Li Yu sat in the quiet ditation chamber of his pagoda while the morning sun slowly cast a golden hue across the Five Star Lakes. He had spent the last several days relentlessly practicing the Yin-Yang Origin Mantra and pushing his limits. He guided his internal focus toward his soul space to initiate another attempt at resonance.
He brought his human soul forward to act as the anchor once again. The previous days had proven that his human soul was the only viable bridge for the technique and he decided to test the enigmatic Fisherman Soul today.
The Fisherman Soul usually sat quietly on the shores while holding his fishing pole. Li Yu directed the Yin-Yang Origin Mantra through and gently coaxed a connection between the Fisherman Soul and Human Soul. He braced himself for the usual heavy drain and expected only a weak vibration in return.
Instead of a faint hum, a clear chi echoed through his inner space. The Fisherman Soul did not just tolerate the connection, as the Koi had done. It seamlessly rged with the human soul and the two distinct entities had a resonance that was beyond what the others had and this was his first attempt with it. The resonance was incredibly strong and the resulting surge of soul energy washed away his fatigue.
Li Yu opened his eyes and let out a breath of surprise. He had always assud the fisherman soul would be the most difficult to align since it possessed such a strange, powerful and independent nature. He did not fully understand why this specific pairing produced such a powerful reaction but he was happy with the result.
However, the success brought a bitter mory to the surface of his mind. He rembered the blinding light of the Temporal Dao stone and the singularity when it was finally done. Half of his original human soul had split off and vanished into that temporal rift. Li Yu once again felt a sharp pang of regret as he realized the true potential he was missing.
If he still possessed that missing half, he would have two identical human souls resting within his body. The Yin-Yang Origin Mantra was explicitly designed for two identical souls to work together as a mirrored pair. He would be able to execute the technique flawlessly and achieve the true power the Anti-Duplex race intended, even if it was just with those two souls and none of the others. He shook his head to clear the useless regret from his mind and accepted that he had to work with the fragnted hand fate had dealt him.
Li Yu ended his morning cultivation and stood up from his woven mat. The aquatic beast farm was flourishing outside but it would still be a long ti before the ecosystem produced any usable resources or profit. As it was right now, it was only a drain on his spirit stones to procure food for them.
He needed to secure spirit stones to fund his ongoing training and pay for his daily necessities. Li Yu walked out of the pagoda and prepared to head toward the main headquarters of the Zhan Clan to look for suitable missions he could take on as his grandpa had suggested.
Just as he stepped onto the polished wooden porch, the space near the edge of the central lake rippled like disturbed water. A rift tore open in the air and Gongsun Lian stepped out onto the grass, surprising Li Yu completely.
She wore her signature black dragon scale armor polished to a mirror sheen and a deep crimson cloak draped elegantly over her shoulders. The starlight crystal necklace given to her by Zhan Tian rested against her collarbone while the spatial defensive dagger from his father hung securely at her waist. She looked like a terrifying general but her tightly restrained aura softened the mont her eyes found him.
Li Yu felt his heart skip a beat as a warm smile spread across his face as he quickly descended the pagoda steps and walked over to greet her.
"I had so free ti away from my duties," Lian explained as she offered a polite but fond greeting. "I wanted to co see you and see how your new territory was progressing."
"I am very happy you ca," Li Yu replied honestly while gesturing toward the sprawling valley. "I was just about to head to the mission hall but that can wait. Let show you around the lakes."
He realized in that mont that he had no reliable way to contact her if he ever wanted to invite her over. He reached into his spatial ring and pulled out a communication jade so they could talk or leave ssages for one another.
"Here," Li Yu said while handing the smooth jade slip to her. "I just realized I do not have a way to reach you. You can use this to send a ssage whenever you have free ti."
Lian took the jade slip and examined it with a gentle smile before shaking her head. She reached into her own armored pouch and produced a heavy token crafted from dark void stone. The item pulsed with a subtle spatial energy.
