Just as the newly formed team was about to depart for the southern base, the air around the canyon hummed with the sound of a massive force approaching. A moment later, a fleet of dark flying ships, accompanied by a group of over a hundred cultivators flying under their own power, descended upon the ruined base.

Their formations were disciplined, their auras sharp and unified. They wore militant, dark-green robes, and their faces were grim and determined. This was a large-scale attack, an army that had come prepared for war.

At their head, standing on the prow of the lead ship, was a woman whose presence was a beacon of power. Her face was sharp and intelligent, her eyes holding the cold, pragmatic light of a seasoned commander. Her aura was immense, a deep and powerful sea of energy that marked her as a 9th stage Core Formation expert, on par with Kael.

Their initial expressions were of determination, ready to face the enemy they hated. As their gazes fell upon the scene below, they were replaced by a stunned confusion. They had come expecting to raid a hidden, fortified base of their hated rivals. Instead, they found a ruin, a slaughterhouse littered with the mangled bodies of the Beast Faction members.

In the center of the carnage stood a small, calm group of four people, seemingly unfazed by the devastation around them. They were probably the ones that had brought such devastation. As the lead ship hovered, the woman’s sharp gaze swept the scene, finally landing on Kael, who stood respectfully behind Li Yu. She had seen Kael before but never this boy in their past engagements.

Kael’s expression was equally grim as he recognized her. He leaned towards Li Yu, his voice a low, urgent whisper. “That is Bai Yan, the commander of the Human Revolution Faction in this region. She and I have fought several times before, a dozen times at least. We are old rivals.”

Bai Yan, having recovered from her initial shock, let out a loud, incredulous, and deeply mocking laugh. Her laughter was directed at him personally. “Kael!” she called down, her voice dripping with scorn. “To think I would see the day! The proud Elder of the Beast Faction, standing like a servant’s dog. Did these children actually manage to capture you?”

She and Kael had been rivals for years, their power evenly matched. Neither of them could ever get the upper hand on the other. To see him so thoroughly defeated and subservient was a shocking and deeply amusing sight for her.

Kael looked up, his expression unreadable. “I was not captured, Bai Yan,” he admitted, his voice steady. “I have submitted to the Golden Shell Guild.” There was no real difference between the two if he was being honest with himself. However, the second way of saying it felt much better to him so that’s what he was going with.

Bai Yan’s laughter came to an abrupt stop at the name. As someone high enough in the Human Faction’s command structure, she had heard of the Golden Shell Guild. She knew of their alliance with the Forest of the Radiant Dawn.

She understood what the Forest represented and to be in alliance with them and declared so publically. The Golden Shell Guild was a new, terrifyingly powerful, and utterly mysterious continental power that sprung up out of nowhere. Her mission was to attack the Beast Faction outpost they had recently discovered, not to start a war with the Radiant Dawn’s allies. She was now deeply nervous.

It was then that Li Yu spoke, his voice quiet but carrying a weight that drew every eye to him. He was tired of these two groups, they kept showing up around here.

“Since you are here,” he said, his voice cold, “you shouldn’t leave so quickly. Come down and have a chat with us, especially so since you two are old friends.”

Bai Yan forced a diplomatic smile, trying to de-escalate. “Honored friend from the Golden Shell Guild, there seems to be a misunderstanding. We were purely here to purge these beast scum. Since you have done so, you have our gratitude. We will be on our way now.”

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“I insist that you stay,” Cyra said, her voice echoing with a cold authority that cut through Bai Yan’s placating tone. “Your faction is also known for causing chaos and preying on the weak to strengthen yourselves. You claim to fight for humans, but from what we know, you are no better to humans than the beasts are. All for your so-called god.”

This public denouncement was a spark in a powder keg. While Bai Yan and some others on her ship remained silent and wary, the true fanatics behind her were not afraid. Enraged by the insult to their beliefs and their coming god, they charged forward, their eyes blazing with righteous fury.

A wave of over eighty cultivators dove from the sky, their weapons drawn, a battle cry for their ‘human god’ on their lips. They were fearless, willing to die for their beliefs.

Spine was happy to see this. He still did not have enough bloodshed to quell the rage in his heart. With another crazy roar, he transformed into his real beast form, the Gargantuan Spined Sea-Dragon. The sight of the colossal, terrifying beast only further enraged the believers, who saw him as the ultimate embodiment of the enemy they had come to destroy.

They were, of course, no match for Spine. He met their charge like a mountain meeting a wave. His claws swept through their ranks, swatting cultivators from the sky like flies. His massive jaws snapped, devouring dozens in a single bite. It was not a battle; it was a one-sided slaughter. Regardless of slaughter happening in front of them, they continued to charge, like mindless drones driven only by rage themselves.

On the deck of the lead ship, the seventeen people who had not charged watched in abject horror. These were the thoughts that raced through their minds. One of them, a 1st stage Core Formation expert who had joined the faction for protection, felt his stomach churn. ‘They are insane,’ he thought, his hands trembling. ‘Charging a beast of that magnitude? It is not bravery; it is madness!

What have I gotten myself into?’ Another, a young Foundation Establishment disciple who had joined for the promise of glory, felt a cold dread wash over him. ‘This is not what they promised. This is not a glorious crusade. This is a meat grinder. That beast…. it is too violent a force. And several of them down below… they haven't even moved.’

They looked at the scene below: the calm young man, the woman, and their defeated rival, Kael, all watching the slaughter as if it were a passing show. Li Yu still allowed Spine to go crazy, to better ease his soul. They were enemies after all, what better way to fight them then to unleash someone who absolutely hated them.

They realized they had stumbled into a confrontation with a power beyond their powers to deal with and a deep fear began to eclipse what little bit of loyalty they had to their faction.

The eighty or so fanatics who had charged were completely destroyed, their bodies littering the canyon floor. A stunned, horrified silence fell over the battlefield. Bai Yan, and the seventeen other people with her, had not flown in. They had remained on their ships, watching the massacre with pale faces. It would seem they were not true believers like the others, but were only there for their own purposes.

After everyone was killed, Li Yu looked up at the silent, terrified group and said, “Won’t you come down so we can talk?” Afraid of what this monstrous group would do to them, they all flew down and landed cautiously on the obsidian stage.

The seventeen behind Bai Yan ranged in power from Foundation Establishment to two Core Formation experts. A very strong force in their own right, capable of taking over many sects in this region, at least from the power the sects show on the outside. Like his own sect, which had two hidden grand elders that only the sect leader knew about. Surely, there were some hidden forces in the other sects as well.

Li Yu skipped over any pretense and spoke to those seventeen first. “I will give you a choice. You can accept a master-slave seal and serve the Golden Shell Guild. You will be well taken care of, not purely be used as pawns to go die. You will have to follow whatever the Guild asks of you, but we are mostly a merchant guild. If you prefer to fight, you can join the White Paw mercenary company. Or, you can die here today, the choice is yours.”

The seventeen of them looked at each other. They had only joined the faction for support or to hide from their own enemies, each with their own unique reason. The Golden Shell Guild seemed like a much better, more stable life than serving fanatics.

They accepted. Three Foundation Establishment disciples and one of the Core Formation experts chose to join the White Paws, while the rest opted for the merchant guild, with the understanding that they could switch later if they wished. The two organizations were growing and needed more power, this was a great way to do so.

They can live the rest of their lives somewhat atoning for what they have already done. No cultivator hands were clean, it was only a matter of how clean. They can live in the guild and do a little bit better than before. There were at least no wanton killings or mass murders in the guild without reason.