Myriad Rivers to the Sea

Chapter 871: Unseen Lines

Li Yu put distance between himself and the tranquil lake, leaving the angry thunderbird woman to her bruised pride. He was still confused by the entire interaction and wasn’t quite sure what she was thinking the entire time. It was best to leave such things behind as quickly as possible, Li Yu thought.He navigated the shifting landscape as the dense forest gradually gave way to a sprawling, arid savanna. The tall green trees were replaced by scrub brush and patches of sharp yellow grass that swayed in the hot breeze.

He walked for several days under the glaring light of the dual suns. The heat radiating from the baked ground was intense but his body easily regulated his internal temperature. He kept a steady pace while scanning the horizon for any signs of civilization or dominant predators. Travel was slow because he still wasn’t quite sure what to expect or where to go.

Li Yu took his time and wasn’t in a hurry. On the afternoon of his third day in the dry lands, he stumbled upon a settlement built into the steep walls of a wide dirt ravine.

It was a crude but highly functional town. Massive dens were dug directly into the hard packed earth, reinforced with scavenged iron beams and the bleached ribcages of giant beasts. Ropes made of braided animal hair stretched across the ravine, holding up canvas tarps that provided shade over communal fire pits. It smelled strongly of dried blood and rotting meat.

Li Yu stood at the edge of the ravine to observe the layout. Before he could even decide if he wanted to approach, a chorus of high pitched cackles echoed from the shadows of the dens.

Figures poured out of the tunnels. They were humanoid but possessed the distinct features of scavengers. They had hunched backs, mottled brown and grey fur and the elongated snouts of hyenas. Their jaws were lined with bone crushing teeth and their hands ended in dirty, sharp claws.

They did not ask for his name or his purpose. They did not even shout a warning. The moment they laid their hungry eyes on Li Yu standing near their ravine, they attacked.

Dozens of the hyena-like people scrambled up the dirt walls with terrifying speed. They wielded iron swords, jagged bone clubs and heavy spiked chains. They threw themselves at Li Yu in a frenzied, uncoordinated wave, barking and laughing in a disturbing symphony of violence.

Li Yu sidestepped the first attacker, letting the hyena plunge past him before delivering a swift kick to its flank that sent it tumbling back down the ravine. He dodged a swinging chain and parried a rusted sword with a simple flick of his wrist, channeling a tiny fraction of his Qi to shatter the crude weapon into iron shards.

"Flesh!" One of the hyenas screeched, lunging for his throat.

Li Yu smacked the beast away with the back of his hand. He was trying to avoid a massacre but the pack was relentless. Their attacks were sloppy, driven by hunger and primal aggression rather than martial skill.

A sudden spike of heavy Qi erupted from the largest den at the bottom of the ravine.

A massive hyena warrior leaped out of the shadows. He was twice the size of his kin, wearing thick plates of overlapping scale armor bolted directly into his flesh. He carried a massive two handed cleaver forged from a dark and heavy metal. His aura flared, revealing a cultivation level at the Soul Transformation realm.

The leader of the pack let out a deafening roar and bounded up the ravine wall in three massive leaps. He raised the heavy cleaver high above his head, aiming to split Li Yu in half with a single, devastating strike fueled by wind Qi.

Li Yu did not retreat. He recognized the strength of the attack, its killing intent and decided to end the conflict immediately. Li Yu raised his right hand and summoned his own Void Qi. The energy condensed rapidly in his palm, forming a solid weapon. It was an abyssal javelin that was pulsing with destructive and void power.

The hyena leader brought the cleaver down with the force of a falling mountain and at the same time Li Yu threw the abyssal javelin at him.

The dark spear of energy moved much quicker. It pierced straight through the center of the heavy metal cleaver, shattering the weapon into pieces. The javelin did not stop there and it slammed directly into the massive hyena's chest, tearing through the bolted scale armor and erupting out of his back.

The momentum of the strike lifted the Soul Transformation leader off his feet and carried him backward through the air. He slammed into a large stone pillar near the edge of the ravine and was pinned to the rock by the dark energy.

