The target Li Qing had in mind was the strategist of one of the Heaven's Mandate bearers—Fan Chengfeng. The strategist's name was Sun Qiankun.
From prior investigation, Li Qing had learned that Sun Qiankun had been exposed to cultivation arts from an early age, yet remained a mortal to this day—as though he already understood the dangers of cultivation. This anomaly caught Li Qing's interest.
He sent a shadow clone to approach Sun Qiankun and began attempting to draw him in.
Without preamble, Li Qing proposed an alliance. Only through such a bond, he said, could there be any hope of survival—and of changing fate itself.
Sun Qiankun pretended not to understand. He claimed to be a mere mortal serving Fan Chengfeng, protected on all sides and not in any real danger.
Seeing this, Li Qing directly laid bare Sun Qiankun's true intentions—deduced from his past behaviors.
The reason Sun Qiankun had never cultivated was because he understood the dangers of cultivation.
