The next morning, as the first rays of dawn painted the sky in shades of orange and purple, Li Yu met a stunned and grateful Chen Fan at the edge of the valley. The young outer sect disciple had barely slept, his mind a whirlwind of disbelief and a desperate, burgeoning hope. He had expected to be turned away, to be dismissed as an insignificant gnat. Instead, the sect's most legendary young genius had agreed to personally undertake a journey of several weeks for his family's humble Rank 2 beast.
"Sir Li," Chen Fan said, bowing so low his head nearly touched his knees. "My family will be forever in your debt."
"A sect is a family, Chen Fan," Li Yu replied, his voice calm and steady. "And we look after our own. Let us go."
The boy had expected them to take a sect-provided flying vessel, or perhaps one of Li Yu's own smaller mounts. He was not prepared for what happened next.
Li Yu simply stood in the center of a large, empty clearing and opened the portal to his Koi's Sanctuary. A wave of profound, ancient, and powerful energy washed over Chen Fan, causing him to stumble back, his face pale with awe.
From the portal, a magnificent, terrifyingly beautiful creature emerged. It was Tempest, the Rank 7 Skyshroud Leviathan. Its massive, whale-like body, over a hundred feet long, was covered in scales of shimmering, pearlescent silver. Its fins were like the wings of a great, celestial bird, and its eyes were two pools of deep, ancient intelligence. It floated in the air, its very presence a silent declaration of absolute, regal power.
After being captured, it found out that life wasn't so bad in the sanctuary, actually it was a paradise for it. Besides making sure to not make the king and that even more scary crab upset, it was living better than ever before. Li Yu and it came to an agreement, it would come fly him around as needed or fight as needed. In exchange it would continue to live there.
Chen Fan, a boy who had spent his life around low-ranked beasts, could only stare, his mind a blank slate of pure, unadulterated shock. This was a creature of legend, a being whose power was a thousand times greater than his own sect's most powerful elders.
"We will take this one," Li Yu said calmly. "It will be faster." He leaped gracefully onto a specially prepared platform on the great beast's back and gestured for the still-frozen boy to join him.
Chen Fan, trembling, scrambled aboard. The moment he was settled, Tempest let out a powerful, psychic roar of agreement and vanished, its speed a blur of silver light that tore through the sky. Li Yu, standing at the front, was a silent, unmoving figure. His «Void-Current Passage» was in full effect, the invisible field of his True Qi creating a frictionless tunnel through the air, while a sheath of life energy protected them from the immense pressures of high-speed travel. To Chen Fan, it felt as if they were sitting in a perfectly still, silent room, while the world outside became a streaking blur of color.
The journey was completed in less than a day. As they flew, Li Yu spoke with the young, nervous disciple, not as a superior, but as an equal. He learned of the simple, peaceful life in Riverbend Town, a bustling port on the great Azure Serpent River. He learned of the boy's love for his family, his hardworking father and his kind, gentle mother, and of his dreams of one day becoming a strong enough cultivator to truly protect them from the dangers of the world, like the notorious Black Fin Pirates who preyed on the river's trade routes.
They arrived at the small, bustling port town of Riverbend. Li Yu recalled the magnificent Tempest into his sanctuary a bit outside of townt, and the two of them walked into the town, two simple, unassuming cultivators in dark, travel-worn robes.
Riverbend Town was a vibrant, lively place, a stark contrast to the austere, disciplined atmosphere of the sect. The streets were filled with the shouts of merchants, the laughter of children, and the salty scent of the great river. Mortals and low-level cultivators mingled freely, their lives a tapestry of simple, hardworking diligence.
They made their way to the Chen family's small, humble home, a clean, two-story building attached to a large, well-maintained boathouse. The moment they entered, a middle-aged couple rushed forward. The man, Chen Wei, had a kind, weathered face, etched with the worry of a man on the verge of losing everything. The woman, Mei Lin, had a gentle, warm presence, though her eyes were red-rimmed from sleepless nights.
"Fan'er!" she cried, pulling her son into a fierce, loving hug. "You've returned! Is everything alright?"
"Mother, Father," Chen Fan said, his voice thick with emotion. "I… I have brought help." He stepped aside and gestured to Li Yu. "This is Sir Li, from the sect. He… he came to help us."
