Instead of taking offense at Jian’s blunt, transactional terms, Lin Mei smiled. It was a genuine smile of a seasoned leader that had seen much over her life. She saw his words not as an insult, but as an honest declaration of the principles that the guild held.

In her long life, she had found that such pragmatism was often far more reliable than the fickle winds of honor. You can count on someone when they are doing it for their own benefits or benefits in general. It was much harder to count on someone when they say they are doing it out of the goodness of their heart.

She accepted what they said. “Your candor is appreciated, Elder Jian,” she said. “Perhaps even preferable. The door is now open for cooperation between the two of us should the need for it arise. That is a good outcome.”

She knew that in this increasingly chaotic world, having a powerful, motivated group as a semi-ally was a significant victory. It gave them more options, more room to maneuver. Lysander was happy as well, nodding in agreement. It was always good to have more people in arms, fighting for relatively the same thing, even if their ultimate motivations differed. At least they were not completely against the idea of helping out.

With the terms of their new, tentative relationship established, Lin Mei’s expression turned solemn once more. “Now, for the final matter. As I stated, all who have heard what has been said today must enter into our sealing pact.”

She stood, and a complex, ancient-looking rune began to glow on the palm of her hand. One by one, she cast her seal technique on everyone present. She went to Jian, then Kui, then Cyra, and then the three Generals. Each of them stood firm, their minds open, and allowed her to do so.

Jian kept a careful watch on the technique as it was being used, in case there was any kind of trick to it. Once he confirmed there were none, he let the group know to speed things along. They felt a gentle, irresistible wave of energy enter their sea of consciousness and settle deep within their soul, a silent, eternal guardian of the secrets they now held.

Finally, she stood before Li Yu. He, too, gave a respectful nod. He lowered his guards and prepared to accept the seal, seeing it as a necessary formality. As she gently pressed her glowing palm to his forehead, he felt the wave of sealing energy enter his mind. It was intricate, powerful, and carried no ill intent. It began to drift towards his soul, seeking to anchor itself there.

But then, something unexpected happened. His leviathan nascent soul stirred as soon as the technique was casted. It was not a conscious act, but a primal, territorial instinct. The colossal, sleeping form perceived the foreign sealing energy as an intruder, a chain seeking to bind its domain.

Before Li Yu could even react, the nascent soul opened its ethereal maw and simply… devoured it. The complex seal, a technique perfected over millennia, vanished without a trace, consumed like a single drop of water in a vast ocean.

Lin Mei’s eyes shot open, her hand recoiling as if burned. A look of surprise crossed her face. The seal had not taken inside his soul. It had simply disappeared as it entered and vanished without a trace. Li Yu was just as baffled, wondering why his leviathan soul had devoured it. “What happened?” he asked, genuinely confused.

Lin Mei looked at him, her brow furrowed. “The seal… it failed. I have never seen such a thing. Perhaps you were still resisting it unconsciously. I will try again.” Li Yu nodded. “Yes, please. I will try to lower my guard further.” He closed his eyes and focused, consciously trying to suppress the primal instincts of his nascent soul, to make his mind a calm, receptive vessel.

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Once again, Lin Mei placed her hand on his forehead. Once again, the seal went in. And once again, his nascent soul, despite his best efforts to placate it, instinctively unhinged its jaw and consumed the foreign energy.

It seemed to view the seal not as a pact, but as a parasite, and its response was to eradicate it without a second thought. Li Yu couldn’t seem to get it to stop doing that, reminding him of the early times when he was just starting to control his soul. His control was much better now, he had found a path that had worked but now it has failed again.

He opened his eyes, a wary, apologetic smile on his face. He truly didn’t know what was happening. He certainly didn’t want to reveal his nascent soul here however.. He had to think of an excuse, and fast.

“Honored Elder,” he began, his tone apologetic, “I am not sure what is happening. Perhaps it’s a soul technique that the First Grand Elder casted on me long ago. He is a very protective master, and he once mentioned placing a ward on my soul to protect his techniques from being taught to others, or from being stolen by force. It is also there to help protect my soul from sneak attacks of any kind. Perhaps that was why I am not able to take this seal, because that one was interfering. I am unable to control what it does.”

He sighed, looking troubled. He was indeed troubled, he was thinking to himself, ‘I am not sure what to do. This seal was supposed to give the organization peace of mind that its secrets won’t be revealed. Who would want their secrets to be revealed, he could understand that firmly. Now I am unable to take it, what are they going to think? Are they going to think that I am some kind of spy?’

Lin Mei looked at him, her mind racing. There was definitely something weird with this boy. Her powerful soul, her special ability to sense the truth and falsehood in others, had never failed her before, not even with cultivators of a higher rank than her own. But when she looked at Li Yu, all she felt was a calm, placid surface. She couldn’t tell if he was lying or not. It was a deeply unsettling feeling.

She didn’t move to thoughts that he could be a spy planted. It didn’t seem likely and this group of people couldn’t all have been fooled by him this entire time. He was definitely odd, but he didn’t seem like a spy.

She thought of the mysterious First Grand Elder that Theron had spoken of with such awe. A being of that caliber… it was entirely plausible that his seal technique was more advanced, a master’s ward that would block other bindings on his prized disciple’s soul. She could only think that being the reason, but this left her with a problem. Can she just allow him to not be sealed?

She thought about it further, weighing the risks. While he now knew about the Gate Keepers’ existence and some of their shameful past, he still didn’t know anything truly important about the group. He didn’t know where they are located, the true scope of their powers, the names of their other allies, or any of their operational secrets.

The things he did know about—the betrayal and the stolen seal—were unfortunate, but they were historical facts that the traitors had already allowed to leak into some corners of the world back then. There was no intel that he knew that hasn’t already been exposed to the world in some way. The truly critical information was safe, not yet discussed, which was something she made sure of before casting the spell.

She made her decision. It was fine that Li Yu couldn’t accept the seal. Forcing the issue would be a grave insult to his powerful master and could shatter their newly formed, fragile alliance. The risk was acceptable. “I see,” she said, her voice returning to its calm, authoritative tone. “If the First Grand Elder has placed such a powerful ward upon you, then we will not force the issue. However, you will have to leave from any further discussions we have. I hope you can understand where we are coming from here.”

Li Yu immediately bowed. “Of course. I completely understand. I apologize for the trouble I’ve caused here.” With that, he excused himself, turning and walking out of the silent, tense meeting room, leaving the group to their now-secret discussions. He wasn’t insulted that they didn’t trust him, he wouldn’t trust easily either. It was actually a comfort to him that they were so careful, it meant they could be more trusted.

He went back to the Golden Voyage, his mind still trying to understand the strange, protective hunger of his own soul, and waited for their discussion to end. He would use the time to explore his nascent soul once again, it kept surprising him over and over again. Perhaps it was a good thing that it was so protective.