The journey was handled with the utmost speed. The Golden Shell Guild provided their fastest vessel to transport Krell and Kael to the Gate Keeper’s headquarters on the central continent. It also provided them with the payment they would need to use the array to take them to the Eastern Continent.

  Li Yu and team boarded a flying vessel that was provided by Grand Elder Theron and they headed to the Gate Keeper’s headquarters on the Southern Continent to do the same thing. Li Yu talked with Jian Xuan about his adventures and they can both be seen laughing and smiling. They were drinking and eating on the ship as it flew.

  On the other side Caelia and Sylvia were talking with each other.

  “Is he really as powerful as the rumors and stories make him out to be, master? He is much younger than me but the stories have him with at least the strength of a Soul Formation expert. It doesn’t make any sense.” Sylvia asked her master.

  “He is definitely at the Soul Formation Stage. Many experts have confirmed it to be true during the war. He was slaughtering the Xylarri better than anyone else. Also, I can’t feel his presence at all. That usually only happens when either his suppression and stealth techniques are too amazing or he is simply at a level of power that I can’t comprehend…” Caelia responded but her voice trailed off at the end.

  “He’s that strong? He’s stronger than you? How can that be?! You’re at the 6th stage of Soul Formation and are one of the strongest on this continent. How can that boy be stronger than you? I don’t believe it, it must be some special technique.” Sylvia couldn’t believe what she was hearing from her master. Her own confidence was already shaken by the rumors but now her master was telling her something even more absurd.

  “The cultivation world is massive and there are many unexplainable things. Firm up your dao heart and do not be troubled by it. I spoke briefly with Theron before leaving and his assessment is the same as mine. That boy there has reached a level that we cannot understand. He wasn’t like that at the end of the war, something has happened between then and now.”

  “Do not compare yourself to him. You are one of the most brilliant geniuses that I have ever seen. To reach your level and your understanding at your age is something to be proud of. He is simply just a freak.”

  “If I didn’t know that the so-called ‘Crab God’ that they worship is just a story made up, I would be thinking that it is the real deal. Why that man Jian Xuan keeps going with the story now is beyond me, actually, stay away from that man. He seems like he could really be insane.” Caelia said to her disciple.

  Sylvia couldn’t help but steal glances at the two of them drinking, eating and laughing over there. They were on their way to a massive war, one that the Eastern Continent was surely losing. They wouldn’t be begging for help like this otherwise. Yet, there they were, as if none of it mattered at all. Was this confidence coming from strength or was it purely insanity like her master warmed her.

  The team finally reached the headquarters and quickly went through. They stepped onto the massive teleportation platform and the world twisted.

  SNAP.

  They materialized on the other side.

  The air was different instantly. It was sharp, metallic, wild and cold. They stood on a cracked stone platform. Waiting for them under the shelter of a stone pavilion were two figures.

  One was a massive shape shrouded in swirling black mist, it was Forgemaster Krell. He had gotten used to staying in his black mist form and was now his natural state.

  The other was naturally Kael and he stood like a statue with his eyes fixed on the horizon of his homeland. There was nothing left here for him, his family was all gone. However, what did lay here was his vengeance and he came here to collect the debt that was owed to him. Even if he was using borrowed power, he couldn’t wait anymore.

  "You sure took your time, boy" Krell grumbled but with no real anger in his voice.

  "Good to see you, Krell," Jian Xuan grinned. He then walked up and patted the mist where Krell's shoulder should be. "Still hiding in the smoke?"

  “Remove your hand before I rip it off.” Krell snapped back with amusement in his tone. The two of them had several drinks with Jian Xuan when he came to the central continent for the funeral. As always, Jian Xuan was amazing at making friends or at least making those around him feel good and friendly.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Li Yu walked up to Kael. "How does it feel?"

  "Like blood," Kael whispered, his hand twitching slightly. "It feels like unfinished business."

  "Then let's finish it," Li Yu said while giving him a pat on the shoulder as well. Li Yu’s eyes focused and became serious.

  The heavy doors of the Gate Keeper fortress opened and the team of 7 walked out. Waiting outside was a group of cultivators that were waiting for them. They wore uniforms of grey and blue, the colors of the Coalition of the Five Great Mountain Sects.

