Myriad Rivers to the Sea

The artificial twilight of The Veil brightened into a pale and silvery morning. Li Yu stepped out of his luxurious pavilion and breathed in the cool air. The scent of spiritual cherry blossoms was heavy and sweet. He walked through the quiet streets of Kyokai City as the other ancient candidates were just beginning to stir. He crossed a vermillion bridge and entered the sprawling complex of the Trial Grounds.

His dark purple soul-jade badge pulsed faintly against his chest. It guided him past the silent stone guardians and the dormant pagodas. He arrived at a towering structure located near the center of the eastern quadrant.

It was the Pagoda of the First Echo.

Unlike the other buildings that were adorned with bladed mirrors or oppressive gravitational arrays, this pagoda was incredibly plain. It was constructed of smooth white marble and possessed a single set of heavy wooden doors. There were no candidates lined up outside. The plaza was completely empty.

Li Yu walked up the stone steps. The heavy wooden doors opened silently on their own as he approached. He stepped over the threshold and the doors closed behind him with a soft thud.

He did not find himself in a grand foyer or a martial arts arena. The interior of the pagoda was an illusion. The physical walls vanished entirely upon entry. Li Yu was suddenly standing in the middle of a vast and endless expanse of dark space. Swirling clouds of pale ethereal mist drifted around his boots like a low-hanging fog. The space was utterly silent and perfectly still.

"Welcome, young one."

The voice did not come from a specific direction. It resonated directly within his mind. It sounded ancient and layered. It carried the metallic chime of struck bronze and the soft rustle of aged parchment.

The mist in front of Li Yu parted and a massive object floated down from the darkness above.

It was a giant, spinning disk. It was forged from a material that looked like a cross between dark celestial iron and polished glass. Countless intricate runes and astrometric dials rotated continuously across its surface. The rings spun independently of one another while emitting a soft and pulsating golden light.

Li Yu stood his ground and analyzed the towering entity. This was the guiding compass Old Du had spoken of. This was the first of the three sacred treasures.

"You may address me as Astramentis." The spinning disk intoned. The golden light flared with each syllable. "I am the eye of this broken realm. I am the artifact that peered through the cosmic cracks to find you."

"I am Li Yu," Li Yu replied while offering a respectful bow. "It is an honor to meet you."

The massive rings of the astrolabe clicked and rotated. A beam of soft light washed over Li Yu. It did not carry any martial pressure or killing intent. However, it felt incredibly invasive. It was as if the light was peeling back his flesh to look directly at the core of his being.

"I cannot quite figure you out, Li Yu," Astramentis stated. The layered voice carried a note of genuine confusion. "You are so incredibly young. Your physical vessel has existed for a mere blink of the cosmic eye. Yet your soul... it is like a blazing sun. It is impossibly dense and blindingly radiant. I have peered into the depths of countless realms during my existence and I have never seen anything like it before."

Li Yu kept his expression perfectly neutral. He knew exactly why his soul signature was a blinding anomaly. It was not a single sun. It was a solar system of five Nascent Souls.

"I do not fully understand it myself," Li Yu said and offered a modest shrug. "My soul has simply always been unique and strong. I had fortunate encounters during my early cultivation."

The rings of the astrolabe spun rapidly for a moment before slowing down. Astramentis did not press the issue.

"Perhaps," Astramentis hummed. The golden light shifted into a slightly cooler shade of amber. "But a strong soul is not the only secret you carry, is it? I know Xyphyra is within you."

Li Yu stepped back instinctively. His muscles coiled tightly. The friendly and respectful facade vanished instantly. He prepared to shatter the space around him and fight his way out if necessary.

"Peace, Li Yu," Astramentis commanded quickly. The voice softened to diffuse the sudden spike of tension. "Do not summon your abilities. You are in no danger here. I only know of her presence because Old Du told me. He reported the truth of your encounter the moment he returned."

Li Yu forced his muscles to relax but he remained highly vigilant. "Old Du promised me he would keep her a secret. He begged me not to reveal her to the elders."

"And he kept his promise to you," Astramentis replied. "I am not an elder. I am the artifact. Old Du is entirely loyal to the survival of our people and he knows I only have the best interests of this race at heart. He would not dare try to trick me or hide a variable as massive as the Great Sinner from my calculations."

