The gazes of Feng Dengxian and the other two at the Nascent Soul stage towards Li Qi's completely changed.
If before it was the look of appreciating a junior.
But now, it was utterly looking at an equal.
Even the power Li Qi had just displayed had completely surpassed their imaginations.
Fortunately! Li Qi was one of their own Human Race.
"Li Qi, are you alright?"
Feng Dengxian flashed over and looked at Li Qi, who currently resembled the ultimate reward recipient.
If this were not a battlefield, they would have even wanted to ask Li Qi how many years he had spent in brothels.
"No big deal. Just felt hollowed out."
With the hundred-times recovery rate still active for the remaining few seconds, Li Qi's essence, energy, and spirit were still severely depleted.
However, on the surface, he had already resumed his appearance as a handsome young man.
Feng Dengxian and the others wanted to say more.
But Li Qi interrupted their conversation at this moment, waving his hand.
"I won't talk with you anymore for now, I'm going to catch up with the folks inside the circle."
After saying that, Li Qi's figure flickered, and he directly flew towards the edge of the circle.
Hearing Li Qi's words, Feng Dengxian and the other two were stunned for a moment.
Catch up with people inside the circle? Was he also a cultivator from inside the circle?
After a while, the three looked at each other and seemed to vaguely understand something.
It seemed... someone like Li Qi should indeed come from inside the circle.
After all, in the history of the Human Race outside the circle, there had been many cultivators who emerged from inside and eventually became the top fighting force of the Human Race.
...
Inside the circle, Jing He Wang and many other cultivators from inside the circle waited silently.
Before long, a figure drifted from the sky.
Upon seeing the figure, which was exactly the same as the one on the statue, Jing He Wang's expression immediately turned excited.
As soon as Li Qi descended, he asked Jing He Wang indifferently,
"Are you the current Emperor? Is it still the Great Jing Dynasty? What is your relationship with Jing Qian'an?"
Upon hearing this, Jing He Wang's expression immediately became solemn.
"Greetings, Imperial Preceptor. The world is still the world of Great Jing. I am the thirteenth generation Emperor of Great Jing, 'Jing He'. As for King Jing An, he is my grandfather."
Hearing Jing He Wang's words, Li Qi was somewhat surprised.
"Your Great Jing is quite good. It's been six to seven hundred years, and you haven't had a foolish ruler collapse the dynasty yet."
These words, if spoken by anyone else, would have led to their entire family's execution.
But this was Li Qi, who had saved Great Jing a hundred years ago and was now saving Great Jing again.
Jing He Wang's lips twitched slightly, and he could only force an awkward smile.
"Hehe, Imperial Preceptor jokes. Although we do not have the grand talent of our ancestors, we are not foolish rulers. We can ensure the people are fed and manage to hold onto our foundation."
"Now that the Imperial Preceptor has returned, do you have any plans to visit the royal capital?"
Suddenly, Jing He Wang leaned in and asked cautiously.
Li Qi glanced deeply at Jing He Wang.
In Jing He Wang's eyes, he saw an emotion called worry.
In fact, Jing He Wang was not worried about foreign races.
But he had heard that in the world outside the circle, there was a powerful dynasty called the Great Wei Dynasty.
The number and strength of cultivators in it were something the Great Jing Dynasty inside the circle could not compare to.
If the Great Wei Dynasty wanted to expand its territory, perhaps even a small group of cultivators could easily conquer all the cultivators of the Great Jing Dynasty.
And the only solution.
Jing He Wang had also heard some things.
This Imperial Preceptor of Great Jing, who had left the outside circle a hundred years ago, was still admired and held in high regard outside.
If the Imperial Preceptor could be invited to reside in the royal capital again.
Even the Great Wei Dynasty outside the circle would not easily attack Great Jing without reason.
This was not about internal strife; it was something he, as the current Emperor of the Great Jing Dynasty, had to consider.
And under Li Qi's gaze, Jing He Wang seemed to have his thoughts completely seen through, and he slowly lowered his head.
Suddenly, Li Qi's voice echoed softly in Jing He Wang's ear.
"Don't worry. After all, I was once the Imperial Preceptor of the Great Jing Dynasty. With my name, as long as you don't do anything self-destructive, the Great Wei Dynasty will give me face."
Hearing this, Jing He Wang's face immediately showed a look of surprise and joy.
With Li Qi's words, the heavy stone in his heart was completely lifted.
He did not have much more conversation with Jing He Wang, even though he was the grandson of his old acquaintance Jing Qian'an.
That he still acknowledged his identity as the Imperial Preceptor of the Great Jing Dynasty was the limit of what Li Qi could do out of past acquaintance.
Having returned to the inner circle.
A hundred years had passed, and the world inside the circle felt a little strange to Li Qi.
Passing by some towns, the statues of Li Qi, which stood tall in the towns, had their faces blurred by the erosion of time.
Occasionally, some commoners would pass by and offer sacrifices to the statues.
Li Qi's destination this time was the Flying Sand Sect.
That was where all dreams began.
The residential area at the foot of the Flying Sand Sect mountain, which started as Xiaohe Village, had become Xiaohe Town.
And now, it had grown from Xiaohe Town into Dahe City.
This was one of the most populous and prosperous cities in the Great Jing Dynasty.
Many wealthy merchants, travelers, and even the families of high-ranking officials liked to come here for trade or to settle down.
There was no other reason.
Because on a mountain next to Dahe City, there was a major sect, the Flying Sand Sect.
This sect was incredibly powerful.
Not only were there experts as numerous as clouds,
Even if you passed the tests and joined the sect, the sect would not collect tuition fees every month.
Instead, the Flying Sand Sect would provide you with cultivation resources every month.
There were even additional rewards for disciples who performed exceptionally well in their cultivation.
Disciples from small sects and rogue cultivators were so envious that their teeth ached.
After hearing this information.
Li Qi could not help but recall how he had worked himself to exhaustion and depleted his vitality just to earn spirit stones for cultivation.
After a long while, he sighed deeply.
The Flying Sand Sect had become so impressive.
At this moment, Li Qi was blocked on the mountain road leading to the Flying Sand Sect.
A tall and straight young disciple, whose cultivation was at the second vital organ of body tempering, blocked Li Qi's path.
"Young man, are you here to become a disciple? Our Flying Sand Sect is not accepting disciples at the moment. If you want to become a disciple, please come back in three months for the unified registration."
Li Qi smiled upon hearing this and shook his head slightly.
"I'm not here to become a disciple. I'm here to find someone."
Hearing this, the disciple sized Li Qi up from head to toe.
There was no disdainful looking down on him.
For most cultivators, the aspects of intellect, morality, physical fitness, and artistic accomplishment were all met.
Especially for a renowned major sect like the Flying Sand Sect, while talent was valued, character was also very important.
Otherwise, if a disciple caused trouble outside one day, the entire sect's reputation would be ruined without them even knowing.
"Then are you a family member of a disciple? Tell me his name, and I'll go up the mountain to find him and have him come down to see you."
The disciple said politely.
Li Qi shook his head slightly.
"Thank you, no need. It's too much trouble. I'll just call her down myself.
Hearing this, the disciple looked at Li Qi with a strange expression.
You're going to call her down from here, are you serious?
But the next moment, the disciple's expression changed.
He only heard Li Qi's voice, neither light nor heavy, slowly ring out.
However, this voice, at an extremely stable speed and frequency, traveled far into the Flying Sand Sect on the mountain.
Li Qi only said four words.
"I'm back."