Myriad Rivers to the Sea

Down on the central stage, the fly demon announcer amplified his voice using complex sound talismans.

"Welcome to the Grand Empire Tournament." The announcer roared. "Today we officially begin the team event. Five elite fighters from each empire will compete in a best of five series of duels. The first empire to secure three victories advances."

The crowd erupted into another massive wave of cheers.

"As the undisputed first rank of the realm, the Eclipse Court receives an automatic bye." The announcer declared as his voice echoed across the floating platforms. "They will rest today and advance directly to the grand finals. Our first official match today will feature the second ranked Hive Empire against the third ranked Aegis Legion."

Emperor Xerxis sat back in his luxury bone carved chair and crossed his thick arms. He looked down at the fighting platform with supreme confidence.

"Watch closely, young master." Xerxis said to Li Yu. "You will see the true brutal power of my forces today."

"I am paying close attention." Li Yu replied.

The twenty five fighters from the official delegations cleared the stage leaving only the combatants for the first match.

The first duel featured the Divine Transformation cultivators.

The Hive Empire sent out a sleek wasp assassin. He carried dual jagged daggers that dripped with a highly potent glowing green neurotoxin. The Aegis Legion sent out a heavily armored ant soldier who carried a massive organic tower shield.

"Begin." The announcer yelled.

The match started in an absolute flash of movement. The wasp assassin utilized his blinding aerial speed to circle the heavy ant soldier. He darted in and out striking the tower shield with rapid precise blows. The ant soldier remained completely grounded. He raised his shield and channeled his Qi to create a solid dome of red organic energy.

Sparks flew wildly across the floor as the poisoned daggers continuously struck the defensive barrier. The ant soldier waited for the perfect moment to counterattack with his heavy war club.

However, the wasp assassin was completely relentless. He used his speed to find a tiny gap in the ant's red energy dome, right near the rear joint of the armor. The wasp thrust his blade forward with lethal precision. The dagger pierced the joint and injected the glowing green neurotoxin directly into the ant's bloodstream.

The ant soldier froze and was completely paralyzed by the venom. He collapsed heavily onto the hard arena floor.

"First victory goes to the Hive Empire." the announcer shouted.

The second duel took place at the Soul Transformation level.

The Hive Empire sent out a hornet brawler with jagged bone spikes protruding from his thick knuckles. The Aegis Legion sent a colossal ant warrior wielding a giant two handed war hammer.

This fight was a brutal display of pure physical strength. The two titans clashed directly in the center of the platform and were entirely ignoring defense. The heavy impacts echoed like thunderclaps across the arena. The hornet brawler threw a massive spiked punch aiming for the ant's head.

The ant warrior perfectly predicted the aggressive strike. He stepped inside the hornet's guard and brought the heavy flat side of his giant war hammer directly into the hornet's chest. The kinetic force shattered the hornet's ribs and threw him completely off the floating platform.

"The Aegis Legion ties the score!" The announcer declared.

The third duel featured the Half King realm fighters.

The Hive Empire sent out a bumblebee tank. He was a towering wall of dark yellow and black chitin who wielded a giant spiked club. The Ants sent out their own supreme heavy defender.

It quickly became a grueling battle of attrition. The ant warrior possessed naturally grown crimson armor that passively absorbed kinetic energy. The bumblebee tank swung his heavy spiked club repeatedly, trying to smash through the defense through sheer brute force.

Both sides were using their understanding of their respective laws to gain the edge on the other but their mastery was relatively the same. The impacts were completely devastating but the ant warrior simply absorbed the blows and stood his ground.

Slowly the bumblebee tank exhausted his internal Qi reserves. His swings became sluggish and completely predictable. The ant warrior seized the opportunity and bashed the exhausted bee with his massive tower shield sending him crashing out of bounds.

"The Aegis Legion takes the lead two to one." The announcer yelled over the cheering ant supporters.

Emperor Xerxis frowned slightly in the viewing box but he did not look worried. He simply looked down at the final two fighters remaining on his team. They were his own royal son and daughter.

"It is time for the direct royal bloodline to show its worth. Or else!" Xerxis muttered coldly.

The King realm duel began.

The son of Xerxis stepped onto the platform. He possessed dark gold irises and thin translucent wings. He looked remarkably more human than the rest of his team. He did not carry a single weapon. His opponent was a terrifying ant general whose arms were organically forged into massive crushing pincers.

