Voss twisted his horned head toward the shadows of a nearby merchant building and let out a desperate guttural roar.

‘Are you just going to keep watching?!’ He demanded and was trying to salvage the ruined situation.

Sure enough, there was a dark plot at hand regardless of how the formal death match actually played out. Four figures blurred into existence and descended from the sandstone rooftops. They landed inside the arena and kicked up a cloud of pale dust. Three of the newcomers radiated the dense energy of the Domain King realm while the man leading the formation projected the heavy and undeniable pressure of a Karma Severing expert.

The townsfolk watching the spectacle immediately began shouting and calling out the blatant cheating. The guards of the Crimson Hawks drew their weapons and rushed forward to protect their ruler but knew internally there was little they could do. On the other side of the plaza, the enforcers loyal to Voss cheered loudly and raised their weapons in renewed defiance.

Amunet leaned heavily against the long shaft of her double bladed axe as the blood essence burning technique had drained her vitality and left her gasping for breath. She possessed no energy left to fight a squad of high tier mercenaries but a confident smile still touched the corners of her mouth. She knew her own hidden blade was ready to strike.

Li Yu stepped out from the anxious crowd and walked into the center of the dusty arena. He moved with a slow and measured stride that didn’t seem like he was in a rush but didn’t seem slow either. He pulled out his dark glaive and hoisted the heavy weapon up and rested the long shaft casually over his right shoulder. He tilted his chin upward and tried his best to mimic the overbearing swagger his grandfather always displayed when confronting others.

"That is enough," Li Yu declared with a calm voice that carried over the noisy plaza. "You should not get involved in such things and value your life. The formal fight is over and to the victor goes the spoils, just as they had agreed to. Leave now and we can all walk away from this."

The man in charge of the mercenary squad possessed a scarred face and carried a long silver spear. He looked at the young man standing in his way and let out a harsh and mocking laugh.

"You are incredibly naive, junior," the mercenary leader sneered while pointing his spear tip toward Li Yu. "The rules of a duel only matter to those too weak to break them. True opportunities are meant to be grabbed by anyone possessing the strength to hold them."

Li Yu frowned and adjusted his grip on the glaive. He truly didn’t want things to proceed any further. While he had agreed to help, the best outcome was if he didn’t need to take action at all and end any lives. "Opportunities can only be enjoyed by the living. Only fools die trying to grab at things they shouldn’t. Walk away and we can all continue to enjoy our lives."

The leader thought Li Yu’s words were a sign of weakness and his eyes narrowed with lethal intent. He channeled his Karma Severing Qi into his legs and charged forward like a striking serpent. Wind energy spiraled around the tip of his silver spear as he aimed a lethal thrust directly at the throat of the black robed youth.

Li Yu did not retreat or attempt to dodge the incoming strike. He stepped into the attack with lightning fast speed and swung his glaive down from his shoulder in a smooth diagonal arc. The metal knocked the silver spear aside with a deafening ring of shattered steel.

The immense physical force of the blow did not stop there though. The broad blade continued its downward trajectory and cleaved directly through the defensive Qi barrier of the mercenary leader, then his armor and continued. The sharp edge bit through flesh and bone without meeting any real resistance. Li Yu cleanly cut the man in half and casually snatched the storage ring from his falling hand in one fluid motion.

The expert stood no chance at all against Li Yu and the brief exchange highlighted the vast canyon between a wandering mercenary and Li Yu with his many advantages. The three Domain Kings standing behind their fallen leader froze in terror at how easily he was dispatched. They knew exactly how strong their captain was and they just watched this unknown young man destroy him like brittle wood.

Li Yu lowered his glaive and let the tip rest against the crushed stones while his gaze turned towards the trembling trio and his eyes turned cold.

"You all had your chance to walk away," Li Yu told them while taking a slow step forward. Since the arrow was loose, it was best to settle all loose ends now instead of letting them fester. "It is too late now. Your leader made a bad choice and now you will all pay the consequences."

He raised his glaive to initiate a second strike but two of the remaining mercenaries quickly dropped their weapons and they fell to their knees. The two of them pressed their foreheads against the dirt while shouting their surrender and begging for mercy.

The third member of the squad did not bow though. She was a young woman wearing fitted armor and the sudden death of her captain threw her into a state of violent madness. Li Yu didn’t know it but the man Li Yu had just cleaved in half was her father. She screamed in grief and channeled her entire cultivation base into a desperate soul attack aimed at the mind of his killer.

