Myriad Rivers to the Sea

The morning suns had barely crested the horizon of the barren scrubland and was casting long and pale shadows across the dry earth. The air was cool and crisp, carrying the faint scent of chalky dust.

A dozen yards away from the carved stone cave, Li Yu stood alone. He held Gilded Calamity in his right hand. The magnificent sword hummed softly in his grasp.

Li Yu slowly stepped forward, sinking into a low and grounded stance. He began to move through a series of foundational martial forms. He relied solely on the physical mechanics of his body.

It had been a long time since he had taken a quiet morning just to swing the sword and calm his mind. The frantic pace of the Ferine Realm, the constant ambushes and the recent betrayal by the ancient tree had kept his nerves frayed. He needed this physical meditation now that they were in an area where few others were.

He treated the weapon with the utmost respect and care due to this ceremonial and brittle nature. He was executing sweeping horizontal arcs and precise vertical strikes. The fluid motions worked the lingering tension out of his muscles. The physical force of his swings generated sharp bursts of wind pressure that kicked up small clouds of dust around his boots.

'Focus the mind. Ground the body.' Li Yu thought to himself as he was feeling the lingering embers of his short tempered rage finally begin to cool. He was regaining his center. A few yards away, Zhan walked out of the cave.

The Heaven Severing Mantis moved with a new and terrifying purpose. His dark green carapace gleamed with a metallic iron sheen in the early morning light. The oppressive aura of a Domain King was restrained, pulled tight against his body but the ambient air around him still seemed to warp slightly under the weight of his passive sword intent.

Zhan stood in silence and watched the human practice. He analyzed the footwork, the shifting of weight and the control of momentum. Only one thing went through his mind.

‘Utterly pathetic sword technique, sword intent and completely unworthy of such a sword.’ Zhan would never say such words to Li Yu but those were his honest thoughts anytime he saw him wield a sword, especially Gilded Calamity.

Li Yu finished his sequence with a solid downward cleave, stopping the blade an inch from the dirt. He exhaled a long breath, sheathed Gilded Calamity with a sharp click and relaxed his posture.

"You move well." Zhan lied while stepping forward. "Your physical strength is staggering but you wield it with control. It is a rare combination."

"It clears the mind." Li Yu replied. "A blunt instrument can shatter a rock but a focused mind can split a mountain."

Zhan’s multifaceted eyes locked onto the golden scabbard resting in Li Yu's hand. The mantis clacked his mandibles together in a nervous but eager rhythm.

"It has been a while since I touched the blade." Zhan said. "May I swing it again? Just for a bit."

Li Yu looked at the sword, then at the mantis and he smiled faintly.

"Go ahead." Li Yu said while tossing the weapon through the air. Zhan caught the scabbard with his sword control. The moment he made contact with the sword with his intent, the world around him vanished.

Zhan’s mind was violently pulled from the dry scrubland and cast into the familiar, blood soaked mental landscape of Gilded Calamity’s inner world. The crimson sky loomed overhead, heavy and oppressive as it was before. The ground was littered with the broken weapons and shattered armor of a million fallen warriors. The smell of rust and ancient slaughter filled the air once again.

Standing in the center of the battlefield, resting casually atop a mound of broken swords, was the brash and arrogant spirit of Gilded Calamity. The spirit looked down at the mantis. He crossed his arms over his chest as his sharp eyes evaluated the changes in this insectoid.

"Well, well." The spirit boomed, his voice echoing across the endless graveyard of blades. "Look what crawled back into my domain. You survived, bug. And you look a bit shinier than before."

Zhan lowered his head in a deep and respectful bow. "Master."

“ I am not your master, you are unworthy to be my disciple.” The spirit replied to him. The spirit let out a low whistle, hopping down from the mound of swords and landing gracefully on the blood soaked earth. He walked around Zhan and was inspecting the dark green carapace and the aura radiating from the mantis.

"Domain King." The spirit noted. "You absorbed a massive source of earth energy to force a breakthrough but you did not let it dilute your foundation. Your sword intent is even more polished than before. The jagged edges are smoothing out. You have been practicing the Three Step Slayer."

"I have used the First Step to sever limbs and claim lives." Zhan answered as his voice was filled with pride.

"Not bad." The spirit chuckled while clapping a hand against Zhan’s hard shoulder. "Not bad at all. You are doing well, bug. Better than I expected."

Zhan was thrilled. To a beast of the Ferine Realm, praise was a rare commodity. To receive it from a supreme martial entity like Gilded Calamity was a validation of his very existence. Emboldened by the praise and his recent leap in cultivation, Zhan looked up at the spirit.

"Master." Zhan began respectfully. "Since I have reached the Domain King realm and my intent is polished, perhaps I am ready for further instruction. Do you have another technique you could impart to me?"

The blood soaked battlefield fell silent for a fraction of a second. Then, the spirit threw his head back and let out a booming, arrogant laugh that shook the crimson clouds above.

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"Another technique?" The spirit laughed while wiping a phantom tear from his eye. "You greedy little insect! You take one step into the Domain King realm and suddenly you think you are a grandmaster of the blade?"

Zhan lowered his head as his mandibles clicked nervously. "I only wish to serve Li Yu better and to honor your teachings."

The spirit stopped laughing and his expression grew stern. He pointed a finger directly at Zhan’s multifaceted eyes.

"You already got a technique from me, bug." The spirit reprimanded him lightly. "The Three Step Slayer is a supreme art of condensed slaughter. Do not be greedy. You have survived using it, yes. But you have not mastered it. The First Step should not just sever a limb; it should sever the soul connection to that limb."

The spirit crossed his arms again.

