Myriad Rivers to the Sea

The evening wind swept across the Eye of the Storm. The grand tournament was officially over and thousands of spectators were already boarding their flying ships to leave the stadium. Daiki and Li Yu walked back toward the central gathering area. They needed to meet up with Elder Harrow and Elder Tsuna before departing.

The remaining Galeheart Academy students were waiting near the docks already. Zephyra was there. She looked tired but completely unharmed. The other candidates from the Domain King bracket who had failed early were talking quietly among themselves. They all stopped talking and looked at Daiki with newfound respect as he approached. He had won the Domain King bracket. He was now the undisputed champion of their group.

Elder Tsuna stood at the forefront of the Galeheart delegation. He nodded at Daiki as the giant demon approached. Tsuna knew exactly what had happened in the hidden chamber beneath the arena because he was told as a gesture of goodwill between the realms. He knew Daiki was no longer just a talented last minute added student. Daiki was the official disciple of a Sovereign.

There were other students chosen as well in the other brackets and Tsuna would of course remember them all. Having the students with such masters only helped to boost the prestige of the academy. The academy would in turn make sure they were treated with extra care.

Before Tsuna could speak to congratulate him, the sky above the stadium warped violently.

A massive black rift cracked open in the center of the firmament. The spatial tear was jagged and highly unstable. Violent purple lightning arced across the clouds and struck the floating peaks. The wind stopped dead. A pressure descended upon the stadium.

A booming voice roared from the dark void. It was filled with arrogance and manic laughter.

"Bow before your new ruler!" The voice echoed like thunder across the stadium. "I have arrived to claim this world. Submit your resources and your lives to me immediately."

The crowds paused in their tracks. The Origin Awakening elders looked up in surprise. They braced themselves for a massive realm invasion. They expected a terrifying cosmic entity.

A figure stepped out of the black rift. He floated high above the stadium with his chin raised in absolute superiority. He looked down at the thousands of cultivators with a wicked grin.

Li Yu stopped walking and stared up at the sky. He blinked twice. He knew who that was. It was Xerxis.

It seemed Xerxis had been very busy. He had apparently traveled to several smaller and significantly weaker realms recently in his normal quest for conquering realms. He had successfully intimidated and conquered those lesser worlds easily.

Those easy victories had completely inflated his ego. He thought he was an unstoppable conqueror now. He had torn a rift into the Astral Gale Realm expecting another group of weaklings to easily enslave.

He did not realize he had just stepped into a higher tier world filled with Origin Awakening experts. The silence in the stadium lasted for three long seconds. The elders stared at the floating Hive Emperor. They analyzed his aura with their spiritual senses. It was incredibly weak compared to theirs. He was only at Domain King.

"Who is this clown?" The headmaster of Primal Fang Academy grunted. He did not even bother to stand up from his ornate chair.

A senior elder from Solar Flare Academy simply raised his right hand. He just swiped his hand through the air as if swatting an annoying fly.

A massive ethereal palm made of condensed Qi materialized in the sky. It was the size of a small mountain. It flew toward Xerxis with terrifying speed. The heat radiating from the palm was intense.

Xerxis stopped laughing immediately. He looked at the incoming attack in terror. His arrogant smile vanished and was replaced by panic. He finally sensed the ambient power of the thousands of cultivators standing below him. He realized he had made a catastrophic mistake.

Li Yu watched from the ground and was shaking his head slowly.

"He is still up to no good." Li Yu whispered to himself. "And he is still an idiot."

"Retreat!" Xerxis screamed in a high pitched voice.

He turned around and dove frantically back into the black rift. He channeled all of his strength to close the spatial tear as fast as possible. The rift began to seal shut but he was not fast enough.

The massive ethereal palm clipped the edge of the closing rift. The residual shockwave blasted through the void. A sickening crunch echoed from inside the tear right before it closed completely. A heavy spray of blood shot out of the vanishing crack and rained down on the empty sky. Xerxis was greatly injured by the residue of a casual strike from a local elder.

The black rift vanished entirely. The sky returned to a peaceful orange and purple sunset. The spectators in the stadium looked at each other in utter confusion. They did not understand what had just happened.

"What a stupid man." A Lunar Crest student muttered nearby. "Did he really think he could take over an entire realm alone? With that level of power?"

The crowd quickly lost interest. They assumed it was just a foolish rogue cultivator seeking an early death. They returned to boarding their ships and were discussing the tournament results. The brief interruption was already forgotten by everyone except Li Yu.

Elder Tsuna turned back to Daiki. The elder completely ignored the incident in the sky.

"It is time to return to the academy." Tsuna instructed smoothly. "We have much to discuss in private."

The Galeheart group boarded the Sky Skimmer. The wind sails caught the currents and they flew away from the Eye of the Storm. The journey back was relatively quiet. Daiki sat near the bow of the ship as he watched the vibrant green forests pass by below.

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They arrived at Galeheart Academy and night had fully fallen over the floating islands. The campus was illuminated by soft glowing lanterns and floating spiritual lights.

Tsuna did not dismiss Daiki to the guest quarters and the others chosen by masters. He led the group directly to the central administrative pavilion. They entered a large and ornate meeting hall. The students were asked to wait as each entered the room one by one.

Several senior elders were already waiting inside. After a while it was Daiki’s turn and he insisted that Li Yu come in as well. Elder Harrow was standing near the back of the room. He looked incredibly nervous. He kept glancing at Li Yu and wiping sweat from his forehead. Harrow was still nervous of the young man carrying the sword. He wanted to be anywhere else.

Elder Tsuna took a seat at the head of a long wooden table. He gestured for Daiki to sit opposite him. Li Yu stood quietly near the heavy wooden door.