"You should use this one instead," Lian said as she gently placed the void stone token into his palm. "The jade you gave is high quality but it would not be powerful enough to reach . My forces reside deep within hidden pocket dinsions and standard realm communication arrays cannot pierce those barriers."
Li Yu felt a brief flash of embarrassnt as he looked at the standard jade slip in her hand and then at the artifact she had just given him. The gap in their current standings reared its head again but he quickly pushed the insecurity aside and securely stored the void token.
"I will be sure to use it," Li Yu promised while clearing his throat. "Co, let show you what we have built so far."
They spent the next hour walking along the stone pathways that connected the five lakes. Li Yu showed her the deep thermal basin where the Bronze Scaled Sturgeon swam and the rushing currents designed for the Jade Ribbon Eels. They chatted easily and shared fun conversations about his experiences gathering the different beasts while she talked about so things from her life. They kept to light topics while enjoying the tranquil scenery and the pleasant weather.
They eventually made their way to a beautiful wooden pavilion situated on the edge of the water. Li Yu retrieved a high quality tea set from his ring and began to brew a fragrant batch of mountain tea. The ambient heat from his Qi boiled the water perfectly as he poured two steaming cups.
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"Are things going well with your duties?" Li Yu asked while handing her a cup and breaking away from their casual banter. "I know the cosmic borders are highly unstable right now."
Lian took a delicate sip of the tea and nodded. "Things are proceeding smoothly. The Veiled Lotus and I are not engaged on the brutal front lines like your parents. We operate in the shadows and handle matters away from the main conflicts so our tasks are not nearly as dangerous as an open war."
Li Yu let out a visible sigh of relief at her words. It would seem that he wouldn’t need to worry about her as much as his parents. He leaned forward and looked directly into her dark eyes with earnest concern.
"I am very glad to hear that," Li Yu said softly. "But please be careful out there. The cosmos is unpredictable and I want you to prioritize your own safety over whatever mission you are trying to accomplish."
Lian paused as she held her teacup. She had spent her entire life acting as a weapon and a shield for the hidden cause in front of her. Hearing him explicitly value her safety over her duties stirred sothing deep within her chest. A genuine and radiant smile broke through her stoic facade and brought a vibrant warmth to her features.
"I will be careful," Lian promised softly.
The afternoon sun climbed higher into the sky and Li Yu decided it was ti to prepare a proper al for his guest. He stood up from the pavilion and walked toward the edge of the lake. He utilized his Qi to form a gentle suction force and smoothly pulled a large Moonlit Carp directly from the crystal clear water.
Li Yu then retrieved a portable grilling station from his ring along with several pouches of rare spices and a jug of crisp mountain wine he had saved from his travels. He set up the cooking area near the pavilion and began to prepare the fish with practiced efficiency. Li Yu cleaned the carp in seconds before applying a rich blend of spices and sweetened wine as a marinade.
Lian sat at the stone table and rested her chin on her hand as she watched him work. She enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere and found his focused expression quite handso.
"You move like a master chef that has practiced for years," Lian joked while watching him expertly flip the sizzling fish over the controlled Qi fla.
"Of course," Li Yu laughed while brushing a sweet glaze over the cooking at. "I spent a long ti traveling through the wilderness in different realms. If I did not learn how to cook my own food I would have been stuck eating dry rations and tasteless pills for years. I have done this countless tis."
Lian tilted her head slightly and a mischievous glint flashed in her eyes. "Oh? And do you do this for girls too?"
"Yes," Li Yu answered honestly as he focused on the temperature of the fire. "As you know, I have had traveling companions that were girls before and I cooked for them on the road. Most recently in fact, I cooked a al for the princess of the Aurelian Spear Kingdom while I was competing in their tournant."
Lian was not actually upset but she saw a perfect opportunity to tease him. She straightened her posture and feigned a look of shock and sudden jealousy.
