The new orders were given and the logistics settled. Sorrow's Peak was a hive of activity as demons and humans alike worked to continue fortifying the monastery. All in preparation for the arrival of reinforcements and the departure of their leaders.

For Li Yu, it was the first real moment of peace he'd had in what seemed like a long time. The constant need to fight, to run, to hide, had momentarily lifted. It was time to process, rest and relax..

He found a secluded meditation room and sealed the stone door. The world went silent, save for the distant thrum of the monastery's protective array.

Li Yu closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into his Ocean of Qi.

The scene was exactly as he had left it. He watched his two souls for a long moment. The scene was peaceful but... strange. They never actually interacted with each other. They were simply existing with one another but not even acknowledging each other. The Human Soul fished. The Koi Soul circled. They were two rulers of the same kingdom who completely ignored one another.

He still found it bizarre. His attention eventually turned to his Human Soul. He felt he should be able to control it directly. Without using any kind of soul technique. It would be the basis of how he would develop new soul techniques for his human soul in the future.

Li Yu was going to test the bond that he felt. He focused his will on the fishing figure. 'Alright. That's enough. Come here. Let me see you. Stop fishing.'

The Human Soul paused what it was doing. It slowly looked up from the water and its serene face turned to look directly at Li Yu. It gave him a simple and friendly wave. Afterwards it gave him a brilliant smile and seemed to chuckle to itself.

Then, it turned back and placed its fishing line in the water.

Li Yu's consciousness sputtered. 'What... Why? This again!? What's going on?'

He tried again with more force this time. This was his soul. It was him. It should be listening to him, at least that's what he’s been told. 'Don’t just wave me off. I'm not kidding. Stop what you are doing. I am... you. Respond.'

The miniature Li Yu sighed. It was a tiny spiritual exhalation. It looked over its shoulder at him again. It gave a small, knowing and almost amused smile on its face. It gave him a short nod and a wave again. As if to say, 'Hello again. Nice to see you.'

And then it pointedly went back to fishing, its shoulders hunching with concentration and clearly ignoring him again.

He was being snubbed. By himself.

A surge of pure frustration swept through Li Yu. He turned his attention to the great Koi Soul circling below. 'Fine! How about you? Can you stop circling for one second?' Thinking that since it’s changed there might be a difference in how it behaved now.

The Koi Soul didn't even register the command. It just continued its endless instinctual patrol, its massive divine form gliding through the Ocean of Qi completely absorbed in its own purpose.

"None of my souls seem to really listen to me!" he roared in his own mind. “What is this?! Are you both really my souls?! Why aren’t you listening to me?!” He continued but knew it was hopeless.

His Human Soul seemed to have its own agenda. Which apparently involved fishing for... something. His Koi Soul was simply swimming in a circle for all he could tell. He was the master of two Nascent Souls and he couldn't get either of them to stop what they were doing for a simple conversation. He felt less like a powerful Soul Formation expert and more like the person that fed them and picked up their poo, a glorified zookeeper. .

Huffing with frustration he pulled his consciousness out of there. This was getting him nowhere. He needed... a friendlier face.

He opened his spiritual eyes in his Koi Sanctuary. In the distance he could see a few of the aquatic beasts he had in here now. He could feel that most of them had gotten stronger, probably due to the evolution of the realm. Nothing ground breaking, they were just more robust and lively. They looked to be enjoying themselves.

He found Crimson, his very first tamed beast. It looked healthier than ever. It was on lookout for the group it was now protecting. Some of the smaller baby beasts were its own offspring. Li Yu couldn’t help but smile upon seeing the sight again. A friendly reminder of how far he’s come.

Then he focused his attention on why he had come here. In the sky above... was it. His koi martial spirit.

It was a sight that still stole his breath due to the shear size and form. The Koi had long sensed his arrival. The massive head drifted down from the sky, its eyes filled with a familiar, simple and unwavering affection.

Li Yu's frustrations melted away. He reached out his spiritual hand and petted the massive scaled snout. The spirit rumbled, a sound that vibrated the entire sanctuary and snuggled its huge head against his tiny spiritual form. It was a creature that could swallow mountains and it was acting like a house cat.

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"At least someone seems to care and listen to me," Li Yu muttered, scratching the Koi behind its horn.

The Koi Spirit rumbled again, pushing gently against him. It was a silent, steady and comforting presence. And suddenly, Li Yu felt the dam of his frustration, his fear and his confusion burst.

"You know..." he said, his spiritual voice echoing in the vast empty realm. "What a mess. It's all... it's all just gotten so complicated. Do you remember the beginning? Our relatively peaceful life at the sect?"

He thumped the snout affectionately. "I just wanted to be a farmer. Raise some fish. Grow stronger and protect myself. That's all. That's all I ever wanted."

"Do you remember when I first awakened you? They thought you were simply a useless fish. But you... you had your secret, didn't you?" His voice dropped. "You could devour. And suddenly, I wasn't just a fish farmer. I was a... a monster, hiding. I had to get that job at the Green Mountain Sect just to... to survive."

