Chương 1004: Chapter 1002: The Weight of Heritage

The feast stretched long into the night as the pavilion echoed with stories of forgotten realms and narrow escapes. Li Yu felt a sense of ease while he watched his guests laugh together. He had shelved the idea of the romantic kiss for a later time because the festive environment called for camaraderie rather than intimacy. He instead focused on keeping the drinks flowing and the conversation moving as he learned more about the lives of the generals away from the battlefield.

General Po shared a tale about an ancient beast he once wrestled in the southern wetlands while General Mei described the subtle art of tracking a target through a desert storm. While the conversations were never focused on their combat stories, it was a natural thing to talk about. Their voices blended with the chirping of insects and the soft lapping of the lake water against the wooden pillars.

Li Yu listened with genuine interest as he realized these powerful figures were just as much a family as any family related by blood. When the moon reached its zenith Li Yu decided it was time to present his tokens of appreciation that he had gotten. He brought out a small wooden box and began to distribute the gifts he had painstakingly selected. Li Yu started with General Jian and handed him the high grade whetstone. The silent executioner ran his thumb over the surface and gave a nod of approval.

He passed the frost amber pendant to General Xue who accepted it with a faint smile as she felt the cooling energy resonate with her. General Hua seemed genuinely pleased with the silver trimmed folding fan while General Mei accepted the archer thumb ring with a sharp salute. General Yin placed the shadow fox leather wrist sheaths on her forearms and admired how they blended with her dark robes. One by one he moved down the line and distributed the trinkets to the remaining people.

He handed the heavy drinking horn to General Po and the iron flask to General Sha. The baoding balls to General Lei and the jade tea set to General Lan. Li Yu then finally handed the dark cloak pin to General Mo. He saved the sword tassel for Lian and stepped toward the head of the table. He produced the dark silk accessory with the twin star silver swords at the tip. He held it out and watched as Lian took the object.

She studied the craftsmanship and looked up at Li Yu with a soft gaze as she summoned her sword and tied the tassel to the hilt of her blade. The silver swords caught the lantern light, making Li Yu frown.

"Not a great gift if Lian was going to be going on a stealth mission." Li Yu realized but it was too late now. The night eventually came to an end as the generals rose to depart. They thanked Li Yu for the meal and told Li Yu to stay out of trouble. After they crossed the spatial rift and stepped back into their own hidden domain, they began to discuss their host. They agreed that Li Yu was a fine person and their loyalty to him felt more natural as they got to know him.

Li Yu stayed behind, signaling his people to clear the tables as he also helped them. Once they were done, he watched the stars reflect on the dark water by himself. The silence returned to the lakes once more as the guests had gone. He turned to walk back toward the main pavilion but he froze as he felt a familiar aura approaching from the shadows. A muscular old man stepped out from behind a willow tree.

He stood tall with the regal posture of a powerful sect leader and wore robes that shimmered with the depth of the ocean. It was none other than Khaos, he had finally come to visit Li Yu. Li Yu felt a rush of adrenaline as he recognized the man who had helped him many times before and had watched over him until he reconnected with his parents. Li Yu hurried forward and threw his arms around Khaos in happiness without thinking about it much. Surprisingly, Khaos did not dodge or push him away.

He chuckled lightly as he patted Li Yu on the back with a firm hand.

"I was just passing through and can only stay for a moment." Khaos said to him. Li Yu quickly led him to a private table and poured two cups of wine. He looked at Khaos and tried to put his gratitude into words. He had never had the chance to thank the man before he left. Khaos silenced him with a wave of his hand before he could even talk, understanding Li Yu well enough that no words were needed between them. After a while Li Yu finally spoke again.

"Please be careful when on your duties as well. I fear for your safety." Li Yu managed to say to him. Khaos let out a booming laugh while his eyes twinkled with mirth. He patted Li Yu on the shoulder.

"You are still far too young and weak to worry about the safety of a being like me." They sat together for hours and spoke about the paths they had walked. Khaos observed the lakes and the gardens Li Yu had built and noted that it looked like he was trying to carve out a piece of his old home here. Li Yu nodded and admitted to it as the two of them watched the water ripple in the moonlight. He wanted a place that felt grounded and real in a world that often felt hollow.

Khaos eventually stood up to leave, he stayed for as long as he could. Just as he was going to leave, he stopped and tapped his forehead as if he had almost forgotten something important. He turned to Li Yu and asked, "The staff that you are currently using. Give it back to me, I have something else for you to use." Star Crusher held more sentimental value for Khaos because his own father had sent a message through time using that weapon long ago.

Li Yu still did not know about the message but he felt the weight of the request. While he didn't want to part with the staff he had used for so long, Khaos was the one that gave it to him and he had the right to ask for it back. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Li Yu reached into his inner space and produced the staff. After taking the staff out, he had to undo the Soul Armament Technique that Astramentis had given him.

After a few minutes, he was able to disconnect it from the Koi Soul without much issue. Khaos took the weapon with his right arm and held it for a moment before he opened his left hand. A small spatial rift appeared in the air and a new staff emerged from the void. Khaos grabbed the new weapon and slammed the end into the ground with a force that made the ground tremble. The staff stood upright and pulsed with a dark aura that seemed more mysterious for some reason.

