Myriad Rivers to the Sea

Chapter 875: A Secret Master and the Three Step Slayer

Li Yu sat by the crackling fire and looked down at the ornate weapon resting across his lap. The polished gold scabbard of Gilded Calamity gleamed in the dim light of the cave. The intricate silver engravings of winding rivers and soaring clouds caught the reflection of the flames. It was a beautiful object but it still felt like nothing more than a ceremonial piece to him.He ran his fingers over the white silk wrapping on the hilt. The conflicting information bothered his mind. Li Canghai was a serious commander who carried the weight of a cosmic war on his shoulders. He had explicitly warned Li Yu that the sword was fragile and not meant for battle. Yet, Zhan was a creature born from an ancient sword intent burial ground. The insectoid beast possessed a sensitivity to weapons that bordered on supernatural.

Zhan had stopped practicing with Starfall Edge. The Heaven Severing Mantis stood a few paces away and was staring at the golden sword with a ravenous hunger. His multifaceted eyes were locked onto Gilded Calamity. His scythe-like arms twitched with nervous energy. The sharp aura radiating from his emerald carapace was erratic.

"Li Yu." Zhan said while taking a slow step forward. "Please. Let me touch the sword."

Li Yu looked up from the golden scabbard. "I told you it is fragile. It was a sentimental gift from a hero of my race. I cannot risk damaging it."

"I will not damage it." Zhan pleaded with his metallic voice trembling slightly. "I only wish to feel its intent up close. Just for a brief moment, I swear on my path of the sword that no harm will come to it. If you let me link my intent with that blade, I will serve as your mount for the rest of our journey."

Li Yu raised an eyebrow in surprise. Zhan was a Law Seed beast who possessed a strong pride. For a martial fanatic of his caliber to offer himself as a beast of burden was an incredible concession. It showed just how desperate the mantis was to uncover the truth hidden inside the golden metal.

"You do not need to be my mount." Li Yu said while shaking his head. "We already have a mutual contract. But since you are so insistent, you may examine it. Just no techniques with it, I don’t want to risk anything."

Li Yu tossed Gilded Calamity through the air. He did not throw it hard but let it drift gently toward the mantis.

"Be careful." Li Yu warned him again.

Zhan closed his eyes and unleashed a concentrated pulse of his own sword intent. He used his advanced sword control to catch the weapon in mid air. The golden sword stopped its descent and hovered gracefully in front of the mantis.

Zhan reached out with his mind and attempted to form a spiritual link with the dormant weapon. He pushed his sensitivity to its limit and sought the vast ocean of intent he had sensed earlier. The moment his mental probe touched the inner core of the sword, a terrifying backlash erupted.

Zhan was violently pulled into a mental landscape. The quiet stone cave vanished from his senses and he found himself standing in a realm of dark skies and rivers of fresh blood. The air was thick with a suffocating and metallic scent. Thousands of broken blades jutted from the crimson earth.

A massive and oppressive presence materialized from the dark clouds above. It was not a gentle or noble spirit. It was a consciousness forged in endless slaughter. It radiated a cold, brash and ruthless energy that made Zhan’s Law Seed foundation tremble in genuine terror.

"Shut your damn mouth, insect." A voice boomed inside Zhan's mind.

Zhan fell to his knees in the mental blood soaked world. He had grown up in a burial ground filled with lingering intent but he had never encountered a living, sentient sword spirit before. The weight of the spirit's killing intent dwarfed anything he had ever felt. He was simultaneously terrified out of his mind and ecstatic beyond measure.

"A true sword spirit..." Zhan whispered in awe.

"I told you to shut up." Gilded Calamity snarled back. The dark clouds swirled violently. "You will not say another word about my true nature to the boy. If you utter one more syllable about the ocean of intent you smelled, I will sever your head from your neck. I will cut your soul into a thousand pieces and feed them to the void. How is someone so weak like yourself even able to detect it."

Zhan pressed his head against the mental dirt. The spirit was incredibly aggressive and direct. It did not care about Zhan's talent or his unique evolution. To this ancient weapon, the mantis was just a noisy bug that had accidentally stumbled upon a massive secret.

"I understand senior!" Zhan replied quickly. "I will not speak of it again! I will change what I said."

"The boy thinks I am a decorative trinket." Gilded Calamity continued with its cold voice echoing through the bloody landscape. "He believes I am fragile. That is exactly how it must remain for now. He is not ready to wield my edge and I am heavily sealed anyway. You will tell him you made a mistake. You will convince him the sword is garbage."

Zhan hesitated for only a fraction of a second. To lie about the quality of a sword felt wrong to his straightforward nature. But the threat of decapitation from a supreme weapon spirit was a very convincing argument.

"I will do as you command, Master." Zhan agreed without any further resistance. He recognized the vast disparity in their power and offered his immediate submission.

The violent swirling of the dark clouds slowed down. The oppressive pressure eased just a fraction. Gilded Calamity seemed to pause and the spirit was a brutal entity but it appreciated pragmatism.

"Master." Gilded Calamity mused. The grinding voice sounded slightly pleased. "You have a good attitude for a bug. You recognize authority quickly. I like that. I do not do things for free. Since you agreed so readily and offered the proper respect, I will give you a reward for your silence."

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A massive surge of information flooded into Zhan's mind. It was a dense packet of martial knowledge that seared itself directly into his memory.

"This is a sword art." Gilded Calamity explained. "Learn it. Use it. But keep your mouth shut about where you got it. Now wake up before the boy gets suspicious."

The mental landscape of blood and broken blades shattered. Zhan gasped and opened his physical eyes. He was back in the quiet stone cave. Gilded Calamity was still hovering in the air in front of him. Only a few seconds had passed in the real world. Li Yu was sitting on his stone and watching the mantis with a curious expression.

