The woman’s eyes snapped open. Her first reaction was not fear or confusion, but pure, unadulterated combat instinct. A wave of powerful, watery qi exploded from her, and she lunged, her hands formed into claws aimed at Li Yu’s throat.

Before her attack could land, a massive hand clamped down on her shoulder, effortlessly halting her charge. It was Kael. “Enough, Shara,” he said, his voice a low, commanding rumble. “The battle is over. We have already lost.”

The woman, Shara, froze, her eyes wide with disbelief as she looked from Kael to the calm, unbothered young man in front of her. She saw the devastation around them, the dead bodies of her comrades, and the sorrowful, ancient beast-man, Spine, who was watching them with cold, dead eyes. The fight went out of her, replaced by a grim understanding of her situation. Her personality was fiery and fierce, but she was not a fool.

“You have a choice,” Li Yu said, his voice calm and even. “The man you used to serve, Kael, has already surrendered to me. He has chosen to live. You may do the same.”

Shara looked at Kael, her eyes demanding an explanation. Kael met her gaze and explained everything: his own surrender, the master-slave seal he accepted, and the information he had learned about this powerful group. He explained that their only options were submission or death. They couldn’t be trusted with secrets to be simply brought along so those were the only two choices.

The fierce woman listened, her expression shifting from rage to calculation. She looked at Li Yu, at the powerful Cyra, and at the monstrous Spine who still had a thick bloodlust on him. She had fought for survival her whole life, pushing to become stronger regardless of the means.

This was no different. She accepted instantly. “I would rather serve than die,” she said, her voice sharp and defiant, showing no hint of a slave’s subservience. “I choose to live.” It was simply another phase of her life, she’s been struggling almost her entire life. Her youth was not easy and life never seemed to get any easier. However, she continued forward, adapting, striving forward continuously.

Li Yu nodded with a small smile. He appreciated her directness. “I am glad you have chosen wisely,” he said.

“I know that you have both done bad things under the banner of the Beast Revolution Faction,” he said, his gaze encompassing both Kael and the now-subdued Shara. “That cannot be erased. But under our group, you can spend the rest of your lives somewhat making up for it, doing mostly good things. I do not claim that all my actions are noble or honorable. I am a person who is after his own goals, his own peace. I do not claim to be a hero who protects the innocent or a warrior who destroys true evil. Your lives are roughly your own, as long as your goals do not conflict with mine. Of course you will be helping me when needed.”

With their surrender secured, the now-expanded team began to clean up the base, taking all the storage rings and any valuable loot they could find. The wealth accumulated in the Beast Faction’s base was considerable, but it was in the vault that they found the true treasure.

Inside were several treasures but the one that drew the most attention was a small chamber inside containing all different kinds of herbs. There were a handful of strange, dark purple herbs that seemed to be shifting in and out of existence. They were v

oid-aspected herbs, incredibly rare and valuable materials that resonated with the void.

As Li Yu reached out to examine one, the air beside him rippled, and Khaos appeared in his magnificent human form, his expression one of intense, focused interest. He looked at the herbs, a rare flicker of something akin to hunger in his eyes.

“I need these for my use, little boy.” Khaos said as soon as he got out.

Li Yu was a bit surprised to see him but Khaos was always interested in many of the void aspected materials, not all of them, but a lot of them. “Sure you can take them.” He finally replied.

Without any hesitation, Khaos waved a hand, and the entire collection of herbs vanished, absorbed into his own private space. He had taken them without asking at all.

Kael and Shara froze, their bodies tensing in sheer, instinctual terror. The aura of the being who had just appeared was on a completely different level from anything they had ever felt. It was a pressure that made them feel like insects before a deity. Li Yu was unfazed but a bit flabbergasted, Khaos was truly treating things around him as his. He didn’t mind though, Khaos has helped him through some of the toughest moments of his life.

“Khaos,” he said with a respectful nod. “Allow me to introduce our two new subordinates, Kael and Shara. They will be joining us on our path from now on.”

Cyra leaned in and whispered to the two terrified beasts, her voice a low, urgent murmur. “That is our First Grand Elder. He is a being of immense power and a… difficult temperament. You need to suck up to him as much as possible. He loves flattery the most. Get on his bad side and you might die.”

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Kael and Shara, desperate to make a good impression, immediately fell to one knee and began to offer the most flowery, reverent praise they could think of, extolling his magnificent presence and unfathomable power. Khaos simply ignored them, his attention focused on the herbs he had just acquired. Normally flattery was the way in but he couldn’t care at this moment.

