For the next hour, Li Yu recounted the battle.

  He detailed the biology of the creatures. Their physical speed, their biological acceleration, their reliance on their soul power and their soul domain that could combine together.

  "They are very strong in ambushes." Li Yu explained. "Their offense is terrifying because it bypasses physical defense. Their soul attacks and domain suppress the cultivation of their victims, making them easy prey. But once you strip away their soul advantage, they are nothing special. A good strike from a lightning spear or a heavy blade can kill them."

  "Well that’s the biggest problem. You have to be able to strip away their soul advantage. From Magnar and Vorgnir, that is no easy task. And the seventeen?" Korg asked as he was leaning forward. What he had heard was so outlandish that he couldn’t believe it. "How did you kill seventeen at once?"

  "My soul is... unique," Li Yu said carefully. "It is incredibly strong for my cultivation. When their domain collided with me, the feedback shattered their souls."

  It was a half-truth but it was plausible enough for them. He had to admit that his soul was powerful and he made up the rest for what happened after that. Afterall, to deny it more would only make him more suspicious. There was no need to hide to that extent.

  "And the Hand?" Thyra asked quietly.

  The mood in the room shifted. This was an even more worrying issue. If the attack was at a level where Li Yu wasn’t able to handle it, few if anyone on this continent would make it out.

  Li Yu described the ambush. The rift opening without warning. The titan-sized hand. The runes.

  "It was seeking me," Li Yu said. "It called me a brat. It knew I had done something. Most likely killing those creatures. The power level... it was above Divine Transformation. How much stronger I don’t know since I don’t have a good gauge."

  He looked at Jorund.

  "I could tell that it was using several laws to a high degree. Perhaps touching on the Dao of some."

  Jorund was surprised that Li Yu could tell the attack was using several laws. Only in Divine Transformation was he able to search and understand the laws. He nodded slowly but his face was grave. He gripped his spear tighter. "I feared as much. The barrier between realms is thinning."

  "Where is the Fourth Marshall?" Li Yu asked casually as he noted the empty seat.

  "Grand Marshall Signe is at the Battered Coast," Jorund said. "One year ago, a massive rift opened there. It isn't like the ones you have encountered so far, Li Yu. It doesn't close."

  Li Yu frowned. "A stable rift?"

  "Stable and widening," Thyra said. "It connects to a realm filled with demonic Qi. Demons have been pouring out of it in waves. Signe has an army there and is holding the line. We have set up formations and fortifications. It is now an eternal battleground with demons coming out every 3 to 15 days. It is quite random."

  "It is forcing us to have our manpower bogged down in a single area." Korg growled. He slammed his fist on the table. "Every day, the pressure on the other side gets stronger. Sometimes a little. Sometimes a lot. If a massive surge comes through... or if one of those 'Hands' decides to push through..."

  "We might be overrun," Jorund finished softly.

  The old man looked at Li Yu.

  "We are doing our best to prepare for a full-scale invasion, Li Yu. The thinning of barriers seem to foretell disaster ahead. There could be rifts connected to other realms we have never faced before. Like this time with those ‘Ghosts.’ The rift there could be a massive army coming through. We simply don’t know. But something is coming one way or another.”

  "And when it does," Thyra said as she was looking Li Yu in the eye, "we will need every sword. Every spell. And everyone."

  Li Yu sat back. He understood the implication. This continent was filled with spirited warriors but the times were changing. Disaster could be just around the corner depending on what happens next. The fighting was increasing.

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  "If I am still on this continent when it happens," Li Yu said firmly, "you can count on the Crab Claws. I don't like leaving jobs unfinished."

  "That is all we can ask," Jorund smiled. "You are not a soldier of the Dominion. You are a guest. But a guest who fights for the house is a friend."

  "Now," Thyra said as she clapped her hands together. "Effort needs to be rewarded."

  She slid a heavy ledger across the table.

  "For saving Sect Master Magnar and his three elders. For killing twenty-two high threat entities. And for providing the two corpses for research. Also, all the other rifts you have come to the aid of."

  She tapped the book.

  "We have calculated your merit points."

