After a while Fat Pig arrived. He came with two ships: one was the magnificent Golden Voyage, which had been waiting for their summons, and the other was a standard, sturdy Golden Shell Guild transport vessel. He landed with a cheerful smile, his demeanor a stark contrast to the grim, blood-soaked battlefield. His slight annoyance from before is nowhere to be seen.

“Wise Host! Elders! A job well done, I see!” he greeted them cheerfully, his eyes scanning the devastation without a flicker of concern. He had seen enough of Li Yu’s handiwork to not be surprised. He then turned to the seventeen former Human Faction members, who stood nervously in a group. Fat Pig’s smile did not falter.

He treated them with a surprising warmth and respect. “Welcome to the Golden Shell Guild! My name is Fat Pig, Vice-Guild Master. I’ll be handling you from now on. Don’t worry, we’ll find a place for each of you where your talents can shine.” He took the storage rings filled with the loot from the base, his eyes gleaming as he briefly appraised the contents, before ushering the new recruits onto the transport ship.

Li Yu and his team—Cyra, Spine, Kael, and Bai Yan—boarded the Golden Voyage. As the two ships parted ways, one heading back towards the Guild’s central territories and the other heading south-east towards the southern base that Jian had found.

The trip started out for the most part, quiet and uneventful. It was a time for the newly formed team to get to know one another. The two new members, Kael and Bai Yan, were powerful and proud individuals but they were not dumb.

They had submitted, and now they sought to understand their new master and his organization. One evening, as they sat on the main deck watching the clouds drift by, the conversation turned to Spine’s incredible, rage-fueled power.

Spine explained to them the reason for his bloodlust, the story of his lost son and his centuries-long, desperate search. They learned of his personal vendetta against the Beast Revolution Faction, and they finally understood that for the ancient sea-dragon, the battle had not been a mission; it had been personal. His story was a heavy, sorrowful thing, and it cast a somber mood over the group.

To lighten the atmosphere a bit, everyone started sharing stories of their own lives, Li Yu shared a simplified version of his own life: how he had been a simple young man from a small village who then became a fish feeder at the sect. Then he eventually grew stronger and now he is here, his only real goal being to live a peaceful, enjoyable life.

Bai Yan learned of the Koi Sanctuary but as she is human, she was not able to enter. It remained a tantalizing mystery to her.

The next day, Cyra approached Kael and Bai Yan. She presented each of them with a high-grade storage ring filled with cultivation pills, spiritual stones, and various other resources. “The Young Master believes in investing in his people,” she said, her voice calm and even.

“Your strength is now the strength of the Guild. You are free to take what is needed to advance your cultivation, within reason of course. As you grow stronger, you will bring more value and resources back to the Guild. It is a mutually beneficial relationship.”

They both thought this was still generous. In their old factions, resources were hoarded, earned through bloody competition and political maneuvering. Here, they were given freely, as an investment. They understood the logic immediately: their strength was the strength of the Guild. Them growing stronger would only allow for more resources to flow in. It was a simple but powerful philosophy that allowed both sides to grow stronger fast.

They talked and got to know each other as they traveled, a strange collection of powerful, broken people finding a new, common purpose. They weren't rushing down south as Kael and Bai Yan had thought. Instead, Li Yu was having them stop at each new town and city along the way that he hadn’t seen before. They had never traveled this south-eastern path before, so there were many new places he had never encountered.

He was in no hurry. He was, true to his word, enjoying his version of peace. Their first major stop was a bustling port city called Silverfin Port. The city was famous for its unique architecture, with buildings made from polished coral and iridescent shells, and for its most famous local specialty, the ‘Three-Treasure Soup.’

Li Yu immediately had the group find the most acclaimed restaurant and ordered a large pot for the table. It was a rich, savory broth made from sun-dried sea kelp, giant deep-sea oysters, and the impossibly tender meat of the local Crystal-scale Fish. The taste was a complex explosion of the ocean’s essence, and Li Yu savored every spoonful.

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After their meal, they explored the city, observing the local custom of sailors carving small wooden fish charms and hanging them on a large, sprawling ‘Luck Net’ woven from thick, salt-cured rope by the main docks. Each charm was a prayer for a safe voyage. While there, Li Yu’s search for local aquatic life led him to overhear a conversation about the local clinic.

The town’s only doctor had a companion beast, a rare healing-type spirit beast, that had fallen gravely ill. Li Yu went to see if he could help and found a kind old man weeping beside a large, white-furred ape that was breathing shallowly, a dark, necrotic energy clinging to its body.

