The journey back to the Green Mountain Sect was quick and relatively uneventful. Tempest, the magnificent Skyshroud Leviathan, moved through the sky with the silent, effortless grace of a great fish swimming in a calm sea. The trip, which would have taken weeks by conventional means, was reduced to a fraction of the time.
As they soared through the sea of clouds, Jian Xuan focused on circulating his spiritual energy. The high-grade healing pills from his homeland were potent, and he could feel his shattered bones and ruptured meridians slowly knitting back together. The sheer, overwhelming power of his new master was a constant, oppressive thought, but it was a thought now tempered by a strange, fervent hope.
Instead of returning directly to his pagoda, Li Yu guided Tempest to the main peak of the sect. He had sent a message ahead, requesting an urgent and private meeting. As they landed in the grand courtyard, the Sect Master and the two wizened Grand Elders were already there waiting, their expressions a mixture of curiosity and concern.
"Li Yu," the Sect Master said, his voice calm but questioning. "You sent word for us to gather. What happened?" His gaze then shifted to the injured but still immensely powerful man standing respectfully behind Li Yu.
"Sect Master, Grand Elders," Li Yu said with a polite bow. "My apologies for the urgent summons. This is Jian Xuan. He is a powerful rogue cultivator who, due to a series of fortunate events, has agreed to join me as my newest retainer."
Li Yu paused, making a quick, strategic decision. "He is a master of the sword, with a cultivation at the peak of the Core Formation realm."
A peak Core Formation expert. The three leaders of the sect exchanged a subtle, almost imperceptible glance. The man before them, though clearly injured, radiated an aura of such immense depth and pressure that it far exceeded their own. He was far stronger than any of them.
To call him 'peak Core Formation' was a wild understatement, but they understood the implication. "Any friend of Li Yu is a friend of the Green Mountain Sect," the Sect Master said, his voice betraying none of his internal shock. "We welcome you, Cultivator Jian. I trust you will be treated with the utmost respect during your time with us."
The introduction was made, and official acceptance was given. The sect's leadership, trusting Li Yu's judgment, had welcomed Jian Xuan into the sect. The sect had gained a new super power though they themselves couldn't command it directly.
They had reached Li Yu's pagoda. He led Jian Xuan to the highest balcony, the entire expanse of the dark, shimmering pools laid out before them.
Jian Xuan was the one to break the silence. "Young Master, this place… the menagerie. Why are you in charge of it? With your status, you could have any peak in the sect, why do they have you overlooking these beasts?"
Because of the soul contract, Li Yu saw no issue with telling him the truth; the pact made betrayal an impossibility. It was the same information his other retainers already knew.
"Because it helps my cultivation," Li Yu answered simply. "It is because of my Koi martial spirit and the cultivation technique it gave me to use. It gives me a profound connection to the element of water, but it also has another ability. It allows me to slowly and safely draw in the ambient spiritual energy that is naturally shed by other aquatic lifeforms, purifying it and absorbing it to speed my own cultivation. I was the one who asked to stay here and over it."
Jian Xuan's eyes widened, a look of dawning comprehension on his face. He looked out at the beasts swimming in the pools below. "So… this entire menagerie… it is not just a resource for the sect. It is your personal cultivation ground. An empire of aquatic life that serves as your foundation." The revelation was stunning. 'This only explains some of his progress,' Jian Xuan thought, his mind racing. 'It explains his incredible Qi reserves and his rapid cultivation speed… but it doesn't explain his monstrous physical strength, his terrifying soul, or his mastery of the void. This is only one piece of the puzzle.' The boy was an enigma wrapped in a mystery.
"You had mentioned your three retainers are healing in a safe place," Jian Xuan said, his curiosity piqued.
"My Koi Sanctuary," Li Yu confirmed. "I know the space only accepts those with an aquatic beast bloodline. All three of my current retainers are beasts as you know. I was curious if a Soul Formation expert's power could break that rule. This is my first time meeting a Soul Formation cultivator."
Jian Xuan was intrigued. He stood there and Li Yu once again opened the shimmering, opalescent portal. Jian Xuan stepped towards it, but it was like walking into a solid wall of diamond. The resistance was absolute, a fundamental rejection of his very being.
"No," Jian Xuan said, stepping back. "The rule is absolute. It does not yield to my cultivation level."
With the test concluded and hope gone that perhaps stronger cultivators could enter, practical matters remained. "We will have a courtyard built for you here in the menagerie," Li Yu said. "But until it is finished, you will stay in the guest residence reserved for the Golden Shell company when they visit."
