After several more weeks of leisurely travel, the Golden Voyage finally arrived at the Golden Tide Clan in the south, one of the Guild's major headquarters. As the magnificent ship descended, a team of Guild-trained craftsmen was already assembled and waiting on the docks.

The moment the ship landed, they swarmed it with practiced efficiency, their movements a blur of activity. They began making immediate repairs and modifications to the ship, reinforcing the hull with newly developed alloys and tweaking the formation arrays based on the latest lessons learned from the Guild’s continuous crafting of advanced aircraft.

As Li Yu and his team disembarked, they were greeted by a figure whose presence was like a drawn sword. It was Jian Xuan, the Guild’s now Second Grand Elder. He had been informed of their plan, and there was no way he was going to miss out on the action.

“Young Master,” Jian said with a grin, his gaze sweeping over the new additions to the team. “I see you’ve been busy recruiting for the guild. Are you trying to get more people so you can continue to take your vacations?”

Li Yu smiled. “Jian. I had a feeling you would be here from what you had been saying on the communication device.”

Introductions were made. Kael and Bai Yan, despite being powerful 9th stage experts, felt an instinctual caution in Jian’s presence. He was introduced as the Second Grand Elder, and they offered their respectful greetings.

It was then that another figure stepped forward, her aura stable and powerful. It was Shara, the Tidal Shark-fiend, who had fully healed the day before they arrived at the clan. A formidable 5th stage Core Formation expert in her own right, she, too, greeted the Grand Elder with a respectful bow.

As Jian returned their greetings, he let a wide, arrogant grin spread across his face. He wanted to see what these new subordinates were made of, so he intentionally flared his aura to show off. The effect was instantaneous and profound. Kael, Bai Yan, and Shara felt a strong pressure that nearly forced them to their knees.

Their eyes went wide with shock. This was not the pressure of a Core Formation expert, no matter how powerful. This was the terrifying, world-bending presence of a Soul Formation expert, a living legend to them. That next step up was what Kael and Bai have been dreaming of and here was a man already in that realm.

Jian reveled in their awe for a moment before speaking, his voice booming with pride. “That’s right,” he declared, ensuring everyone could hear. “I am at the 4th stage of Soul Formation.”

He was intentionally bragging a bit, taking in their awestruck expressions with relish. The fact that this man, a being of such might was following Li Yu was a reality-shattering revelation for the new recruits. They had seen Cyra and Spine and those two were more in line with what they were thinking his people would be.

Instead of departing immediately, the team decided to settle down a bit at the Golden Tide Clan, allowing the shipwrights time to complete their upgrades and enjoy themselves. They were not planning on taking the ship but Li Yu used it as an excuse to stick around the town a bit.

They were shown to a luxurious private courtyard overlooking the serene view. They spent the next few days enjoying the clan's famous hospitality, sampling the local cuisine of delicate, steamed sea-bass and drinking the region’s famous ‘Jade Dew Tea.’

One evening, as the group relaxed in a pavilion, Jian brought out not one, but three dark, earthenware jugs, a wide grin on his face. “Kael,” he said with a friendly look on his face. “You are from the Western Continent, are you not? I have also heard that you like to drink alcohol. Try these, from my own personal stash.”

He poured a small cup of a deep, amber liquid and passed it to him. Kael took a sip, and his eyes went wide. The drink was a fiery, complex spirit, with notes of smoke and a strange, wild fruit he hadn’t tasted in decades.

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“This is… ‘Dragon’s Breath’ from the Sunken Fang Archipelago,” Kael said, his voice filled with disbelief. “It is incredibly rare, even back home. I remember only being able to drink it a few times back then, at the grandest of feasts.”

Jian laughed, a deep, satisfied sound. “I have a small collection. A man must have his hobbies.” He then poured from the other two jugs. One was a pale, almost clear liquor called ‘Ghostfire,’ known for its numbing coldness, and the other a thick, sweet mead called ‘Stonemane Honey Wine.’

