He emerged from his quiet seclusion a different man. He was still the calm, unassuming master of the Deepwater Menagerie to the outside world, but within, he was a sovereign who had just forged his own, personal set of laws. His new flight technique, the «Void-Current Passage», allowed him to move with a silence and subtlety that was almost absolute. His new offensive art, the «Abyssal Javelin Volley», gave him a ranged, area-of-effect attack of devastating power. And his nascent cultivation scripture, the «Leviathan'sHeart Sutra», was the key to unlocking the true, terrifying potential of his unique foundation.
With his new tools in hand, he settled back into the peaceful, productive rhythm of his life. His days were a comfortable routine. He would spend his mornings with Uncle Wei, walking the shores of the twenty great lakes, his profound understanding of beast husbandry helping to refine their breeding programs and optimize their habitats. The menagerie was thriving, a jewel of the sect that was growing more prosperous with each passing season.
His afternoons were now often spent holding his informal "clinic" at the edge of his valley. A small, simple pavilion had been built near the main gate for this express purpose. Disciples from every hall of the sect, having heard the tales of his skill and benevolence, would make the journey to seek his aid. They would bring their companion beasts who suffered from strange and incurable ailments, their faces a mixture of reverence and desperate hope.
Li Yu would listen patiently, his spiritual sense a gentle, probing current, and offer simple, yet profoundly effective, solutions. He never asked for payment, but the web of favors and friendships he was weaving grew deeper and more complex with each passing week.
His own cultivation did not stagnate. His study of the «Leviathan's Heart Sutra» had deepened his understanding of his own unique dao, allowing him to command his power with an ever-increasing precision. But it was his original, heaven-defying technique, the «Myriad Rivers Returning to the Sea Art», that was the true engine of his growth. It was a passive, all-encompassing art.
As he walked through his own valley, surrounded by the vibrant life force of millions of aquatic beasts, the technique was a silent, hungry whirlpool, drawing in the ambient Qi, purifying it, and feeding it directly to his Universal Sea. He was cultivating with every breath he took, his power growing stronger, deeper, and more consolidated with each passing day.
He was looking for ways to combine the two together but had no success. It was beyond him at this point, the Myriad Rivers Returning to the Sea Art was too profound, it was base on the inheritance abilities of his martial spirit. It might be impossible to combine them but it would only help him to do further research on it.
One late afternoon, as he was concluding a consultation with a disciple from the Iron Fist Peak regarding his stubborn but loyal Stone-Shelled Badger, he noticed a figure waiting hesitantly at the very edge of the path. It was a young man who was barely more than a boy, his simple, coarse-spun robes marking him as an outer sect disciple. He was clutching a small, roughly-made wooden box, his knuckles white.
Li Yu recognized him. It was Chen Fan, a hardworking but timid youth who had been assigned to the menagerie a year ago, working in the less glamorous but essential task of cultivating the spiritual seaweed used to feed the lower-ranked beasts.
The boy stood there for nearly an hour, watching as other, more important disciples came and went, his courage warring with his fear. He saw Li Yu finish his last consultation and begin to walk back towards the main pagoda. It was now or never.
With a surge of desperate courage, Chen Fan rushed forward and fell to his knees a respectful distance from Li Yu, the wooden box held up in his trembling hands.
"S-Sir Li!" he stammered, his head bowed so low his forehead nearly touched the ground. "This lowly one apologizes for disturbing you! I… I have a request!"
Li Yu stopped and looked at the terrified boy. He could feel the waves of anxiety and desperation rolling off of him. "Stand up, Chen Fan," he said, his voice calm and gentle, devoid of the arrogance one would expect from a Core Formation expert. "There is no need for such formality here. You are one of my people. Tell me what is wrong."
Chen Fan slowly rose to his feet, his hands still trembling as he held out the box. "Sir Li, this is a Spirit-Gathering Herb my family has cultivated for three generations. It is our most precious treasure. I… I wish to offer it to you, in exchange for your help."
Li Yu did not look at the box. His gaze was fixed on the boy's face. "You do not need to pay me, Chen Fan. Tell me the problem."
The boy's eyes began to well up with tears, a wave of relief and gratitude washing over him. "Sir Li, it is my family's beast. It is… sick. It is a Water-Screen Turtle, a simple Rank 2 beast. My family runs a small shipping business in Riverbend Town, a week's journey from here. The turtle is the heart of our business; its ability to create a protective water screen around our boats is the only thing that keeps us safe from river pirates and aggressive beasts."
His voice cracked with emotion. "For the past month, it has grown weak. It refuses to eat, and its shell has begun to lose its luster. My father has spent all of our family's savings on local physicians, but no one can find the cause. It is too weak to make the journey here to the sect. I… I was hoping… I know it is an imposition, a request far beyond my station, but you are my only hope. I was hoping you might…"
He trailed off, unable to finish, his fear of being rejected overwhelming him.
Li Yu listened patiently, his expression calm. He thought for a moment. To journey for a week for a simple Rank 2 beast was indeed an inefficient use of his time, a distraction from his own cultivation and the grand plans for his menagerie. But he would help regardless, what was the point of all this power and abilities if he couldn't help those around him.
He also saw in the boy's eyes the same, desperate fear he had once felt as an orphan in Clearwater Village. He saw a son who was terrified of losing his family's livelihood, of seeing his parents fall into poverty. His reputation as the "Quiet Physician" was not just a mask; it was a promise. To turn away someone so genuinely in need would be a betrayal of the very principles he had built his new life upon. This was not a distraction; it was a part of his dao.
"I will go," Li Yu said, the two simple words a divine pronouncement to the terrified boy.
Chen Fan's eyes went wide, and he fell to his knees again, this time his tears flowing freely, sobs of pure, unadulterated relief shaking his small frame. "Thank you, Sir Li! Thank you! This one will repay your kindness for the rest of his life!"
"There is no need for that," Li Yu said, helping him up once more. He finally took the wooden box from the boy's hands. "But I will accept your family's herb. Not as payment, but as a gift. It is a sign of your sincerity, and I will treat it as such." He placed the box in his storage ring without examining it, a gesture of profound trust.
He looked at the boy, who was now beaming, his face a mixture of tear-streaks and a brilliant, hopeful smile. "Go and prepare for the journey. We will leave at first light tomorrow."
That night, Li Yu sat in his chamber, a thoughtful expression on his face. This trip was a simple act of kindness, but it was also an opportunity. An opportunity to see the world outside the sect, not as a desperate survivor or a participant in a grand battle, but as a quiet observer. It was a chance to see how the common people lived, to understand the currents of the world beyond the high peaks of cultivation. He only knew of live in his village after all, he wanted to see more of this world.
He looked at the new, dark blue robes that had been prepared for him, the robes of a traveling cultivator, simple and unassuming. He was ready. He was no longer just the master of the Deepwater Menagerie. He was Li Yu, the Quiet Physician. And he was about to make a house call.