A low soundless vibration washed over the gathered tens of thousands. Then, with the silent rush of an indrawn breath, the entire world dissolved into light.

Li Yu felt a brief twisting sensation of spatial transition, far gentler than his own void manipulation but infinitely more vast. When his vision returned he was no longer in the barren southern wastes.

He stood on a field of pale, luminescent grass under a sky of the deepest, richest blue he had ever seen. The air was thick with a dense spiritual energy. Before him, a vast continent stretched out, dominated by massive unique mountain ranges that pierced the sky.

This was the pocket dimension. The Ruins of Teaching.

A roar of excitement erupted as the tens of thousands of cultivators, friends and enemies alike, fanned out, their truce forgotten in the mad greedy dash for opportunity. They shot off in every direction, a cloud of human locusts descending upon a field of divine grain.

Li Yu stood still for a moment, absorbing his surroundings. Jian Xuan let out a low whistle. "Well. This is... grand."

Li Yu's first act was to open a small portal. Kael stepped out. Li Yu wasn’t going to let him miss this opportunity. He regretted that the others weren’t here as well.

He could feel it.

Back on his home continent and even in the war-torn south, the "Void" was something he used, a power he imposed on the world. He could tear it, step through it, shape it into javelins. But he could never feel the laws themselves.

Here, it was different. The laws were... easier to feel here. Faint, subtle but undeniably there. He could feel the weave of space, the faint hum of spatial laws that held this dimension together. The feeling was intoxicating.

"Brother Li?" Jian asked, noticing his pause.

"Nothing," Li Yu said, his gaze distant. "This place is... interesting."

"Indeed! I see some... very 'pointy' mountains over there. They call to my soul!" Jian grinned. "I shall go on my own crusade. May the Crab God guide your search!"

"Good luck, Jian."

Jian shot off like a white comet toward a distant, blade-like mountain range. Kael gave Li Yu a nod, and his own nature drew him toward a different broken-looking mountain range. He vanished in a flicker.

Li Yu was alone again and he began to walk. He saw Torin and Roric make their way toward a massive, flat-topped mesa that radiated an aura of stability.

As Li Yu walked, he observed the "library" of the continent. The sheer scale of it was breathtaking. Each mountain range was a different school of thought, a different area of expertise. The tablets contained text describing each technique.

The Sword Spires

This range was a collection of needle-sharp peaks that pierced the sky. The very air hummed with sword intent. At the base of each spire were stone tablets, each one etched with the clear, sharp text of a different legacy.

As Li Yu traveled through here he saw Evandra Vane standing before a tall grey stone. Her body trembled slightly with resonance. The text was titled 'Ashen Blade's Requiem,' a saber art focused on desolation and drainage, each cut drawing life force and spiritual energy from the target. It was a dark and ruthless technique. Her grim smile was one of profound satisfaction.

Sylvia, the 'Azure Wind,' stood before a tablet that was almost invisible, shimmering like a heat haze. The text on it was faint, titled 'Azure Gale Formless Sword.' It described a technique to dissolve one's sword intent into pure, invisible cutting wind.

Jian Xuan himself had landed here. He zipped past tablets, scoffing. The text for 'Mountain-Splitting Saber Art' was "Too blunt!" The text for 'Thousand-Cut Void Step' was "Too fidgety!" He finally saw a simple, unadorned stone at the very peak of the highest spire. He flew up and his eyes went wide. The text was titled 'Singing Blade of the Unfettered Heart.'

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The description, written in a lyrical script, was an art that had no fixed stances. Its power was explicitly tied to the wielder's emotional state and how ‘free’ they were. The more intense the joy, the stronger and faster the blade became. It was a great technique for him to learn and understand, reflecting his free nature and aim towards the top. He sat down instantly, a look of beatific joy on his face.

The Crimson Valley & The Bone Pits

Li Yu's path took him past a more sinister-looking region. A deep, red-stained canyon crackled with blood-lust and nearby pits exuded a chilling demonic Qi. Cultivators from the enemy camp flocked here.