  Li Yu opened the book. He didn't focus on the exact number but the zeroes trailing off the page told him everything he needed to know. It was wealth. Enough wealth for him to spend. He believed they had been even more generous to build a stronger friendship.

  "You can exchange these for anything in the Central Vault," Thyra explained. "We have High Grade Spirit Stones. We have ancient cultivation manuals. We have weapons forged by master smiths. We even have a few pieces of land if you wish to establish a permanent sect here."

  Li Yu closed the book. He didn't hesitate in his answer. The value was just too good for him to pass up.

  "I want cores," Li Yu said.

  Thyra blinked. "Beast cores?"

  "Demonic cores," Li Yu clarified. "Any grade. Every grade."

  Korg frowned. "You want to spend a fortune in merits on... demonic cores? Why not a better weapon? Or defensive formation?"

  "I have a weapon and I am quite fond of it." Li Yu said. "And I don’t have a sect here that needs protection. I need demonic cores the most."

  The three had heard the stories about him and it looks like that one was true. He really just wanted demonic cores over anything else. That wasn’t quite true. There were a few items that Li Yu did want from their vaults but the merit points required was too costly compared to collecting demonic cores.

  He stood up. "Where is the Quartermaster?"

  The Central Command Quartermaster was a small and fussy man named Olaf. He wore spectacles and looked like he counted beans for fun.

  Li Yu walked in with Grand Marshall Thyra and presented his request to him. Olaf looked at the ledger, then Li Yu, then at Thyra, then back at the ledger.

  "You... you want to exchange all of this for cores?" Olaf squeaked while adjusting his glasses.

  "Yes," Li Yu said. "Is that a problem?"

  "A problem?" Olaf’s eyes lit up. A smile stretched across his face. It turned into a wide and maniacal smile. "Sir, it is a blessing! A miracle!"

  Li Yu blinked. "Excuse me?"

  "Do you know how many cores we have?" Olaf gestured frantically to the massive iron doors behind him. "We have been fighting this war for centuries! Every demon we kill drops a core. We use some of them for arrays, yes, but the supply vastly outstrips the demand! Our vaults are overflowing! Even when using storage rings to help store them, I have cores stacked in the hallways! I have cores in the bathroom!"

  Olaf clapped his hands together. "Meanwhile, we are short on Spirit Stones. We are short on refined steel. We are short on healing herbs. If you take the cores, you are saving me storage space and leaving the valuable resources for the army! No one does this. Are you sure?"

  Thyra chuckled and was in a good mood. "I told you, didn't I? He would react this way. Anyone would actually."

  "Then empty the shelves," Li Yu said with a wide smile of his own. The Quartermaster's office became a frenzy of activity.

  Aides were running back and forth from the deep vaults. Some were carrying crates, sacks and chests filled with glowing orbs. Most were carrying storage rings. The longest part was counting all of them. The quantity was just too massive.

  Tens of thousands. Li Yu stood there as his storage ring flashing strobing light as he swept entire crates into his inventory.

  "That's the entire stock from that vault!" Olaf shouted happily and marked off a line in his ledger. "Now time for that vault."

  "That vault is now cleared too!" Olaf wheezed in exhaustion but was looking happier than he had in years.

  By the time the ledger hit zero, some of the vaults of Central Command echoed with a hollow emptiness. Li Yu had cleared out decades of accumulated hunting spoils.

  He checked his Koi Sanctuary, where he was actually sending everything. It was a beautiful mountain of cores now. He kept it away from all the other creatures as the energy was quite demonic and chaotic.

  "Is that it?" Li Yu asked.

  "That... is it," Olaf said. He was wiping sweat from his brow. "You cleared out a lot but there are still quite a lot of cores left. Afterall, we have been at war for a long time. We are ready to trade merit points with demonic cores though!"

  Li Yu laughed. "Good doing business with you."

  He turned to Thyra.

  "Thank you, Grand Marshall. This... this helps more than you know."

  Thyra looked at him with a mix of amusement and curiosity. "Whatever you are doing with those cores. I hope it helps to make you stronger or provide you with something you need. We need all the help we can get.”

  "I will remember my promise. I will help wherever and whenever I can." Li Yu said to her.

  He walked out of the vault with his steps light.