The Ashen Maw, once a place of fiery death and ancient grief, was now a silent, plundered ruin. The harvesting was complete. Under Kui's expert direction, every usable scale, bone, and drop of essence from the Molten Heart Colossus and its fiery minions had been meticulously collected and stored. It was a treasure trove of high-grade materials that would fuel the Golden Shell Guild's coffers and the White Paw Company's forges for years to come.
With their grim task finished, it was time to leave the Blasted Lands behind. Li Yu stood with his companions amidst the blood-stained wreckage, the acrid smell of ash still heavy in the air.
"Our work here is done," he said, his voice a calm anchor in the desolate landscape. Li Yu summoned their transport. The immense, draconic form of Spine materialized from the sanctuary, his great, golden eyes blinking in the dim light. Li Yu and the others leaped onto the beast's back, and with a powerful, silent beat of his fins, the ancient Sea-Dragon rose into the sky, leaving the ashen caldera and its ghosts behind.
The journey back west was a swift and silent one. Their destination was set. After a full day of travel, the familiar, jagged peaks of the Ironmaw Range appeared on the horizon. Spine descended, landing with a ground-shaking thud in the now-bustling main courtyard of Traveler's Rest.
The sight of the colossal Sea-Dragon appearing from the sky sent a wave of awe and terror through the town's new inhabitants. But when they saw the calm, familiar figures of Li Yu, Kui, and Xylia disembark, their fear was instantly replaced by a profound, reverent respect.
The town had thrived in their absence. Under Fat Pig's greedy but surprisingly effective management, the construction had proceeded at a breathtaking pace. The grand inn was open for business, its rooms filled with merchants who were ecstatic about the new, safe trade route. The marketplace was a vibrant, noisy hub of activity, and the caravans from both the Asura Demon Clan and the Iron Heart Sect were already exchanging goods under the watchful eyes of the Guild's new clerks.
Kui, his face beaming with a merchant's pride, was immediately swept away by his new Vice Guild Master. "Big Brother! You have returned!" Fat Pig boomed, his fawning excitement completely genuine. "The profit reports for the first month are even better than your most optimistic projections! Come, come, I must show you the new accounting ledgers!" The two portly, greedy sovereigns waddled off, already lost in a world of numbers and profit margins.
Xylia, with a rough farewell, headed towards the White Paw Company's keep. She needed to inspect her new recruits and oversee the integration of the new, battle-hardened warriors they had acquired from the surrendered bandits. Her pack was growing, and it needed a firm, unforgiving hand to maintain its discipline.
That left Li Yu with his two newest retainers. He led Fengliu and the graceful, serene Cyra to his private tower, the quietest place in the bustling town.
"The foundation of our enterprise is now solid in both the north and the south," Li Yu began, once they were seated in his quiet study. "But as I said before, we are blind. This must be rectified. Fengliu, you are now the master of this new branch. Our eyes and ears."
Fengliu, in his elegant, sky-prince form, gave a deep, respectful bow. His sky-blue eyes, which had been clouded by centuries of grief, now held a new, sharp, and intensely focused light. His vengeance was not yet complete, but now he had a path, a purpose.
"I will not fail you, Master," he said, his melodic voice a firm, unbreakable vow. "I have spent three hundred years building a network of whispers and rumors from my lonely peak. Now, with the resources of the Golden Shell Guild at my disposal, I will turn those whispers into a storm of information. I will build you an intelligence network that has no equal in this world."
"How will you begin?" Li Yu asked, his curiosity piqued. He knew what he wanted but he didn't have the expertise to get it done.
"Subtlety and patience, Master," Fengliu replied, the mind of a master spymaster already at work. "An organization like this cannot be built overnight. One does not simply hire spies. You must cultivate them. I will start by establishing a public face for our new branch."
He looked at Li Yu, a cunning light in his eyes. "Information is a commodity, just like spirit stones or beast cores. The Golden Shell Guild is already known for trading in rare and valuable goods. We will simply add a new, more esoteric, product to our catalog. We will open an 'Information Pavilion' in Traveler's Rest, and eventually, in Coralspire Harbor. A place where cultivators can come to buy and sell information."
"A brilliant idea!" a new voice boomed. Kui had returned, his meeting with Fat Pig apparently concluded. He waddled into the room, his face alight with commercial glee. "A marketplace for secrets! We can charge exorbitant prices for high-grade intelligence! And even the low-grade rumors we buy will help us build our network! It's a self-funding enterprise! Oh, Fengliu, you have the soul of a true merchant!"
Fengliu offered a rare, thin smile. "The public-facing business is just the first layer. The true network will be built in the shadows. I have my own methods for finding… suitable recruits. Individuals in key positions—disgruntled sect disciples, ambitious chamber maids in the halls of power, forgotten scholars with access to ancient libraries. These are the true threads of a web. It will take time, Master. Months, perhaps years, to build a network worthy of your ambitions. But it will be done."