Zhan needed to sell the deception that he was now tasked with. He focused his mind and pretended to move the sword around. He directed the scabbard in a few slow and awkward circles. He intentionally made his sword control look sluggish, as if the weapon was rejecting his intent.

After a minute of fake testing, Zhan let the sword drop slightly. He guided it back through the air until it rested gently in Li Yu's waiting hand. Zhan shook his triangular head and let out a long sigh.

"I was mistaken." Zhan said while looking at the floor. "I apologize, Li Yu. The sword is indeed weak. The metal is forged well but the internal structure is fragile. The aura I sensed must have been a lingering reflection from the powerful warrior who carried it before you. There is no intent inside it. If you strike a hard target with that blade, it will likely shatter."

Li Yu showed an expression of disappointment. A part of him was hoping that Li Canghai was testing him and that he wanted to have some agenda with him. He placed Gilded Calamity back within his soul space.

"Do not worry about it." Li Yu said without much further thought but was clearly still disappointed. "You know swords far better than I do. If you say it is just a fragile reflection, then I trust your judgment. I am glad we cleared that up."

Zhan nodded and stepped back. He felt a bead of sweat roll down his emerald carapace. Lying to Li Yu was difficult for him but the prize he had received in exchange was beyond his wildest dreams.

He retreated to a quiet corner of the cave and sat down. He closed his eyes and began to process the martial knowledge Gilded Calamity had forced into his mind.

The technique was called the Three Step Slayer. It was a profound and brutal sword art divided into three distinct levels of execution. It matched Zhan's straightforward nature, prioritizing raw offensive power and lethal efficiency over defensive maneuvers.

The First Step was titled One Step to Kill Your Enemy. It focused on single target elimination. The user concentrated all of their sword intent into a highly compressed point. It required a sudden burst of extreme speed to deliver a deadly and precise strike that ignored standard armor and Qi defenses.

The Second Step was titled Two Steps to Kill the Armies. It was designed for wide area devastation. The user expanded their intent outward and used sweeping strikes that generated massive blades of energy. It was meant to clear a battlefield and slaughter multiple opponents in a continuous flow of destruction.

The Third Step was titled Three Steps to Kill God. This was the ultimate move of the technique. It focused on maximum damage without a single care for the user's own survival. It was a suicidal attack that burned the user's foundation and life force to fuel a strike of unadulterated offense. It was a desperate gamble meant to slay an opponent far beyond the user's own realm and not to be used lightly.

Zhan was ecstatic. The complexity and the lethal focus of the technique were staggering. It was the most powerful sword art he had ever encountered. In his mind, he praised Gilded Calamity to the high heavens for acting as his true master. He also praised Li Yu for bringing the sword into his life and providing this heaven defying opportunity.

Zhan could not sit still for long with the technique in his mind. The urge to test his new knowledge was overwhelming. He stood up and drew Starfall Edge once more. He moved toward the far wall of the spacious cave and he closed his eyes and visualized the flow of Qi required for the First Step. He needed to compress his intent and channel it entirely into forward momentum.

"First Step." Zhan whispered.

The mantis vanished as he moved faster than he had during his duel with Li Yu. A sharp cracking sound echoed through the cavern as Zhan reappeared several yards away. Starfall Edge thrust forward in a blur of silver light and the tip of the sword pierced the solid stone wall. The highly compressed sword intent erupted from the tip and blasted a massive and deep crater into the rock.

Dust and debris rained down on the cave floor. The destructive power of the single target strike was incredible. Li Yu watched the display with wide eyes. He had seen Zhan's skill earlier but this new technique was on an entirely different level. It was refined, brutal and insanely fast.

"That is a powerful technique." Li Yu commented while brushing a layer of stone dust off his robes. "The focus and speed are excellent. I am glad you didn’t use that on me either. You must have been holding back on your techniques."

"Thank you." Zhan said while sheathing Starfall Edge. The mantis felt a surge of pride, even though the technique was a gift. Li Yu looked at the insectoid beast and he was genuinely impressed.

'He really is a martial genius.' Li Yu thought to himself. 'His title of Heaven Severing Mantis is well deserved. Having him on my side was a very smart decision.'

With the excitement of the training session settling down, Li Yu turned his attention to practical matters. He walked over to a flat section of the cave floor where Zhan had earlier used his scythe-like arms to scratch a rough map.

The map was simple but highly informative. It showed the vast expanse of the lawless zone they were currently occupying. It detailed the thick bamboo forest, the sprawling wetlands he had crossed and the dry savannas further south.

More importantly, it showed the invisible borders that Zhan could sense.

There were several large territories surrounding the lawless zone. Each was ruled by a different faction or an ancient beast. Zhan had marked the areas he knew to be highly aggressive with deep scratches.

"We need to decide our next steps." Li Yu said while studying the crude lines in the stone. "I cannot stay in this lawless area forever. I need to find information about this realm and perhaps a way out of it."

Zhan walked over and pointed an arm at a specific section of the map. It was a territory located to the east of their current position.

"The closest ruler is located here." Zhan explained. "It is a vast forest domain. The ruler commands a large amount of land."

"Who is the ruler?" Li Yu asked.

"His name is Elder Mu, or at least that’s what everyone calls him." Zhan replied. "He is not a flesh and blood beast like the others. He is an ancient tree who gained sentience long ago."

Li Yu nodded slowly. He committed the layout of the map to his memory. Seeking out a regional ruler was a risk but it was a logical way to gather high level information. A sword fanatic like Zhan only knew about combat and local geography. An ancient tree ruler would likely know the history and the grand politics of the Ferine Realm.

They would head east in the morning and Li Yu felt a sense of anticipation building.