The ant general charged forward with an earth shattering stomp and was aiming to snip the young prince in half.

The son of Xerxis simply raised his bare hand. His royal demonic bloodline activated instantly. A terrifying wave of dark and refined demonic Qi erupted from his palm. He did not rely on brute strength or physical weapons. He used elemental power.

A localized storm of highly corrosive and golden energy engulfed the charging ant general. The unbreakable organic crimson armor began to melt and sizzle violently. The ant general dropped to his knees and was screaming in agony in just moments. He was forced to officially surrender before the corrosive energy melted his internal organs completely.

"The score is tied two to two." The announcer proclaimed. "The final match will decide the victor!"

The Law Seed duel featured the daughter of Xerxis and the supreme champion of the Aegis Legion.

The ant champion was an imposing woman covered entirely in spiked crimson armor that pulsed with raw King level Qi. The daughter of Xerxis possessed the same human-like aesthetics as her brother but her aura was vastly more lethal and completely restrained.

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The match started and the ant champion immediately deployed a defensive domain. A literal fortress of solid red light surrounded her entirely and was sealing off all angles of attack.

The daughter of Xerxis vanished. She moved with a speed that perfectly rivaled spatial teleportation. She appeared directly in the sky above the defensive domain and formed a massive spear of concentrated dark void energy. She hurled the heavy spear downward with terrifying force.

The dark attack pierced the red light fortress completely effortlessly. The spear pinned the heavily armored ant champion directly to the floor. The match ended in mere seconds. It was clearly a mismatch in power.

"The Hive Empire wins the series three to two!" The announcer roared.

The millions of spectators cheered wildly. Xerxis nodded approvingly from the viewing box but he did not cheer or smile. He simply accepted the victory of his offspring as a baseline expectation.

"Your children are incredibly strong." Li Yu commented. He was impressed with what he had seen just now for all those taking part. Their moves and techniques seemed simple but that is only because they all had mastery over their skills.

While it looked like a simple brawl in the second match, Li Yu saw all kinds of different things going on. They were channeling Qi to their bodies, using different types of Laws to assist their movements and defense. There were less flashy techniques and more killing moves. They didn’t care about being showy and flashy. The moves were direct and to the point.

"They performed their assigned duties." Xerxis replied. "But they did not let me down."

The arena attendants quickly rushed the stage and repaired the cracked floor using advanced restoration arrays. The crowd buzzed with frantic excitement as the next two delegations were called forward.

"The second match of the day will feature our glorious host empire!" The announcer declared as his voice swelled with pride. "The Aether Swarm will face the Hollow Dominion."

The five fly demons stepped onto the platform. They were the absolute crowd favorites and the noise from the stands was completely deafening. The five termite fighters walked up calmly to meet them. Three were pale, blind termites moving in perfect silent unison. The remaining two were the terrifying Xylarri.

Li Yu leaned forward to get a better look. He kept his eyes completely locked on the two purple creatures. The first duel was the Divine Transformation realm.

The Aether Swarm sent out a young fly demon covered in complex and glowing speed talismans. The Hollow Dominion sent out one of the blind pale termites. The match was entirely one sided from the first second. The fly demon moved so incredibly fast that he created dozens of lingering afterimages across the stage.

The termite could not track him at all. The fly demon struck the termite repeatedly from all possible angles using a pair of thin rapiers. The termite tried to regenerate but the sheer volume of a thousand cuts overwhelmed its biology. It collapsed and was entirely defeated.

"First win goes to the Aether Swarm!" the announcer shouted.

The second duel took place at the Soul Transformation realm.

Another incredibly fast fly demon faced the second blind termite. The fly demon this time was much fatter than the previous one. Even though it was fatter, it was much faster. This time the termite tried something else. The termite did not try to match the blistering speed of the fly. It stood still in the center of the arena and allowed itself to be hit.

The fly demon slashed its arms and torso but the rapid regeneration healed the deep wounds instantly. The termite focused all its mental energy into calculating and perfectly predicted the fly's exact movement trajectory. The termite reached out blindly into the empty air and grabbed the fly demon directly by the throat and channeled its Qi into the body of the demon, stunning it. This ended the match.

"The Hollow Dominion ties the score." The announcer said.

The Half King duel featured the final blind termite and a veteran fly warrior.