Li Yu let out a slow breath. He understood the ferryman's logic. Old Du had hidden Xyphyra from the vengeful elders who would execute her but he had confessed everything to the sacred artifact to ensure the trial proceeded without catastrophic surprises.

"Will you demand I release her to face justice?" Li Yu asked carefully.

The spinning disk went perfectly still. The golden light dimmed into a dark and mournful hue.

"Xyphyra is a great sinner. The greatest sinner of our people." Astramentis resonated. The layered voice carried a deep and profound sorrow. "I hate her. I hate her with a passion that transcends physical form. She killed my brother and my sister. She shattered the triad that held this realm together. But what is done is already done. Tearing her from your soul would do no good. The past is ash, Li Yu. The future is all that needs to be looked at now."

Li Yu processed the artifact's words. He was surprised by the emotional depth of the statement.

"Your brother and sister?" Li Yu asked and his brow furrowed in confusion. "You mean the second and third sacred artifacts? Are artifacts like people? Do you feel loss?"

The rings of Astramentis slowly began to rotate again. The dark light shifted back to a calm golden glow.

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"At our level of existence, we are nearly the same thing," Astramentis explained patiently. "Weapons and treasures of supreme origin do not remain dead iron and carved stone forever. Over countless epochs and through the right circumstances, we naturally form our own souls. We gain sentience. We develop personalities, attachments and grief. We are like people but we are bound by our fundamental purpose. The process takes a very long time. My siblings and I watched this realm grow from its infancy. Losing them was no different than Old Du losing his peers."

Li Yu nodded slowly. He understood the tragedy of the Great Devastation much better now. Xyphyra had not just broken a couple of powerful tools. She had murdered the sentient guardians of her own home as well as all the others.

"I brought you to this space today to offer a greeting," Astramentis continued. The massive disk floated slightly closer to Li Yu. "You are the most promising candidate we have ever received. I wish to forge a bond of good faith between you and The Veil. We cannot offer you physical riches today but we can offer you our greatest heritage. Knowledge."

"Knowledge?" Li Yu asked.

"A technique." The artifact hummed. "I will teach you a supreme method. It is called the Soul Armament Technique. It is a foundational art of our people that was nearly lost in the war. It allows a cultivator to take a physical weapon and pull it directly inside their soul space. The weapon will merge with your ethereal foundation. It will grow stronger over time as you cultivate and it will become a true natal weapon tied to your very existence."

Li Yu’s eyes widened slightly. This was an incredibly rare and powerful concept. Most cultivators carried their weapons in spatial rings. They channeled Qi through the metal during combat. But a natal weapon lived inside the soul. It shared the user's laws and bypassed physical limitations. It could be summoned instantly and strike with the combined weight of the physical and ethereal planes.

Li Yu accepted the offer immediately. He understood the political maneuver. Astramentis was giving him a gift to begin forming those karmic bonds Old Du had spoken of. The artifact was investing in him.

"I accept your gift with gratitude," Li Yu said and offered a deep bow.

"Prepare your mind," Astramentis instructed.

A single beam of golden light shot from the center of the spinning disk. It struck Li Yu directly in the forehead. He did not flinch. The massive influx of information flooded his consciousness. Because it was passed directly via soul transmission, there was no need to read ancient scrolls or practice rote memorization. He comprehended the intricacies of the Soul Armament Technique instantly.

"Try it," Astramentis encouraged while floating back slightly.

Li Yu closed his eyes. He reached into his inner world and accessed his spatial ring. He materialized his primary weapon in his right hand.

It was Star Crusher.

The heavy staff gleamed in the dim light of the pagoda. Its dense, star light appearance radiated a subtle and crushing physical pressure. Li Yu gripped the center of the staff. He activated the newly acquired technique.

He imagined the staff dissolving, not into nothingness, but into a higher state of being. Star Crusher began to glow with a bright blue light. The physical staff slowly turned translucent. With a sharp and pulling sensation, the staff vanished from his physical hand.

Li Yu looked inward. Inside, his Human Soul was fishing with the Fisherman Soul. As the technique completed Star Crusher materialized directly across the lap of the Human Soul. The ethereal projection of the staff hummed with power. It was successfully bound.

