Myriad Rivers to the Sea

Chapter 885: A Change of Plans and a Brutal Lesson

The dense foliage of the ancient woodland blurred past them as Zhan carried Li Yu through the dark forest. The Heaven Severing Mantis moved with terrifying speed as his insectoid legs navigated the thick roots and uneven terrain with practiced ease. He did not ask for a break and he did not slow down at all. He was focused entirely on putting as much distance between them and the rebellious ent army as possible.On his back, Li Yu rested his head against the hard emerald carapace. He was exhausted, the spatial jump had drained his Qi dry. However, his physical body was a different story. The staggering amount of Life Qi and Wood Qi he had absorbed from the failed possession was still working its way through his newly ascended flesh.

With every passing mile, Li Yu could feel himself getting better. His body was thrummed with a heavy and unyielding vitality. The pain in his skull from the Void Step was already fading and was replaced by the deep and simmering rage he had since the encounter.

Li Yu watched the massive pine trees pass by and his anger began to boil over.

He was furious at Elder Mu for the deception. He was furious at Thornwood for the sudden betrayal. But most of all, he was furious at himself. Now he had been forced to flee like a beaten dog, using his most desperate escape technique just to survive a situation he never should have been in.

'I really do not like this realm.' Li Yu thought to himself as his hands curled into tight fists. 'I have been hunted, lied to and nearly hijacked. I am not going to just slink away to the southeast and look for fish while I have this much anger.'

He needed an outlet for his rage and he needed to strike back at the harsh logic of the Ferine Realm. Li Yu felt he needed to claim something of value to compensate for what he had just endured.

"Zhan." Li Yu spoke up. "Stop running."

The mantis immediately dug his scythe-like arms into the dirt, braking his momentum and coming to a smooth halt in a small clearing. Zhan lowered his posture and allowed Li Yu to slide off his back onto the forest floor.

Li Yu stood up straight and his legs were already steady. The ambient Qi in the air had been rushing into his body, slowly replenishing his empty foundation. He rolled his shoulders and was feeling the immense physical strength coiled within his body. He was recovering faster than he ever had before.

"Are we resting?" Zhan asked him directly and didn’t quite understand why he was told to stop.

"No." Li Yu replied as his dark eyes narrowed while he looked back the way they had come. "We are changing our destination. We are not heading southeast to the aquatic lands right now. We are heading to the territory of the Mountain Ape."

Zhan tilted his head and was processing the sudden shift in strategy. "You want to go to Gorr's domain? Why?"

"Because Gorr is a Tribulation realm expert who just lost a massive war against Elder Mu." Li Yu explained in a tone that was cold and calculating. "He was gravely wounded. His army was decimated by the ents. He dragged himself back to his mountain to heal. He is weak, vulnerable and sitting on treasures he has accumulated over centuries."

Li Yu summoned a small pulse of Void Qi to his fingertips and was testing his recovering reserves.

"Elder Mu tried to take my life." Li Yu continued. "He is already dead but I will take his rival's core and materials as compensation as well. We will use this chance to kill the beast before he recovers."

Zhan’s multifaceted eyes seemed to brighten at the prospect. The mantis clacked his mandibles together in a rhythm of approval.

"That is a very good idea." Zhan agreed smoothly. "A wounded ruler is a rare prize in the Ferine Realm. The territory will be chaotic and his defenses will be broken. We can at least check it out and see if the kill is possible. If we succeed, a Tribulation core is a resource of great value."

"Then we move." Li Yu said while taking the lead this time. "We just have to hope that the news of his defeat has not spread too far while we were with the trees. If other rulers know he is weak, they might already be moving in to claim his mountain."

They adjusted their course, pivoting away from the southeast and heading toward the rocky highlands that marked the border of the mountain ape's domain.

They traveled for two days in haste. The dense trees and thick humidity of Elder Mu's forest slowly gave way to an arid and elevated landscape. The ground became hard and rocky, dotted with sparse yellow grass and twisted as well as thorny bushes. The ambient Qi shifted from a heavy wood attribute to a sharp and rugged earth energy.

Li Yu used the layout of the map Thornwood had provided during their brief and false alliance. As they crossed the official border into Gorr's territory, the signs of a recently defeated army were everywhere. They found broken armor, shattered weapons and the massive footprints of retreating beasts scattered across the dry earth.

They did not travel long before they encountered some of the remnants of Gorr's forces that were left here.