Li Yu then took out a small, high-quality jade bottle from his storage ring. "These are some healing pills my retainer Kui keeps me supplied with. They are quite effective. They should help speed your recovery."
Jian Xuan accepted the bottle with a grateful nod. He was a Soul Formation expert with his own superior-grade pills, but the gesture of care from his new master was a welcome one. For the next week, a fragile peace settled. Jian Xuan took up residence in the guest courtyard, focusing entirely on his recovery. Between his own potent medicine and the excellent pills Li Yu had provided, his progress was remarkable.
After a week of intense, focused healing, he felt that he had recovered about eighty percent of his strength. He was still a shadow of his full power, but he was no longer a broken man. And with the return of his strength came an insatiable itch, a burning desire to once again face the young man who had so utterly defeated him. He needed to understand that power, to feel it again, not as a terrified victim, but as a seeker.
He sought out Li Yu at his pagoda. "Young Master," he said with a respectful bow, "my injuries are mostly healed. I wish to ask for a spar."
Li Yu looked at him, a flicker of interest in his eyes. "Very well. Follow me."
He led Jian Xuan not to a public training ground, but to a hidden entrance within his own pagoda. It opened into a descending staircase that led deep underground. They emerged into a vast, subterranean chamber, a private training ground that had been created for him, a place he hadn't used much until now. The walls were inscribed with powerful formations that hummed with a quiet energy, designed to contain the shockwaves of battle and hide the activity from the rest of the sect.
Jian Xuan looked around, impressed. He then reached into his storage ring to draw his weapon, his hand instinctively searching for the familiar, comforting feel of his rune-etched longsword. His hand found only emptiness. A look of profound, heart-wrenching sorrow crossed his face. He had forgotten. His sword, his companion of years, had been shattered. With a deep, shuddering sigh, he finally withdrew another sword. It was a fine weapon, a high-grade spiritual sword, but it was a mere tool compared to his lost partner. "I will make do with this," he said, his voice heavy with loss.
Li Yu waited patiently, then took his own stance, his heavy, black Condensed Sea Iron Ore staff held loosely in his hands. He did not ask Jian Xuan to suppress his cultivation; there was no need. He wanted to face the full, albeit still slightly injured, power of a Soul Formation expert.
The spar began. Jian Xuan was a master of the sword. His movements were fluid, his attacks precise, each strike carrying the profound insight and power of the Soul Formation realm. But Li Yu was a monster.
He met Jian Xuan's elegant swordplay with a style that was simple, direct, and brutally effective. His staff was a blur of black, each blow carrying the weight of a mountain, forcing Jian Xuan to constantly remain on the back foot. The fight was a reversal of their first encounter. Now, it was Jian Xuan who was being overwhelmed, his finer techniques and superior realm rendered almost useless in the face of Li Yu's sheer, unadulterated physical power and the crushing weight of his unique Koi Qi.
But as they fought, something incredible began to happen within Jian Xuan. The pressure, the feeling of being completely dominated by a superior force, the constant, life-or-death need to adapt and overcome… it was a familiar feeling. It was the feeling of a true bottleneck, the same sensation he had felt when he had first broken through to the Soul Formation realm.
And as Li Yu relentlessly pushed him, forcing him to use every ounce of his skill and insight just to defend himself, Jian Xuan felt it. The spiritual barrier in his mind, the wall that had blocked his progress to the 3rd level of Soul Formation for twenty long, frustrating years, began to develop a small, almost imperceptible crack.
Li Yu, for his part, was finally experiencing the joy of a true battle. Khaos was too heavy-handed, a force of nature that could not be fought, only endured. He didn't learn much from their encounters besides how to struggle against massive pressure and how to take blows.
His other opponents had all been too weak. But Jian Xuan was different. He was a true expert. He could withstand Li Yu's power, he could counter his techniques, he could force Li Yu to think, to adapt, to truly fight. For the first time, Li Yu had an opponent who could sharpen his skills, a whetstone upon which he could hone his divine blades.
As they disengaged, both breathing heavily, a look of profound, almost religious fervor was on Jian Xuan's face. The crack in his spiritual barrier was small, but it was real. For the first time in two decades, he felt the hope of advancement.
'I made the right choice,' he thought, his heart pounding with a mixture of exhaustion and exhilarating hope. 'This is the only way. Only by struggling forward against people stronger than myself can I, too, move forward.'