The atmosphere at the table in the 'Sturdy Pickaxe' was loud but the initial hysterical fervor from the battle had begun to fade. As the adrenaline wore off and the ale settled in, most of the outpost's cultivators had their heads back. The sheer, life-altering terror of the siege was being replaced by a more rational, sober gratitude. They had survived. They owed the white-robed young man their lives.

When Li Yu set his mug down and stood, the table quieted but it was a respectful silence not a zealous one.

"Thank you for the meal," Li Yu said, his voice calm. "The hospitality of Blackstone Gully is commendable."

"You're leaving, Commander?" Roric asked.

Before Li Yu could answer, Torin Stonehand, who was clearly still riding the high of the "miracle," shot to his feet. "Of course he is, Roric! The Commander must meditate! He must commune with the Crab God to give thanks for the power he granted us!"

The other cultivators at the table exchanged subtle, awkward glances. They were grateful, yes, but Torin's fanaticism was a bit much for them now, now that their hearts weren't actively trying to beat out of their chests.

Li Yu saw his out. "Brother Torin is correct. I must... reflect."

"Yes! Of course! Do not let us keep you, Commander!" Torin boomed, bowing deeply.

Li Yu gave a final nod to the table and walked away, the sounds of a more subdued celebration resuming behind him. He could hear Torin's loud voice explaining his faith-based theories to a now-skeptical audience. Li Yu sealed the door to his room, the silence a profound relief. This "useful headache" was more taxing than he thought.

He sat on the simple bed and retrieved his merit token, activating its communication function to contact Theron.

"Grand Elder," he sent. "Ironhide Garo is eliminated. Blackstone Gully is secure. Requesting new orders. Am I to proceed to the Serpentwood Marsh?"

The reply came after several minutes. Theron's voice was heavy with weariness but underpinned by a deep relief.

"Little Crab. Your efficiency is... staggering. The sector has been stabilized. Vespertine and Garo... The merit points are well-deserved."

Theron paused. "No. Do not proceed to the Serpentwood Marsh. I've reassigned a specialized team to handle it. Your... unique talents are needed where you are. The enemy command structure in that region is shattered but thousands of their troops are still there. We lack a high-level expert to conduct suppression and patrol. Stay in the Blackstone Gully region. Patrol the surrounding territories. Eliminate any enemy forces you find. We cannot allow them to rally."

"Understood, Grand Elder," Li Yu replied.

"Good. We need your strength there. Keep the pressure on." The connection cut.

Li Yu lowered the token. He understood the order. Theron was using him as a boogeyman. His job wasn't just to kill; it was to be seen, to let the white robe and the name "Little Crab" do the work of shattering enemy morale before a single javelin was thrown. It was a role he was settling into.

Far away, in a command tent of the Ashen Blade Sect, Evandra Vane (Rank 2) stared at her own merit token, her gray eyes narrowed in burning curiosity.

"Fifth," she murmured, a grim, competitive smile touching her lips. "He's in fifth place."

She tapped her finger on the desk. "First Vespertine. Now Garo. A First Level Soul Formation poison master and a Second Level Soul Formation brute. Both confirmed kills, both credited to a Core Formation disciple."

Her lieutenant, polishing a saber in the corner, looked up. "Commander, it's impossible. The reports from Torin Stonehand... they speak of 'chanting' and 'faith-power.' It sounds like madness."

"It is madness," Evandra agreed, her smile widening. "Which is what makes it so fascinating. I've been stuck at Rank 2 for years, chasing Roric Heavystrike. The names on this list never change this fast. This 'Little Crab' isn't just climbing; he's leaping."

She stood and walked to the tent's opening, looking out at her own elite disciplined troops. "He's not a cheater. He's not lucky. He's a new variable. A new shark in the water." She felt a thrill, a genuine spark of excitement she hadn't felt in ages. "It was getting boring. Find me every report you can on the Abyssal Crab Cult. I want to know everything."

For the next three days, Li Yu became the silent specter of the western hills. He patrolled tirelessly, his white-streaked blur covering hundreds of miles. He found several small enemy squads, remnants of Garo's forces attempting to regroup. The moment they saw his white robe, panic shattered their formations. He offered no chants and no warnings. He simply erased them with silent and efficient volleys of Abyssal Javelins. He would collect their rings afterwards.

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On the third day, his patrol led him to a wide placid river winding through a deep canyon. He descended to the bank. His spiritual sense scanning the depths.

Immediately, his senses registered life. Not one powerful beast but several smaller common ones. They were of no use to him in combat but his Koi Sanctuary was not just a barracks; it was a collection. He was seeking diversity.

He dipped his hand into the river. A pulse of his Qi and several pockets of water tore free from the river's surface rising into the air, each containing a different wriggling creature. There was a hard-shelled Rock-Skinned Goby, a Three-Tailed Minnow and a small school of Crimson-Finned Dace. Common, yes but new species he did not yet possess.