Fengliu wanted to build it out even faster than Li Yu, his motivations clear, it was all for his revenge. But rushing would only lead to disaster, he understood this, it was why he was able to endure for the last 300 years.
"Then begin at once," Li Yu said with a nod of approval. "You will have the full, unconditional support of the Guild and the Company. Take whatever resources you need." He then turned to Kui. "And speaking of the Guild, we need a standard for this new branch. A symbol that is recognizable, yet discreet."
"Of course, Wise Host!" Kui said. He then turned to Fengliu. "As the master of this new branch, the honor of designing its crest falls to you, my friend!"
Fengliu was silent for a long moment, his gaze distant. He then sketched a design in the air with a finger of pure, solidified wind. It was a single, elegant, iridescent roc's wing, a clear symbol of his own lineage. But behind the wing, rendered as a powerful, looming shadow, was the unmistakable silhouette of a great, black crab's claw.
There was nothing discreet about this design at all, if anything it was flamboyant. Clearly missing what Li Yu had said, but it was Fengliu's choice so Li Yu respected it.
Kui's eyes went wide, and he let out a low whistle of profound appreciation. 'He learns fast,' the old turtle thought to himself. Fengliu had clearly seen the way to Khaos's heart.
With the foundations of his new intelligence network laid, Li Yu turned his attention to another, more personal, project. The Guild, under Kui's standing orders, had been quietly purchasing any new, unique, or rare aquatic beasts that appeared in the markets of Traveler's Rest.
The White Paw Company, in turn, had been sent on several 'retrieval' missions for rumors of strange creatures in the mountain streams. His collection was growing daily. The diversity of his Koi's Sanctuary, and by extension, his own power, was in a state of constant, quiet expansion.
But it was his own, personal power that now required his full attention. The brief, explosive experience of the Soul Fusion had opened a door in his mind, and he was eager to explore the world on the other side.
He spent the next two weeks in absolute seclusion. He sat in his chamber, his consciousness deep within his spiritual sea. He had found the key—the «Leviathan Heart Sutra». Now, he needed to learn how to turn the key in the lock.
He practiced and refined the Sutra endlessly, not to cultivate, but to feel the resonance, the subtle push and pull between his conscious will and the primordial, instinctual power of his nascent soul. It was a delicate, frustrating dance. He would try to adapt the Sutra, to add a new sequence, a new "word" to its language that would command the leviathan to project its power outward. But the soul was not a simple tool. It was a part of him, and it resisted any change to its fundamental nature.
After a week of fruitless effort, he finally had a breakthrough. He realized he was trying to force it, to bend the soul to the shape of a technique. He needed to do the opposite. He needed to create a technique that was a natural extension of the soul itself.
He stopped trying to create a complex art. He focused on a single, simple, and primal act: a roar. He envisioned his nascent soul, the crimson-gold leviathan, letting out a silent, spiritual cry, a pure, unadulterated assertion of its existence. He poured all of his will, all of his intent, into that single, imagined sound, using the familiar, resonant pathways of the «Leviathan Heart Sutra» as a channel.
This time, the leviathan responded. It opened its light-woven mouth, and from the depths of his being, a wave of pure, silent power surged forth. Success!
He needed to test it right away.
That night, he left the fortress. He traveled to a remote, desolate part of the mountains, a place he knew a small, stubborn remnant of a bandit tribe in the area, one that had refused to surrender, had made their new lair. They had even attacked some merchants but luckily there were guards around but they were able to escape. They were a minor nuisance, a problem Xylia had reported on and would have eventually dealt with, but they were the perfect test subjects.
He found their camp in a hidden cave. There were a dozen of them, their auras ranging from the Qi Condensation to the Mid-Foundation Establishment realm. He stood at the mouth of the cave, took a deep breath, and unleashed his new technique.
He focused on the image of the leviathan's roar, and he pushed. A wave of invisible, silent power washed over the cave.
The effect was instantaneous and horrifying. The bandits, who had been laughing around a campfire, simply… stopped. Their eyes went wide and vacant, the light of their souls instantly extinguished. They did not scream. They simply slumped over, their bodies perfectly unharmed, but their spirits, their very consciousness, had been utterly and completely erased from existence. Even the powerful, Mid-Foundation Establishment leader had met the same, silent fate.
Li Yu stared at the scene, a chill running down his spine despite his immense power. The attack was silent. It was invisible. And it was absolute. It was not a roar of sound. It was a roar of death.
He had initially thought to call the technique 'Soul Roar.' But as he looked at the silent, lifeless bodies, he knew that name was too simple, too clean. This was something far more terrifying.
He would call it… "Death's Roar."