A group of five mountain apes, standing ten feet tall with thick brown fur and arms as thick as tree trunks, blocked a narrow pass between two rocky hills. They were covered in dried blood and bandages made from dirty leaves. They were exhausted, angry and desperate to defend their retreating borders from scavengers.

They roared and charged the moment they saw the human and the mantis. Zhan took the initiative for these forces. The Heaven Severing Mantis was a blur of emerald speed. He drew Starfall Edge with his sword control, letting the blade float beside him while he utilized his natural scythe arms for the primary assault.

The leftover monkeys were no threat to a martial genius at the Law Seed realm. He was vastly stronger than them and more skilled. Zhan wove through their clumsy, earth infused punches with flawless grace. He executed sweeping horizontal cuts that bypassed their thick fur and severed their tendons. He used the First Step of the Three Step Slayer technique twice, the highly compressed sword intent punching lethal holes through the chests of the largest apes.

Within a minute, the five mountain apes were dead on the rocky ground. Zhan quickly harvested their cores and stored their bodies away to eat later.

"Sloppy fighters." Zhan noted while cleaning his scythe against a rock. "Their morale is already broken. The ruler's defeat has infected his subordinates."

"Good." Li Yu said coldly. "Keep moving."

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They pushed deeper into the territory. By the afternoon of their second day in the rocky highlands, they arrived at the base of a massive and jagged peak. This was Gorr's main headquarters according to the map. The mountain was honeycombed with massive dark caves and crude stone fortifications. It loomed over the landscape like a broken fortress.

As they approached the wide stone ramp leading up to the primary cave entrance, Li Yu stopped. Sitting on a large boulder near the base of the ramp was a very familiar figure.

It was the Brutal Iron Bear. He wore his heavy iron plates and dark metallic fur like a suit of armor. His massive spiked club was resting against the boulder beside him. Tied to a smaller rock a few yards away was the Weaver Fox. She was still bound in the heavy iron chains. Her silver and violet fur was caked in even more dirt and dried blood and she looked so weak she could barely keep her head up.

The bear beast was chewing on a tough root and his small eyes were scanning the base of the mountain. He turned his head as they approached and when he saw Li Yu and Zhan standing on the path, he recognized them immediately. He remembered they had backed down from the camp a few nights ago.

The bear stood up, grabbed his spiked club and hoisted it onto his shoulder. He puffed his broad chest out, projecting his Law Seed aura to intimidate the newcomers.

"Get lost." The bear growled in his grating voice. "This mountain is claimed. Gorr is my prey today. I was just about to head up so I could take his head. Find your own scraps."

Li Yu felt the rage that had been boiling inside him for days finally breach the surface with the appearance of this beast once again. He had tolerated the bear's brutal logic once because he was trying to learn the rules of this realm. He had suppressed his own nature to fit in. He was not going to do it now.

Li Yu stepped forward and his dark eyes locked onto the bear.

"Scram." Li Yu yelled out, his voice echoing off the rocky walls with a terrifying resonance. "Take your chains and run before you get yourself into trouble. Do not mistake my previous kindness for weakness!"

The bear beast blinked, clearly surprised by the sudden hostility from the person who had been so passive before. He tightened his grip on his club and opened his mouth to issue a violent threat.

"You think you can speak to me like—"

Before the bear could even finish his sentence, Li Yu already attacked.

He was too angry for any kind of nonsense today. He had no patience for posturing or territorial disputes. He wanted to hit something and the bear was standing in his way.

Li Yu lunged forward, moving with a newfound speed that his upgraded body provided him. He summoned Star Crusher. The staff materialized in his hands as he closed the distance in a single bound.

The bear beast reacted on sheer instinct at the incoming attack. He swung his massive spiked iron club in a wide and horizontal arc, aiming to smash the human into a bloody paste. Li Yu did not dodge the attack. He raised Star Crusher and met the iron club head on.

The impact was deafening. A shockwave of kinetic energy exploded outward, shattering the boulder the bear had been standing on and kicking up a massive cloud of dust.

The bear was physically tough, boasting a foundation that rivaled Zhan in raw durability. But Li Yu was a full realm above him in Qi cultivation and more importantly, Li Yu now possessed the physical strength of a Paragon.

It was no longer a contest and it was never even one to begin with even back then.