An invisible spike of mental energy shot across the arena but he did not even bother to raise a defensive barrier and it then pierced into Li Yu. The thing he was least scared of was soul attacks and knew a soul attack from someone at a lower cultivation realm would be even more useless. The attack entered his inner world and drifted toward the tranquil pond where his five souls meditated.

The shimmering Koi Soul swam upward through the spiritual waters and opened its mouth to effortlessly swallow the hostile mental energy. The Koi then sent a vicious backlash of refined soul power back at the attacker. The counter strike washed over the grieving daughter and instantly erased her consciousness. She slumped forward onto the dirt and died on the spot without a single mark on her physical body.

Li Yu looked down at her lifeless form and shook his head but he did not feel guilt. Such was the way of the cultivation world, karma would need to be beared and growing here meant taking from others. He didn’t actively make this choice, he had given them a way out but their choice was death. Li Yu was not going to let people walk away after they actively tried to murder him.

He turned his attention to the two surviving Domain Kings who were currently shivering in fear at the two quick deaths. Li Yu decided to spare their lives and bond them as his servants as he could use what they knew. He figured he could always use a helping hand while navigating the unknown territories of this realm and he could eventually take them back to his private lakes to assist his staff.

He formed two glowing brands and pressed the seals into their spiritual centers. The two mercenaries accepted the binding without any resistance since they had already surrendered. The first servant was named Borum. He was an earth elemental who looked like a walking golem formed from jagged brown rocks and hardened clay. The second servant was a female beast kin named Faen. She possessed human features along with the furred legs and tall fuzzy ears of a forest deer.

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Li Yu instructed Borum and Faen to follow him while he left the rest of the plaza cleanup to Amunet and her guards. The Ignari ruler quickly secured the surrender of the remaining enforcers and claimed her rightful victory over their territory.

Over the next few days, Redcliff underwent a significant transformation. The sandstone town formally merged with the neighboring lands previously ruled by the minotaur. Trade routes opened up under the new banner and the Crimson Hawks abolished the heavy extortion fees that Voss had. The people living in the rival town were much less oppressed and it seemed everyone across the expanded territory was far happier than before as a whole. At least on the surface.

Li Yu spent this peaceful transition period resting in his luxurious courtyard while continuing to train. He dedicated his afternoons to trying out his new cooking techniques and he used his two new companions as willing taste testers so he would have someone try and give honest feedback. He prepared skewers of seasoned meat and roasted wild vegetables using his natal flame while getting to know them a bit more.

Borum sat on a heavy stone bench and chewed a piece of charred fowl. The earth elemental did not have much of a background to share with Li Yu. He was simply drifting through the diverse regions of this realm trying to survive and find enough spiritual ores to sustain his rocky body.

Unlike human cultivators that took pills, eating rare and valuable ores was much better. While he could take typical cultivation pills, the effects would be roughly half as effective, usually make it a waste of funds to do so. He ended up working for the mercenary leader Li Yu killed because the man offered a steady wage.

Faen possessed a much sadder history. She held a warm cup of broth in her delicate hands and spoke with a quiet voice. Her entire clan was killed off during a violent raid many years ago but she did not even know who initiated the slaughter. When she returned everything was already destroyed and burned to the ground.

That drove her to gain more power but she had no one to direct her revenge towards and no greater purpose driving her forward. Faen was just trying to survive the harsh realities of the cultivation world and get stronger so she would be able to protect those that mattered to her.

Li Yu listened to their stories and offered them second helpings of his radiant crust meals. The two of them both thought they would have to work grueling hours or eventually be sold off in the slave markets of Redcliff to pay for their lives.

They were genuinely surprised when their new master simply asked them to eat good food and help him experiment. Li Yu did not believe in needless cruelty and he treated his staff with respect. Of course, he also put them to work, informing him of what they knew about this realm, any secret places or stories.

The following afternoon, Li Yu decided to take the two out into the town. They walked through the bustling streets and visited the vibrant stone gambling district. The area was packed with enthusiastic patrons eager to test their fortune now that the threat of war had passed. With the battle won, everyone was in an excellent mood so the gambling exploded within the town.

Li Yu approached a busy stall and wanted to try his luck. He wanted to see if his understanding of fate offered any tangible benefits when dealing with what should be random chance. He purchased three rough boulders holding decent spiritual weight and instructed the specialized cutter to shave them down.

