Jian Xuan and his new subordinate, General Zhong, flew south, two powerful streaks of light crossing the sky. Zhong, his cultivation unsealed but his will now bound by the master-slave seal, was a picture of respectful deference.
He maintained a position slightly behind and below Jian Xuan, his posture that of a loyal guard. After a long period of silent travel, Jian Xuan, ever curious about the motivations of others, finally spoke.
"General," he began, his tone casual, "you are a 9th stage Core Formation expert, a supreme commander. You could have tried to flee, or negotiated terms with the Forest of the Radiant Dawn. Why surrender so completely to my Golden Shell Guild, a force you knew so little about?"
Zhong considered the question, formulating an honest and strategic answer. "Grand Elder," he replied, his voice steady, "I am a soldier, but I am also a pragmatist. I saw your power at the capital. To resist would have been suicide. To flee would have been a fool's errand. That left surrender. As for why the Guild and not the Forest… I observed them. The Forest of the Radiant Dawn are zealots. They fight for a righteous cause, yes, but their path is rigid, absolute. There is no room for nuance, no place for a man like me who has served on the 'wrong' side, regardless of my knowledge of the Abyss. I believe they would have seen me as a tool to be used and discarded, or a sinner to be forever watched with suspicion."
He paused, then continued, "The Golden Shell Guild, however… you are different. It is a power that simply is, for its own goal but not for some great cause, at least not from what I can gather. The Guild moves for its own interests, for power and profit. That is a language I understand. I believe a man of my skills and experience would be seen as a valuable asset, and that in serving the Guild, I would have a better, more prosperous future. I would have a better life with the Guild."
Jian Xuan let out a short, sharp laugh. The General's reasoning was sound, pragmatic, and refreshingly honest. "You are probably not wrong," Jian said, his voice holding a note of amusement. "From what I have heard from our guild master, the Forest group is indeed a rather… intense bunch."
A few days later, they rendezvoused not with a land convoy, but with a magnificent fleet of the Guild's flying transport ships. It was a testament to the Guild's wealth and logistical might. A dozen massive vessels, their hulls emblazoned with the golden shell emblem, hung silently in the air in a perfect, disciplined formation.
These were not just the ships used for the evacuation; this was a full-scale expeditionary force. They were not only bringing the northern evacuees back to their homes, but were also carrying even more people: skilled merchants, ambitious managers, families of new employees, and several hundred additional White Paw mercenaries.
The Guild was not just returning; it was expanding, ready to capitalize on the new stability in the north and establish a powerful presence in the areas now controlled by their new allies, the Forest group.
The Queen, now firmly in control and indebted to the Forest of the Radiant Dawn—who were in turn allied with the Guild—had welcomed them back with open arms and promises of support. Whether she held any resentment for the Guild's earlier neutrality was unknown, but even if she did, she would not dare offend either the Guild or the Forest now.
Jian and Zhong landed on the command deck of the fleet's flagship. Kui was there to greet them, his usual merchant robes replaced with a more functional, authoritative attire befitting the commander of a major expedition. He welcomed General Zhong into their ranks with a shrewd, calculating eye and his always cheerful personality, immediately seeing the value in a completely loyal 9th stage Core Formation expert.
The strategic possibilities were already forming in his mind. The team—Kui, Jian Xuan, the newly acquired Zhong, and Xylia, who was commanding the mercenary contingent of the fleet—was now poised to spearhead a massive expansion of the Guild's influence. The two-month deadline for their formal meeting with the Radiant Dawn was approaching, and they would arrive not just as allies, but as a formidable power in their own right.
While the Guild was busy re-establishing its presence in the north, Li Yu was back at the sect, trying to find a measure of peace. But a sense of profound unease and urgency filled him. The world he had known was a lie, a small, sheltered pond in a world of vast, stormy oceans.
The knowledge of the seven continents, the inter-dimensional rifts, and the ancient, powerful factions now colored all his thoughts. The unstable times were coming, and he felt a desperate need to grow stronger, to be ready for the tidal wave he knew was on the horizon.
To get his mind of off it, he tried chatting and eating with his friends, and while that did bring him some joy and comfort, he couldn't shake off the tension in his body.
He shared some of his vague, formless worries with his master one evening. She listened patiently, her expression serene as always, as he spoke of a feeling of smallness, of a world much larger and more dangerous than he had imagined.
When he was finished, she simply smiled. "There were always stronger powers there to hold up the sky when it fell, little Yu," she said, her voice calm and steady. "Did they not do so for all this time, long before you were born? Focus on your own path. Walk it well. The sky will take care of itself."
Her simple words helped calm the storm in his heart, but it did not extinguish the fire. He knew she was right, but he also knew that he could not rely on others completely to hold up his sky for him. He retreated to his cultivation chamber, his resolve hardened.
It was time to take a risk. Several weeks had passed since he had absorbed the demonic pill and core. He had meticulously observed himself, checking for any negative side effects—changes to his mind, his emotions, the stability of his spiritual energy. He had found none. The red-green demonic qi remained separate and docile within his Ocean of Qi.
With his decision made, he set up a powerful defensive array around his chamber. He then took out the storage rings and laid out his spoils. He selected five of the demonic cores, each one pulsing with a chaotic, violent power. He took a deep breath, and one by one, he began to absorb them.
As before, his martial spirit reacted instantly. A powerful suction force pulled the demonic energy from the cores, drawing it into his body in thick, roiling streams of red-green light. The energy was wild and corrupting, but his own unique cultivation seemed to be its natural master.
The Koi Qi in his Ocean of Qi swirled, creating a gentle vortex that guided the new, foreign energy to a separate corner of his core, containing it, pacifying it. He felt no pain, no corruption, only a massive, exhilarating influx of pure power.
After absorbing the five cores and confirming once again that there were no ill effects, a new, bolder idea took hold. The observation period was over. It was time to truly feast. He took out all the remaining demonic cores—dozens of them—and all of the demonic cultivation pills. Without further hesitation, he began to absorb them all.
The process took three full days. He sat in the center of his chamber, a whirlwind of red-green energy surrounding him. He consumed the pills like candy, each one releasing a potent burst of demonic energy into his system. He drained the cores one after another, his martial spirit greedily sucking in the chaotic power.
His Ocean of Qi, which was already vast, began to swell, the new demonic qi forming a massive, swirling nebula of red and green that spread out in his Ocean of Koi Qi, almost mingling with it. His own Koi Qi, always compressing, began to work overtime, refining and condensing the sheer volume of new energy, pushing the limits of his cultivation base.
On the third day of absorbing and compressing the demonic energy. Now, with the immense, explosive power of the demonic cores and pills, he slammed against the barriers to the next stages. With a final, silent roar in his soul, he pushed. The barriers shattered. A new, more profound level of power washed over him. His spiritual energy refined itself, becoming denser, more potent.
His cultivation level had broken through, reaching the standard of the 7th level of Core Formation by the standard cultivation. But that wasn't all. He noticed that the demonic qi, while increasing his cultivation, had another, unexpected effect. As a massive amount settled into his qi core, threads of its energy were being drawn out and absorbed by his very cells.
The demonic qi made his body stronger, it would seem to be favoring physical strength and defense. His soul-imbued cells, already incredibly resilient, greedily absorbed and mixed with the demonic qi, a strange but powerful fusion that was making his physical vessel even more monstrously durable.
It was already his monstrous body that allowed him to absorb so much demonic qi within three days without any side effects. Now this body was pushed even further.