Myriad Rivers to the Sea

The bloody stain of the Xylarri had been completely scrubbed from the platform but the memory of Li Yu's one sided slaughter lingered heavily in the minds of the spectators.

The Hollow Dominion delegation was noticeably quieter today. The purple creatures they had brought with them were entirely dead. At least the ones they had shown publicly were gone as Li Yu had killed every single one of them without a shred of mercy.

The singles tournament officially commenced.

The announcer declared the rules and was outlining the strict separation by cultivation realms. The fights began almost immediately and were incredibly fast and brutal. Days passed in a blur of martial displays. Li Yu watched from the luxury viewing box and was focused on the varied applications of laws and techniques.

The Divine Transformation single tournament concluded first. The Eclipse Court claimed the victory. The young moth prodigy utilized a technique called the Shadow Dust Veil, perfectly suffocating his opponent in a localized cloud of rotting energy before they could even launch a single attack.

The Soul Transformation tournament ended next. The Hive Empire secured the win. A brutal hornet brawler used his brute strength to physically crush his way to the top. He had completely ignored the complex techniques of his enemies.

The Half King tournament was another victory for the Eclipse Court. Their assassins were simply too elusive, relying on their Silent Wing Execution technique to bypass heavy armor and deliver lethal venom strikes.

The King tournament brought a surprise to the arena. The Hollow Dominion won. The termite fighter used a terrifying sacrificial technique to bypass an ant defender and secured the championship by detonating his own internal Qi pathways. He barely survived but he did survive.

The grand tournament finally reached its absolute pinnacle. It was time for the quarter finals of the Law Seed realm.

These were the true heavyweights. They were beings who had firmly planted their seeds of law and could project their own localized domains over reality itself.

The eight remaining fighters stood on the platform. There were two from the Hive Empire. There were three from the Eclipse Court. There was one from the Aegis Legion. There was one from the Aether Swarm. And finally there was one from the Hollow Dominion.

"The quarter finals of the Law Seed realm will now begin." The announcer shouted his voice echoing across the roaring winds. "Our first match will feature Princess Xera of the Hive Empire versus General Udam of the Aegis Legion."

Xerxis leaned forward in his new bone carved chair. He expected his daughter to completely erase the humiliation of the team tournament.

Princess Xera stepped forward. She possessed beautiful dark gold irises and thin translucent wings. General Udam was a massive walking mountain of dark crimson ant armor wielding a colossal war hammer that pulsed with heavy Earth laws.

"Begin." The announcer yelled.

General Udam did not hesitate. He instantly activated his law domain. "Aegis Fortress Domain." He roared.

A massive hemisphere of golden earth and condensed metal erupted from the platform and completely enclosed the ant general. The density of the domain was absolute. It was a combination of Earth and Metal laws designed to completely nullify any physical or energetic attack.

Princess Xera remained calm. She did not charge forward wildly upon seeing it. She raised her hands and channeled her royal bloodline, specifically tapping into her mastery of Void laws.

Void Step.

She vanished from physical reality. She did not move fast; she simply folded the space around her body and bypassed the physical distance entirely. She appeared directly above the golden dome. Her hands glowed with a terrifying black energy that seemed to consume the light around it.

Needle Calamity.

Thousands of localized spatial tears formed in the sky above the dome. They looked like jagged black needles of void energy. Xera thrust her hands downward and the spatial tears rained down upon the Aegis Fortress Domain.

The impact was completely deafening. The void needles did not shatter against the metal and earth. They actively devoured the physical matter, erasing the dome chunk by chunk.

General Udam realized his defense was failing. He canceled the dome and swung his colossal war hammer upward.

Mountain Rend Stomp.

He slammed his heavy foot into the platform, generating a shockwave of kinetic Earth Qi that shot directly upward into the sky and was attempting to crush Xera.

Xera simply tilted her body.

Demonic Void Slasher.

She concentrated the remaining void energy into a single crescent blade of black light. She swung her arm in a sweeping motion. The void slasher cleaved perfectly through the rising shockwave, splitting the Earth Qi in half. The black blade continued downward completely unobstructed and sliced directly through General Udam's tower shield and his naturally grown crimson armor.

A deep spray of blood erupted from the ant general's chest. He dropped his war hammer and fell heavily to his knees.