“Every single day, hiding, pretending to be weak while my insides were being torn apart and rebuilt. All while trying to make sure nobody ever found out. Do you know how terrifying that is? To know that if anyone discovered what you could do, they'd... they'd dissect me. Perhaps even kill me."

The Koi Spirit made a low sorrowful sound.

"I thought... I thought if I just got strong enough, I could stop hiding. But the stronger I got, the more I had to hide! And the dangers... they just got bigger. Scheming elders, demonic beasts, ancient curses... hidden dangers... all of it. Then I found my Daos. I wanted to be quiet, to be hidden, to be unseen. I just wanted peace. A quiet pond."

"But... no. I get dragged into a beast tide. Then war. Then several wars. Now I am here, fighting against crazy odds."

His voice cracked, for the first time. I can talk to Kui and the others now, through you... but that just... it just makes me realize how far away I am. How alone I am in this... this broken place."

"And this southern continent... It's a warzone out there. This whole place, one bad thing happens after another. It’s just... death out there. Everywhere. That ambush... Jian Xuan thinks it was some glorious, will-tempering experience. He's completely insane. Do all cultivators think that way? It was terrifying."

"That purple thing... it looked right at me. And it pulled. I felt... I felt my soul being pulled away. I thought I was dead. I thought it was over. And the only reason I'm here... is because… well technically you saved me. You ate that purple Nascent Soul attacking me. Because my souls..."

"Which brings me to them!" His frustration boiled over and he started pacing on the spirit's giant snout. "I finally broke through to Soul Formation. I got another Nascent Soul. A human one. And what does it do? It fishes! I try to talk to it, to command it and it waves at me! It just... waves!”

“And the other one, the Koi Soul... you... well, that version of you... just circles. It's always just circling. I have two souls and neither of them listens! What's the point?!"

"And Zaltar... he tells me about these... 'Anti-Duplex' things. These twin-souled serpents of light and dark who help people. And I look at myself. I've got a grumpy fisherman and a hungry fish. It's not a paradox; it's a joke! Am I somehow one of them!? Unlikely, I am nothing like described. Or am I just... a freak? Some... 'aberration' and 'monstrosity,' as Corvus and Zaltar think."

"I'm just... I'm tired," he finally admitted, his rant winding down. He slumped against the giant, scaled head. "I'm tired of fighting. I'm tired of being confused. I'm on a team with demons and cultists. The war continues with seemingly no end. And I have two souls that won't even talk to me. I... I don't know what I'm doing. I'm just... trying to survive. Trying to make a difference and save the lives of those that don’t have the strength to protect themselves."

He fell silent. The Koi Spirit just pushed back gently, a simple, massive and comforting presence. It didn't offer solutions. It didn't judge. It just... was. It was the silent steady anchor in his chaotic life.

"Thanks for listening," he whispered. "You're... thank you…"

He stayed there for a long time, his spiritual form resting against his martial spirit, just being. The rant had emptied him. His two minds were blessedly quiet without any thought in them. He simply rested there on the head of his Koi spirit.

As he sat in the peaceful energetic air of the sanctuary, he felt... a change. It wasn't in the sanctuary. It was deeper. Back in his Ocean of Qi.

He felt a new... warmth. A new connection. It was coming from the Koi Soul. The crimson-gold Leviathan.

He focused on it, his consciousness observing it from afar. The connection, which had always been there, now felt... different. It was no longer just a bonded primal instinct. It felt... more intimate. More personal. He could feel... not thoughts but feelings coming from it. A sense of contentment. Of protection. Of... affection.

It was the exact same simple and unwavering affection he got from the Koi Spirit in the sanctuary. His mind flashed. 'Corvus. What did he say?'

'Your first duty as a Soul Formation expert is not to seek new power. It is to master what you have.'

'First: Get accustomed. You need to spend time with it. Feel its connection...'

'Second: Form a Connection. It is you but it is also a separate entity...'

Li Yu's spiritual eyes widened.

'He didn't mean... just meditate. He meant...'

He had just spent hours talking to his Koi Spirit. And in doing so, he communicated with his Koi Soul. He had "spent time with it." He had vented his fears, his frustrations, his self... and it had listened.

‘Was this it? Was this the first step that Grand Elder Corvus was talking about? Was it like this with every person’s soul or was it just this way with his own?’

He couldn't command his souls. Not like puppets. It would seem he had to... connect with them. Build a relationship with them.

A slow smile spread across his face. "Okay," he whispered to the giant spirit in front of him. "Okay... I think I get it."

One down. His bond with his Koi Soul was stronger, more tangible.

He let his mind drift back to his Ocean of Qi. He moved to the little island.

"...Now, how in the world," he muttered to himself, "am I supposed to 'spend time' with a seemingly grumpy, purple-robed fisherman who refuses to stop fishing?"