Two weeks passed. The southern coast, a region that had been simmering with hidden tensions, began to boil over. The fragile, unspoken truce that had existed in the shadows was shattered, and a new, more open and brutal phase of the conflict began.
In the newly renamed city of Guild Tide, formerly Tidal Jade City, a new order had been firmly established. Under the ruthlessly efficient management of Kui, Fat Pig, and Xylia, the remnants of the Golden Tide Clan had been fully absorbed into the Golden Shell Guild's massive commercial empire. The city was now a bastion of their power, a southern jewel in their growing crown.
It was into this new bastion of stability that Fengliu returned, not as a shadow, but as a bearer of news that spoke of the growing chaos in the world outside. He met with Li Yu and his council in the same grand hall where the Golden Tide Clan had once held court.
"The situation has changed, Young Master," Fengliu began, his voice calm and analytical as always as he laid a map of the southern coast on the great jade table. "My network has been monitoring the activities of both the Beast and Human Revolution Factions. Before, they were like ghosts, operating with extreme caution and secrecy. Now… they have declared a holy war on each other."
He pointed to several locations on the map. "There have been three major skirmishes in the last week alone. A Beast Faction cell ambushed a Human Faction transport in the Blackwood Forest. The battle was brutal, leaving no survivors on either side. In Port Meridian, a high-ranking merchant, found to be a secret funder for the Human Faction, was assassinated. In retaliation, a hidden Beast Faction outpost near the Serpent's Pass was discovered and annihilated."
"They are being less discrete," Fengliu continued, "and the fighting is growing more intense and widespread. My agents are finding it much easier to gather information on their movements and personnel now that they are so focused on killing each other."
He looked directly at Jian Xuan. "The catalyst for this escalation seems to have been the death of the Beast Faction Elder, Tian Long. The message you left, claiming responsibility on behalf of the Human Faction, was the spark that ignited the powder keg. They were already full of hatred for each other; it did not take much to get them to this point, probably just escalated the war by a little bit."
A faint, grimly satisfied smile touched Jian Xuan's lips. "Fanatics are indeed fanatics," he murmured. "Their hatred is their greatest weakness." He was pleased with himself; his simple, cunning plan had worked well, turning his enemies' own fury against them and plunging their organizations into a self-destructive war, keeping them away from here.
With the two factions now distracted and bleeding each other dry, a window of opportunity had opened. Li Yu's organization, in contrast, was in a period of growth and consolidation. Kui, never one to let a valuable resource sit idle, had immediately put the legendary artisans and smiths of the former Golden Tide Clan to work.
He took Li Yu on a tour of the newly repurposed grand workshops. The clan's mastery of artifact creation was now being bent to the will of the Golden Shell Guild.
"Their skill is truly remarkable, Wise Host," Kui said with genuine admiration, gesturing towards a massive, open-air hangar where the frame of a new flying craft was being assembled. "We are using their techniques to design and build custom fleets for all our branches."
He pointed to the current project, a massive, turtle-shell-based craft, even larger and more heavily fortified than their current models. "These will be the new flagships for the Guild's main trade routes. Floating fortresses, you could say."
In another section, a different design was taking shape. It was smaller, broader, and reinforced with thick, heavy plates. The front of the craft was unmistakably shaped like a snarling bear's paw. "For Sister Xylia's White Paw Company," Kui explained. "Less cargo space, but heavily armored for troop transport and direct assaults."
Finally, he led Li Yu to a smaller, more secluded workshop, where a new and unique design was being prototyped. The craft was small and sleek, its frame light and its shape clearly inspired by a hunting roc, with long, elegant wings and a sharp, aerodynamic profile.
"And this," Kui said with a proud grin, "is for Fengliu's people. He mentioned that his intelligence network needed its own dedicated transport.
The roc-shaped craft was a marvel of artifact refining genius, a fusion of the Golden Tide Clan's artistry and the Guild's pragmatism. It was being built with rare lightweight materials and would be fitted with the most advanced stealth and speed-enhancing formations the artisans could devise.
It was not a warship or a cargo hauler; it was a spy plane, a ghost designed to move unseen and unheard, a perfect tool for Fengliu's trade. All of these crafts were a long-term plan, a significant investment that would further cement their power and influence across the continent for decades to come.
While his retainers were busy building their empire, Li Yu took some rare, quiet time for himself, retreating into the vast, tranquil sea of the Koi Sanctuary. He found a quiet, secluded coral reef, the water teeming with vibrant, peaceful life, and settled into a meditative state, simply enjoying the profound peace of the world he had created.
So many things had happened recently that he found moments like this greatly desirable. This was the kind of peace he had hoped for but it would seem in order to get here, it would be a path of hard work and blood.
As he was observing the gentle currents and the schools of spirit fish, he felt a sudden pulse of spiritual energy from a distant part of the sanctuary. It was not a violent or dangerous fluctuation, but a clear, potent surge that signified a major breakthrough in cultivation. His curiosity piqued, he rose and flew through the deep, dark water, heading towards the volcanic caves in the far reaches of the realm.
He arrived to find the source of the fluctuation. It was Crimson, the drake, his first tamed beast. The drake was resting, coiled around a clutch of large, warm eggs, which must have been laid by one or some of the other drakes in the sanctuary.
His aura was significantly stronger, thicker, and more potent than it had been before. The energy he had felt was the final surge of the drake's successful advancement to the rank of a 5th-grade demonic beast.
The drake lifted his head as Li Yu approached, and a low, happy rumble echoed from his chest. He nudged Li Yu's hand with his large, horned snout, the gesture as affectionate and familiar as it had been when he was younger.
Li Yu smiled, a genuine, warm smile, and stroked the drake's powerful neck. In the grand scheme of things, a Rank 5 beast was no longer a significant help to him in a true, high-level battle. His own power, and the power of retainers like Xylia and Jian Xuan, had long since eclipsed what the drake could offer.
But that didn't matter. There was a bond here, a connection that went beyond simple utility. This was his first companion on his long journey, a living symbol of how far he had come. To see him growing stronger, to see him thriving and now fathering a new generation of drakes in the sanctuary, filled Li Yu with a quiet, profound sense of pride and contentment.
He spent some time with the drake, simply enjoying the quiet, peaceful moment. The contrast was not lost on him. Outside, in the world of humans, two fanatical factions were tearing each other apart in a bloody, pointless holy war.
But here, in the world he had created, life was flourishing, growing stronger, and building a future. He knew which world he preferred, and which one he would fight to protect.