  Leading them was an old man. He was thin, skeletal and leaning on a staff.

  "I am Elder Feng of the Cloud Peak Sect," the old man rasped. "You are the reinforcements from the Southern Continent?"

  "We are," Jian Xuan stepped forward and took charge naturally. This was his home and it made sense for him to lead this group. "I am Jian Xuan."

  "Jian Xuan? Where have you been? You disappeared for so long and now you are back? Wait, seven people?!" Elder Feng interrupted. His voice went from curiosity hearing a familiar name to cracking with despair when he saw the numbers. "The beast tides have swallowed three provinces. The Purple Tide Sect has fallen. And they sent... seven people?"

  "Quality over quantity, old man!" Jian Xuan boomed and was a bit annoyed by this old man’s tone. Just as Jian Xuan was about to step up and show off his new strength since leaving the continent, Li Yu surprisingly beat him to it.

  Li Yu had decided before coming that in order to gain respect early and be able to get more resources he would show off a bit instead of being humble. Jian Xuan had told him before and it was confirmed by Theron’s story about the Eastern Continent. It was a place where the strong were respected and the weak had to simply listen. A place where the laws of the wild ran supreme, if you were stronger, you got to decide. With this in mind, Li Yu acted.

  Li Yu stepped forward and he released a bit of his killing intent. That would get the message across clearly. The dense and thick killing intent exploded out from him and within it were interwoven laws but the one that stood out the most was of course the Law of Destruction. It tore through the entire area and the pressure was immense.

  The area quickly turned red and black and became a hellish landscape. No one could tell his actual cultivation level from this but the pressure and force was enough to bring everyone that had been waiting for them, including the old man to their knees. They were all gasping now and sweat was forming on their foreheads.

  They were feeling the weight of the Leviathan, the cold of the Void and the threat of death was just inches away from them. Elder Feng choked on the words he was going to say. He looked at Li Yu and was completely stunned. He had never felt this towards anyone before. This boy was not normal.

  As quickly as it came, it also disappeared as though it was simply an illusion. The only thing that was left behind and proof that it did happen were the people on their knees and sweat on their face.

  "I must apologize to you elder, that was the fastest way for us to move pass the fact that there are only seven of us here. Now please, tell us what is happening here," Li Yu said calmly. "We need information."

  Everyone looked at Li Yu for a long moment, including those that came with him. They were shocked at his killing intent right now even though it wasn’t directed at them.

  “Master was right, he is indeed a freak. Just what has he gone through that his killing intent is like that? I have never felt anything even close to that…” Sylvia thought.

  They were led into a make shift war room nearby. It was a greeting room for those that had come to help. To inform them of what is happening and where they are needed. It was a chaotic mess of maps and shouting messengers.

  Jian Xuan stood by the central table and his demeanor shifted from boisterous to commanding.

  "Show me the maps," Jian Xuan ordered.

  "Here," Elder Feng pointed to a coastal region. "The Shattered Coast. There are several rifts here but there are numerous rifts throughout the land."

  "And here," he pointed to a deep forest region surrounded by peaks. "The Whispering Weald. A beast tide is gathering here from our reports. It is led by a creature, a centipede… we call it The Sky-Iron Dreadnought because we have never seen anything like it before. "

  "It is immense and covered in countless layers of overlapping, iron like plates that look like they were ripped from the hulls of warships. It is incredibly heavy, yet it flies through sheer furious force of will. It is a berserker that uses its entire body as a weapon. It flies high and then dives, crashing into formations like a falling meteor. It is relying on its invulnerable shell to survive the impact while crushing everything beneath it. It doesn't dodge; it intercepts attacks with its face."

  “There are several beast tides forming or have already formed and are attacking. We are spread thin and we need more forces that are strong enough to actually fight.” The old man looked tired.

  “There is a war council meeting in just a few hours, we need to head back there. We will be deciding where everyone goes and how we will defend against this. We might have to give up some areas to save others. We should head there now.” Elder Feng concluded.

  They all boarded a ship that Elder Feng took out and they sped off. There were several from the group that had waited that kept glancing at Li Yu, remembering that terrifying feeling and giving him a wide berth.