The two sat together, enjoying their drinks from their home continent. As they drank, the professional distance between the two powerful men began to dissolve, replaced by the easy camaraderie of shared roots in a distant land.

They spoke of the jagged coasts of the Sunken Fang Archipelago, of the bitter cold of the Ghostfire Peaks, and of the rolling, wind-swept plains where the Stonemane bees made their honey. Cyra, Li Yu, and Bai Yan watched them from a distance, letting the two men from another land have their moment. It seemed good for both of them.

Jian, warmed by the strong liquor and the familiar conversation, clapped Kael on the shoulder. “You know,” he said, his voice booming with sincerity, “your story… a man who lives for revenge against those who wronged his family… I respect that. It is a worthy goal.”

He raised his cup. “I, too, have a goal. To stand at the apex of the sword, to be undefeatable. We are men of ambition.” He then looked at Kael, a sudden, impulsive fire in his eyes. “We are brothers in spirit and lovers of alcohol! Let us make it official. Kael, from this day forward, you are my little brother. I, Jian Xuan, will be your big brother!”

Kael was stunned. He had never expected such a thing. To become sworn brothers with a 4th stage Soul Formation expert, one of the most powerful beings he had ever met… it was not something he expected to come from the recent events in his life.

He saw the sincerity in Jian’s eyes, a genuine and almost childlike enthusiasm that was utterly disarming. A true, warm smile, the first in decades, broke through his grim facade. “Big brother,” he said, his voice thick with emotion as he raised his own cup. It would seem like he too was infected by the recent events with Li Yu, the effects of the alcohol and the shared warmth of someone from his home continent.

Jian roared with laughter and clapped him on the back again, nearly sending the 9th stage expert tumbling. “Good! Little brother, do not worry about your revenge. The day will come when I will accompany you back to the Western Continent. That ‘House of the Crimson Fang’ you spoke of? They will bow before my sword, and you will have your justice. The entire continent will bow before me one day! I will be truly undefeatable!”

The boast was arrogant, almost comically so, but it was delivered with such absolute, unwavering confidence that it was impossible to doubt him. Kael felt a bit of weight lift from his shoulders. He had carried his burden alone for so long, the quest for revenge a solitary, all-consuming fire.

Now, he had an ally, a brother, a force of nature who had promised to stand by his side. The process was slow, but his haunted past was beginning to recede little by little. He was taking it one step at a time, the days of that family winning over him every day will lessen each day. One day, they will need to be the ones to be afraid.

Later, with the mood relaxed, the conversation turned back to the mission to attack the base. Jian’s expression turned serious, his battlelust flaring. “I am expecting this to be a harder fight than the one you had in the west,” he warned. “With the amount of time that has passed, especially with the leisurely pace you traveled at, they have almost certainly reinforced this location. They know we are coming, and they will be prepared. Perhaps someone even stronger will be here this time.” He sounded not worried, but thrilled.

He let out a sigh, a rare moment of melancholy on his sharp features. “I regretted not being there when the demons were found in the north. I wish I could have been there to fight. While I know I would have had no chance against a monster like Malek, I wish I could have tested my blade against his subordinate, Vorlag.” He looked at the horizon, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. “I am not going to miss my chance for a real battle again.”

The team quickly agreed on their plan of attack. First, a thorough scan of the base to make sure Spine’s son was not among them. Second, Spine would be unleashed to rampage and thin the enemy’s numbers. This was Spine’s request and there was no reason to not grant it to him. The rest of them would only engage the truly strong experts that Spine could not handle alone.

It was then that Jian made a formal request. He looked at Li Yu, his expression dead serious. “Young Master, for the sake of my dao, I ask that I be the one to strike first. Before Spine attacks, allow me to be the vanguard. I have my own reasons for doing so. I promise you, I will shock the enemy.”

Li Yu considered it for a moment, then nodded. “Very well. You will have the first strike.” There was no reason to reject this request either. Jian nodded his head in thanks, a sharp, dangerous light gleaming in his eyes. The next morning, they took to the skies on Spine’s back, a monstrously powerful war party heading for their final destination.