The parade square of the Alliance Headquarters was exactly as they had left it. The sun was shining. The wind was blowing.

  Valen was still on his knees and staring at the empty space. Shen Tu hadn’t moved either. Torben was still waiting around for the result.

  To them, the group of elders had disappeared for a few minutes. Suddenly, space warped and Li Yu reappeared.

  He was looking refreshed and holding his black staff. Tekton was still floating in the sky behind him as if he had never left. On the ground next to Li Yu was a limp old man laying on the ground.

  There was no sign of the five Elders that were just here. “Wait… Where is Cyrus and the others?” Someone in the crowd said loudly after seeing Li Yu’s return. The crowd held its breath.

  "Where..." Valen stammered. "Where are the Elders? Where is the Patriarch?"

  Li Yu looked at Valen without much emotion. This was the man that had technically started everything and he was still here, still alive.

  "They decided to retire," Li Yu said. "They decided to start a fish farm north of here. I hear that that profession is very peaceful."

  Then Valen saw the thing next to Li Yu and he was stunned. “Patriarch!? Is that you?!” Gasps of horror erupted from the crowd as everyone looked more closely.

  It was a skeleton of a man. Skin like old parchment. Hair like dead grass. He was breathing but only just.

  "Patriarch?" Valen whispered, his mind refusing to accept what his eyes were seeing. This withered husk was the Eighth Level Soul Formation titan? This was one of the rulers of the East?

  "He tried a technique that was a little out of his league," Li Yu explained. He tapped the ground with his staff before returning it to this storage ring. "Burned himself out. Tragedy, really. Always read the warning labels before using forbidden arts."

  Li Yu walked slightly over to the withered Cyrus and crouched down. He reached into the old man’s robes and pulled out the remaining storage bag that Cyrus had kept hidden. He had sensed it earlier after checking on Cyrus’s condition.

  "Now," Li Yu said. He stood up and was addressing the petrified crowd. "As I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted..."

  He tossed the storage bag into his own ring, adding it to the massive pile of loot he had already acquired from the Elders.

  He turned to Valen.

  Valen flinched violently as Li Yu’s gaze landed on him. The arrogance, the scheme, the desire for the beast was long gone. Replaced by the acceptance of death long before they had even disappeared. He was not even more broken after seeing Cyrus in that state.

  "Valen," Li Yu said pleasantly.

  "P-Please," Valen sobbed. He slammed his head into the pavement. "Spare me! I was wrong! I was blind! I will be your servant! I will be your dog!"

  Li Yu tilted his head.

  "I have no need for you," Li Yu said. “Even Tekton is much better behaved than you."

  Li Yu looked at Shen Tu, who was watching the scene with a complicated expression. He was stunned that the elite group of people that he and his own forces would have had trouble with was all but destroyed. Only a skeleton of a man was left. This terrified him but it was also an opportunity for him.

  "Commander Shen Tu," Li Yu called out.

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  Shen Tu stepped forward. "Daoist Li."

  "I believe this man," Li Yu pointed at Valen, "attempted to rob within the headquarters. He also wasted my time. And he caused a scene. Then his masters came and also caused trouble with me."

  Li Yu kicked a pebble at Valen as he talked.

  "Since the Crimson Fang leadership has... retired... I assume there is a vacancy for his position? And perhaps some Alliance laws about attempted robbery?"

  Shen Tu understood immediately. Li Yu was handing Valen over for the Alliance to deal with. To kill themselves. Li Yu wasn't going to kill him; he was going to let the Alliance dismantle him.

  It was a face-saving move for Shen Tu, allowing the Alliance to enforce its own laws rather than having Li Yu execute a high-ranking official in the square. Li Yu was a newcomer here and while he was powerful, he was an outsider. Shen Tu had his own concerns to worry about and power to consolidate.

  "Indeed," Shen Tu said. "Lord Valen will be stripped of his rank and placed in the Deep Prison for abuse of power and inciting conflict. His execution date will be set at a later date when this war is over. We will strip down any facilities that the Crimson Fang held here and take control of the assets here."

  Two enforcers rushed forward and grabbed the sobbing Valen. They quickly dragged him away. He didn't fight at all and was resigned to his fate. He thought he was going to die today so this was just slightly better. He was just glad to be away from Li Yu.

  Li Yu turned back to the withered Cyrus.

  "And this one?" Li Yu asked.

  Shen Tu looked at the former Patriarch. A mortal. Crippled.

  "He has no power," Shen Tu said. "He is no longer a cultivator. The Alliance has no quarrel with mortals."

  "Good," Li Yu said.

  He grabbed Cyrus by the back of his robes and hoisted him up like a sack of potatoes. He defeated the Patriarch but the Crimson Fang were still a large entity. His task of destroying them was not completed yet.

  He had to get back together with Kael and let him have part of his revenge with Cyrus. Li Yu actually didn’t know if Kael had a conflict with Cyrus himself. He knew that Kael wanted to destroy the Crimson Fang but many within could have been the one to give the order to destroy his family.

  "Then I'll take him with me. I think he still owes me an apology for the bad acting."

  Li Yu looked at the crowd.

  "Show's over!" he announced. "Go back to work! Kill some beasts! Earn some points! Also, the Crab Cult is claiming control of the Crimson Fang’s assets for their attack on the members of the Crab Cult.”

  “Any force that is willing to help us seize some of it will be entitled to 50% of the assets seized, as well as the cost it took for them to take it over. However! The assets are ours, if you dare to take it without giving us our cut then there will be trouble.”

  Li Yu didn’t have the time to go through and learn of all the bases of operations. Or to find out all the businesses that the Crimson Fang had. He figured the Patriarch would have a good amount of the resources of the clan on him and the rest of the bulk of it would be in the clan’s main vault.

  The rest will be brought to him under the name of the Crab Cult. He would lose a bit of it but it will still be helpful. He would later ask Shen Tu to help in collecting his share of the smaller assets that were seized throughout different towns after he destroyed their headquarters.

  Li Yu was planning to meet up with Kael and head immediately to their headquarters with Kael leading the way. He didn’t forget one important thing though.

  Li Yu flashed to the representatives or elders that had supported Valen. He did not forget about them. Instantly they too had their cultivation locked away.

  “Commander Shen Tu. These people also committed crimes and should be locked away as well. I will personally go to their headquarters myself later.”

  “Of course, take these people away!” Shen Tu said as they too were dragged away. These groups of people were from smaller sects and clans. Not much of a threat to begin with and not very helpful. It was best to take care of them as well.

  “Thank you Commander Shen Tu. Once I finish my business, I will be back to take on more tasks in the name of the Alliance.” Li Yu said to Shen Tu with a smile.

  “That is all we could ask for, thank you for your help Li Yu.” Shen Tu said back to him with a smile of his own. Li Yu was looking more and more pleasing to his eyes. Li Yu helped him remove a festering rot that had been in the alliance. He was also committing to helping them further in this war effort. He couldn’t have asked for more.

  He whistled to Tekton.

  "Let's go. We still have much to do."

  Li Yu flew up to Tekton as he was dragging the former hegemon of the East behind him. The crowd looked on, staring at his back with a mixture of awe and absolute terror.

  Torben watched him go, shaking his head with a wide grin.

  "Unbelievable," Torben muttered. "He actually did it. He ate the Crimson Fang. I really do like this kid but he really is a freak. How did he destroy them like that?"

  ‘Not a bad haul for a day’s work,’ he thought as he was flying away on Tekton.