"Daiki." Tsuna began with a warm and genuine smile. "You have brought great honor to Galeheart Academy today. You won the Domain King bracket. You proved your strength and your character to the entire realm."

"I am grateful for the opportunity." Daiki replied respectfully. "The academy provided me with the chance to fight and I took it."

"We are fully aware of the private meeting you had after the tournament." Tsuna continued. His tone became even more respectful and accommodating. "The emissaries informed us of your selection. We know you are now the disciple of Master Uthara from the Valeran Realm."

Daiki nodded slowly. He did not need to hide it from the leaders of the academy. It would be easier and better if they knew anyways.

"This is a monumental achievement." Another elder chimed in from the side of the table. "A Sovereign master is a great backing. You are no longer just a guest here at Galeheart. You are a highly valued ally of our academy."

Tsuna turned his attention to Harrow.

"Elder Harrow." Tsuna commanded with strict authority. "You are officially assigned as our permanent liaison to Daiki. You will ensure his needs are always met. You will build a strong and lasting relationship with him and by extension his new master."

Harrow stepped forward and bowed deeply. He was shaking slightly.

"I understand completely." Harrow said quickly. He tried very hard not to look at Li Yu standing near the door. "I will do my absolute best to serve and maintain good relations."

Daiki found the sudden change in treatment slightly amusing. He was a runaway heir just a few days ago. Now the highest authorities in this realm were treating him like royalty. He understood the harsh reality of the cultivation world perfectly well. Power dictated everything. Uthara was absolute power and he was now her representative here.

"We want to offer you a token of our goodwill." Tsuna said gently. He reached into his robes and produced a small jade box. The box was sealed with several complex arrays to preserve the contents.

Tsuna slid the box across the smooth wooden table. It stopped directly in front of Daiki.

"We reviewed the list of medicines you requested through Harrow before the tournament began." Tsuna explained softly. "We know exactly why you are fighting. We know you seek to heal someone very important to you. We procured this specific item from our vault while you were competing."

Which was of course a complete lie. Elder Tsuna sent word ahead of time and they frantically searched for one of the medicines within their vaults. Luckily they had something on the list.

Daiki carefully reached out and touched the jade box. He released the sealing arrays with a pulse of his Qi. The lid popped open with a soft click.

Inside rested a glowing, golden root. It pulsed with a dense and warm life force. It was the Sunfire Spirit Root. It was a medicine renowned for stabilizing fractured souls and reinforcing the physical vessel to improve soul restoration.

Daiki stared at the golden root. His massive hands began to tremble slightly.

This was the third medicine. The odds of saving Sora were no longer just a desperate hope. They were nearly an absolute certainty. The combination of these three items should be able to fully heal her.

Daiki closed the box carefully and looked up at the elders. A sense of gratitude washed over his soul.

"I do not know what to say." Daiki spoke with a thick and emotional voice. "This is the most important thing to me. You have my deepest thanks. I will never forget this kindness."

Elder Tsuna smiled broadly. The other elders nodded in deep satisfaction. They had successfully secured the goodwill of a future Sovereign disciple. The investment of a single rare medicine was well worth the future connection to the Valeran Realm. They had purchased his favor cheaply in their eyes.

"It is our absolute pleasure." Tsuna replied warmly. "We wish you the best of luck in the future. Know that this place can always be a home for you, even if you have not spent much time here. You have honored us with your results."

The meeting concluded a short while later. Daiki carefully stored the jade box in his spatial ring. He walked out of the administrative pavilion with Li Yu.

Master Harrow followed closely behind them. He was tasked with escorting them back to their home realm.

"We should depart immediately." Harrow suggested with a tight voice. He kept a very polite and safe distance from Li Yu as they walked. "I know you are anxious to return and administer the medicines as soon as possible."

"Yes." Daiki agreed readily. "Please lead the way."

They walked through the quiet campus under the starlight. The wind was gentle and calming. Daiki looked at the tall white spires of the academy one last time. He had arrived here desperate and burdened with fear. He was leaving as a champion and a Sovereign disciple. His entire life had changed completely in a matter of days.

They reached the secluded courtyard where the teleportation array was located. It was the exact same array they had used to arrive.

Harrow walked to the edge of the formation. He produced several handfuls of the rare spirit stones required for cross realm travel. He slotted them into the specific nodes around the perimeter. The runes flared to life with a blinding silver light. The array hummed with immense dormant energy.

"The connection to the Kurogane Realm is stable." Harrow announced loudly over the hum. He stepped back and gestured for them to enter. "Please step into the center of the formation."

Daiki and Li Yu walked onto the marble platform. The silver light bathed them in a bright and sterile glow.

Harrow hesitated for a moment. He looked at Li Yu. Harrow was ordered to build a relationship with Daiki but he wanted absolutely nothing to do with Li Yu. He was too worried that he might do something wrong.

"I will accompany you to ensure the transition is smooth." Harrow said formally. He stepped onto the edge of the array. He made sure to stand as far away from Li Yu as the formation physically allowed.

Li Yu noticed his strange behavior but did not understand why. He did not say anything though. Harrow activated the core node. The silver light consumed them instantly.

The violent folding of reality took hold and Daiki felt the massive pressure squeeze his physical vessel as space warped around them. The transition was instantaneous but jarring. The crisp air and the scent of pine needles vanished completely.

The silver light shattered and a wave of oppressive heat washed over them immediately. The air tasted of sulfur and heavy iron once again.

Daiki opened his eyes. They were standing in the dark subterranean cavern beneath the Blood Iron Clan palace. The heavy reinforced steel doors stood closed before them. The volcanic rock walls radiated intense warmth. They were back in the Kurogane Realm.

Daiki looked at his massive crimson hands. He took a deep breath of the harsh and familiar air. He was finally home. He had the medicines and he had a clear purpose. He was ready to truly face his father this time.