Myriad Rivers to the Sea

Li Yu spent another week deep in the untamed wilderness of the neutral zones. He found a quiet secluded clearing that was surrounded by towering trees with pale blue leaves and decided to halt his travels temporarily. He wanted to put his new insights to practical use before wandering into populated areas where he might need to defend himself.

He sat cross legged on a bed of soft moss and focused his internal Qi.

His primary goal was to create a new Sentry Clone. His original clone had been an incredible asset. Now that he possessed a deeper understanding of destruction, he wanted a second clone dedicated entirely to the laws of Destruction.

The new Sentry Clone slowly materialized. It looked exactly like him but its skin was an ashen gray and its eyes burned with a chaotic purple light. It radiated a terrifying aura of decay that made the surrounding blue grass instantly wither and turn to dust.

Li Yu smiled at the successful creation. He possessed immense Qi reserves so fueling the new body was not a problem. He then summoned his original Sentry Clone.

The space next to the gray clone rippled and the familiar figure stepped out. Li Yu sat between his two creations and was ready to begin combat drills. He reached out with his split focus and tried to pilot both Sentry Clones while keeping his main body alert.

A sharp stabbing pain immediately pierced his skull.

The struggle was instantly apparent. He only had two minds. Piloting two active combat clones and his own physical body required three distinct streams of consciousness. He tried to rapidly cycle his focus and was jumping between the three bodies in tiny intervals.

The gray clone threw a punch laced with corrosion but his main body slumped forward. He shifted his focus to catch himself but the original clone froze mid step. He tried to balance the load again and the gray clone stumbled awkwardly.

The mental strain was immense. It felt like trying to hold back a rushing river with his bare hands. The lag in reaction time was fatal. In a high level battle a frozen clone was just a waste of Qi and a momentary lapse in his main body would mean instant death.

He rubbed his temples and was trying to ease the throbbing headache. He could not come up with a good answer to the limitation. The math simply did not work. Two minds could not pilot three bodies efficiently. Without being able to use both Sentries, it was pointless to have them out at the same time. It was a better use to just combine the two Sentries together into one and proceed as before.

He sighed and dismissed both Sentry Clones. The gray and purple energy dissipated back into the air. He put the idea aside for now. He would have to find a new mental technique that let him split his mind further or get lucky once again to obtain a third mind for nothing.

Since the clone experiment was a failure he moved on to his next goal.

He wanted to fuse his mastery of Life laws with his new understanding of Destruction laws. His vision was a domain where his enemies would be relentlessly eaten away by corrosion while he was simultaneously healed by endless vitality.

He stood up and projected his domain over the clearing. He channeled the vibrant green Qi of his Life laws into his left hand and the ashen gray Qi of his Destruction laws into his right hand. He slowly pushed his hands together and was introducing the two opposing forces into the projected domain.

He expected a volatile reaction or a brilliant fusion of power.

Instead, what ended up happening was incredibly anti-climatic. The two laws met in the center of the domain and immediately clashed. The Life Qi tried to aggressively heal the space that the Destruction Qi was actively decaying. The gray ash ate the green light and the green light regrew the gray ash.

They locked into a rapid, endless but completely useless cycle of canceling each other out.

The fierce energy neutralized itself. The combined energy did not heal him and it did not corrode the grass beneath his feet. It simply did nothing. It was another failure.

Li Yu realized his understanding of both laws was simply not deep enough to force them into a symbiotic relationship. He could use them separately but merging them required a foundational bridge he had not yet built.

He retracted his domain and let those thoughts fade away for now. He decided to let his second mind ponder the complexities of the fusion in the background while his main mind focused on doing some actual traveling. He needed to clear his head. There was too much new information and understanding as of late.

He packed up his minimal camp and began walking through the alien forest.

The neutral zones were a wild and relatively untamed region. The trees grew to impossible heights and strange bioluminescent moss provided light in the deep shadows. Li Yu walked for several hours and was listening to the sounds of distant beasts and the rustling wind.

As he crested a small ridge he heard a commotion in a clearing ahead.

He masked his Qi and stepped silently through the thick brush. In the center of the clearing, he saw a merchant group. They were a squad of heavily armored ants wearing the dark crimson chitin typical of the Aegis Legion. There were twenty six of them in total and they formed a tight defensive perimeter. In the middle of their formation lay their flying mount.

It was a colossal six winged dragonfly. The beast was easily the size of a small building but it was currently grounded. It laid on its side and was panting heavily. Its wings twitched erratically and a thick frothy liquid leaked from its mandibles. The beast was very clearly sick and the merchants were forced to rest while it suffered.

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Li Yu observed them for a moment. They looked incredibly tense, their eyes scanning the tree line nervously. He decided to step out from the brush. The moment his boots crunched against the dry leaves, twenty six spears snapped toward him. The ant guards lowered their stances and their killing intent flared instantly.

Li Yu stopped and raised his empty hands showing he was unarmed.

"I heard the commotion." Li Yu said with his voice calm and carrying over the tense clearing. "I have some experience with beasts. I offer to take a look at your mount. It is just an offer though, you do not have to take it."

The guards remained completely still while waiting for orders.

A male ant wearing slightly more ornate crimson armor stepped forward from the center of the group. He was the leader. He looked at Li Yu with deep suspicion and was evaluating the strange human wandering alone in the neutral zones.

The leader looked back at the dying dragonfly and let out a frustrated click of his mandibles.