Li Yu, with a simple touch, was able to channel a stream of pure, vibrant life energy from his Koi Sanctuary into the beast, purging the dark energy and restoring its vitality in a matter of minutes. He asked for no payment, simply enjoying the grateful tears of the old doctor and the happy, revitalized chuffs of the ape.

Bai Yan and Kael went along with everything Li Yu did, their initial confusion slowly turning into a grudging understanding. They had thought he was a ruthless warlord, a hidden king bent on conquest. But here he was, taking genuine delight in a simple bowl of soup and going out of his way to heal a stranger’s pet.

They thought he was just out to fight from his plan of attacking the bases, but true to what he had said, this was his kind of peace: enjoying what the world had to offer. Bai Yan, seeing all of this, found it really resonated with her. The strength to be left alone, to do as one pleased.

This was the very freedom she had been fighting for her entire life. She let herself fall into Li Yu’s flow, and for the first time in years, she allowed herself to simply enjoy the moment, tasting the food, seeing the sights, and letting the tension in her shoulders finally begin to ease. Li Yu noticed this subtle change in her, and it brought a genuine smile to his face.

They continued at this leisurely pace for several weeks, not rushing at all. One evening, as they were watching a festival of lanterns in a quiet riverside town, Kael finally asked the question that had been bothering him. “Young Master,” he began, his voice respectful, “I do not understand. The enemy is in the south, gathering their strength. Why are we not rushing to meet them? Why this… diversion?”

Li Yu turned to him, a lantern’s soft glow reflecting in his calm eyes. “I am only doing this fight to protect my peace,” he answered simply. “If I don’t enjoy myself along the way, what is the point of doing all the fighting in the first place? The fighting can take a back seat to me doing what I want and enjoying myself.” He shrugged, a playful smile on his face. “The Guild calls me the ‘Slacker Boss.’ I have a reputation to live up to.”

It was also part of their plan, they wanted to draw out the leadership. Giving them more time to regroup or whatever decision they were going to make after learning of a base’s destruction. They wanted them to react in some way, even hoping some higher ups will be there to strengthen the base.

Kael thought it was a waste of precious time. He came along with them everywhere, but whenever he was alone in his room on the ship, he was cultivating relentlessly. He was not like Bai Yan, who seemed to be finding a new sense of peace. He, too, wanted to enjoy his life, but he was consumed with revenge. Every moment he wasn't growing stronger felt like a betrayal of his slaughtered family.

Li Yu and Cyra noticed this in him, the ever-present tension, the obsessive drive. Later that night on the ship, he and Cyra found Kael meditating on the deck. “You shouldn’t rush,” Cyra said quietly, startling the elder. “You have been holding on to your revenge for all this time. It is like the family you want revenge on is continuing to haunt you, continuing to win, every single day.”

Kael looked down, his fists clenched. Cyra continued, her voice soft but firm. “If you don’t want them to win, you have to be able to let go of your revenge until the day you get it. Not forget it, but live your life in spite of it. Enjoy yourself. However you want to enjoy yourself. Maybe it isn’t food, maybe it’s a hobby, maybe it’s through certain actions. Every time you don’t think of them, every time you allow yourself a moment of genuine happiness, you are winning against them. Don’t let them keep winning over you. You should win over them instead. Win every day, until the day you meet again and can get your final revenge.”

Kael understood the logic, but the practical application felt impossible. “I need power to get my revenge,” he said, his voice a low growl. “I cannot afford to rest.” Li Yu shook his head. “You and the Guild will help you get that power. And if your enemies are truly as evil as you say, when the time comes, I will be right behind you, charging in to kill them myself.” The simple certainty in his voice was more reassuring than any promise of resources.

Kael finally allowed some of the tension to leave his body. “That is the first step,” Li Yu said with a smile. “You don’t need to stop getting stronger, but you need to enjoy the journey as well. To find your own path forward.”

Kael was silent for a long moment. “I… I really enjoyed drinking different kinds of alcoholic drinks in my past,” he admitted, the memory distant and painful. “It was something I did often with my family. Since that day, however, I haven’t been able to drink again. The taste was always too bitter.”

Li Yu smiled and waved his hand. Several ornate bottles and jugs appeared on the table between them—rare spirits and fine wines he had collected throughout his travels. “Then let’s see if we can find a new taste.” He called for Cyra, Spine, and Bai Yan, and as a group, they sat on the deck of the Golden Voyage, under the quiet stars, and drank together. A certain lightness seemed to spread over Kael. He wasn’t truly free from the haunting of his past, far from it in fact, but it was a step. And that’s all one ever needed to start anything: just a single step.