He saw the tiger-striped Beast Faction warrior from the demarcation line staring at a tablet titled 'White-Tiger's Primal Fury Scripture.' The text explicitly stated it required the bloodline of a Feline spirit-beast to practice. The warrior was roaring in triumph.

In a darker, shadow-filled cleft, he didn’t know it but he saw the "Shadowy One" from the enemy leadership, his form blurred as he studied a jet-black stele. The text was titled 'Soul-Shadow Devouring Art,' a heretical demonic technique for consuming the souls of the living to strengthen one's own spiritual sea.

Further in, Li Yu saw a massive tablet that radiated an aura of physical tyranny. 'Nine-Cycles Tyrant Body.' It was a supreme body cultivation art, but the introductory text was strict: it could only be practiced by one born with a "Hegemon's Physique."

“Hegemon’s Physique? What is that?” Li Yu thought to himself.

He saw Dargan the Red-Axe (Rank 7) staring at it, his face a mask of fury and envy, before stomping off in search of something he could actually use. This library was full of treasures, but many were locked behind requirements of blood, race, or innate talent.

The Earthen Bulwark

This was a single, colossal mesa, flat as a table and miles wide. It felt heavy, permanent and unmovable. This was the home of defensive, earth and physical-body techniques.

At its center sat Roric Heavystrike (Rank 1). He had ignored all other tablets and walked directly to a single, foundational stone half-buried in the ground. The text was archaic: the 'Stone Binder's Ancestral Scripture.' It was not a new path, but the original path, an unimaginably ancient and profound version of his sect's techniques. He sat and his entire aura merged with the mountain.

Nearby, Dargan had finally found his prize, a jagged tablet titled 'Seismic Cleaver's Juggernaut Art.' It was an axe technique focused on building momentum with each swing. He let out a booming laugh and began to memorize it.

Torin Stonehand was more frantic. He scrambled around the base, he finally found a small overlooked stele. The text was titled 'Leyline-Sensing Geomancer's Art.' It wasn't a combat technique but a support art to sense and refine earth energy more efficiently. He sat with his eyes filled with tears of hope that it would help lead him to his breakthrough.

The Serene Pagoda Hills

Li Yu passed a series of gentle, rolling hills, dotted with ancient pagodas. This was the domain of support classes. He saw alchemists from both sides weeping over the text of the 'Grandmaster's Alchemical Compendium.' He saw Jarek Volkov (Rank 4) standing before a massive, complex scroll titled the 'Thousand-Army Command Art,' a mental technique for battlefield command. He even saw a portly elder crying before the 'Heavenly Chef's Divine Cookbook.'

And in a small, quiet grove he found a tablet that made him stop. The text was simple, titled 'Beast-Tamer's Spiritual Concordance.' He scanned the words. It wasn't a binding art. It was a collection of complex, gentle techniques for nurturing a beast's soul, cleansing its bloodline and slowly elevating its sentience.

This would be useful for himself so he sat himself down to memorize its teachings. After memorizing the teachings, Li Yu turned his attention to other techniques. Time was pressing and it didn’t seem like being in front of the stele of this technique helped to make him master it sooner.

The Shattered Peaks

Li Yu continued to drift through the Shattered Peaks, his spiritual sense scanning every tablet. He saw the text for 'Blink-Strike Assassination Art.' He saw the 'Scripture of the Empty Hand,' which used void energy to disintegrate matter.

He analyzed them all with a passing glance. And he felt... disappointed.

They were applications of the Void, not the Void itself. They were a list of tools and Li Yu felt he could already replicate most of them, albeit in his own crude way. These techniques would refine his methods but they wouldn't deepen his understanding or fundamentally increase his power.

He had hoped to find a true, foundational Void Cultivation Art, something that would resonate with his unique constitution and Nascent Soul.

He turned to leave the Shattered Peaks, his search far from over. This vast continent of legacies was full of mountains, valleys and hidden places. His own opportunity was still out there, waiting to be found.

He flew away from the broken mountains, his gaze sweeping across the vast landscape, still searching. Around him, across the ruins, every genius, every elder, every hopeful disciple had found their prize and was deep in study. The great library was in session. The clock was ticking.