With the seventeen subordinates taken care of, a tense silence fell over the ruined base. Only one person from the Human Revolution Faction remained standing before them: their leader, Bai Yan.

She had watched, her expression revealing nothing about what she was thinking, as her followers chose servitude over death. She had not tried to stop them, she firmly believed that everyone had their own choice. Now, all eyes were on her.

Li Yu turned his full attention to the 9th stage Core Formation expert. “And now you, Commander Bai Yan,” he said. “I will offer you the same choice I gave to your followers. But with one difference. You will be under my direct command. You will help out as needed, similar to the arrangement I have made with Kael here. Swear your loyalty, accept the seal, and live. Or refuse, and die. The choice is yours.”

Bai Yan did not answer immediately. She was a commander, a leader, a proud and powerful expert. The thought of losing her free choice, of having her very will bound to another, was terrifying to her. Why else would she have kept struggling to obtain power, it was so she could make her own choices.

But she was also a survivor. She looked at the figures before her: the ancient, monstrous leviathan in human form who had just effortlessly slaughtered eighty of her fanatics. The beautiful woman whose power didn’t seem as strong as hers but very close. Lastly, the calm and terrifying young man who commanded them all.

It was clear to her that those two were weaker than her, so it had to be this boy that was leading everyone. He was the only one she couldn’t figure out. If Kael fell to this group, to submit to them, it had to be this boy or at least someone else that was hiding around here.

She turned her sharp gaze to the only person here whose situation she could relate to: her old rival, Kael. “You,” she said, her voice sharp. “Is following this boy a wise move? You barely know this kid. What do you see in him that makes you willing to cast aside your pride? Wouldn’t death be better than serving under someone without any will to resist?”

Kael met her gaze, his expression unreadable. “I do not know if it is wise,” he answered honestly. “As you said, I have only just joined him. But from what I have already seen, it was not a bad decision. It is better to be his tool than to die today. I had the same choice as you.”

“But why?” Bai Yan pressed, a hint of genuine confusion in her voice. “Why join instead of dying with honor? You were a proud elder. We fought for our own power, our own freedom. This is the opposite.”

Kael’s expression darkened slightly. “Because I still have a reason to live. I have a revenge I need to take, and I will do whatever it takes to see it through. I will suffer any indignity, serve as needed, if it gives me a chance to one day stand before the ones who destroyed my family.”

He then looked at her, his gaze piercing. “The better question, Bai Yan, is what is it that you want? Is it revenge as well?”

Bai Yan was silent for a long moment. She looked away from Kael, her gaze becoming distant, she revealed a deep weariness. “No,” she said, her voice quiet. “I do not have any sort of revenge to seek. I have no destroyed family to avenge, no great injustice to right.”

She took a deep breath, her voice gaining a quiet intensity. The team just listened, interested in hearing the story of how this woman got here. One doesn't just join a fanatic group without reason.

“I was born in a small, unremarkable village. A rogue cultivator happened to pass through and discovered I had talent. He took me as a disciple, but he was a cruel master, and I killed him when I was strong enough. From then on, I was alone. I fought for every scrap, every cultivation resource, every technique. I was constantly harassed, entering one conflict after another with people, with sects, with clans, all of it.”

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“When I thought I had finished one conflict, another powerful foe would appear. It was endless, killing a man would have his grandfather or cousin appear to face me, to hunt me down. I was never able to stop fighting, always barely being strong enough or just lucky enough to get away.”

She clenched her fists, a flicker of old anger in her eyes. “Years ago, I was nearly killed by an elder from a so-called ‘righteous’ sect, all because I refused to hand over a spiritual herb I had found first. He called me a demonic practitioner, a thief. That was when the Human Revolution Faction found me. They didn’t care about my methods. They didn’t demand my loyalty to a sect master. They offered me command, resources, and respect for my strength. It was a deal I couldn't refuse. I used them, and they used me.”

A bitter, self-deprecating smile touched her lips. She wasn't sure why she was telling them all this. She had never spoken of her past to anyone. Perhaps she just wanted someone to hear, someone to know that she was more than just a commander of a fanatical army.

Perhaps she wanted someone to hear her story in case today was the day she was going to die. She wanted for at least someone to know her story a bit, even if they were complete strangers.

“I just want to get stronger,” she finished, her voice barely a whisper. “I want to live my life, and I want to get strong enough that everyone, every single person, will fear me enough to leave me alone. I am tired of being a pawn in the games of others, tired of fighting for causes I only half-believe in, tired of having to watch my back every second of every day. I want the power to be left in peace, to enjoy my life for a change.”

Her words struck Li Yu like a bolt of lightning. He looked at her, truly looked at her, and for the first time, he did not see an enemy commander. He saw a mirror. Her goal… it was not just similar to his own. It was, at its core, exactly what he wanted as well. Peace.

The strength to be left alone, to be allowed to do what they wanted to do. Their paths were just different. Their circumstances were just different. And that thought sent him into a deep, introspective spiral.

He thought to himself, if his own circumstances were different, would he have done the things she did? If he had not been blessed with his martial spirit, the techniques it gave him and the Koi Sanctuary.

Blessed with the patronage of a king like Khaos, with companionship of beings like Cyra and Kui, of entering under his master’s protection at the beginning… if he had been born with talent but no great backing, forced to scratch and claw for every scrap of power, would he have joined a fanatical faction for support? Would he have led attacks, done questionable things, all for the singular goal of becoming strong enough to finally be free?

He thought that he would have tried to make as many good choices as he could, but if placed in those situations, in a world where the strong devoured the weak, he too would most likely do what was needed to continue on, to go towards his goals. He had killed, he had schemed, he had acted with a ruthlessness that would be seen as villainous by many. Was he truly so different from her? Probably not.

This made him think of the very nature of right and wrong. It really just depended on how you looked at it, and who was judging. Some could think being ruthless and aggressive to achieve your goals was the right path, cheering those that do so. While others might think that is wrong, cruel, and harsh. Who was to say which was correct?

This all brought him back to Khaos, and about how utterly different they were. Khaos existed beyond such concepts. He was a being of pure, amoral power. He did what he wanted, and his will was reality.

Li Yu, on the other hand, was still bound by a human perspective, by a nagging sense of morality that he could never truly shake. He didn't know if what he was doing was truly ‘right,’ only that it was what he had to do to protect his own peace. He tried to do things he ‘thought’ was right, choices he thought would be better.

This all brought him back to the woman standing in front him. His internal philosophical debate had lasted only a few seconds in the real world. He looked at Bai Yan, and his gaze had softened. He saw not an enemy, but a kindred spirit who had walked a harder, darker road. He gave her a small, genuine smile.

“Are you going to join us on MY path?” he asked again, his voice now holding a new, deeper meaning. It was now a genuine invitation that he hoped she would take. He would still need to place a seal on her, he was after all trying to protect ‘his’ own peace. However, he didn’t mind bringing others along with him in search of their own.