The spiked iron club groaned and bent backward under the overwhelming force of Star Crusher. The bear's eyes went wide with shock as the physical feedback traveled down his arms. The heavy iron plates growing along his forearms cracked loudly.

Li Yu pressed the advantage without any delays. He ripped Star Crusher back and delivered a brutal, sweeping strike to the bear's ribs.

The sound of shattering bone echoed across the mountain base. The beast let out a breathless roar of agony as he was lifted off his feet and sent flying through the air. He crashed hard into the dirt, bouncing twice before coming to a halt.

Li Yu did not stop his assault. He leaped into the air and brought the heavy staff down in a vertical smash. The bear rolled desperately to the side and Star Crusher slammed into the ground, creating a deep crater in the rocky earth.

The bear tried to scramble to his feet and was swinging his bent club in a panic. Li Yu stepped inside the wild swing, grabbed the bear by the thick metallic fur on his chest and slammed him back down into the dirt with enough force to shake the ground.

Li Yu raised Star Crusher high above his head and was aiming directly for the beast's skull. His eyes were cold and merciless, he was looking to kill. He was fully prepared to execute the hunter and vent his rage.

"Wait." Zhan said while quickly stepping forward.

Li Yu paused, the staff hovering inches above the bear's terrified face. He looked back at his companion in surprise.

"He is physically tough." Zhan noted, evaluating the bleeding bear. "He survived a direct strike from your new strength without exploding. He could be a very useful fighter for the front lines. A vanguard to take the heavy blows."

Li Yu looked down at the bear. The beast was coughing up blood, his iron plated arms were trembling in fear and confusion. He was a brute but Zhan was right. A Law Seed beast with strong natural defenses was a valuable asset in a hostile realm. Zhan walked over and looked down at the bear.

"Submit your soul to him." Zhan commanded simply. "Or die here in the dirt."

The hybrid bear glared up at the mantis. Despite his broken ribs and crushing defeat, the primal pride of a high tier predator flared up. He spat a wad of bloody saliva onto Li Yu's boot.

"I submit to no one!" The bear roared in defiance.

Li Yu did not blink or wait any longer. He did not offer a second chance or a warning. The moment he heard the refusal, his muscles tensed and he swung Star Crusher down with lethal intent. The heavy staff blurred through the air and was carrying the force of sure death straight toward the bear's face.

The bear saw the shadow of death descending. His pride shattered instantly under the absolute certainty of his demise.

"I submit!" The bear screamed in a panic. "I submit!"

Star Crusher stopped. The blunt tip of the staff hovered less than an inch from the bear's snout. The wind pressure generated by the swing blasted the metallic fur back and cracked the dirt beneath his head.

Li Yu stared down at him with dark and unforgiving eyes. He reached inward and pulled a thick thread of his soul power. He did not offer a mutual contract of respect like he had with Zhan. This was a forced subjugation.

He drove the soul thread directly into the bear's mind, bypassing the beast's weakened defenses and planting a strict and unbreakable slave seal deep within his consciousness. The bear groaned in pain as the brand burned into his soul, binding his life and loyalty entirely to the human standing over him.

Li Yu pulled Star Crusher back and rested it on his shoulder.

"What is your name?" Li Yu demanded coldly.

The beast pushed himself up into a sitting position while clutching his shattered ribs. He looked at the human with a mixture of awe and terror.

"Ouros." The bear answered, his rough voice subdued.

"Ouros." Li Yu repeated the name. He did not ask about his background, his tribe or his history as a hunter. He did not care right now. They had a wounded Tribulation expert to find and a mountain to raid.

Li Yu turned his back on the new slave and looked up the wide stone ramp leading into Gorr's dark cave. He ignored the Weaver Fox still bound in chains nearby.

"Guard the base of this ramp." Li Yu ordered Ouros without looking back. "Do not let anyone else enter. Heal your wounds. If you let scavengers slip past you, I will crush your skull myself."

"Yes, Master." Ouros replied quickly while bowing his heavy head.

“Just Li Yu will do.” Li Yu answered back.

Li Yu signaled to Zhan and the two of them began walking up the ramp toward the dark entrance of the mountain ape's headquarters.

Ouros sat in the dirt, applying crude Qi pressure to his broken ribs. He watched the human walk away. His mind was racing with confusion and fear. He remembered the calm, passive traveler from just a few nights ago. He wondered what terrible thing had happened between the times they had met to turn this person into such a fierce and ruthless monster.