Chapter 37: Ranks
Li Qi spent half an hour flipping through the book, finding the relevant records in the "Zhu" text.
The book of "Zhu" records: "In ancient times, there were Shentu and Yulei, two brothers, who possessed the ability to restrain ghosts. They resided on Mount Dusuo in the East Sea, standing beneath a peach tree, reviewing all ghosts. If a ghost was unreasonable and brought disaster upon humans, Shentu and Yulei would bind it with reeds and feed it to tigers."
Another record states: "In the East Sea, across Mount Dusuo, there is a great peach tree, winding for three thousand li. In the northeastern section, there is a gateway through which a hundred ghosts enter and exit. On it reside two divine beings, one named Shentu, the other Yulei, who govern all ghosts. Malicious and harmful ghosts are bound with reed ropes and fed to tigers. The Yellow Emperor then erected great peach wood figures at household gates. He painted Shentu, Yulei, tigers, and reed ropes to ward off ghosts."
This means that in ancient times, there were two brothers, Shentu and Yulei, who could restrain ghosts and resided on Mount Dusuo in the East Sea.
On this Mount Dusuo, there was a great peach tree, vast and sprawling for three thousand li.
In the northeastern corner of the peach tree, there was a ghost gate, a place where all ghosts entered and exited. The two brothers, Shentu and Yulei, were stationed there, responsible for supervision and management. If any unreasonable, malevolent ghosts appeared, Shentu and Yulei would apprehend them, bind them with ropes woven from reeds, and then feed them to tigers.
When the Yellow Emperor ruled the world, he saw that the world was chaotic, and evil spirits ran rampant, greatly disturbing the people. Thus, he taught the common folk to carve images of Shentu and Yulei from peach wood and hang them with ropes before their household gates to prevent the invasion of evil spirits.
Thus, Shentu and Yulei became the Household Gods.
In these records, Li Qi saw some deities he was familiar with, as well as astronomical knowledge he recognized.
Although he didn't know what connection this world had to his original world…
But these folk customs, even ancient texts, matched up?
Most importantly, he could understand the written language, and what's more, there was even a country called Tang Dynasty here…
A coincidence?
Forget it, he wouldn't dwell on those things; they had nothing to do with him anyway.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
For the sacrifice to the Household Gods, Li Qi tried a different method this time.
He offered the willow branch Mister Zhu had given him onto the altar.
This time, a wisp of divine qi from the Household Gods entered the willow branch itself.
This was also a method recorded in the "Zhu" book. Most ritual implements and divine artifacts used by ritual priests and diviners were made using this method.
With a wisp of divine qi infused into it, the willow branch clearly became more lustrous, but it didn't undergo a qualitative change.
This was also normal, as it was a willow branch given by Mister Zhu, which should have already contained Earth Deity divine qi.
However, after being infused with the divine qi of Shentu and Yulei, the willow branch clearly gained some additional sensations.
According to the records in the book, its ability to combat ghosts seemed to have strengthened.
Good news, good news. It's always good to strengthen one's equipment now.
The Earth Deity sacrifice was also complete, but Li Qi did not offer sacrifices to human ghosts.
Because human ghosts are ancestors, but he actually had no ancestors in this world; he was an "outsider."
As an "outsider," for the human ghost aspect, unless he gained recognition from a certain human ghost deity in the future, or became a live-in son-in-law, there would likely be no need for him to sacrifice to human ghosts.
After finishing all this, Li Qi, who had gotten up at three in the morning, looked up to see that the sun had already risen.
Fortunately, after all this, not only was he not tired, but under the nourishment of the wood qi, he actually became revitalized.
Shen Shuibi was still sound asleep. She hadn't opened her eyes all night and was sleeping very soundly.
Compared to the cautious Li Qi, this wanted fugitive with a bounty of a hundred gold coins seemed to have no pressure at all.
One could only say that being single-minded was quite practical in some ways.
Let her sleep… anyway, the room fee was paid by Mister Zhu.
Thinking these thoughts, Li Qi actively stopped the Bull Strength Art and then walked out.
"Based on my current situation, what rank would I be considered?" he tested the strength in his hands, muttering to himself.
Using Wushen Mountain's own ranking system, Li Qi felt that he was now just an ordinary, newly initiated ritual priest. He even had to constantly refer to the book for the proper sacrificial rituals. This morning's two simple daily sacrifices alone took a full three hours and required him to stay up late, indicating he was barely beyond being an amateur.
And the ritual priests' own ranking, when compared to the entire world, was difficult to align with others.
Therefore, the Sages, in order to "standardize the world," established a method applicable to all cultivation paths: the ninth-rank to first-rank classification.
Li Qi really wanted to scoff at the phrase "standardize the world," but upon careful thought, this thing might be more than just symbolic… it was very likely a struggle for "the Dao" among the powerful.
Perhaps, this thing could truly standardize the world, restricting all cultivators like the laws of heaven.
Leaving aside such grand and ethereal matters, Li Qi himself had thoroughly understood this ranking system.
The ranks from one to nine were actually based on one's influence and understanding of "the Dao," and had nothing to do with combat power.
Martial path cultivators and sword path cultivators, when fighting against paths less adept at combat such as the diviners of the shamanistic path, could kill across ranks as easily as eating and drinking. However, their influence on the Dao would certainly be far inferior.
Because of this distinction, a fifth-rank shamanic diviner facing a sixth-rank martial path cultivator, one rank lower than himself, could very likely be directly beaten senseless.
However, on the other hand, if this diviner hid himself, it wouldn't be difficult for him to kill the opponent using divination or even curses.
Or, a medical path cultivator, even if they cultivated to a high rank, probably wouldn't have much environmental destructive power.
But a ritual priest, with the protection of the divine qi of an Earth Deity or Mountain God, could cause localized earthquakes at the eighth rank.
In short, this ranking system only considered the Dao rank, and while it had some relation to display power and combat power, the relationship was not significant. The destructive power primarily depended on the cultivation method.
But ranks were not just for show. When a certain path reached a high rank, one would naturally gain their own unique abilities. They might not be adept at combat, but they would definitely be irreplaceable or even unique.
According to the classification, ranks eight, nine, and seven were the lowest, meaning from newly initiated beginners to gradually familiar stages.
Ranks six, five, and four indicated experts among them, considered eminent figures who possessed a deep understanding of their own Dao and had some unique methods.
Ranks three, two, and one were considered contemporary masters, typically sect leaders or heads of major powers.
In the miscellaneous chapters of the book "Zhu", it is recorded that the shamanic path has Shaman Gods, the Daoist path has True Immortals, Confucianism has Sages, and the martial path has Human Immortals.
Legends say there are even higher levels beyond these, and first rank is not the ultimate.
But anything beyond that was not written in the book, perhaps deemed unnecessary.
As for Li Qi…
He confirmed repeatedly.
He should be… unranked.
That's right, unranked. Only when he had at least proficiently mastered the sacrificial methods for the four seasons, continuously performed all the most common seasonal Heaven Spirit and Five Household Deity sacrifices for a year, and had the qi of the four seasons within his miniature heaven and earth, with the divine qi of the Five Household Deities protecting his body, could he probably be considered ninth-rank…
"Alas, the road is long and arduous. Only after diligently cultivating for a year can I enter the ranks?"
(Chapter End)