Myriad Rivers to the Sea

"Get lost." Li Yu said as his voice shifted dangerously low.

Raxen flinched. The ant leader expected the human to panic or to begrudgingly accept the ring out of self preservation. He did not expect the suffocating aura of death that suddenly washed over the camp.

"If you do not leave my sight right now, I will kill you myself." Li Yu stated while taking a single step forward. The gray light in his eyes flared and the grass beneath his boots instantly withered into fine dust. "Take your shipment and run. Do not test me."

Raxen stared at the human and realized he had made a fatal miscalculation. The boy was not a cowardly traveler. He was a predator who simply preferred to be left alone.

The ant leader gritted his mandibles. He hastily shoved the storage ring back into his shattered crimson armor. He gestured for his remaining one armed guard to follow him. They turned and stumbled back into the dark brush. They were fleeing once again. They were desperate but they knew staying near the angry person was an immediate death sentence.

Li Yu watched them disappear into the shadows. He let out a slow breath and forced the gray light to fade from his eyes.

The brief encounter still rubbed him the wrong way. The sheer audacity of the merchant trying to use Li Yu's life as a bargaining chip disgusted him. He sat back down on the smooth rock and stared into the dying embers of his small fire. He did not try to sleep. He simply meditated once more while keeping his senses pushed out into the surrounding neutral zones.

A few hours passed. The two moons rose high in the sky casting pale silver beams through the thick alien canopy. The sound of rustling leaves and the detection of people using stealth techniques caught his attention. It was incredibly faint. If he had not been actively sensing he would have missed it.

Five figures dropped silently from the high branches and landed gracefully on the edge of his camp. They were tall and slender. They were also draped in dark cloaks. A fine toxic dust drifted off their shoulders with every subtle movement. Their faces were completely hidden behind pale, featureless masks projecting an aura of lethal mystery.

They were moth assassins from the Eclipse Court.

The assassins did not draw their weapons but their posture was highly alert. They moved in perfect synchronization and were spreading out to secure the perimeter of the clearing.

The lead assassin stepped forward. His featureless mask tilted slightly, evaluating the camp.

"Human." The lead assassin spoke in a soft and raspy whisper. "Did you see two heavily injured ant guards pass through this area?"

Li Yu remained seated on the rock. He did not mask his presence or reach for a weapon. He decided to answer honestly. Lying would only create unnecessary complications and he wanted these people gone.

"I did." Li Yu answered calmly. He raised his hand and pointed directly toward the direction they left. "They went that way."

The assassin stared through the eyeholes of his pale mask. He looked at the dying fire and then back at Li Yu. "Did they interact with you? Did they give you anything?"

"They tried to." Li Yu replied. "The leader had a specific storage ring. He asked me to take it to the Aegis Legion. I refused to get involved in theirs and your business. He then told me that when you caught him, he was going to say he gave the items to me. He said he was going to frame me to throw you off the trail."

The five assassins exchanged silent glances. They communicated through subtle gestures and the faint shifting of their toxic dust.

The lead assassin stepped closer and initiated a deep sweeping Qi scan. A wave of cold shadowy energy washed over Li Yu but it remained external only. It was searching for hidden spatial pockets or the specific energy signature of the shipment.

Li Yu allowed the scan to pass over him. He kept his own Qi perfectly still.

The assassin found nothing. He pulled his scanning aura back and gave Li Yu a long and calculating look. He did not say another word. He raised his hand and signaled his squad.

The five moths vanished into the southern brush and were moving with incredible speed and silence. They followed the exact path Li Yu had pointed out and was tracking the heavy scent of blood left behind by Raxen.

Li Yu shook his head and let out a tired sigh.

"I have so many guests tonight." Li Yu commented to the empty clearing.

He waited another hour to ensure the assassins were truly gone before finally lying down on his. The constant interruptions had drained his mental focus. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to slip into a light meditative sleep, letting the ambient sounds of the forest wash over him.

The peace did not last long.

A few hours later just as the horizon began to lighten with the approaching dawn, Li Yu was abruptly awoken. The sound of heavy boots crunching on dry leaves broke the morning silence.

Li Yu sat up instantly. The five assassins had returned.

They stepped into his camp and they no longer looked like cautious hunters. They looked like executioners. Their dark cloaks were stained with fresh blood. They held thin curved daggers in their hands and the blades dripped with a highly potent venom.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

They surrounded Li Yu and completely cut off any easy routes of escape.

"The ant is dead." The lead assassin stated his raspy voice carrying a sharp lethal edge. "We searched his body and tore his armor apart. The shipment was not on him."

"I told you what his plan was." Li Yu said standing up slowly. He brushed the dirt from his dark robes and kept his hands visible. "He told me he was going to frame me."

"He did indeed say he gave the items to you." The assassin sneered while taking a step closer. "He swore it with his dying breath. So I will ask you again. Did he really not give it to you?"

"I do not have it." Li Yu answered as his patience was wearing incredibly thin. "He must have hidden it in the forest before you caught him or he passed it to someone else."

"We do not trust you." The assassin replied as he was raising his venomous dagger. "A prize of this magnitude would tempt any wandering rogue. Hand over all your storage rings right now. We will check them ourselves."

Li Yu felt the familiar cold anger rising in his chest.

