The news of the events in Coralspire Harbor did not travel like a wave; it hit the major powers of the southern coast like a tsunami. Information, carried by trembling merchants, terrified sailors, and the Jade Sea Pavilion's own official, and heavily biased, account, spread through every major city and sect, leaving a trail of shock and disbelief in its wake.
In the grand council hall of the Azure Shell Chamber's headquarters, a city three hundred miles north of Coralspire, the atmosphere was funereal. The Sect Master, a man whose face was already pale from the crushing commercial sanctions, read the final report from their surviving spies, his hands shaking.
"Elder Feng… is in the custody of the Jade Sea Pavilion. All of our assets in the south… seized. The Riptide Legion… has been annihilated. Their fortress, the Maelstrom's Eye… is now the property of a new entity called the Golden Shell Guild."
He looked up at his own elders, his face a mask of utter despair. "And the one responsible for all of it… is an unknown, ancient-looking expert who calls himself 'Grand Elder Khaos'."
"Who is he?" one elder demanded. "Where did this Golden Shell Guild come from?"
"No one knows," the Sect Master whispered, his voice hoarse. "They appeared out of nowhere. One day they did not exist, the next they have the full backing of the Jade Sea Pavilion and a monster who can dismember a Core Formation expert with a flick of his wrist. All we know is that they are tied to the Green Mountain Sect's Deepwater Menagerie. But this… this is no mere business venture."
A heavy, terrified silence descended. They had not prodded a sleeping dog; they had kicked a slumbering, primordial dragon. Their desperate gamble to cripple their rival had instead led to their own dismemberment, and now a terrifying, unknown power had taken root on their southern border.
"Send a message to Elder Feng's family. Tell them to prepare a formal, humiliating apology and a vast tribute to be sent to Branch Master Jing," the Sect Master finally said, his voice that of a defeated man. "And send a decree to every branch of our Chamber. The Golden Shell Guild, the White Paw Company, and anything associated with the Green Mountain Sect are to be considered our most honored allies. No one is to offend them. No one is to even look at them the wrong way. Anyone who breaks this rule will be executed, their entire family exiled. We will not provoke this monster again."
Similar scenes played out across the southern seas. In the opulent headquarters of the Seven Star Trading Alliance, a powerful mercantile guild that had often competed with the Jade Sea Pavilion, the Alliance Head, a shrewd, calculating woman, listened to her intelligence reports with a grim expression.
"So, the Riptide Legion is gone," she mused, tapping a long, manicured finger on her throne. "And the Jade Sea Pavilion, our primary rival, now has a new, terrifyingly powerful partner."
"What are your orders, Matriarch?" her subordinate asked.
"Our orders are to be good neighbors," the Matriarch said, her eyes sharp. "The southern coast is a big ocean. There is enough fish for everyone. I have no interest in finding out if this 'Grand Elder Khaos' is as unreasonable as he is powerful.
Send a gift basket to the new Golden Shell Guild in Coralspire. Something lavish. Welcome them to the neighborhood. Instruct all our captains that the Guild's ships are to be given a wide berth and every courtesy. Worse case, we ignore them. We will not, under any circumstances, make an enemy of them."
Not all reactions were born of fear. In a hidden, mist-shrouded valley, far from the sea, the reclusive sect master of the Serene Cloud Sect, a righteous sect known for its disdain of bullies and pirates, read the report with a rare, approving smile.
"The Riptide Legion were a cancer," he said to his disciple. "A blight on the coast for centuries. For this new Golden Shell Guild to have removed them so decisively… it is a good deed, regardless of their motives."
"So we should not fear them, Master?" the disciple asked.
"We fear no one who walks a righteous path," the master replied calmly. "But we are not fools. A power that can annihilate the Riptide Legion is a power to be respected. They have done the south a great service. We will watch them.
If they prove to be as righteous in their business as they were in their retribution, they will have a friend in the Serene Cloud Sect. If they become the new tyrants, then we will deal with that when the time comes. For now, we do nothing. We simply observe."
And so, the whispers on the tide coalesced into a single, unified consensus. An unknown, terrifyingly powerful entity had arrived in the south. Their methods were brutal, their power was absolute, but their initial actions—saving an ally, freeing slaves, and destroying a pirate sect—were not those of mindless tyrants.
The smart powers decided to befriend them. The cautious powers decided to watch them. But everyone, from the mightiest sect to the lowliest gang, came to the same, unshakable conclusion: you do not provoke the Golden Shell Guild.
One month passed.
The Green Mountain Sect was a hub of quiet, prosperous activity. The influx of resources from the Deepwater Menagerie's new southern trade routes was a massive boon to the sect. The mission board was constantly filled with high-paying escort and guard duty requests for the Golden Shell Guild's caravans, opportunities that the sect's disciples leaped at, a chance to earn resources and see the wider world.
Li Yu's valley was an oasis of perfect tranquility. He spent his days in peaceful cultivation, his nights in quiet contemplation. His inner sea of abyss-black energy, condensed to the absolute limit, felt as deep and profound as the void itself. He had not advanced in level, but his mastery over his own power grew with each passing day. He was a sword being sharpened in a silent forge.
He sat by the edge of his lake, watching his nascent soul, the crimson-gold leviathan, swim lazy circles in the abyss-black depths of his spiritual core, a perfect harmony of life and power.
His peaceful solitude was interrupted by the arrival of Brother Kai, who approached his pagoda with a respectful but urgent expression.
"Junior Brother Li Yu," he said with a bow. "Forgive the intrusion. There is a visitor at the foot of the mountain asking for you, by name."
Li Yu's eyebrows rose in surprise. Few people outside the sect even knew his name, and none would have reason to visit him here. "Who is it?"
"He claims to be an elder from the Asura Demon Clan," Brother Kai said, his expression serious. "He says he comes in peace, a representative of Clan Lord Mo. He bears a gift and a message of thanks for your… assistance during the Beast Tide."
Li Yu's mind instantly recalled the chaotic battle, the alliance of convenience, and the formidable, honorable Demonic Clan Lord who had fought alongside them. It was a thread from his past he had not expected to be pulled so soon.
His actions in the south, it seemed, had sent ripples further than he had imagined. A visit from a demonic clan was a complex, potentially dangerous affair, but to refuse would be a grave insult.
"Thank you for informing me, Senior Brother," Li Yu said, standing up. A faint, curious smile touched his lips. "I believe it is time I received my guest."