He seemed to be analyzing them, a thoughtful look on his face. Li Yu watched him, his mind working. It was clear that these void-aspected items were incredibly valuable to Khaos. He had taken some other void aspected or void touched things before. It didn’t seem to be all void related things, Kui had once proudly offered some ores that were void aspected to Khaos to earn his favor but Khaos simply rejected them.

Li Yu, however, saw an opportunity here. He had been thinking about it for a while, and Khaos’s rare good mood from acquiring the herbs might be his only chance. “Khaos,” he began, his tone careful, “I was wondering if I might make a request.”

Khaos glanced at him. “Another request boy? You are truly getting bold, what did I tell you last time? However, this king is currently quite pleased, speak.”

“I have been thinking of getting a better weapon, this staff is feeling light to me and I can only see more and fiercer battles coming in the future,” Li Yu said. “You had mentioned that as you grow stronger, you shed pieces of your shell every now and again. You had made your weapons out of it before. I was hoping that you might consider making a new weapon for me, using some of those shed pieces.”

Khaos’s reaction was immediate and absolute. He let out a snort of derisive laughter. “Rejected,” he said, his voice dripping with contempt. “My shell is the manifestation of my own power. You are unworthy to wield even a sliver of it.”

Li Yu’s face fell, but he had expected the rejection. It was a shot in the dark at a moment of chance, worth taking but with no expectations. He was about to retreat when Khaos spoke again.

“However,” he said, a thoughtful, calculating look in his dark eyes, “the idea is not without merit. Your current weapon is a crude toy I made long ago for you, truly befitting the child that you were.” He looked Li Yu up and down, as if measuring him. “If you can become worthy of my power, and if you can provide me with more of the rare void-aspected materials I need, then I will consider it.”

Li Yu smiled at the unexpected result. It had gone better than he had expected. The rejection had been absolute, but it came with a path forward. He now had two clear goals. The first, to ‘become worthy,’ was vague and subjective, likely meaning he needed to reach a level of strength that Khaos would finally deign to respect.

But the second goal was concrete: find more materials. There was already a standing order in the Guild to bring back any rare, void-aspected items, and Khaos had already benefitted from a few small things. This confirmed that finding such treasures was the key to earning the king’s favor, something Kui has had at a pretty high level if not the highest level on this list.

Li Yu had noticed, it was hard to not notice, that his retainers were much more fearful of Khaos than himself. If there was ever a choice between doing a favor for either of them, the choice was clear, help Khaos, forget the boy. He could only shake his head slightly at this, he too was afraid of upsetting Khaos.

“I will not disappoint you, Grand Elder,” Li Yu said with a confident bow. Khaos simply grunted and vanished as silently as he had appeared.

With Khaos gone, Li Yu turned to his two new, still-kneeling subordinates. “Come,” he said. “Let me show you where you will be staying.” He placed a hand on each of their shoulders and pulled them into his Koi Sanctuary. Kael and Shara’s minds went blank for a second, and when their vision returned, they were in a new world.

They were floating in the air above a vast, seemingly massive space that was a breathtaking mix of oceans and lush land masses. Below them, a vibrant blue ocean teemed with different forms of life, its waters pure and brimming with a gentle, life-giving energy. In the distance, they could see massive islands covered in dense, verdant forests and soaring mountain ranges. The very air hummed with a vitality and spiritual energy so rich it was like breathing in life itself.

It had grown much bigger since Li Yu first had access to it, expanding over time. Whether it was growing with his own strength, or as the diversity of aquatic life he collected increased, Li Yu still wasn't sure. He kept doing both at the same time, so perhaps both. The growth in size of the sanctuary didn’t seem to increase his strength in any way.

The extra size allowed him to keep more beasts inside, for him to draw out little bits of their energy slowly over time. That did contribute to his cultivation speed.

Kael and Shara were happy to get the chance to cultivate with such rich energy, a paradise that would allow them to grow stronger faster. Trading their freedom came with some benefits after all, this lifted their spirits about the ordeal a tiny bit. “You can draw from this place into your body to slowly digest when you are away,” Li Yu explained.

“Shara, your wounds need to heal. You can stay here and recover until you do.” The woman nodded, the energy already beginning to help her mend her battered body. Kael, however, came back out with Li Yu after absorbing what his body could hold for the moment.

The team, now larger and stronger, gathered outside the ruined base. Spine had reverted to his human form, the bloodlust in his eyes replaced by his now usual sorrow, but with a new edge of satisfaction.

Cyra looked at Kael, who now stood respectfully behind Li Yu. “Now that you are one of us, you should know our plan,” she said, her voice cool and direct. “We are now going to the southern base to attack that as well.”

Kael’s eyes widened in shock. He had thought this was a one-time raid. He had not realized he had just signed up with a group even more aggressive and insane than the one he had just left.