Myriad Rivers to the Sea

The three suns of Silkwood rose in a familiar procession, casting their warm light across the estate. The morning mist clung to the silver trees and the nocturnal insects surrendered their songs to the waking birds. It was a picture of pristine tranquility.

Li Yu still sat at the wooden table in his courtyard. He had not moved since the night before. His cup of floral tea had gone completely cold hours ago. The surface of the liquid was perfectly still and reflecting the morning sky. Li Yu stared at it with his mind thousands of leagues away. It was adrift in a chaotic sea of memories that didn't entirely belong to him and a war that he had witnessed and then walked away from.

He finally forced himself to stand. Li Yu walked over to the wooden shed leaning against the side of his log tower and picked up his heavy iron hoe. The handle was smooth, worn perfectly to the grip of his hands from the months he had spent tilling the ground before the rescue mission.

He carried it to the main field. The dirt was rich, dark and perfectly aerated thanks to Garrick’s monthly maintenance. Li Yu raised the iron hoe and brought it down. The blade bit into the soil with a satisfying thud. He pulled it back, turning the ground. He stepped sideways, raised the hoe and brought it down again.

Thud.

He did it a third time.

Thud.

Li Yu stopped. He stood in the center of the field with the iron hoe hanging loosely from his grip. He looked down at the turned dirt and a crushing, suffocating wave of futility washed over him. Why was he doing this?

What was the point of aerating a patch of dirt in a quiet town when there were armadas tearing the cosmos apart? What was the point of growing Azure Cloud Cabbages when Li Canghai and Zhan Tielan were shedding blood every single day to ensure those cabbages weren't reduced to cosmic ash?

He dropped the hoe. It clattered against the soil.

Li Yu turned and walked back to the courtyard with his shoulders slumped. The depression was not a sharp or violent pain; it was a slow and creeping numbness. It was the realization that the simple life he had cherished now felt meaningless.

Needing a distraction, needing something to hold that connected him to the vastness of the cosmos without requiring him to shoulder it. With a thought, a long rectangular box of dark, polished wood appeared in his hands.

He opened the lid. Resting on the velvet was Gilded Calamity even though Li Yu did not know its name.

It was the ceremonial sword Li Canghai had given him. Highly ornate and wrapped in golden silk with its scabbard inscribed with decorative runes. Li Canghai had been very explicit: it was not a strong sword. It was a symbol of honor, a fragile keepsake that would shatter if used in a real battle against supreme experts.

Li Yu drew the blade from the scabbard. It chimed softly. It was a beautiful and delicate sound. The metal was pristine and was gleaming in the morning light.

He stepped out into the open space of his courtyard. He didn't know any sword techniques. Throughout his entire cultivation journey, he had relied on his fists, his Devouring Abyssal Leviathan Physique and his staff. A sword was an elegant weapon for those with more refinement and skill. It was the weapon that children always associated with soaring immortals and powerful cultivators; it had never fit his style.

He raised the beautiful albeit fragile blade and took a slow and experimental swing.

Swoosh.

It was a clumsy and amateurish movement. It lacked any of the martial intent that a true swordsman would project. But as the blade cut through the air, Li Yu felt a strange and subtle release of tension in his chest. He stepped forward and swung again. A simple horizontal slash. Then a vertical downward chop.

Because all martial Daos eventually led back to the same universal truths, Li Yu knew that he could easily use this sword as a base for his attacks. He could channel his integrated Law of Destruction into the edge or wrap it in his Law of Void to create an unblockable strike. He had the combat experience to invent sword arts that would work but he didn't.

He deliberately kept his Qi completely restrained. He didn't use a single law. He just swung the piece of decorative metal around for the physical rhythm of it.

Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh.

It wasn't training. It was comfort. The repetitive and mindless physical motion gave his turbulent mind a place to rest. Swinging the ceremonial sword made him feel connected to the giants he had witnessed and who had gifted it to him. It brought him a tiny and flickering spark of peace in the hollow void of his depression.

He swung the sword for nearly half an hour and was establishing what would soon become a daily routine. Then a sudden and oppressive shift in the ambient Qi forced him to stop. The air above his estate rippled. A figure descended from the sky and landed lightly just outside the wooden fence, a sign of respect that he didn’t just land down on the fields.

It was Xerxis.

The Domain King was an imposing figure. He had clearly come here after Garrick had let him know back at the capital. Xerxis carried himself with the authority of a ruler but as he pushed open the wooden gate and stepped into the courtyard, his eyes locked onto Li Yu and he froze.

Xerxis’s breath hitched in his throat.

The Domain King had expected to once again find the polite and somewhat mysterious human. Instead, the young man standing in the courtyard with a decorative sword in his hand radiated a terrifying and abyssal depth.

Li Yu wasn't actively flaring his aura but to someone at Xerxis's level, the passive pressure of integrated laws was unmistakable. He could feel the chaotic ripples of different laws, some he recognized easily and others he couldn’t figure out.

'Law Integration...' Xerxis thought as his mind reeled in shock. 'He is only a single major realm below me now. How is this possible?'

