Chapter 1948 - 1947: Sneaking Past Chen Cang

By the time he understood that principle, he was already covered in scars, and even walking was difficult.

When he witnessed the might of the shadow, Li Qi became obedient. He understood what he had to do to avoid punishment and live better; he had to learn to conform, because talking too much was useless otherwise.

"How did the thing I asked you to do turn out?"

The voice of the shadow came from all directions, unlike a normal person's voice that comes from a single location.

"Master, I am incompetent."

Li Qi had barely finished his first sentence before the shadow slapped him away.

The force of the shadow's slap was precisely controlled; just a bit more strength, and Li Qi would have lost his life.

"Incompetent? After all this time, you've accomplished nothing. What use are you to me?"

To the shadow, Li Qi was nothing more than a dog. Killing a dog was no different from killing a person, no distinction.

Li Qi crashed into the bed, smashing it to pieces. He felt his head spin, almost unable to wake up again.

"I'll give you one last chance. If you still can't get the Divine Stone from his hands, you might as well die. I'll condemn you to wander the path of reincarnation forever, to be a lonely ghost for eternity."

The shadow's words were like a piece of ice, stabbing deeply into his heart.

"Yes, I understand."

Seeing that Li Qi was obedient again, the shadow slowly disappeared.

After he vanished, the room returned to its original state, with not a trace of damage on the bed. Li Qi's injuries were severe, and the wound was painful, but when he checked it again, it had vanished without a trace.

Touching the spot of his earlier scratch, the pain was still there.

Controlled by the shadow for so many years, he had long grown accustomed to this kind of life.

Tang Rao heard the noise and walked towards Li Qi's room.

He knocked on Li Qi's room door, and only after Li Qi opened it did he walk inside.

"I heard some noise from your room earlier, everything okay?"

The noise was so loud that Tang Rao couldn't help but hear. He came to ask out of concern for Li Qi. If he hadn't come over after hearing such a loud noise, then something would really be wrong, right?

"It's nothing. I was just trying to practice some martial arts in the room and found the space too cramped, really not suitable."

Li Qi thought quickly and immediately came up with an explanation for Tang Rao. Tang Rao nodded. "As long as you're okay. If something happens, just call out to me. We've been worn out for so long; there's a big operation tomorrow. You get some rest, and I will too."

After saying this, Tang Rao left the room.

Only after Tang Rao left did Li Qi let out a heavy sigh. You have to wonder why he gets so nervous when talking to Tang Rao, a seemingly kind person, more so than when facing the shadow.

Tang Rao wasn't in a good mood either. Did Li Qi really think he could fool Tang Rao?

He was naturally a King Yan who caught ghosts. How could a little ghost think it could play tricks in front of the King Yan?

Li Qi didn't tell Tang Rao the truth at all.

Starting with when he entered, he seemed not to notice Li Qi's bed, but with a glance, you could see the bed had been moved, and there was a pool of blood underneath.

It was just practicing martial arts; where did the blood under the bed come from? And when Tang Rao found Li Qi, Li Qi might not even have realized he was unable to stand upright while walking.

With damaged ribs, no external signs, but the injury was real. Everyone fears pain, and Li Qi was no different. His actions and the blood in his room had already exposed him.

"Who was here just now?"

Tang Rao still suspected the person in the room earlier.

Someone who could come and go freely without leaving any scent in the room, someone who could defeat Li Qi so thoroughly, who could it possibly be?

"What are you thinking? Someone this formidable; who else but the Heavenly Dao?"

The Ent suddenly appeared and revealed the truth clearly. Normally annoying, it actually served a useful purpose at critical moments.

"Heavenly Dao? How can you be so sure it's him?"

Tang Rao indeed had a suspect in mind; it just wasn't confirmed so quickly.

"A tree that's been beaten knows his temper and methods, doesn't it? Besides, who else could be as sensitive to his scent besides me?"

The Ent was indeed too familiar with the Heavenly Dao. It had followed the Heavenly Dao for so many years; those years weren't spent in vain.

"Never thought the Heavenly Dao had already planted a man by your side. Look at you, tsk tsk, not even a hint of feeling betrayed; it truly is strange."

Was the Ent sarcastically mocking Tang Rao?

Tang Rao dragged the Ent out of his portable palace and gave it a violent "beating," making the Ent wail before he stopped.

"Say less of what shouldn't be said. Otherwise, you won't know when you'll be silenced."

This was Tang Rao's warning to the Ent. Seeing Tang Rao truly angry, the Ent wrapped its tendrils around Tang Rao, tickling him to make him smile.

Tang Rao clarified one point: the Heavenly Dao had already acted, but hesitated due to unknown reasons. Instead of directly confronting Tang Rao, the Heavenly Dao had sent someone. Did the Heavenly Dao not see this as unnecessary?

"Tang Rao, perhaps the real test for you has arrived. Be fully prepared. Competing with the Heavenly Dao is nothing like before, where you could find others' weaknesses."

Despite the tension, the Ent didn't retract its tendrils, speaking in a harmonious environment to avoid Tang Rao feeling tense.

"As long as it's a person, there will be weaknesses. The Heavenly Dao is also a person; there must be a breakthrough point on him. It just takes time to find it."

Tang Rao didn't agree with the Ent's words. In finding breakthrough points, he thought he was the one with the most authority to speak.

"But what if the Heavenly Dao isn't a person at all?"

Out of nowhere, the little Ent said something that startled even itself.

"What do you mean by that? What do you mean by 'if the Heavenly Dao isn't a person'? What haven't you told me yet?"

The Ent had always followed the Heavenly Dao, surely familiar with his habits. Throughout, Tang Rao had always valued what the little Ent said.

"All I mean is, if the Heavenly Dao isn't a person at all, then what?"

If it's not a person, wouldn't that mean having no weaknesses?

"Haven't I said before that I've forgotten many things and can't recall them immediately? But as your power increases, things in my mind are becoming clearer. If I'm not mistaken, I seem to remember never seeing the true form of the Heavenly Dao; every time, it's only a shadow."