"Let him through." The male leader commanded. "I need to get this beast back in the sky. This is a critical shipment and we cannot afford to be delayed out here."

The guards reluctantly parted their spears and created a narrow path. Li Yu walked forward but was keeping his posture relaxed. He approached the massive dragonfly and knelt beside its twitching head.

Because the beast was an insectoid creature and not an aquatic bloodline, Li Yu could not rely on the Koi to diagnose it. He had to use his actual skills as a beast physician. He placed his hands flat against the thick carapace. He sent a very thin and careful sliver of his Qi into the dragonfly. He was exploring its internal meridians and all around its body. He checked the flow of energy, the rhythm of its heart and the condition of its primary organs.

The Qi flow was erratic and violently fragmented but it did not feel like a typical poison or a parasite. The beast's internal pathways were actively rejecting their own energy. It was a highly specific insectoid illness that Li Yu had never encountered before.

After several minutes he pulled his hands back and stood up.

"I cannot identify the issue." Li Yu admitted honestly. "The internal pathways are rejecting the ambient Qi but I do not know the root cause or the cure. I am sorry."

The male leader let out a heavy sigh rubbing his armored face.

"It is fine." The leader said dismissing Li Yu with a wave of his hand.

A few of the guards standing nearby muttered under their breath. Their voices were low but Li Yu heard them clearly.

"Just a scammer hoping for a free tip." One guard whispered.

"He probably hoped we would pay him just for touching it." Another added.

Li Yu ignored the insults. He had offered his help and failed. There was no reason to be offended by their suspicion. He took a step back to leave the clearing.

"We are out of time." The leader announced to his squad. "We cannot wait for it to recover. Store the mount away. We will have to fly the rest of the way ourselves. We have to hurry."

One of the guards pulled out a specialized beast bag and activated the array. A beam of light enveloped the sick dragonfly drawing its massive body into the spatial pocket.

They took to the sky and were flying rapidly in a tight defensive formation. Li Yu watched them leave. Whatever they were transporting was clearly incredibly valuable to them. He turned around and continued his own leisurely walk.

Hours passed and the three suns finally dipped below the horizon and plunged the neutral zones into a deep twilight.

Li Yu found a small rocky overhang near a trickling stream and decided to set up camp for the night. He gathered some dry wood and started a small smokeless fire using a sliver of his Qi. He had hunted a large wild boar equivalent earlier in the day and was currently roasting thick cuts of the meat over the open flame.

The rich savory smell of the roasting meat filled the quiet clearing and offered a stark contrast to the alien wilderness. Regardless of where he was, camping out like this made him feel like he was at home.

Li Yu sat comfortably on a smooth rock and was turning the spit slowly. He was enjoying the peace and quiet when his senses alerted him to movement approaching him. Li Yu did not stand up. He kept turning the meat but he shifted his internal Qi and was preparing for combat.

A few moments later the heavy brush at the edge of his camp rustled violently.

Figures stumbled out of the darkness and collapsed onto the rocky ground. It was the merchant group of ants he had met earlier in the day.

But their numbers were drastically reduced. The group of twenty six was now down to only twelve.

Li Yu was surprised by their horrific condition. Their pristine crimson armor was shattered and deeply scored by jagged blade marks. Several of them were missing limbs. The rich smell of roasting meat in the camp was instantly overpowered by the sharp metallic scent of their blood.

The male leader stumbled forward and was clutching the side of his chest where a massive chunk of his armor had been violently ripped away. He looked up and recognized Li Yu sitting by the fire.

The leader dropped to his knees. It was clear he was exhausted and broken. The remaining eleven guards collapsed around him and were too tired to even raise their weapons. Li Yu looked at the bloody survivors and let out a soft sigh. He gestured toward the empty spaces around the warm fire.

"Sit down and settle yourselves." Li Yu said.

The guards dragged themselves closer to the heat and were shivering from blood loss and shock. Li Yu reached over and pulled several cuts of the roasted meat off the spit. He tossed them onto broad green leaves and slid them across the rocks toward the injured merchants.

"Eat." Li Yu offered. "It will help replenish your stamina."

The leader picked up the meat with a trembling hand and took a bite. He closed his eyes as the warm rich food hit his stomach.

"Thank you." The leader whispered his voice raspy.

"What happened?" Li Yu asked while taking a bite of his own meal.

The leader chewed slowly and was staring into the dancing flames. "We were ambushed just a few hours after we left you. They hit us from the thick canopy above. They were fast and ruthless."

"A rival group?" Li Yu guessed.

"Most likely." The leader nodded, wincing as he shifted his bleeding chest. "Or someone who tracked us specifically because they wanted the item we are transporting. My family took this contract to save our business. We did not think it was going to be this dangerous. We thought the borderlands would be quiet after the recent war."

"Did they get the item?" Li Yu asked.

The leader shook his head. "No. My men died holding the line so I could escape with the core shipment. The twelve of us managed to break through their perimeter and lose them in the dark."

Li Yu nodded and did not ask any more questions. He did not care what the item was. He was just a traveler sharing his fire. The only problem now was he had to be more vigilant with the surroundings. Just in case the ambushers were able to track them down.

He finished his meal and leaned back against the rocky overhang. The night stretched on cold and tense. The injured merchants slept fitfully around the fire but their breathing ragged.

Despite Li Yu's vigilance the dark forest remained perfectly still. The rival group had either lost the trail completely or decided the neutral zones were too dangerous to navigate in the pitch black. The suns eventually began to rise and they were not attacked again in the night.