Xerxis ran the calculations in his head. To jump from Divine Transformation to Law Integration required traversing the Soul Transformation, Half-King, King and Law Seed realms. Li Yu had done it in a few short years that he had gone missing from this realm.

'He must have left to return to his true clan,' Xerxis deduced internally as his imagination ran wild. 'Garrick said he vanished completely and even severed his soul connection. He must have returned to inherit an ancestral legacy. What monstrous people! To elevate a junior across so many major realms in a matter of years... the resources and the heaven defying methods required are beyond comprehension!'

Xerxis quickly adjusted his posture. He had always treated Li Yu carefully and assumed he was a scion of a terrifying power. Now, he was absolutely certain of it.

"Brother Li," Xerxis greeted as his voice carried a carefully measured amount of warmth. "Garrick informed me of your return. I came as quickly as I could. It is good to see you well and back here."

Li Yu lowered the ceremonial sword and was resting its tip against the dirt. He didn’t notice it but the sword trembled slightly as it hit the dirt. Li Yu didn't have the energy to put on a cheerful facade. The heavy fog of his depression weighed down his words.

"Hello, Xerxis," Li Yu said quietly while gesturing to the empty chair across from the table. "Please, sit. I would offer you fresh tea but I haven't had the mind to boil water this morning."

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Xerxis sat down and his sharp eyes were analyzing Li Yu's melancholic demeanor. The young man now possessed increased power yet he looked like a general who had lost a war.

'Ah,' Xerxis thought as he was misunderstanding the situation even further. 'The burden of his inheritance. To integrate so many supreme laws so quickly... the physical and mental toll must be agonizing. His clan must put their heirs through hell to forge them into such monsters. He is exhausted and perhaps even traumatized by the brutal trials of his family.'

"There is no need for tea," Xerxis said politely. "I simply wanted to welcome you back to my domain. I see your... absence... was incredibly fruitful. Your cultivation has reached a truly breathtaking level in such a short time."

"It was an eye opening few years, that’s for sure" Li Yu replied but was looking down at the beautiful hilt of the sword. "But I am beginning to wonder what the point of it all was."

Xerxis nodded sagely, believing he understood the young master's plight perfectly. "The higher we climb, the heavier the sky becomes, Brother Li. The responsibilities your family has surely placed upon your shoulders are immense. But you have a sanctuary here. Silkwood remains untouched. I have also established a small town very similar to this in my own empire. Ready for you should you ever need it. You may rest and consolidate your gains for as long as you wish in either places."

Li Yu didn't correct him. He just let Xerxis believe what he wanted to believe. It was easier that way for the both of them.

"Thank you, Xerxis," Li Yu murmured. "I appreciate the hospitality."

They spoke for a short while longer but were mostly exchanging pleasantries. Xerxis, sensing Li Yu's deep need for isolation and recovery from his "clan trials," did not overstay his welcome. He stood and offered another respectful bow before launching himself back into the sky. His mind was buzzing with the terrifying implications of Li Yu's supposed hidden faction.

Li Yu was left alone once again.

He carefully cleaned the sword and sheathed Gilded Calamity back. He then placed it back into his inner world. The brief respite the swinging had brought him faded and the heavy silence of the estate pressed in on him once more.

Needing to move, Li Yu finally left the courtyard. He decided to walk the perimeter of his property and was hoping the physical motion would clear his head. He walked along the sturdy wooden fence, his hand trailing over the smooth silver timber. As he approached the eastern edge of his land, he looked over at the neighboring house.

The house had been empty last he was here. It was left vacant after Commander Tara and Commander Hollis had been recalled to the front lines. But as Li Yu looked over the low stone wall separating their properties, he realized it was occupied once again.

Queen Calyptra had evidently sent another tired veteran to Silkwood to find peace.

An old moth man was in the neighboring courtyard. He wore faded and utilitarian robes that looked distinctly military. They lacked any insignias or armor plating. His pale green wings were resting against his back and they were ragged and heavily scarred. They were missing large chunks of their delicate scales. He moved with a pronounced and painful limp. He was slowly dragging a wooden broom across the stone pavers of his patio and despite everything, he looked at peace.

Li Yu stopped at the fence and watched him for a moment. The man’s movements were incredibly slow. They were lacking the crisp and efficient discipline of a seasoned warrior.

"Good morning," Li Yu called out gently and did not want to startle the old man.

The moth veteran paused while leaning heavily on the handle of his broom. He turned, revealing a face deeply lined with age and the harsh realities of war. His dark eyes, however, were bright and surprisingly warm.

"Ah, good morning to you," the old man rasped and offered a polite nod. "You must be the neighbor I was told about. The young human who tames the dirt. I am Commander Urgoton. Or, rather, I was."

"I am Li Yu," he replied with his arms on the top of the fence. "Welcome to Silkwood, Urgoton. It is a quiet place."

"Quiet is exactly what the healers prescribed," Urgoton chuckled, though the sound quickly devolved into a wet and rattling cough.