"Princess Xera is the victor!" The announcer declared as the crowd cheered wildly.

"Your daughter has excellent control over spatial laws." Li Yu noted from the viewing box. "She uses them very efficiently."

"She is adequate." Xerxis replied flatly, his tone still demanding perfection.

"The second match will feature Lord Moros of the Eclipse Court versus Commander Vael of the Aether Swarm." The announcer proclaimed.

The crowd went completely insane as their hometown hero stepped onto the stage. Commander Vael was a sleek fly demon and was absolutely covered in glowing blue spiritual talismans. Lord Moros was a slender moth warrior hidden behind a pale featureless mask and heavy dark robes.

"Begin!" The announcer yelled.

Lord Moros immediately went on the offensive. He flared his dark robes and channeled his mastery over poison and illusion laws.

Nightmare Dust Domain.

Taken from NovelFire, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

A massive tidal wave of shimmering dark powder exploded outward. But it was not just a cloud of toxic dust. The domain brought the powder to life. The dust formed into hundreds of terrifying shrieking phantoms that flew through the air and sought to completely rot Vael's mind and body.

Commander Vael did not panic. He tapped the glowing talismans on his arms and legs.

Aetheric Lightning Step

Vael became a literal bolt of blue lightning. His speed multiplied exponentially, allowing him to completely outrun the shrieking dust phantoms. He darted around the perimeter of the arena and was leaving a massive trail of explosive paper talismans floating in the air behind him.

Moros realized what was happening and tried to direct the phantoms to intercept the fly demon.

Nine Paths Phantom Strike.

Moros commanded, forcing the dust illusions to converge on Vael's projected path.

"Too slow." Vael laughed.

Thousand Array Detonation.

Vael snapped his fingers. The hundreds of floating talismans he had strategically placed around the arena detonated simultaneously. It was not a chaotic explosion. It was a calculated implosion of Wind and Lightning laws.

The massive blast generated a localized hurricane that completely blew the Nightmare Dust Domain away, scattering the toxic rot into the upper atmosphere where it burned away harmlessly.

With the dust cleared Moros was completely exposed. Vael vanished again.

Azure Gale Execution.

He appeared directly behind the moth warrior. Vael channeled the storm energy into his thin rapiers and drove them forward. The blades pierced Moros's shoulders, pinning him directly to the platform and discharged a wave of paralyzing lightning into his body. Moros convulsed violently before passing out completely.

"Commander Vael is the victor!" The announcer roared as the hometown crowd caused the floating arena to shake with their cheers.

"The third match will feature a team kill." The announcer started waiting for the crowd to quiet down slightly. "Lady Seraph versus Lord Wondon. Both representing the Eclipse Court."

Lady Seraph stepped forward, her dark wings burning with a very strange localized toxic wind. Lord Wondon stood opposite her and was entirely cloaked in pure living shadows.

"Begin." The announcer yelled.

Since they were from the same empire, they knew each other's techniques perfectly. There was no feeling out process. They launched their absolute strongest killing moves immediately.

Shadow Binding Hex.

The shadows cast by the setting suns suddenly sprang to life. They shot across the floor like black serpents wrapping around Seraph's ankles and wrists. They were attempting to completely lock her Qi pathways and drag her into the dark void.

Seraph did not even flinch. She fully unleashed her mutated domain.

Toxic Wind Maelstrom.

She possessed a unique mastery over Wind and Poison laws. A massive tornado of thick green and black wind erupted from her body. The winds were so incredibly sharp and toxic that they cut the living shadows away, completely destroying Wondon's binding technique.

Wondon tried to retreat into the darkness to escape the wind blades.

Gale Moth Burst.

Seraph refused to let him escape. She compressed the toxic wind into a pair of massive wings behind her back and launched herself forward like a meteor. She slammed directly into Wondon, ignoring his defensive evasions. The toxic winds washed over him, cutting his dark cloaks and severely damaging his natural wings.

Wondon screamed in pain and collapsed. Wondon officially surrendered before the venomous winds could kill him.

"Lady Seraph is the victor." The announcer declared.

The Moth Queen nodded slowly from her viewing box and was satisfied with Seraph's efficiency.

"The fourth and final quarter final match." The announcer shouted as he pointed toward the remaining two fighters. "Commander Zark of the Hive Empire versus the Termite Champion of the Hollow Dominion."