The leader gasped once, his eyes wide in shock, before his head slumped forward. He was dead instantly. The chaotic cackling of the pack died in an instant. The surviving hyena people froze in their tracks from what had happened to their leader. They looked at their invincible leader pinned to the stone, then turned their terrified eyes back to the soft, hairless creature standing calmly at the edge of their town.

Li Yu dismissed the remaining Qi from his hands and he looked down at the trembling pack.

"Why did you attack me?" Li Yu asked. His voice was calm but carrying easily across the silent ravine. The hyenas shrank back, expecting a slaughter. Finally, a scarred female gripping a bone club stepped forward just a fraction. Her hands shook violently.

"You stepped on our land." She snarled, though her voice wavered with fear. "We do not need a reason. You are in our territory. We defend our home with our teeth. That is the way of the world. Even a kid would know that here."

Li Yu looked at her and then out over the dusty savanna. The realization settled into his mind, connecting the dots of his experiences since arriving in this harsh realm.

He thought back to the five dragon guards who had ambushed him the moment he stepped out of the Labyrinth of Lost Scales. He thought of the Tempest Tiger who had butchered an entire flock of thunderbirds just to claim a valley and a pile of corpses. He thought of the weak salamander tribe, huddled on a barren mountain because they surrendered their land to avoid being eaten.

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This place was truly, fiercely territorial. To the beasts of this realm, territory was life itself. It was the source of their food, their Qi and their survival. There was no concept of a neutral traveler or a peaceful diplomat, at least not with most of the beings he has run into. If a creature was not part of the tribe, they were an invader. The response to an invader was always immediate and merciless violence.

In his usual travels, Li Yu adhered to a strict philosophy when dealing with hostile forces. If a sect or a clan attacked him, he pulled them up by the roots. He eradicated the threat to ensure no lingering grudges or future revenge plots could haunt him later.

He looked down at the hyena tribe. They were scavengers, barely scraping by in a dry ravine. He had arrived randomly at their doorstep and triggered their survival instincts. He held no deep grudges against them even though they attacked him. Him killing their leader probably also greatly weakened the tribe as a whole but he didn’t feel bad about defending himself.

"Take your dead leader and stay in your dens." Li Yu commanded softly.

He turned his back on the town and began to walk away.

"We will kill you!" The scarred female yelled after him, trying to salvage some fragment of her tribe's honor. "If you return, we will tear the flesh from your bones!"

Li Yu ignored the shouts. They were empty threats echoing from a broken pack. Their strongest fighter was already dead and pinned to a rock. They would likely spend some time fighting among themselves just to establish a new leader.

He left the ravine behind, choosing mercy over a pointless massacre. He was the intruder after all, whether he meant to be or not. It didn’t sit right with him to slaughter them all over misunderstandings.

As he continued his journey across the dry plains, his mind remained focused on the hyena's words. Territory was everything.

He decided he needed to be much more careful about where he stepped. He began to actively search the environment for any signs of borders. In the cultivation world he knew, sects marked their lands with massive stone steles, warning arrays or prominent banners. Even mortal kingdoms built walls and border outposts.

Li Yu looked for marked stones. He searched for claw marks carved into the rare trees and sniffed the air for scent markers left by large predators. He found nothing at all that would indicate to him if this was land claimed by someone or just empty land.

The plains stretched on for miles, empty and unmarked. The canyons twisted into confusing mazes without a single indicator of ownership. To his human eyes and his Law Integration senses, it was just open, wild land. Yet he knew that somewhere in this expanse, invisible lines were drawn in blood. He was walking through a minefield without a map.

Two days later, the dry savanna transitioned into a massive, sprawling wetland. Shallow water stretched as far as the eye could see, broken only by patches of tall reeds and muddy islands. Li Yu adjusted his boots and walked lightly across the surface of the water.

As he navigated a wide channel between two reed beds, he noticed a strange procession moving through the water ahead of him.