The couple stared at Li Yu, their eyes wide with a mixture of shock and a dawning, fragile hope. For a powerful master from the great Green Mountain Sect to personally come to their small, insignificant town… it was a miracle. They bowed deeply. "Honored Master Li," Chen Wei said, his voice trembling. "We… we are not worthy of your presence."
"Please, there is no need for such formality," Li Yu said with a gentle smile. "Your son is a fine, hardworking disciple of my menagerie. I am happy to help one of my own. Please, show me the patient."
They led him to the back of their home, to a large, clean pond that connected to the main river. There, resting listlessly in the shallow water, was their Water-Screen Turtle. It was a large, ancient-looking beast, its shell nearly ten feet across, but the usual, healthy luster of its shell was gone, replaced by a dull, sickly brown. Its wise, old eyes were half-closed, its breathing shallow.
Li Yu did not need to touch it. He simply stood at the water's edge, his spiritual sense a gentle, probing current. He found the problem in an instant. It was not a sickness, but a blockage. The turtle, in its long years of service, had absorbed a variety of chaotic, elemental energies from the river beasts it had defended against. These energies had slowly coalesced in its meridians, forming a kind of spiritual sludge that was blocking the flow of its own Qi, slowly starving it from the inside out.
He simply extended his hand, and a gentle, invisible stream of his own, incredibly pure True Qi, infused with a trace of his life essence, flowed into the turtle. The pure, high-grade energy was like a divine solvent. It washed through the turtle's meridians, gently dissolving the sludge and opening the blocked pathways.
The turtle, which had been listless for a month, let out a deep, contented sigh. Its half-closed eyes opened fully, and a new, clear light shone within them. It took a deep, shuddering breath and immediately began to paddle towards a pile of spiritual seaweed at the edge of the pond, its appetite returned with a vengeance.
The gratitude of the Chen family was absolute. They treated him not as a disciple, but as a living god, their savior. Mei Lin insisted on cooking him a grand feast, a table groaning with the freshest, most delicious river delicacies. Chen Wei brought out his most prized, hundred-year-old fruit wine. They were simple, honest people, and their gratitude was a pure, heartwarming thing.
Li Yu spent the next few days in the small town, a quiet, unassuming guest. He politely refused the family's offers of payment, instead spending his time walking the docks, observing the simple, hardworking life of the townsfolk.
He helped an old fisherman whose net-mending crab had lost its pincer, using his life energy to accelerate its regrowth. He advised a local merchant on the best way to feed his transport beasts for a long journey, earning the man's tearful gratitude. He was simply a kind, helpful young man, his monstrous power hidden beneath a calm, gentle surface.
On the third day of his stay, as he was sharing a meal with the Chen family, a panicked-looking man burst through their door.
"Master Chen!" he cried, his face pale with terror. "Pirates! The Black Fin Pirates have attacked the Morning Mist caravan! Your wife… she is on that caravan!"
Chen Fan's father, Chen Wei, dropped his wine cup, which shattered on the floor. "Mei'er!"
Chen Fan's own face went white. "Mother!"
"They are attacking them now, just a few miles upriver at the Black Reef chokepoint!" the man gasped. "They are outnumbered! They cannot hold out for long!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Chen Fan shot to his feet, his spiritual energy flaring. "I must go!"
"You will not go alone," Li Yu's voice was a calm, steady anchor in the sudden storm of panic. He stood up, his expression unreadable. He had come here to help a family. Now, that family was under attack. This was no longer a matter of simple kindness. It was a matter of principle. A debt of gratitude was owed, not by them to him, but by him to them, for their simple, honest hospitality.
He looked at the terrified but determined young disciple. "Come. My ride is faster."
They shot out of the town, two streaks of light. A short distance away, Li Yu opened the portal, and the magnificent, awe-inspiring form of Tempest appeared in the sky. They leaped onto its back.
"To the Black Reef chokepoint," Li Yu commanded, his voice now devoid of its earlier warmth, replaced by a cold, hard chill. "As fast as you can."
Tempest let out a powerful, psychic roar of agreement and vanished, its speed a blur of silver light that tore through the sky, an unseen power on its way to deliver a swift, and terrible, judgment.