The day after the Asset Duel was accepted was a whirlwind of frantic, yet focused, activity for the Jade Sea Pavilion. Messengers ran through the halls, logistics for the arena were confirmed, and a heavy, anticipatory silence fell over the city as news of the all-or-nothing gamble spread. While Branch Master Jing and Elder Quan dealt with the political and organizational storm, Li Yu's task was to prepare his champions.
The first, and most delicate, step was to formally introduce their mysterious third fighter. Li Yu requested another private meeting. Branch Master Jing and Elder Quan met them in the most secure chamber of the Pavilion, their faces etched with a mixture of hope and anxiety.
This time, when Li Yu, Kui, and Xylia entered, they were followed by a fourth figure.
The moment Khaos stepped into the room in his human form, the atmosphere changed. The spiritual energy in the air grew heavy, as if in the presence of an ancient, primordial law. Branch Master Jing felt his own Core Formation aura being naturally, effortlessly suppressed, like a candle brought before a sun.
They stared, their minds utterly blank with shock. Before them stood the very image of a divine ancestor. Khaos's perfect, ageless physique, his mane of black-and-white hair, and his eyes like swirling nebulae radiated an authority so absolute it was terrifying. He was not just a cultivator; he was a being of a fundamentally higher order.
Kui stepped forward, his usual cheerful smile now tinged with a deep, profound reverence that made him seem less like a merchant and more like a high priest. "Branch Master Jing, Elder Quan! This humble one is overjoyed to present to you the true pillar of our enterprises! This is our esteemed Grand Elder, Khaos. He has been enjoying his seclusion but was... displeased to hear that our new friends and partners were being treated so disrespectfully. He has decided to personally ensure the matter is resolved... permanently."
The explanation, coming from the Guild Master himself, clicked everything into place. The sudden appearance of the Golden Shell Guild, its mysterious resources, the power of its leaders—it all made sense if a being of this caliber was the hidden hand guiding the "business partner," Li Yu.
"Grand… Elder Khaos," Jing stammered, performing a deep, hasty bow, his heart pounding in his chest. "Your presence… honors us beyond words. We were not aware…"
"You were not meant to be aware," Khaos's deep, resonant baritone voice filled the room, each word vibrating with an ancient power. "My subordinates were to establish a peaceful foundation. Your enemies have disturbed that peace. An act I find… irritating." He stroked his long, white beard, his gaze making the two Pavilion elders feel like children before a stern patriarch. "This foolish 'duel' will resolve the matter. We will not be disturbed again."
The sheer, unquestionable finality in his tone washed away every last shred of doubt in Jing's mind. He no longer hoped for victory; he knew it was an absolute certainty.
"With your Grand Elder presiding over this matter, victory is assured!" Kui boomed, transitioning the conversation back to practical matters. "However, a performance of this magnitude requires the proper stage dressing! We must ensure our champions are equipped to display their full, glorious might!"
"Of course! Of course!" Jing said, snapping back to his role as a host. "Our Pavilion's armory is at your disposal! It contains weapons and artifacts gathered over centuries! Whatever our champions require, they shall have!"
"An excellent offer!" Kui said gratefully. "This old turtle, for instance, has a particular fighting style. My strength is in defense, an unyielding foundation from which I can crush my foes! I require a custom piece. A great shield, in the shape of a turtle's shell, that I can wear upon my back. It must be forged from the finest defensive materials you have. Something that can withstand the strike of a foolish dragon without a scratch!"
"It will be done!" Jing declared without hesitation. "We have a reserve of Adamantine Sea Iron and Star-Coral, the most durable materials in the southern seas! I will summon our master craftsmen at once. They will work day and night. You shall have your shield before the duel!"
Jing then turned to Xylia, his expression one of respectful inquiry. "And for the esteemed Lady Xylia? A blade? A spear?"
Xylia crossed her powerful arms, her expression disdainful. "I need no weapon. My hands are enough to tear a man in half."
"Ah, but my lady," Kui interjected smoothly, "this is not merely a fight; it is a performance! A display of the White Paw Company's peerless might! To enter the arena armed is a sign of respect for the spectacle. And a pair of weapons, extensions of your own power, would only enhance the terrifying image of your strength!"
Xylia considered this for a moment. The idea of increasing her terrifying image appealed to her barbarian sensibilities. "Fine," she grunted. "Give me claws. Gauntlets. Something that will not break when I punch through bone."
"The sharpest, most resilient materials we have!" Jing promised, already making a mental note.
Finally, all eyes turned to Khaos, who had been observing the proceedings with an air of detached amusement.
