With a new plan of action set, there was no reason for Li Yu’s group to remain at the Asura Demon Clan’s territory. The next morning, they stood at the gate, ready to bid their farewells. Mo Jian and Mo Ling had come to see them off personally, their expressions filled with a sincere gratitude that went beyond mere political courtesy.

“Guest Elder Li,” Mo Jian began, his voice a deep, respectful rumble. “I have said it before, but I must say it again. You have saved us all. My Asura Demon Clan, and indeed all the sects and clans who were present, owe you a debt that can never be truly repaid. If there is ever anything you need from us, you need only ask.”

Li Yu simply smiled and gave a slight bow. “You are too kind, Clan Master. We were merely fortunate to be in a position to help. I am glad everyone is safe.” He and Cyra exchanged final farewells with their hosts, then, along with Spine, they rose into the air and flew away from the volcanic caldera, their figures quickly shrinking into the distance. Li Yu had arranged for a team from the Golden Shell Guild to come and retrieve the Golden Voyage, so they had no need for the ship.

Once they were far enough away, clear of any prying eyes, Li Yu gave a nod to Spine. The ancient guardian’s form began to shimmer and distort. His human body elongated and expanded, bones cracking and reshaping. In a matter of seconds, the sorrowful old man was gone, replaced by the magnificent, terrifying form of a Gargantuan Spined Sea-Dragon.

Li Yu and Cyra landed gently on his broad, flat back. With a silent command, Spine shot forward, a colossal streak that tore through the sky at a speed the Golden Voyage could never hope to match.

Mo Jian and Mo Ling stood on the peak, watching until the three figures had completely vanished. The silence between them was thoughtful, heavy with unspoken questions. It was Mo Ling who broke it first, her voice a quiet murmur. “Father… that man, Li Yu… he is not simple, is he?”

Mo Jian let out a long, slow breath, his gaze fixed on the horizon where his benefactor had disappeared. “Not simple does not even begin to describe him,” he replied, his voice filled with a profound awe.

“Think about it. The Guild moves for him and his needs. When we were poisoned, the Vice-Guild Master of that massive organization, Fat Pig, dropped everything and rushed here himself, bringing their entire strategic reserve of antidotes from around here. He travels on their finest ships as if they are his personal carriages. And the people who surround him…”

He shook his head in disbelief. “The woman, Cyra. My senses are not wrong, her aura is deeper and more powerful than my own. I don’t know how strong she is but it is much stronger than myself. And the old man, Spine… another powerful Core Formation master, utterly loyal to him. This is not a man who is merely a business partner or a respected person in the Guild.”

Mo Ling’s eyes were wide as she processed her father’s words. “So you believe…?”

“I believe we have been blind, or it is just hard to accept the truth” Mo Jian stated, his voice firm with conviction. “We have been interacting with a dragon, thinking he was merely a talented lizard. I do not know if he is one of the hidden bosses of the Golden Shell Guild, or perhaps even the boss himself, operating under the guise of a simple disciple. But his true status is far, far beyond what he shows on the surface.”

A long silence passed between them. Mo Ling then smiled, a soft, genuine expression. “It does not really matter, does it? The Li Yu we know has always treated our clan with respect and honor. He saved our Guardian Beast, he helped me obtain my inheritance, and he just saved all of us from a terrible fate. If he is truly the boss of the Golden Shell Guild, then my respect for him only increases. For someone who wields that much power to still be so friendly and so willing to help those weaker than himself… he is truly a person worth befriending.” Mo Jian nodded in agreement, his heart filled with the same sentiment, he had not judged the boy wrong when he first met him.

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Meanwhile, miles to the west, the Spined Sea-Dragon descended into a remote, uninhabited stretch of jagged canyons. They had arrived at the location where Li Yu had followed the Beast Faction’s leader. The sheer cliff face looked unremarkable, but Li Yu that he was closer to it, he could now sense the faint, almost invisible ripples of a powerful concealment formation. There was no hiding this time. They were going to use pure, overwhelming force.

“Stay here, Spine,” Li Yu commanded as he and Cyra leaped from the dragon’s back. He landed on the dusty canyon floor, his staff of Condensed Sea Iron Ore in his hand. He looked at the cliff face, a cold, hard light in his eyes.

Without any preamble, he channeled his immense, compressed power into his staff and smashed it into the formation. There was no grand explosion, no brilliant flash of light. There was only a sound like a world of glass shattering at once. The air wavered, and the powerful formation, which could have withstood a siege, broke like an eggshell, instantly revealing the hidden base below.

The base was carved into the heart of the canyon, a network of caves and buildings now thrown into chaos by the sudden, catastrophic failure of their only defense. Alarms began to blare as dozens, then hundreds, of Beast Faction members poured out, their expressions a mixture of shock and rage.

Li Yu, Cyra, and Spine did a quick, simultaneous scan of the base with their spiritual senses as the enemy scrambled to react. They were scanning for two things: any high level cultivator, perhaps there was a Soul Formation expert here and for Spine’s aura, in case his son was here.

They found no Soul Formation experts. And, to Spine’s deep, sorrowful disappointment, they did not sense his son’s presence. With that confirmed, all restraint was gone. They began their attack.

Spine was the first to move, his grief and rage at the faction that had taken his son finally unleashed. He did not bother with techniques. He was a force of nature, a whirlwind of destruction. He dove into the thickest group of enemies, his claws tearing through bodies and defenses with equal ease, his massive jaws snapping men in two. He was a torrent of earth and fury, his every movement a release of centuries of pent-up emotion.

Cyra was no less deadly, but her style was a thing of terrifying grace. Her six ethereal arms manifested behind her, a beautiful, deadly halo. Her main hands wielded a long, segmented whip that cracked like thunder, each strike shattering the bones of its target.

Her other arms moved in a blur, either deflecting attacks or delivering precise, fatal strikes to anyone who dared get close. She was a whirlwind of destruction, a multi-limbed goddess of death dancing through the battlefield.

Li Yu was the same way, but his style was one of pure, simple, unstoppable force. He was a blur of motion, his staff a black streak that seemed to be everywhere at once. He did not use fancy techniques. He simply smashed. A group of five Foundation Establishment experts tried to surround him, their weapons glowing with power.

Li Yu’s staff simply swept out in a simple, horizontal arc, and all five of them were sent flying, their bodies broken, their weapons shattered. He moved through the enemy ranks like a phantom, a grim reaper whose every blow was a final, absolute judgment.

As their brutal, efficient slaughter began, a handful of powerful auras exploded from the central building of the base. The man who had led the attack at the arena shot out, his face, now free of its mask, contorted in a mask of pure rage and disbelief.

He was flanked by four of his lieutenants: two mid-stage Core Formation experts and two lower-stage Core Formation experts. They saw the carnage, the blood, and the three figures at the center of it all. The man’s eyes locked onto Li Yu, the young man who had promised him safe passage.

“You again!” the man shouted, his voice a roar of pure, unadulterated fury. He couldn’t believe his luck, they were just ambushed by the heretics of the Human Revolution Faction just awhile ago and now this boy and his group were attacking him again. He didn’t tie the recent attack to Li Yu, since Li Yu had just let him go. Also, attacks by the Human Revolution Faction were much more common, especially in these recent times among their forces.