The fly warrior had watched the previous match and realized that physical attacks were completely useless against the rapid regeneration unless it was able to really outclass the termite warrior like in the first match.

As soon as the match began, the fly used his speed to cover the termite in dozens of highly volatile explosive talismans. He detonated them all simultaneously. The massive explosion completely incinerated the termite leaving absolutely nothing behind to regenerate. This resulted in the first death of the day and it had happened in an instant.

"The Aether Swarm takes the lead two to one!" The announcer yelled triumphantly.

The tension in the floating arena was completely palpable. The hosts only needed one more single victory to advance. The King realm duel began.

The first Xylarri stepped forward. It was the pale vaguely humanoid figure with the smooth ovoid head dotted with chaotic clusters of black unblinking eyes. It dragged its jagged scythe like claws along the crystalline floor and was unbothered by the roaring crowd.

The Aether Swarm sent out a magnificent fly demon whose wings glowed with bright blue kinetic energy. It was also smaller than the others, about half the size.

"Begin!" The announcer yelled.

The fly demon activated a supreme speed talisman and vanished instantly. He appeared directly behind the Xylarri and was aiming a lethal strike at the creature's exposed neck. Li Yu watched the interaction incredibly closely.

As the fly demon closed the final distance, the thick purple energy radiating from the Xylarri passively flared outward. The corrupting aura did not just break down physical techniques. It actively devoured the Qi and the kinetic energy of the attacker. The fly demon suddenly slowed down completely as his glowing speed talismans were eaten away and dissolved by the thick purple mist.

The Xylarri did not even bother to turn around. It thrust its massive scythe claw backward. The jagged blade pierced directly through the fly demon's chest. The purple energy instantly drained the life force from the fly, leaving him as a shriveled empty husk. The Xylarri tossed the dead body aside casually.

The entire arena went completely dead silent. The millions of spectators stared in horrified shock. They had never seen an ability that just passively erased speed and devoured life force so brutally.

"The score is tied two to two." The announcer stammered, his voice visibly shaking.

The final duel was the Law Seed realm.

The second Xylarri stepped onto the platform. This one was slightly larger and its purple aura was vastly more oppressive and was completely darkening the air around it. The Aether Swarm sent out their supreme champion. The champion was covered in ancient golden talismans that pulsed with the supreme power of the wind laws.

The champion was absolutely furious about the brutal unceremonious death of his allies. He unleashed his full Law Seed immediately. A massive tearing tornado of slicing wind blades surrounded the arena. The golden talismans enhanced the wind and made each individual blade sharp enough to easily cut through solid mountains.

The Xylarri stood perfectly still in the center of the raging storm.

The wind blades struck its pale skin but the purple corrupting aura instantly degraded the heavy wind Qi into completely harmless gentle breezes. The Xylarri raised its jagged scythe arms and let out a terrifying high pitched screech.

A concentrated wave of purple soul energy shot forward. It bypassed the physical wind blades entirely. The corrupting soul attack slammed directly into the champion’s mind. The champion screamed in absolute agony and dropped from the sky, crashing heavily onto the platform. He was completely unconscious and his spirit was severely damaged.

"The Hollow Dominion wins the series three to two." The announcer declared quietly into the silent arena.

The host empire had been completely defeated in their own arena. The termite delegation, including the two horrifying Xylarri turned and walked off the platform. As they left the stage the second Xylarri tilted its ovoid head upward and stared directly at Li Yu's viewing box one last time.

Li Yu narrowed his eyes and was staring right back. The creatures were incredibly efficient and deeply lethal. The suns began to set over the Aether Swarm territory and was casting long dark shadows across the floating platforms.

"The first day of the team tournament is officially concluded." The announcer proclaimed and was trying desperately to inject some energy back into the stunned crowd. "The Hive Empire and the Hollow Dominion have advanced. They will face each other in the semi finals tomorrow. Everyone rest well."

Xerxis stood up from his luxurious chair. He looked slightly annoyed that the termites had displayed such hidden power but he remained completely confident in his own forces.

"We are returning to the warship." Xerxis ordered his guards firmly. "My forces need to prepare to crush those pale freaks tomorrow."

Li Yu followed the Emperor out of the viewing box. He was not worried about the Hive Empire or their match. This tournament wasn’t one where all out war broke out or it would have done so long ago. This was clearly the Hollow Dominion showing off that they have a great new ally or perhaps something even greater.