"And for you, Grand Elder?" Jing asked, his voice full of reverence. "What legendary weapon can our humble armory offer you?"
Khaos let out a soft, contemptuous scoff. "Weapon? Insect, I have no need of your mortal trinkets. I will not even have to lift my hands to obliterate whichever fool they place before me."
The absolute arrogance of the statement would have been infuriating from anyone else. From him, it felt like a simple statement of fact.
It was Kui who dared to press the issue, his fawning smile at full power. "But Grand Elder, you are a being of unimaginable stature! An ancestor descending to the mortal realm to dispense judgment! While you have no need for a weapon, possessing one would complete the image! It would elevate you from a mere participant to a divine arbiter of fate! The sight of you, armed with a weapon of legendary presence, would shatter the enemy's morale before the fight even begins! It would be… even cooler!"
Khaos paused, stroking his beard. The old sovereign's logic was, in its own way, flawless. The idea of enhancing his already perfect image appealed to Khaos's immense vanity.
"Your sycophancy is nauseating, little turtle," Khaos said, though a flicker of satisfaction shone in his nebular eyes. "But your point has some minor merit. Very well. I will deign to look at your collection of crude implements. Not to choose, but merely for… inspiration."
Jing personally led them to the Pavilion's grand armory. It was a vast, circular hall, its walls lined with hundreds of weapons, each one a masterwork, each one glowing faintly with its own spiritual energy. There were greatswords forged from the teeth of ancient sea dragons, spears tipped with solidified lightning, and bows carved from living coral.
Khaos walked through the aisles, his expression one of utter disdain. "Pointy sticks… clumsy slabs of metal… flimsy toys…" he muttered, dismissing centuries of master craftsmanship with a wave of his hand.
He reached the very back of the armory, a section for older, more esoteric weapons. And then he stopped. His eyes, which had held nothing but contempt, now held a flicker of genuine interest. Hanging on the wall was a single, massive weapon. A two-handed battle scythe, its long, curved blade forged from a dark, non-reflective metal, its haft made of petrified Ironwood.
Kui and Xylia were confused. But Li Yu understood. The long, curved blade… it was a vague, yet unmistakable, echo of the shape of a colossal crab's pincer.
"That one," Khaos said, his voice a low rumble. "Its shape is… not entirely displeasing. It has the merit of looking menacing." He looked at the armory's trembling keeper. "But one is asymmetrical. Unbalanced. I require two."
The keeper nearly fainted. "Two, Grand Elder? But… but that is a two-handed weapon! No one can wield one in a single hand, let alone two!"
"That is because you are weak," Khaos stated simply. "I will not be taking this piece of scrap metal. I have merely found my inspiration. I shall forge my own."
They returned to the guesthouse, leaving a bewildered but awestruck collection of Pavilion staff in their wake. Back in the privacy of Li Yu's chambers, Kui looked at Khaos with a curious expression. "Lord Khaos, you truly intend to forge your own weapons in two days?"
"Forge?" Khaos scoffed, as if the very idea of manual labor was an insult. "This king does not forge. This king creates."
He raised a single, perfectly formed hand. The space before him shimmered and then tore open, a silent, vertical rip in reality that opened into a swirling vortex of pure, starless void. He reached into the portal, his arm disappearing up to the shoulder.
A moment later, he withdrew his hand. And he was holding a scythe.
It was a weapon of breathtaking, terrifying beauty. It was slightly taller than he was, its haft a smooth, black cylinder of what looked like solidified darkness. The long, curved blade was the same abyssal black, but it did not reflect the light; it seemed to devour it. It radiated an aura of cold, absolute finality.
Then, he reached back into the void and pulled out a second, identical scythe.
He stood there, a divine, white-bearded ancestor, clad in simple dark robes, holding two colossal, light-devouring scythes. The image was a chilling paradox: a being of celestial beauty armed like the very personification of death. No one knew how he could possibly wield both at once, but no one dared to doubt that he could.
"Where… where did they come from?" Li Yu asked, his own voice filled with awe.
Khaos gave a smug smile, spinning one of the scythes with impossible, effortless grace. "When this king absorbed the Void Core, my shell was tempered and shed its old skin. A molting, if you will. I simply took the leftover fragments of my old, sovereign-grade shell—a material harder than any ore in this pathetic world—and compressed them into a shape I find appealing. Their hardness is… unquestionable."
Li Yu stared at the weapons, which were literally pieces of divine metal, forged by the void itself. The champions of the Riptide Legion were not going to a duel. They were going to their own execution.