Once Li Yu had departed from the chamber the conversation continued with Lin Mei filling them in on a few more details about their group. With the pact now binding all remaining participants, Lin Mei could speak freely about such matters. At the end of the conversation she ended with, “At the moment there is no single, overwhelming threat to the continent that requires immediate, unified action. The factions are a persistent disease, but they are not yet a world-ending plague. For now, you can go about your business.”

She then produced a beautifully crafted communication token, etched with swirling, silver runes. She handed it to Jian. “This is a direct line to our order. Should a threat arise that we deem worthy of your attention, we will notify you through this. Likewise, if you discover something you believe threatens the stability of the continent, you may use it to contact us.”

At the very end, she shared one last critical piece of information. “Our main base of operations on this continent, our Sanctuary, is located in the Dragon’s Tooth mountain range, to the southeast of here. It is hidden away by a series of our most advanced formations.” Jian listened, and in his head, he quickly processed the location. ‘Southeast of here, in the Dragon’s Tooth mountain range,’ he thought, ‘that puts their main base roughly northeast of the Young Master’s sect.’

With their business concluded, they all bid their farewells, each party returning to their respective ships before taking to the skies and flying off in different directions. They left as quickly as they came but a major event had taken place here.

Back on the Golden Voyage, there was a bit of an awkward moment when the team returned to find Li Yu meditating on the deck. They couldn’t tell him about the additional information they got or the location of the Gate Keepers’ base, due to the absolute nature of the seal.

Seeing their hesitant, constrained expressions, Li Yu could only laugh it off, breaking the small tension in the air. “It’s fine,” he said with a wave of his hand. “I’m not sure of what to say myself. Let’s just pretend you had a very boring discussion about the weather.”

Jian then asked him, “Young Master, what truly happened back there? Why couldn’t you accept the seal?” Li Yu let out a sigh since he himself did not really know. “It seems my nascent soul just kept eating the seal, not allowing it in. I don’t know why. It was a protective instinct that it had that I couldn’t control. It just wouldn’t tolerate an external force trying to bind me. This has been a blessing and at times a curse.”

He shook his head, a look of genuine puzzlement on his face. “To be honest, the fact that I couldn’t control it is a problem. I am just thankful that Elder Lin was broad-minded and decided to let it go.” He was thankful that she was, others could have taken it the wrong way and trouble would have occurred.

Jian held up the communication token. “She gave us this.” Li Yu looked at it and smiled. “You keep it, Jian. You can be the official contact person for the Guild. With no seal on me, it would be very troublesome for me to communicate with them anyway.” He then leaned back, a familiar, lazy grin on his face. “It looks like fate really wants me to be a slacker boss. I can’t even interact with this important organization directly now.”

On board the Gate Keepers’ ship, a similar debriefing was taking place. Elder Shan and Disciple Jia were questioning their leader’s decision. “Elder Lin,” Shan began, his brow furrowed with concern, “are you certain it was wise to allow that boy to go unsealed? He knows of our existence now, of our past failures…”

Lin Mei held up a hand, her expression calm. “What, precisely, does he know? He knows our name. He knows a shameful story from our ancient past, a story whose consequences have already been known to our enemies for centuries. He doesn’t know THAT much.”

She looked at them both, her gaze sharp. “He does not know where our Sanctuary is. He does not know our true numbers, the disposition of our forces, or the names of our other allies. Their power and everything else is still unknown to him. Besides where our Sanctuary is, we didn’t even share that with the people that had taken the seal today. The truly critical information was only shared after I made sure he was gone and the seal technique was in place on everyone else. The risk is minimal, while the cost of offending his mysterious and powerful master could have been immense.”

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The two of them thought about it further, and indeed, besides some of the history of their group, Li Yu didn’t know much else, so they let it be as well. No reason to pursue something that wasn’t that important. Their ship continued on its journey, returning to their hidden headquarters.

Lin Mei, however, stood at the prow of their vessel, staring off in the distance in the direction the Golden Voyage had left. She was still deeply confused about that boy. Just what was going on with him that nothing seemed to be normal? Just what was it that was destroying the seal she placed. It felt like it was being devoured but that doesn’t make any sense to her.

She was very curious about him now, but she also knew that some mysteries were best left undisturbed. She didn’t want to make an enemy of the Golden Shell Guild. Their pragmatism was a known quantity, something she could work with. It would be a boom to the world as a whole to have them as an ally.

She would not risk provoking it through idle curiosity of her own. The two behind her didn’t sense anything off as they didn’t ask about him at all besides his seal. Maybe she was just overly sensitive to it due to her own unique talents and there was nothing wrong at all. Time, she thought to herself, will eventually reveal the secrets he bears.

The journey back was peaceful for Li Yu’s group. They dropped off Kui and Zhong back at one of the guild’s headquarters, and the two of them went back to business as usual. They were now additionally armed with the knowledge of a powerful ally that they just gained. Though gaining an ally wasn’t really true, the Keepers would not interfere or help out with issues unless it threatened the continent.

Li Yu took the rest of the team—Jian, Cyra, Kael and Bai Yan—back to the Green Mountain Sect. Once again, he reported what had happened, or what he could share of it anyway, with the Grand Elders, the Sect Leader, and now Han Jian, the sect’s official heir.

He introduced them to Kael and Bai Yan, the newest powerful additions to his retinue. The Sect Leader and the Elders were, as always, amazed at the caliber of people Li Yu casually brought home. They gave him some encouraging words, that they were proud of him and everything he’s done for the sect.

Jian then took the two of them to the exclusive guest area that the Golden Shell Guild maintained at the Deep Water Menagerie. They were surprised to learn that Li Yu was in charge of the Deep Water Menagerie here, though these days his friends from the sect—Brother Kai, Hu Jian, and Lin Tao, along with Uncle Wei—were the ones that really ran the place, since Li Yu was gone so often recently.

Li Yu’s friends from the sect were happy to have him back. That evening, they gathered for a grand banquet, all of them eating and chatting like good friends that hung out all the time. Though he hasn’t spent as much time with them, there was no awkwardness between them, they picked up right where they had left off.

Li Yu introduced Kael and Bai Yan to his friends as well. The two powerful experts were once again surprised to see that their new master had friends who were so comparatively weak, but they were beginning to understand that this was just how Li Yu was. They had been his friends before he became unimaginably strong, and he simply stayed friends with them.

They also thought that he was able to maintain these friendships because, for the most part, they were not truly aware of how overwhelmingly strong he actually was. Such a vast difference in power usually made it hard for people to stay friends.

A perfect example that they didn’t know about was Han Jian. Ever since he had learned of Li Yu’s true power and the scale of the Golden Shell Guild, they were not as close as before. It wasn’t because Han Jian was narrow-minded or jealous; it was just incredibly hard to bridge that mental gap. It was difficult to speak freely and casually with someone who could destroy your entire world with a single thought.

Li Yu had tried several times to close that gap, but he knew it would just take time. They had never been as close to begin with, not as close as he was with his four friends here. It would just take more time to pass for the shock to wear off and for Han Jian to treat his status as a normal thing. They had gotten closer through the alchemy trip back then, so he was confident they would be able to again in the future.

He also met with his master, Elder Ning, and told her a bit about his journey. She was always a comforting presence, just listening and talking with him about simple things, a conversation of no great importance but of immense value.