The cutter used his sharp Qi blade to peel away the thick layers of ordinary rock to reveal the treasures hiding inside. The first stone yielded nothing but grey dust, a complete failure. The second stone contained a pocket of stagnant water, probably even more insulting than nothing at all. The third stone crumbled into useless gravel, the final nail in the coffin for his experiment.

Li Yu watched the disappointing results and let out a heavy sigh, becoming more confused with how fate and destiny worked. He gave up on the endeavor and realized his grand destiny did not extend to common gambling. At least not this time.

"It seems fate is not on my side for such trivial matters," Li Yu remarked with a casual shrug to his two companions.

He handed a pouch of spirit stones to the other two and let Borum pick one boulder and Faen pick another. Borum pointed a thick rocky finger at a heavy square stone resting near the back of the pile. The cutter sliced it open but found only dense iron ore devoid of any real spiritual value. Borum grumbled in a deep voice and crossed his heavy arms. While it wasn’t anything significant, it was much better than what Li Yu had gotten and Borum could actually eat those ores.

Faen stepped forward and pointed her finger toward a small jagged rock covered in dried mud. The cutter placed it on his wooden table and carefully shaved the outer layer away. A bright green light immediately pierced through the dust and the cutter revealed a pristine beast core pulsing with vibrant wood aligned Qi. Judging from the aura radiating out of the core, it was most likely a beast within the Law Integration realm when it was alive.

The surrounding crowd murmured in appreciation while Faen stared at the glowing treasure with wide eyes. Li Yu smiled and patted her on the back.

"You have a good eye, Faen," Li Yu praised while gesturing toward the prize. "Keep it. Absorb the energy and increase your strength."

Faen looked up at him in disbelief. "You are letting me keep it, Li Yu? It is a valuable core. You could sell it and earn quite a bit."

"You picked it so it is yours to use," Li Yu answered while turning to walk out of the gambling den. "Use it well. Strength is the only true currency in this realm."

The deer kin bowed and hurried after him while putting the core away. Borum followed right behind them with a renewed sense of hope. Li Yu had been treating them well and it looks like he was even open to the idea of them using resources to get stronger. Perhaps there were opportunities for him to continue to get stronger. They realized their new master was a generous and for the most part, a kind cultivator who rewarded his people instead of working them to death and replacing them later.

The trio returned to their private courtyard as evening settled over the sandstone town. A short time later, a set of firm knocks echoed against the heavy wooden gates. Borum pulled the doors open and allowed Amunet to step inside.

The Ignari ruler looked refreshed and vibrant. She had fully recovered from her exhausted state and her red wings twitched with newfound energy. She wore an elegant silk tunic instead of her heavy leather armor and offered Li Yu a respectful bow as she approached the hot spring.

"I came to thank you personally," Amunet said with a warm smile. "The transition of power is complete while Redcliff is secure and our borders have expanded. I could not have managed the aftermath without your help, thank you."

"You fought the hardest battle," Li Yu replied while offering her a seat on a wooden bench. "I merely cleaned up the mess afterwards. It was your skills and planning that had won the day."

Amunet laughed softly and looked around the tranquil garden. "You are a very skilled warrior and a man of your word. I am currently reorganizing my forces to manage the new territory. I would be honored if you wanted to join my group. You could have a prominent position within the Crimson Hawks and a permanent home here. I would make you a partner, you wouldn’t have to answer to anyone."

Li Yu appreciated the genuine offer but he slowly shook his head.

"I must reject your invitation," Li Yu answered honestly. "I have my own things to do and a long path to walk. I plan to explore more before my time here is done."

Amunet nodded her head in understanding. She knew a dragon could never be confined to a shallow pond and she couldn’t help but glance one last time at the space above his head.

"I understand," she told him while standing up from the bench. "But you will always have friends in this town. You can return to rest any time you wish and our gates will always be open for you. As you said, the path of cultivation is a long one, people need a place to rest and relax to take a break."

Li Yu's mind drifted towards the five star lakes as she said those words and then an image of his family appeared, which made him smile. He thanked her for the generous hospitality and promised to visit if his travels brought him back to the sandstone cliffs.

They exchanged a final farewell before the Bandit King departed into the night to rule her newly expanded empire and whatever else was waiting out there for her. Li Yu packed his culinary supplies and prepared his two companions for the road ahead. He was going to leave Redcliff the following day and see what other wonders the Mosaic Realm had to offer.