"A al with a royal princess?" Lian gasped lightly while placing a hand over her heart. "Was she pretty? Was she charming? Are you highly interested in her? Was it just the two of you?"
Li Yu froze with the basting brush in his hand. He suddenly realized he had said too much and he was entirely ill equipped to handle this kind of social pressure. He looked at Lian and saw her raised eyebrow waiting for an answer.
"She was just a friend that I t there. The princess of the kingdom that wanted to tag along with ." Li Yu stumbled over his words as a light sweat ford on his brow. "We were just looking for aquatic beasts in the capital markets. I an, she is a princess so she is supposed to be charming but I am not interested in her like that. We just shared a roasted octopus by a campfire because I wanted to taste it to see if I should secure a breeding supply for here."
He continued and kept trying to explain the situation while his sentences tangled together in a clumsy ss. He waved his hands defensively and nearly dropped his cooking tools in his sudden panic. Trying to cook the fish and work out his words made him a clumsy ss, much to Lian’s amusent.
Lian watched him struggle for a long mont before a clear and musical laugh escaped her lips. She found his flustered panic incredibly endearing and decided to give him a rciful way out of his misery.
"There is nothing to worry about, Li Yu," Lian smiled warmly as she waved a dismissive hand. "You have a very powerful family backing now and you are a talented cultivator. Many girls will seek you out and try to talk to you. Even if they are not interested in you, they will approach you just out of political courtesy for your background."
She picked up her teacup and took another sip while her eyes danced with amusent. "If I was not okay with other won speaking to you, I would have to spend all my ti beating everyone away with a wooden broom."
Li Yu let out a heavy breath and felt the tension leave his shoulders. He was grateful she was not actually angry but his lingering embarrassnt made him want to save a bit of his pride. He decided to fire a joke back at her but his lack of experience caused him to miss the mark.
"Well, you had a lot of guys surrounding you at my welco banquet as well," Li Yu pointed out as he flipped the fish one last ti. "You had plenty of suitors trying to get your attention. You are a general and a powerful cultivator. I am sure those n were far stronger and much more worthy than a Paragon realm cultivator like ."
The words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them. He realized a second too late that his joke sounded defensive and openly revealed his insecurities regarding the vast gap in their cultivation levels. He winced internally and stared down at the grilling fish while wishing he could swallow the words back. Li Yu’s face turned bright red as he just wanted to bury his head into the dirt.
Lian heard the insecurity within his clumsy retort and then his final words definitely revealed them. She could understand why he felt inadequate standing beside a general of the Veiled Lotus. Having dealt with people and politics for a long ti, she knew how to handle the situation though. Lian laughed the comnt off with a bright and airy tone to ease the sudden awkwardness hanging in the air.
"Those n were just annoying politicians that don’t interest ," Lian said smoothly while diverting the conversation back to safer ground. "None of them know how to properly season a Moonlit Carp. The food slls delicious, Li Yu. I am quite hungry and the sll is making more so."
Li Yu nodded quickly and plated the nearly perfectly cooked fish. His awkwardness had burned so of the edges but he skillfully removed those bits. He served her a generous portion and poured two cups of a mountain wine as they settled down to eat. Li Yu offered her to try so as he did the princess but Lian said one wine at a ti was enough.
“We have a hundred years for to try all the different drinks you have to offer.” She said, skillfully reminding him of that to also help ease his mind.
Lian took a bite of the tender at and praised his culinary skills out loud. She kept the conversation light and focused on the flavors of the al as she watched his nervous tension slowly lt away.
Lian took a sip of her wine and looked at him over the rim of her cup. She wanted to tell him that he had nothing to worry about regarding other n or the gap in their strength.
‘If he only knew the full truth of the lifeti of devotion I held for him, he would never feel insecure again. Or perhaps he would feel even more insecure.’ She thought to herself but she knew it was not the right ti to drop the weight of her grand purpose onto his shoulders. He was still finding his path and she was content to sit by his lake and enjoy the al he cooked for her.
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