish for me to resolve the karmic connection of that saber first?" the old woman asked.

"No need. It's more convenient for both of us to show some sincerity when discussing," Li Qi shook his head and said.

"Very well, then I shall begin." The blind old woman nodded and started her narration: "The story begins half a year ago."

Li Qi listened carefully, trying to understand what had happened.

The events began half a year ago, but their origins stretched back thirty years.

This wealthy man, surnamed Wang, was originally a landowner in the vicinity of Yixian.

The Wang family wasn't a great landowning family; they merely owned over a hundred mu of land. They cultivated some themselves and employed tenant farmers for the rest. Their lives were quite prosperous, bringing in several hundred shi of grain annually, which they consumed themselves, plus what they sold, amounting to seventy to eighty thousand qian in annual income.

This single family's income was roughly equivalent to what the entire Wave-Breaking Gang earned in a year, which shows their wealth, considering the Wave-Breaking Gang had two hundred members.

However, seventy to eighty thousand qian was certainly not enough to buy such a large mansion.

This current three-courtyard mansion would cost at least thirty to forty gold pieces, around four hundred thousand qian, just to purchase it, not including furnishing, renovation, and servants.

The Wang family's true rise to prosperity occurred when the Wang daughter was noticed by a diviner and brought to Wushen Mountain.

However, cultivators relied on talent. She ultimately cultivated for several decades but failed to enter the ranks, only able to pack her belongings and return home.

At this point, the blind old woman cast an envious glance at Li Qi.

Li Qi noticed her gaze and was also somewhat puzzled.

Was his own talent... perhaps a little too good?

If nothing unexpected happened, he seemed capable of entering the ritual priest rank within a year, and he had hardly felt any bottlenecks.

According to the Zhu Book, people with poor talent who were insensitive to deities and qi, often found it difficult to become ritual priests, performing sacrifices repeatedly without receiving a response.

But he, it seemed, had never been unresponded to. Even when he arbitrarily modified some ritual content, the deities mostly responded to him.

Before, he only thought his talent wasn't bad, but hearing this blind old woman's words, his talent seemed... a bit outrageous.

However, Li Qi didn't show it. Instead, he kept the question in his heart and continued to listen to the story.

Although the Wang family daughter failed to enter the ranks and returned home, she had, after all, learned some techniques. After returning home, she used the diviner's methods of predicting good and ill fortune to secure wealth for her family.

Indeed, the Wang family's finances flourished, and they quickly became rich.

...