It was purple mixed with black and covered in starry speckles that seemed to shift like a nebula.

"Train until you are strong enough to lift the staff before you go around causing any more trouble." Khaos said to him before he left without a word of explanation or a final wave. Li Yu stood in the garden and stared at the weapon and then to where Khaos had been. He was used to Khaos coming and going as he pleased but seeing him again brought him warmth and comfort. For Khaos to just leave without much of a farewell made him realize there was a gap missing without his comforting presence.

He didn't even know how to contact Khaos or when he would see him again. After a bit of time to gather himself, he focused on the weapon that Khaos had left for him. The air around the staff felt heavy and compressed. He reached out to grasp the grip and prepared to pull it from the ground. He expected it to be roughly the same weight as his previous weapon but he found the staff did not budge. He put more effort into his grip and braced his feet against the soil.

He pulled until his muscles burned and his qi surged through his meridians but the staff remained fixed in place as if it were rooted to the center of the realm. Khaos said he had crafted Star Crusher using his own shell and this staff, while different, didn't look too much different from the one before, only slightly more purple.

'Could it be Khaos's shell again but from a molt when he was much stronger?' Li Yu thought to himself. After touching the staff, he was sure the material was similar, it was definitely made from Khaos's shell. He stood back and wiped the sweat from his brow while he wondered what kind of power was hidden within the staff that made it so heavy. He named the new staff, Star Abyss, just changing the name slightly from before to acknowledge that it was a different weapon.

He gripped it once more and gritted his teeth but it did not move an inch. He realized that Khaos was not messing around when he said those words, pulling it out and using it would require training. He decided that he would not rest until he mastered this new weight. Li Yu walked around the weapon and inspected the starry patterns on the surface. They were not just aesthetic details but seemed to be etched into the very structure of the material.

He felt a faint pulse of power whenever his skin brushed against the cold material and the staff seemed to draw in the ambient qi of the lake as if it were hungry for the surrounding energy. The hours bled into each other as he pushed his body to the limit of training while he thought about the generals and the way they had carried themselves throughout the banquet. They were instruments of violence but they shared a bond that defied their grim profession.

He realized that if he ever wanted to build his own force he would need those types of people. He remembered the look on Lian's face when she saw the tassel on her sword and kept it to memory. He knew he had a long road ahead of him before he could stand as an equal but he felt the path rising to meet his feet. Li Yu went back to the garden when the sun started to rise over the horizon. The staff still stood where it was placed by Khaos like an immovable pillar.

The morning dew collected on the dark surface and turned into tiny gems of light. He then walked to the edge of the lake and stood on the soft mud where the water met the grass. He inhaled the cool air and let his qi expand until it filled his entire physical form. He sought to harmonize his breathing with the flow of the water and the swaying of the trees. Li Yu had to be like the mountain that did not move and the river that never stopped flowing.

Li Yu spent the rest of the day in a state of deep reflection, with Khaos's reappearance bringing back old memories. He went through them and recalled the battles he had fought since he first walked out of his old home. Li Yu thought about the lessons he had learned from his parents and the hard won wisdom he gained from his travels and the Worldkeeper. He realized that strength was not just about the density of one's qi or the sharpness of a blade. True power came from the conviction that guided one's actions.

On the long path of the Dao, a weak will often led one to stray from the path or give up altogether. When the sun set again he returned to the staff. He did not pull with just his physical body this time. He extended his qi and tried to connect with the essence of the staff. He realized the staff was testing him just as the Temple of Purity had tested his resolve. It would only bend to the will of a master who was right for it.

He withdrew his qi and decided that he would spend every morning and every evening attempting to lift the staff. He would make it his daily meditation and his core training. He would grind his own limits against the immovable weight until he became the person who could wield such a tool. Li Yu turned and headed toward his pavilion to get a few hours of sleep before the cycle began again the next morning. He lay on his bed and watched the shadows play against the ceiling.

Li Yu felt the weight of his legacy pressing down on him. He was the son of two legendary figures and the apprentice of a mysterious being like Khaos. Li Yu felt like he was barely meeting the expectations placed upon him by the Myriad Realms. He closed his eyes and drifted into a restless dream where he was fighting against a sea of shadows with a staff of starlight in his hands. Li Yu woke up when the first light of dawn touched the water as he washed his face and went straight to the garden.

The staff stood in the same spot with the same unyielding nature as he stood before it and prepared his mind. He knew he could not lift the staff today but he would be one step closer by the time the sun set. Li Yu gripped the staff and began to push his internal energy to the edge of his capability. He felt the familiar strain in his shoulders and the rush of qi through his veins. He stood there for a long time as he poured his focus into the act. He did not give up and he did not despair as he simply persisted.

However, the staff remained firm in the ground and he finally had to let go while exhaling a long breath. Li Yu was tired but he felt a sense of clarity as he looked toward the horizon and saw the clouds shifting as the weather began to turn. He knew the next few days would be busy as he balanced his training for the future in the different aspects he was working on. Li Yu walked back toward his pavilion as he felt the promise of the coming battles and the rewards that awaited him if he stayed the course.

The lakes were quiet today as the beasts remained in the deeper water. Li Yu took a moment to observe the ecosystem he had nurtured and it was a small bubble of order in a realm defined by chaos. He wanted to keep it that way for as long as he could.