It was a small group of aquatic beasts. They were octopuses, their bulbous heads a deep shade of mottled crimson and brown. They were in their natural beast forms, possessing no humanoid traits whatsoever. Their thick tentacles propelled them smoothly through the shallow water. Wrapped tightly in their appendages were heavy stone chests and sealed bundles of rare sea kelp.

Li Yu slowed his pace and approached them cautiously. Given his recent track record with local inhabitants, he prepared himself for a sudden attack. The octopuses stopped moving when they saw him and they clustered together, raising their heavy bundles defensively. They did not attack but they did not speak either. They lacked the vocal cords to use the universal spoken language that most humanoid beasts utilized.

Li Yu stood on the surface of the water a few yards away. He tried to project a feeling of peace.

Suddenly, his inner world reacted. The Koi Soul resting in his foundation stirred, its ancient aquatic bloodline resonating with the creatures in front of him. A cool, damp sensation washed over Li Yu's mind.

He was not hearing words but he was receiving flashes of emotion, intent and raw thought. It was a crude form of telepathy enabled by his Koi Soul connecting with aquatic beasts.

‘Fear. Confusion. Strange two legged creature. Keep the offering safe.’ The thoughts rippled against Li Yu's consciousness.

He focused his mind, using the Koi Soul as a conduit to project his own thoughts back to them.

‘Peace. I will not steal your offering. Where do you travel?’

The octopuses shifted nervously, their tentacles churning the muddy water as they realized they could somewhat communicate with him. They sensed the overwhelming aquatic authority radiating from his soul. To them, he felt like an ancient leviathan wearing a small, soft shell.

‘We travel to the deep currents. We bring tribute to the Tyrant Tide Clan.’ The lead octopus projected. The thought was accompanied by mental images of massive, heavily muscled sharks ruling a dark underwater trench.

It was a powerful clan of sharks. These octopuses were likely a subservient species paying a required tax to avoid being hunted.

‘I seek knowledge.’ Li Yu projected back to them. He knelt down, resting one hand on the surface of the water to strengthen the connection. ‘I am a stranger to these lands. How do you know where the Tyrant Tide territory begins? I see no markers. How do you know when you have crossed into another beast's land?’

The octopuses seemed confused by the question. It was as if he had asked them how they knew to breathe water.

‘You do not see it.’ The lead octopus projected, sending a wave of simple logic. ‘You feel it. The blood sings when you cross the line. The pressure changes in the water and the air. The instinct warns the mind. You just know.’

Li Yu broke the connection and stood up. He was stunned.

He looked out over the endless wetlands. There were no markers because markers were a tool for beings who lacked the biological hardware to sense the world naturally. To the beasts of this realm, territory was not a concept enforced by signs; it was a physical sensation. It was an instinct woven directly into their blood and their souls.

Li Yu was a human. He possessed a great foundation, immense Qi reserves and an understanding of laws but he did not have the innate, primal instinct of a wild beast. He could sense hostile intent and killing auras but he could not feel the subtle, passive hum of an invisible territorial border.

He was effectively blind in a world where everyone else could see clearly.

He watched the group of octopuses resume their journey, dragging their heavy stone chests toward the deep water. They disappeared beneath the surface, leaving Li Yu alone among the swaying reeds.

Li Yu rubbed his temples, feeling a rare spike of frustration. No matter how powerful he was, stumbling blindly into the dens of predators or rival clans was a foolish way to travel. It wasted Qi, provoked unnecessary violence and delayed his exploration.

If he could not sense the borders himself, he needed someone who could.

"I need a guide." Li Yu muttered to the wind. "A companion from this realm. A beast who can see the lines I cannot."

He turned away from the deep water channels and headed toward a string of muddy islands. He needed to find a local inhabitant who was not immediately trying to kill him or run away from him. It was a daunting task in a world ruled by aggression but it was the only logical way forward.

Li Yu began to plan his next steps, determined to find a way to navigate the unseen lines of this realm.