"Fully master the art I have already given you." The spirit commanded. "Refine it until it is as natural as breathing. Prove to me that you understand the true depth of the slaughter intent. Perhaps, if you show that you are truly worthy in the future, I will consider giving you another piece of my legacy. But not today."

"I understand, Master." Zhan replied while accepting the wisdom without hesitation. "I will not let greed cloud my path. I will do my best to master the Three Step Slayer."

"See that you do." The spirit smirked. "Now get out of here and don’t bother me again."

The crimson sky shattered like glass. Zhan blinked, his eyes adjusting to the bright morning sun of the scrublands. He was back in the physical world and standing in front of Li Yu. He had only been holding the scabbard for a few seconds.

With deep reverence, Zhan handed Gilded Calamity back to Li Yu.

"That’s all?" Li Yu asked while taking the sword and putting it away.

"That was enough, it is as I thought before. The sword was crafted extremely well but made to be for decorations." Zhan replied with pity.

"It is good enough for me, it is not a pity at all." Li Yu said with a smile while turning toward the cave. "Let us wake the others. We have a long walk ahead."

Within the hour, the group of four had packed up their meager camp and set out across the barren terrain. Zhan took the lead, his spatial senses and survival instincts navigating the unseen paths between the major territories. Li Yu walked behind him, with Ouros taking the rear guard and Talia walking silently next to Li Yu.

They were an intimidating force. The combined pressure of their auras was heavy and suffocating. As they marched toward the southeast, the Ferine Realm seemed to hold its breath. No one bothered them.

The rogue beasts and territorial predators that usually plagued travelers took one look at the group and immediately fled in the opposite direction. Even the aggressive scouting parties of nearby beasts chose to turn a blind eye, recognizing that engaging such a heavily armed squad would result in catastrophic losses.

They traveled for another week in relative uneventfulness.

The landscape slowly shifted around them. The pale and chalky dirt of the scrublands gave way to damp and dark soil. The withered bushes were replaced by sprawling coastal plains covered in tall, vibrant green sea grass. The air grew thick with humidity and a salty brine scented the wind.

During this week of travel, the group utilized their downtime efficiently. When they stopped to camp for the night, they did not just sit around the fire. They trained.

Li Yu insisted on keeping their combat skills sharp and their teamwork cohesive. He would often spar with Ouros, using the massive bear as a physical testing ground. Li Yu would restrict his Qi usage and strike with brute force.

Zhan and Talia also engaged in fierce and high speed drills. Talia’s severed arm had fully regenerated and the new void scales hardened to match the rest of her form fitting armor. She was back at peak strength by the end of their travels.

During their spars, she would slip in and out of the void, attempting to ambush the mantis from the shadows. Zhan would deploy his localized sword domain, forcing Talia to navigate a chaotic field of invisible slashes just to get close to him.

The training kept their instincts honed and slowly built a pragmatic and working rhythm between the new servants and the original duo. On the fifth day of their journey across the coastal plains, Talia paused during a water break and looked at Li Yu.

"We are moving very slowly." Talia noted, her harmonic voice carrying a hint of genuine curiosity. "With our cultivation levels, we could easily fly through these territories. We could cross this plain in a matter of hours instead of days."

Ouros grunted in agreement, wiping sweat from his metallic fur. Li Yu took a drink from his canteen and looked out over the swaying sea grass.

"We walk." Li Yu stated simply.

He had thought about taking to the sky but he was content with traveling on the ground. Walking allowed him to see more of the different areas, to observe the subtle shifts in the ambient Qi and to map the geography of the Ferine Realm properly in his mind.

More importantly, flying was a beacon.

"If we fly, we project our auras across the sky." Li Yu explained to the viper. "We announce our presence to everyone in the region. Flying would only draw more attention towards us and that attention leads to posturing, ambushes and fighting."

Li Yu capped his canteen. His short tempered rage from the ancient tree incident had subsided into a cold and calculating pragmatism. He did not want unnecessary battles. He wanted to reach his destination, build his force and execute his plans.

"Fighting every arrogant being who takes offense to us flying over their airspace would just slow us down overall." Li Yu concluded. "Walking is quiet. It is efficient."

Talia nodded and was unable to argue with the logic of avoiding threats. In the sky there was nothing to hide and for all to see. Two days later, the sound of the wind whipping through the tall grass was overpowered by a new and rhythmic sound. It was the heavy and relentless crash of massive waves.

The group crested a grassy ridge and the world opened up before them. The land abruptly ended, giving way to a sprawling ocean that stretched out to the horizon. The water was a deep and turbulent blue, churning with fierce whitecaps and swirling undertows.

They had finally made it to the aquatic zones. Li Yu stood on the ridge and looked out over the territory. According to the map, this was the domain of Gart, the Tide Shark.

It was not just a simple coastline. The territory was a massive archipelago. Hundreds of large islands broke the surface of the churning ocean. Some islands were little more than sharp black rocks jutting into the sky, while others were massive landmasses covered in dense, tropical foliage.

The boundary between the sea and the land was brutal. Giant waves slammed against the black coastal cliffs, sending plumes of white spray hundreds of feet into the air. The ambient Qi here was wildly different from the rest of the realm. It was a heavy and suffocating mixture of dark water energy and primal, oceanic aggression.

It was a beautiful but inherently violent environment.

"Gart’s territory." Ouros muttered while stepping up beside Li Yu and looking at the treacherous waters.

Li Yu breathed in the heavy and salty air. Deep within, his Koi Spirit stirred as it was sensing the overwhelming presence of aquatic bloodlines waiting in the depths below.

"We are here." Li Yu said. "Let us see what the deep waters have to offer."