The Azure Serpent Lake, once a place of quiet servitude and hidden cultivation, had become Li Yu's unassailable fortress. The weeks following his duel with Ma Long were the most peaceful he had known since arriving at the sect. The "inspections" from Elder Jin's faction ceased entirely. The core disciples, who once looked upon his valley with disdain, now gave it a wide berth. Fear, it turned out, was a far more effective deterrent than any guard or formation.
The change was most apparent in his three subordinates. The atmosphere in the main pagoda had transformed from one of tense professionalism to a relaxed, familial camaraderie.
One afternoon, the four of them sat at a stone table in the courtyard, sharing a simple meal of steamed fish and rice. Hu Jian, the boisterous guard, was recounting the tale of the duel for what must have been the hundredth time, his voice filled with dramatic flair.
"...and then, just as Ma Long's flaming fist was about to strike, the Junior Steward just swayed," he said, making a clumsy, wobbling motion that nearly sent his rice bowl flying. "Like a willow in the wind! Ma Long, a mighty core disciple, couldn't even touch the hem of his robes!"
Lin Tao, the quieter guard, shook his head with a small, wry smile. "You make it sound like a dance, Hu Jian. It was terrifying. I thought my heart was going to stop."
"Terrifyingly brilliant!" Hu Jian corrected, slapping the table. "I've never seen anything like it. And the final palm strike… no sound, no light, just… finality. The look on Ma Long's face…" He trailed off, shaking his head in lingering awe.
Brother Kai took a slow sip of his tea, his gaze on Li Yu filled with a complex mixture of respect and paternal concern. "The victory was clean, but the consequences are messy. I heard from a friend in the Disciplinary Hall that Ma Long's Qi Core is permanently damaged. He'll be lucky to retain a Body Tempering cultivation. Elder Jin is said to be in a state of absolute fury."
"Let him be furious!" Hu Jian scoffed. "He can't do anything. The duel was sanctioned. His disciple was the aggressor. To retaliate now would be to admit his faction has no face left to lose."
"Arrogant fools like that don't care about face when they've been humiliated," Lin Tao countered quietly. "They only care about revenge. They'll be watching, waiting for the Junior Steward to make a single mistake."
Li Yu listened to their back-and-forth, a small, calm smile on his face. This was a new experience for him—the casual concern of comrades. "Lin Tao is right," he said, his voice drawing their immediate, focused attention. "Pride is a dangerous thing. Elder Jin will not move against me here, not in my own territory where Master's influence is strongest. But the sect is large. He will wait."
"Then what is our plan, Junior Steward?" Brother Kai asked, his tone deferential.
"The plan does not change," Li Yu said, his gaze steady. "We continue our work. We manage the beasts, and we grow stronger. I will begin using the access token Master gave me for the Abyssal Water Pavilion. I need to improve my mastery of spirit arts."
The name of the pavilion caused the other three to suck in a sharp breath.
"The Abyssal Water Pavilion?" Hu Jian whispered, his earlier bravado gone. "That is a place only the most elite core disciples and inner sect elders can enter. The spiritual energy there is said to be so pure it can cleanse one's very bones."
"It is also a place where you will cross paths with the true geniuses of our sect," Brother Kai warned, his brow furrowed. "Many of them have powerful backgrounds and arrogant dispositions. Be careful, Junior Steward. Your status as Elder Ning's disciple will protect you from some, but it will make you a target for others."
"I will be," Li Yu said, his calm demeanor a reassuring balm on their worries.
The next day, Li Yu made his first trip to the Abyssal Water Pavilion. It was located in a deep, secluded chasm in the very heart of the inner sect. The entrance was a simple, unadorned cave mouth, guarded by two ancient-looking elders who seemed to be in a state of permanent meditation. After presenting his token and being granted entry, Li Yu stepped inside.
He was in a vast, subterranean grotto bathed in a soft, blue-green light. The air was thick with water-elemental Qi so pure it was like breathing liquid energy. In the center of the grotto was a massive, deep pool of water, as black and still as polished obsidian. Several core disciples were already present, meditating on isolated stone platforms.