He hated the desperate ant for setting him up but he hated these assassins just as much. They were invading his camp, pointing poisoned weapons at him and demanding he surrender his personal property. It was a massive insult in the cultivation world.

"I am not giving you my rings." Li Yu said. The gray and purple light began to swirl within his dark pupils once again.

"Then we will kill you and take a look over your corpse." The lead assassin threatened.

The five assassins lowered their stances and were preparing to launch a synchronized lethal strike. Li Yu calculated his odds rapidly. He was at the 4th level of Divine Transformation. These assassins were likely at the peak of the Soul Transformation realm. They were fast and highly coordinated. He could activate his opalescent domain and use his new corrosion laws but it would be a messy and bloody fight.

As Li Yu pondered whether to summon his Star Crusher staff or rely on his domain, a new presence entered the clearing. It was an oppressive aura that instantly silenced the morning birds. The sheer weight of the Qi indicated a cultivator in the Law Seed realm.

A tall figure descended gracefully from the sky and landed directly between Li Yu and the five assassins. He wore heavy dark robes and a featureless pale mask that covered his entire face.

It was Lord Moros.

The elite moth fighter had survived his defeat in the tournament quarter finals and had been deployed to the neutral zones to secure this specific shipment.

Moros stood up straight and looked around the camp to assess the situation. He saw his five assassins holding their poisoned daggers ready to strike. Then he turned his head and looked at the lone human they were threatening.

Moros froze completely.

The Law Seed expert recognized Li Yu instantly. He remembered the human boy sitting in the luxury viewing box right next to Emperor Xerxis. Li Yu was an esteemed guest of the hated Hive Empire.

Under normal circumstances Moros would have gladly slaughtered an ally of Xerxis.

But Moros was also present in the arena when the sky shattered. He remembered the terrifying mountain that tore itself out of the void. He had watched that god-like entity effortlessly erase thirty four beings that even the rulers were afraid of, a massive number of enemies and their fortress in an instant.

Fear instantly overtook his ancient hatred.

Moros felt a cold sweat break out beneath his pale mask. His assassins were currently pointing weapons at the human boy who commanded that apocalyptic force. If this boy grew angered by their disrespect, would he summon that mountain again? Would he casually wipe out the entire Eclipse Court just to make a point?

"Back away!! Step back now!!" Moros shouted, his voice cracking slightly with panic. "Sheathe your weapons right now you fools!"

The five assassins flinched in surprise. They had never heard their leader speak with such frantic urgency. They did not question the command though. They immediately lowered their daggers and stepped back. They quickly slipped the poisoned blades into their cloaks.

Moros turned to Li Yu and offered a respectful bow. It was a bow meant for a superior.

"I apologize for the rude behavior of my subordinates." Moros said. "They are simple soldiers and do not recognize greatness when they see it."

Li Yu looked at the bowing Law Seed expert and understood the dynamic immediately. Moros had the same misunderstanding since that day. Li Yu was not going to correct the misunderstanding though. He let the silence hang for a moment and used the fear to his advantage.

"Your men accused me of stealing." Li Yu finally said but did his best to keep his voice cold and authoritative.

"They are fools." Moros agreed quickly. He was standing back up but keeping his head slightly lowered. "A person of your supreme stature would never try to trick us over such a worldly item. You would have no need for the things we are looking for."

"I told them the ant leader tried to frame me." Li Yu explained pointing south again. "He was desperate. If the ring was not on his body, he must have hidden it somewhere along his escape route. Or he gave it to someone else."

Moros nodded his head in rapid agreement. The logic was sound but even if Li Yu had said the ring flew away on its own wings Moros would have agreed with him. The moth lord just wanted to defuse the situation and get as far away from this terrifying human as possible.

"That is exactly what happened." Moros declared while turning to glare at his assassins. "The ant guard is still missing. He must have the core shipment. Spread out and search the entire quadrant! Leave no stone unturned!"

The assassins bowed to their lord and quickly vanished back into the dense forest and were eager to escape the tense atmosphere. They clearly noticed how their leader was talking to this random human.

Moros turned back to Li Yu and offered one final bow.

"We will leave you in peace now." Moros said as he was backing away slowly. "I hope this minor misunderstanding will not tarnish your view of the Eclipse Court. You are always welcome in our lands."

Moros did not wait for a reply. He channeled his dark Qi and shot into the sky. He disappeared quickly to join the hunt for the missing guard.

Li Yu stood alone in his camp. The morning suns finally broke over the tree line and was bathing the clearing in warm light.

He let out a long heavy sigh and ran a hand through his hair. He was relieved that he did not have to fight a Law Seed expert and a squad of elite assassins. It would have been an incredibly dangerous battle that would surely have been just him trying to escape safely.

But he was also deeply annoyed.

The whole situation was a massive headache. He had tried to show a tiny fraction of kindness by sharing his fire and his food with injured travelers. In return, he was blackmailed, framed and nearly killed by a roaming hit squad.

The harsh rules of the cultivation world were always present but the neutral zones seemed to magnify the chaotic ruthlessness of it all.

Li Yu walked over and packed his few belongings into his spatial ring. He kicked dirt over the dead ashes of his campfire, erasing the final traces of his presence in the clearing. He did not want to stay in this specific forest any longer.

He picked a direction toward the true borders of the Ant Empire and began walking. He hoped the rest of his journey would be much quieter but given his recent luck, he knew he had to keep his guard up at all times.