He opened a small portal to the Koi Sanctuary and the spheres of water along with their confused occupants vanished inside. A small satisfaction settled on him.

His patrol complete, he began his return to Blackstone Gully. He landed just as the sun was setting. The outpost was settling in, the fervor of his arrival now replaced by the mundane routine of a secure base. He saw Torin Stonehand spot him, his face lighting up, clearly about to jog over for another "theological" discussion.

Before Torin could take a step, Li Yu's merit token vibrated. Violently.

It wasn't a summons. It was a piercing, shuddering alert, pulsing with a bright crimson light.

He looked up. Torin had frozen, staring at his own glowing token. Across the outpost, every guard, every disciple had stopped, looking at their tokens in shock. It was a universal continent-wide alert.

Li Yu focused his spiritual sense. A projection of light materialized, the message was from the Allied Forces High Command.

ALLIANCE-WIDE PRIORITY ALERT

The Ruins of Teaching in the Southern Wastes have manifested. This is a confirmed event.

DIRECTIVE: All disciples and elders are authorized to travel to the Ruins of Teaching immediately. All standing military objectives are secondary.

CONTINENTAL TRUCE DECLARED.

Li Yu’s eyes narrowed. A truce? It was as if the message anticipated the collective shock.

Additional Information: To ensure all cultivators have the opportunity to participate, a continental ceasefire has been negotiated by the leadership of all major factions.

Effective immediately, all hostilities on the continent are forbidden.

Li Yu understood the cold, selfish logic. This wasn't a peace treaty; it was a pragmatic pause. Leadership on both sides knew their armies would simply desert once they knew about this ruin otherwise. The lure of an ancient ruin and a personal breakthrough was infinitely more powerful than loyalty to a war. The leaders were also just as eager to go themselves as well.

But why would the enemy agree? They had the momentum... or they did, before the Abyssal Crab Cult arrived. Before Aethelgard became a fortress of terror, before the Echoing Chasm became Jian Xuan's choir, and before "Little Crab" had executed two Soul Formation experts in as many days.

The enemy's strategy was broken. They were losing high-level experts at an unsustainable rate. Their initial surprise attacks everywhere were no longer a surprise so they were losing that edge too.

The message concluded:

Additional Information: The truce does NOT apply within the boundaries of the ruins. Fighting within the ruin is expected and encouraged. The battlefield has merely shifted.

The alert faded. The outpost exploded into a cacophony of shouts. Men were running, packing, their faces lit with a greedy desperate hope.

"By the Ancestors...!"

Torin Stonehand ran up to Li Yu, his face pale with an almost manic excitement. "Commander! The ruins in the south! I... I was there!"

Li Yu looked at him. "When?"

"Not the last major one, of course, that was 300 years ago!" Torin said, his voice trembling. "But a minor, partial opening happened about fifty years back. A mere crack!"

"Fifty years ago?" Li Yu looked at him. Torin was clearly far older than his appearance suggested.

"Yes!" Torin said, his voice thick with an old hunger. "I was a younger disciple then. I've been stuck at the Fourth-Level Core Formation for... for decades. The tiny, tiny scrap of an inheritance I found back then is what let me reach this stage! But this... this is a full opening!"

He was practically vibrating. "It's a graveyard of legacies, Commander! From every race! Humans, Beast-kin, ancient Spirit tribes, even demonic! They say it was the site of a final, apocalyptic battle, where dying masters left their ultimate techniques etched in 'Legacy Stones' for the next generation!"

Torin’s eyes were wild. "Last time it happened in two phases! First, the 'Time of Inheritance,' where you find your legacy! Then the Central Battlefield opens! A place where you test those new skills and fight for the real treasures—Soul-cleansing springs, Heavenly Dao fragments, ancient artifacts! Commander... for someone like me, it's a chance to finally break through! For someone with your power... this is a gift! A gift from the Crab God himself!"

"We should depart," Li Yu said simply.

"Yes! Right away!"

A small, energized group quickly formed: Li Yu, Torin, Roric, some elders and a dozen other senior disciples from the outpost. They took to the air, heading south. Not everyone went because not everyone wanted to risk their lives for the techniques and resources.

They flew for hours, the landscape changing to barren wastes. The truce held. They passed a massive contingent of Beast Faction warriors, who growled but gave them a wide berth. They passed a group of demonic cultivators who hovered and stared, their faces masks of undisguised hatred but also fear.

The hushed whispers carried on the wind.

"...the white robe... the void emblem..." "...Abyssal Crab Cult..." "...that's him... 'Little Crab'..." "...killed Garo..."

Li Yu ignored them all, his gaze fixed on the southern horizon. The sky itself looked broken, a shimmering visible wound in the fabric of the world, bleeding an aura of ancient power.