The first thing Li Yu felt was the cold. It was the familiar grounding chill of the Frost Iron Sect’s stone beds. He never thought that he would find comfort from it but today it was a massive sigh of relief.

  He took in a deep breath. Emotions that he wasn’t able to process before were flooding back to him. The feeling of despair, hopelessness and oddly enough a tiny amount of thrill. He had just escaped death by pushing himself to the absolute limit. He wouldn’t have even made it out if it were not for his Fisherman Soul helping him at the very end.

  Feelings of relief, regret and dread then washed over him. He took in another deep breath. His thoughts drifted in his head as he replayed what had happened. Only once he felt ready did he finally open his eyes.

  "He wakes," a deep rumbling voice said immediately.

  Li Yu turned his head. Sitting on a stool that looked dangerously fragile under his bulk was Krell.

  On the other side of the bed, Tekton was coiled like a sleeping watchdog. The centipede’s antennae twitched the moment Li Yu woke up. He chittered softly next to him. A sound of relief that vibrated against Li Yu’s ribs.

  "How long?" Li Yu croaked. His throat felt dry. It was like he had swallowed a handful of sand.

  "Three days," Krell said as he stood up and came closer. He poured a cup of water from a pitcher and handed it to Li Yu. "You slept like the dead. If your heart wasn't beating like a war drum, we would have started digging a grave."

  Li Yu took the cup and he drank greedily. "Three days... I missed the meeting."

  "The meeting can wait," Krell grunted. "You were lucky to be alive at all. Tekton found you."

  The centipede chittered again, nudging Li Yu’s arm with his mandibles. ‘I got your signal through the soul connection but didn’t know where you actually were. Only the general direction you were at.’ Tekton said.

  ‘Thank you Tekton. You really saved me this time.’ Li Yu patted the centipede.

  "He went crazy three days ago," Krell explained. "He just shot off in a hurry. I followed him. He was searching aimlessly for a while but ultimately was able to find you."

  "You were unconscious at the time." Krell continued. "But... you were healing. It was unnatural. We saw wounds on your clothes and blood everywhere. But the actual wounds on you were gone. Already healed by the time we arrived. You didn't have a scratch on you. I searched inside you with my spiritual sense and your internal injuries were still healing at the time."

  Li Yu sat up and flexed his arms. He was checking out his body’s condition. He expected pain. He expected the lingering ache of destroyed meridians and muscle.

  Instead, he felt... incredible.

  His Qi wasn't just recovered; it was overflowing. His muscles felt denser, packed with a power that hummed beneath his skin. He didn’t know it but the essence from the blood that Khaos had fed to him didn’t just heal his body; it had reinforced the very foundation of his body.

  "We didn't let the healers see you," Krell added quietly. "We told them you were just exhausted and needed to rest. Whatever happened to you... it’s not something outsiders should see. We don’t need any more questions."

  "Good," Li Yu nodded. "Thank you, Krell. Thank you, Tekton. You two saved my life."

  He patted the centipede’s carapace again. Tekton clicked happily and curled tighter around the bed. Tekton had grown quite used to his new life as he followed Li Yu around.

  Before he had realized it, Li Yu had brought a level of comfort and security for him. He didn’t need to hide away all the time as he had done before he became strong. More importantly, he got to relax and enjoy things he never had before.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  His power was constantly getting stronger due to all the resources that flowed in but it was much easier than before. Tekton was no longer fighting alone. He was actually enjoying life instead of just surviving in it.

  "So," Krell leaned forward. "What happened? We had heard the stories of you fighting against the ‘Ghosts’ and winning. Then Tekton found you and you looked like you fought a monster.”

  Li Yu’s expression darkened. The memory of the Hand. That pale, runic titan reaching down from the sky. It was etched into his mind and his hatred flared.

  "I didn't fight a monster," Li Yu replied quietly. More to himself than to Krell. "I ran from one."

  He explained it all. The sudden rift. The voice. The hand that crushed a mountain peak like it was dry clay. When he described entering the First Layer of the Void, Krell nodded. He knew Li Yu could do that.

  When he described the Hand following him into the 2nd layer of the void, Krell’s eyes widened. But when Li Yu described smashing his way into the Third Layer, Krell went pale. Krell didn’t really understand what the different layers represented but from what Li Yu had told him before about the 2nd layer, it was extremely dangerous.

  "The Third Layer?" Krell breathed.

  "It pretty much tried to kill me the moment I entered," Li Yu said as he was touching his chest. "It felt like I was being put through a meat grinder. If I hadn't broken back out when I did..."

  He didn't mention the Ethereal Hook that saved him. Those were secrets of his soul that Krell wouldn't understand or needed to know. But the terror of the moment was real.

  "Who was it?" Krell asked.

  "I don't know," Li Yu said. His voice dropped to a growl. "But he said I ruined his plans. He’s probably the one behind the ‘Ghosts’. The one behind them coming here and all the destruction they caused."

  Li Yu clenched his fist in anger. He had forgotten he was still holding the stone cup and turned it to dust.

  "That damn hand!" Li Yu said. "I am tired of being the ant. I am tired of old monsters reaching down from the sky and thinking they can squash me because I am young."

  "Running was the smart thing to do in such a situation. That is sadly the laws of the world. The powerful will always take from the weak. To him you were weak and he was strong." Krell said simply.

  "You’re right. But it doesn’t take the sting out of the situation." Li Yu admitted. "But I will get back at that thing. That Hand... that voice... I will find him. And when I do, I’m going to make him regret attacking me like that."

  An hour later, Li Yu sat in the room alone. He held his Command Token. He contacted Grand Marshall Thyra.

  The connection hissed and then stabilized. A holographic projection of Thyra appeared. She was sitting in a high-backed chair and was reviewing documents. She looked tired but her eyes snapped to focus the moment she saw Li Yu.

  "Li Yu," Thyra said. “We were wondering where you were. You missed coming to see us after three days. We assumed you were delayed."

  "I apologize, Grand Marshall," Li Yu said as he was bowing his head slightly. "I ran into... complications."

  "Complications?" Thyra raised an eyebrow in surprise.

  "An ambush," Li Yu said. "On my way back from the Razor-Edge Range. A rift opened above me. Someone reached through."

  He gave her the abbreviated version. He left out the specifics of his void mastery and simply stated he used a forbidden escape art that left him incapacitated for three days.

  Thyra listened to the story. As it went on her face grew paler with every sentence. She set down her quill.

  "A hand," she repeated. "Reaching through a forced rift? And the pressure... you say it exceeded your current powers?"

  "Far exceeded it," Li Yu confirmed. "It felt like the sky was falling and no matter how I moved it was falling on me. If I hadn't used my technique, I would be dead."

  Thyra leaned back and was rubbing her temples. "This... this changes the assessment. We thought the Ghosts were a random realm being connected to ours due to the chaos. But if there is a being capable of manual rift projection targeting you specifically..."

  "I believe it targets me because I killed the force it had sent." Li Yu said. "But now that he failed to get me, he might target others. Or he will try to target me again. I don’t really know."

  "We will increase the alert level and let every powerful figure know. We won’t tell the masses since you were barely able to escape. They wouldn’t have a chance either way." Thyra said as her voice turned steely.

  "If entities of that magnitude are intervening, then the Frostbound Dominion is in great danger. However, it would seem that the beings can’t just come here. The fact that he had to send out forces much weaker than himself tells us that most likely he can’t come himself. Or he already has a reason for not doing so. That is good news. Perhaps attacking you uses up a lot of power or resources. We can only hope that he can’t do it casually or often."