Li Yu opened his eyes and smiled. The technique was powerful and intricate. It was incredibly efficient as he now had access to his weapon no matter what. The weapon would also grow alongside him until he either replaced it in the future if he ever did or found something more suitable.

But as he marveled at the success of the technique, a sudden thought struck him. The Soul Armament Technique tied one weapon to one soul. For a normal cultivator, the process ended there. They only possessed a single soul to act as the anchor. If they tried to bind a second weapon, the conflicting martial intents would shatter their foundation.

But Li Yu was not a normal cultivator when it came to the soul. He was an anomaly.

'I have five Nascent Souls,' Li Yu thought as his heart rate picked up slightly. 'If each soul acts as an independent anchor within my inner world... couldn't I pick five different natal weapons?'

It was a terrifying thought of his unique foundation. He did not ask Astramentis for permission. He simply acted. Li Yu reached back into his spatial reserves. He materialized the ornate and rectangular wooden box. He opened it and drew the beautiful sword from its golden silk.

It was Gilded Calamity.

Li Yu still believed it was a fragile ceremonial piece given to him by Li Canghai. He only knew it brought him a sense of peace when he swung it during his morning routines. It was an elegant and regal blade.

He initiated the Soul Armament Technique for a second time.

He wrapped his Qi around the ornate sword. The sword naturally directed itself towards the vibrant and majestic entity swimming in the sky. The physical sword vanished from his hand.

Inside his soul space, the Crimson and Gold Koi let out a resonant hum. Gilded Calamity materialized inside the Koi Soul. The sword shrank and merged with the Koi's radiant aura. It hovered inside the majestic beast like a loyal companion. The Koi Soul accepted the blade perfectly.

Li Yu felt no backlash. The independent anchors held. His idea had worked.

Excited by the success, Li Yu thought of the heavy war hammer that Zhan Tielan had gifted him. It was a weapon of physical devastation that he still couldn’t physically lift. He didn’t need to be able to lift it to perform the technique.

He channeled the technique a third time. The hammer naturally wanted to go towards Muddy. The Water Buffalo let out a deep and rumbling grunt of approval. The heavy war hammer materialized and merged seamlessly with Muddy's earthen aura. The heavy and immovable nature of the weapon perfectly complemented the beast's stability.

Li Yu stopped there.

He opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath. He had successfully bound three natal weapons. The Human Soul held the staff. The Koi Soul held the sword. The Water Buffalo held the hammer. Those were the three weapons that stood out to Li Yu and had meaning to him.

He still had the Blue Whale and the Fisherman available but he did not have any suitable weapons. He would need to find them or craft them himself at a later date. For now, three natal weapons was an unprecedented leap in his combat potential.

Astramentis spun quietly in the mist. The artifact had watched the process. It could sense the massive fluctuations of Soul Qi but because Li Yu's inner world was a closed and perfected domain, the artifact could not see the independent Nascent Souls. It simply assumed Li Yu had successfully bound a weapon to his incredibly blazing sun of a soul.

"You learn quickly," Astramentis noted approvingly. "The armament is now a part of you. Nurture it well."

"Thank you, Astramentis," Li Yu said while offering another respectful bow. "This gift is truly invaluable."

"It is only the beginning," the spinning disk hummed. "Return to your rest, candidate. Prepare your foundation. The true trials will commence soon."

The pale ethereal mist surged upward and swallowed the spinning astrolabe.

The illusion of the starry void shattered like fragile glass. Li Yu found himself standing back in the plain, white marble foyer of the pagoda. The heavy wooden doors behind him were open, revealing the bright morning light of the Trial Grounds.

Li Yu and the artifact parted ways.

He walked back out onto the silver tiled plaza. He felt a sense of satisfaction. The trip to this broken realm had already yielded a massive reward. He walked back to his pavilion with a lighter step.

As he crossed the threshold of his courtyard, the dark purple jade badge in his robes pulsed with a new light.

Li Yu pulled it out and looked at the surface. The intricate text had shifted and reformed. His schedule had been updated. The badge instructed him to report to a different pagoda on the far western edge of the complex the very next day.