As Urgoton coughed, Li Yu’s brow furrowed. With his Law Integration senses, he didn't even need to touch the man to feel the chaotic and broken state of his internal energy.

Urgoton was practically bleeding ambient Qi. His internal pathways were a mangled, chaotic mess, but the true horror was his center. Where a cultivator’s core should have been, Urgoton’s core was shattered into dozens of jagged fragments.

Urgoton didn't have much cultivation left at all. He had fallen from whatever heights he once commanded and was now barely clinging to the Foundation Establishment realm and even that was leaking away.

"You are in a tremendous amount of pain," Li Yu stated as his tone shifted from polite neighbor to focused physician.

Urgoton recovered from his coughing fit and leaned back on the broom. He offered a wry and self deprecating smile. "An old injury. A localized spatial collapse caught me in the chest. Shattered my core like cheap glass. The royal physicians did what they could to keep me alive but a broken core is a broken core. The Queen graciously sent me here to live out my remaining days."

"May I?" Li Yu asked while gesturing toward the low stone wall.

Urgoton raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Be my guest, young man."

Li Yu vaulted over the fence and approached the old commander. "I have some experience in healing. Let me see if I can ease the burden."

Li Yu placed his palm gently against the center of Urgoton’s chest. He drew deeply upon his Law of Life. He sent a microscopic thread nurturing Qi into the old man’s ruined pathways.

Li Yu carefully navigated around to understand what was happening. He realized after some inspection of the core that he could not rebuild it. A core was too complex for him to repair with his current levels of understanding. There would be a need for rare natural treasures or most likely divine intervention for Li Yu to be able to fix it.

But Li Yu could stabilize this man’s condition better than the royal physicians had.

Using his precise control, Li Yu wove a net of dense and resilient Life Qi around the shattered core. He created a soft buffer that stopped the core from getting any worse. He then flushed the stagnant and corrupted energy out of the pathways in the man’s body and worked to seal the worst of the leaks.

It took half a day of intense effort. When Li Yu finally withdrew his hand, he was sweating and tired. Urgoton let out a long and shuddering gasp. His eyes widened as he touched his chest. The agonizing and grinding fire in his center was gone. The constant feeling of his life force bleeding into the air had stopped.

"By the ancestors," Urgoton whispered in awe. "The royal physicians said nothing more could be done. You didn't just give me something to stop the pain... you stabilized the foundation itself."

"I cannot fix the core," Li Yu said softly with a note of genuine apology in his voice. "The damage is too extensive and my knowledge too shallow. You will not regain your former strength. But the buffer I placed should stop the chronic pain as long as you do not exert yourself. By sealing the leaks, your cultivation will not continue to fall anymore. You are in a state of balance right now, you will need to take care to make sure it stays that way."

Urgoton looked at the young man and his eyes shined with gratitude. "You apologize for giving an old soldier painless rest? You have a good heart, Li Yu. Let me pour you a drink. It is the absolute least I can do."

Urgoton led him to a small and weathered table on the patio. He poured the two of them a modest and earthy wine.

They sat together and enjoyed the wine. Li Yu looked at the old commander. Urgoton had lost everything that mattered in the cultivation world. He had lost his power, most likely a lot of his status, his ability to fight and his core. Yet, as the old man took a sip of his wine, he looked entirely at peace. There was no bitterness in his eyes.

"Does it not bother you?" Li Yu asked quietly as his own existential crisis bled into the question. "You were a commander. You shouldered the sky for this empire. And now... your power is gone. You are sweeping a patio in Silkwood. How do you find meaning in this when you know what is happening out there?"

Urgoton set his cup down and smiled. It was a gentle and deeply weathered smile.

"I carried my piece of the sky for a very long time, Li Yu," Urgoton said back. His voice was calm and steady. "I fought, I bled and I lost good friends to keep the darkness at bay. But the sky is vast and no one person is meant to shoulder it forever. My core broke and my time on the front lines ended. That is simply the cycle."

Urgoton looked out over the stone wall and toward the silver trees swaying in the breeze.

"I am not worried about the cosmos," the old commander continued. "I have lived a long albeit violent life and thanks to you, I still have a long and peaceful life ahead of me. I am no longer a giant, Li Yu. But I don't need to be. There is still much I can do. I can tend to a small garden. I can watch the three suns rise without worrying if it will be my last. I can do things I never had time for."

Urgoton turned his warm gaze back to Li Yu.

"Power gives you the ability to shape the world," Urgoton said softly. "But it does not give you your purpose. Purpose is found in the living. I will just take it one day at a time, sweep my patio and see how it goes. What more can a person ask for?"

Li Yu sat in silence and the old commander's words washed over him like a cool and cleansing rain.

He looked at Urgoton, a man who had lost all his power but still found meaning in simply existing. Then, Li Yu looked at himself. A person who had gained power yet felt his life was entirely meaningless because he felt insignificant and small.

The contrast was jarring and it struck a chord deep within Li Yu's soul. The heavy and suffocating fog of his depression did not vanish instantly but it was starting to be pushed back slightly.