The arena grew tense once again. The termite fighters had proven to be completely suicidal and unpredictable.

Commander Zark was an imposing hornet demon. His entire body was covered in thick golden chitin and heavy bone spikes. The Termite Champion moved with an eerie stillness.

"Begin." The announcer yelled.

Commander Zark wanted to end the fight instantly before the termite could calculate any sacrificial counter attacks. He channeled his mastery over Metal and Demonic laws.

Demonic Golden Drill.

Zark crossed his massive arms in front of his chest.

His golden chitin shifted and rapidly expanded. It formed a spinning conical drill over his upper body. He launched himself forward, rotating at an impossible blinding speed. The air screamed as the drill tore through the space and was aiming to completely core the Termite Champion’s chest.

The termite calculated the trajectory, rotation speed and impact force of the drill. He engaged his own domain.

Hollow Biomass Regeneration.

The termite purposefully stepped directly into the path of the spinning golden drill. He angled his body, allowing the weapon to completely tear through his left side annihilating his arm and crushing his ribs.

Thousand Venom Needles.

Zark deployed a secondary attack, shooting hundreds of poisoned bone spikes directly into the open wound. But the termite did not die. It completely blocked out the pain. The pale flesh bubbled and twisted actively, wrapping around the spinning drill and locking Zark in place. The rapid regeneration trapped the hornet and stopped his momentum.

Zark suddenly realized he was completely stuck. He tried to pull back.

Earth Shattering Demonic Fist.

He tried to punch his way out but it was entirely too late. The Termite Champion used his remaining right arm. He raised his hand and bypassed Zark's golden armor by reaching directly into the joints of his neck.

Pale Oblivion Pulse.

The termite channeled his Qi reserves into a single concentrated blast of destructive energy. The pulse shot directly through Zark's head, instantly liquefying his brain and completely erasing his soul.

Commander Zark's body went entirely limp, his golden armor losing its luster. The Termite Champion casually tossed the massive corpse aside as his left arm rapidly regrew from the bubbling pale flesh.

"The Termite Champion is the victor." The announcer stammered, clearly horrified by the brutal sacrificial strategy.

The Moth Queen let out another melodic and mocking laugh from her balcony. She was thoroughly enjoying Xerxis's continued misfortune against the termites.

Emperor Xerxis gripped the arms of his new chair, his mandibles clicking with a furious heavy rhythm. He had lost another elite fighter to the exact same suicidal tactics. He was completely enraged but he held his temper back and refused to cause a scene in front of Li Yu.

Li Yu watched the termite repair its arm and nodded slowly.

"Their fighting style is incredibly dangerous." Li Yu said. "They willingly trade severe physical damage for a single guaranteed lethal strike. It requires an absolute disregard for their own individual lives."

"It is an abomination." Xerxis spat while his voice trembled with anger. "They don’t care if they die at all as long as they can take someone down with them.”

"It is highly effective." Li Yu nodded. "In a battle of life and death, honor is an entirely useless concept. Survival and victory are the only things that truly matter. The Hollow Dominion understands this perfectly. It is easy to say but hard to do. There aren’t many that would willingly want to die just to kill someone else."

Xerxis looked at Li Yu and was surprised by the young master's cold and pragmatic view of the slaughter. It was a stark reminder that despite his unassuming appearance, this human boy had probably survived the absolute darkest corners of the cosmos. Surely his family would raise him to be ruthless.

The announcer returned to the center of the stage.

"The quarter finals are officially concluded." The announcer declared as the suns began to set, casting long beautiful shadows across the floating arena. "Tomorrow we will hold the semi finals and the grand championship of the Law Seed realm. The final four are Princess Xera, Commander Vael, Lady Seraph and the Termite Champion. Everyone rest well and prepare for the ultimate clashes."

The crowds began to slowly filter out of the stands and were completely exhausted by the volume of high tier combat.

Li Yu stood up and stretched his arms. The tournament had provided him with a wealth of new combat data and a deep understanding of how these alien empires applied their laws. He was completely looking forward to the next day. He wanted to see if the termite's suicidal tactics could overcome the terrifying spatial laws of Xerxis's daughter or the toxic winds of the moth champion. How will the fighters counter or react to their opponents?