Li Yu ignored their stares and found an unoccupied platform. The moment he sat down, he felt it. The pure Qi in the air was incredible, but it was not the source of the pavilion's true power. Deep beneath the black pool, so deep it was almost imperceptible, he felt a consciousness. It was a presence as vast and ancient as a mountain range, as deep and powerful as the ocean itself. It was dormant, sleeping a slumber so profound it might as well have been a part of the earth. Yet, its life force was a sun, radiating a subtle, incredibly high-grade energy that infused the entire grotto.
The blood-red Koi in his dantian, which had been calm, began to tremble with a mixture of profound reverence and an instinctual, insatiable hunger. This was a being of an unimaginably high order.
He did not immediately begin practicing. First, he took out a Qi Establishment Pill. He knew that the pill's energy would act as a catalyst. He discreetly swallowed it. A bomb of pure, gentle energy exploded in his stomach. As his Qi Core pulsed, absorbing the energy, the «Myriad Rivers Returning to the Sea Art» activated on its own. A minuscule, almost undetectable spiritual thread extended from Li Yu, passing through the pure water of the pool and connecting to the dormant, ancient presence below.
A single, tiny wisp of ancient, primordial Qi, a power far beyond what even his master possessed, was drawn up this thread and devoured by his Koi spirit.
The effect was cataclysmic. That single wisp of energy was more nourishing than an entire day of absorbing from the Black-Vein River Wyrm. His foundation at the First Stage of Qi Condensation was not just solidified; it was tempered, polished, and deepened in an instant. The path to the Second Stage became crystal clear. A single day of cultivation here was worth ten days outside.
With his core fortified by this ancient power, he began his true training. He extended his hands over the black water and activated the «Flowing Water, Still Shadow» art. The techniques he formed were no longer just made of the pavilion's pure Qi; they were infused with a trace of that ancient, primordial energy.
He willed a shield of water to form, and a swirling, crystalline vortex, humming with a power that felt ancient and unbreakable, materialized in front of him. He then willed an ice blade. A three-foot-long, azure-colored blade of ice, so sharp and condensed it seemed to vibrate with a life of its own, formed in his hand. It was no longer just a weapon; it was an artifact.
He spent the next ten hours in a state of absolute focus, his progress exponential. The pure energy of the pavilion, supercharged by the wisp of ancient power, allowed him to grasp the subtleties of the art at an incredible speed.
As the day came to a close, he stood on his platform, his mind calm, his Qi Core thrumming. He had made more progress in a single day here than he could have imagined in months.
As he prepared to leave, one of the other core disciples, a graceful young woman with a cold expression, approached him. She had been watching him for the last hour, her initial disdain replaced by a look of sheer disbelief.
"You are Li Yu," she stated, her voice as cool as the grotto's air. "The one who defeated Ma Long."
Li Yu bowed slightly. "Senior Sister is correct."
"Your control over water-elemental Qi is… profound," she said, her eyes narrowing slightly. "But more than that, the Qi you are manipulating… it feels ancient. It carries a pressure that does not match your cultivation. It is a strange contradiction."
"My spirit has a unique affinity for water," Li Yu replied with his well-practiced, humble explanation.
The woman did not seem entirely convinced, but she did not press the issue. "My name is Su Ling. My master is the First Elder. I have heard the stories of your talent. It seems they were not exaggerated." She gave him a final, assessing look. "The inner sect is not like the outer sect. Talent without the strength to protect it is a curse, not a blessing. Be careful."
She turned and walked away, leaving Li Yu with a new sense of the world he had entered. He had attracted the attention of not just his enemies, but of the true elites of the sect. His performance was being watched and judged.
He left the Abyssal Water Pavilion, the weight of his new reality settling upon him. He had found a new, unimaginable cultivation resource, but it came with its own set of risks. He was surrounded by dragons and phoenixes, and he was still a dragon pretending to be a fish. The calm would not last forever. The storm was gathering, and he had to be ready when it finally broke.