Li Yu's calm voice, a stark contrast to the raging auras and shouted threats, fell like a stone into a silent pool, its ripples instantly capturing the attention of every combatant in the plaza. Lord Malakor, his cruel face twisted in a sneer, turned his full attention to the young man who had dared to step forward.
"Inconvenient?" Malakor's voice was a dry, rattling laugh. "You find the extermination of your hosts inconvenient, little righteous disciple? Your work will have to wait. In a few moments, your work, and your life, will be forfeit to me."
"I think not," Li Yu replied, his smile never wavering. He looked at Mo Jian, whose face was a mask of confusion and worry. "Clan Lord, you have shown me great honor as a guest. Allow me to show my gratitude by… cleaning up this interruption so that I may attend to your Guardian."
Before Mo Jian could protest, Li Yu turned back to the invaders. He had no intention of fighting their war for them. But a deterrent? A show of force to make these uninvited guests reconsider their life choices? That was a different matter entirely. It was a clean, efficient solution that preserved his own secrecy while solving his friend's immediate problem.
"Lord Malakor," Li Yu said, his tone polite, as if he were discussing the weather. "Your quarrel is with the Asura Demon Clan. I am, as you say, merely a guest. However, my business partners are… protective. They do not like it when my work is interrupted. I must insist that you and your followers depart. Now."
Malakor stared at him for a moment, then threw his head back and laughed, a sound like bones grinding together. "You insist? A little Foundation Establishment brat insists? And who, pray tell, are these protective partners of yours? Are they hiding behind your robes?"
"Not at all," Li Yu said, his smile widening into something cold and sharp. "He is right here."
He raised a hand, and the shimmering, watery portal to his Koi Martial Spirit materialized behind him. It was not a grand, explosive display, but a quiet, seamless parting of reality. From its depths, a single figure stepped out.
It was Spine.
The ancient, subjugated sovereign of the Riptide Legion emerged in his human form: a tall, impossibly old man with skin like dried parchment, but with eyes that now held a cold, dead light of absolute submission. He wore simple, dark robes, and his 7th-level Core Formation aura, vast and ancient, rolled out like a physical tide, a pressure so immense it caused the very air to tremble.
He materialized behind Li Yu, then took a single step to the side, bowing his head in a gesture of perfect, subservient deference.
The entire plaza was stunned into silence. Mo Jian and Kaelen stared, their minds reeling. They had no idea who this ancient expert was, but his power was undeniable, dwarfing even their own. Where had Li Yu summoned such a monster from?
Lord Malakor's laughter died in his throat, replaced by a strangled gasp. His eyes bulged, his cruel confidence evaporating like morning mist. He was a 1st-level Core Formation expert, his two Bone Horrors were at the 2nd-level. They had come here, confident in their strength, believing Mo Jian to be their only true obstacle. But this… this new arrival was a mountain they could not hope to climb. His aura was a deep, ancient sea, while their own felt like shallow ponds.
"Who… who are you?" Malakor stammered, taking an involuntary step back, his voice losing all of its previous arrogance.
This time, Spine spoke. His voice was ancient, a dry, rasping sound like stones grinding together in a deep-sea trench. "I am Spine," he said, his dead eyes lifting to fix on Malakor. "A servant of the Golden Shell Guild. My duty is to protect the Honored Partner, Li Yu. My master's work is not to be interrupted. My master's person is not to be threatened. You will leave this place now, or you will be erased."
The simple, declarative statement, spoken with the absolute authority of a 7th-level Core Formation expert, was a thousand times more terrifying than any shouted threat.
The name of the Golden Shell Guild was the final nail in the coffin of Malakor's courage. The whispers of what had happened in the south had reached even the reclusive demonic territories. A mysterious new power, led by an ancient Grand Elder who could annihilate Core Formation experts with a thought.
They had crushed the Riptide Legion, a power comparable to his own Soul-Taker Sect, without breaking a sweat. And this young man, this "healer," was their business partner, important enough to be assigned a guardian of such terrifying power. He hadn't walked into a weakened clan's treasury; he had walked into the den of a sleeping, primordial dragon.
Malakor's mind, which had been filled with thoughts of conquest and glory, was now consumed by a single, desperate imperative: survival. To fight here would not be a battle; it would be suicide. His Bone Horrors, which had seemed so menacing moments before, now felt like fragile puppets before the ancient, silent guardian.
His face, which had been pale with fear, suddenly broke into a wide, greasy, and utterly insincere smile. "A misunderstanding!" he declared, his voice a complete, jarring reversal of its previous tone. "A complete and utter misunderstanding! We were merely… paying a social call! Yes! We heard our neighbors in the Asura Clan were having some trouble, and we came to offer our assistance!"
Mo Jian stared at him, his face a mask of pure, unadulterated contempt at the blatant, shameless lie.
"It seems your assistance is no longer required," Li Yu said, his voice flat.
"Indeed! Indeed it is not!" Malakor agreed enthusiastically, already beginning to back away. "It is clear you have everything well in hand, Honored Guest! A master healer such as yourself surely needs a quiet, peaceful environment to work in. We would not dream of disturbing you further!"
He turned to his own stunned, confused disciples. "We are leaving! Our work here is done!"
The two great Bone Horrors, sensing the absolute terror in their master, instinctively recoiled, their malevolent auras shrinking back. With a final, terrified glance at the silent, unmoving form of Spine, Malakor and his entire contingent turned and fled, their organized invasion devolving into a panicked, undignified rout. They scrambled out of the plaza and back through the breached sect formation, disappearing into the dark mountains as quickly as they had come.
For a long moment after they were gone, the only sound in the plaza was the crackling of the magma river far below. The Asura Demon Clan warriors stared, first at the empty space where their enemies had been, then at the ancient, terrifying guardian, and finally, at the calm, smiling young man he served.
Mo Jian was the first to recover. He let out a long, slow breath, a sound of profound, weary relief. He walked over to Li Yu, the look in his eyes no longer just respect, but a deep, soul-shaking awe.
"Guest Elder Li…" he began, his voice hoarse. "I… I have no words. You have… saved my clan."
"You were the one who was prepared to die for me, Clan Lord," Li Yu replied with a gentle smile. "I was merely returning the favor. Now," he said, his expression turning serious once more as he gestured back towards the grotto, "I believe I have a patient waiting for me."
He turned to Spine, who had not moved a single inch the entire time. "You have done well, Spine. Return and rest."
With a silent bow, the ancient Sea-Dragon seemed to shimmer for a moment, his form becoming slightly translucent before disappearing again. To the onlookers, it was as if he had a unique movement technique that allowed him to phase in and out of existence at will, but they all understood the truth of it: the guardian was always there, a silent, ever-present shadow protecting the young healer. The legend of Li Yu, in that moment, was cemented in their minds not as a powerful youth, but as a being with an impossibly deep and terrifying background.
Mo Jian simply shook his head, a gesture of complete, overwhelmed surrender to the mysteries before him. "Yes," he said, his voice full of a newfound, absolute faith. "The Guardian. Let us return at once. Whatever you need, whatever you require, it is yours."
They walked back into the silent, peaceful grotto, the sounds of the brief, aborted war already a distant memory. The threat had been removed, not by a clash of armies, but by the mere shadow of a single, silent sovereign. The power of deterrence, Li Yu mused to himself, was a beautiful and efficient thing indeed.