Five days had passed and there had not been any new reports of rifts from his communication token. The sky had remained whole. The jagged violet scars of the spatial rifts that had plagued the continent had vanished, leaving behind a sky that was unnervingly blue.

  Li Yu sat on the edge of a moss-covered cliff in some remote location. He was dangling his legs over the precipice. He was peeling an orange, carefully removing the white pith with the focus of an alchemist refining a divine pill.

  "It’s quiet," he muttered to himself while tossing a piece of peel into the abyss. "Too quiet. Like the calm before a toddler wakes up from a nap."

  The transmission token at his waist buzzed and was vibrating against his hip. Li Yu wiped his sticky fingers on a handkerchief before answering. He injected a strand of qi and Shen Tu’s voice echoed in his mind. It sounded like a man who hadn’t slept in a month but had just chugged three energy pills.

  "Li Yu. What are you doing currently? I have good news."

  "I am currently eating an orange. It’s a bit tart," Li Yu replied efficiently. "What’s the situation, Alliance Leader?"

  "The rifts are gone," Shen Tu said, skipping over any further pleasantries. "Five days have gone by with zero activity. There have been no new rifts and no new attacks. We have never had this long of a time before something happened since this war started. It is incredible."

  "I noticed that as well. Even the birds are singing again. It’s suspicious."

  "It is an opportunity," Shen Tu corrected. "We are launching a counter-offensive. Immediately. We have been compressed into a corner for too long. We need to push the defensive line back to the Great Divide before it's too late. We do not want to have to redraw lines where we are. We want to be back where we already have established fortification. Even if that means we need to repair and perhaps rebuild them."

  Li Yu popped a slice of orange into his mouth. "That makes sense. It’s much easier to repair than to create anew."

  "We are reclaiming many areas, including a region called the Southern Jagged Peaks. That was the CrimsonFang’s territory to eventually reclaim. Since you... removed them... As we agreed, I need you to lead the offensive there. The spoils you find are yours. The land is yours to manage if you want it but I am guessing you don’t. We need that sector secured to restore the Grand Formation we have that was destroyed when this all started."

  "Southern Jagged Peaks," Li Yu repeated. "Rugged terrain, lots of monsters and no amenities. You are right I do not want to lord over any lands. Let it be split up however the alliance wants after it is reclaimed. I’m in."

  "Good. Get to Headquarters. The War Council starts in two hours. And Li Yu?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Try to look... inspiring. You have become a known name and starting to become a hero like icon for some. We hope you can help boost morale."

  Li Yu returned to the Alliance Headquarters on Tekton. The massive centipede didn’t fly with the grace of a phoenix or the majesty of a dragon; it flew with the undeniable, gravity-defying brute force of a flying mountain. Si Luo and Bai Ruo returned to their necklace form to avoid having to explain.

  The Grand Hall was packed with people once again. It looked similar to how it was when he first arrived here but there was more calm in the air. More hope. However, it still smelled of sweat, fear and greed.

  This time, up front on a raised dais adorned with silk banners, sat the patriarchs and matriarchs of the great powers. With the attacks calming down, some of the more powerful forces were able to send their leader. They looked stern, radiating pressure that made the air shimmer. There was an empty ornate chair reserved for Li Yu among them.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Li Yu took one look at the stiff political atmosphere on the dais and immediately veered left. He had no interest in such things on this continent and rather not be there.

  He walked into the dense crowd of mid-tier sects, representatives and stronger independent cultivators like he had done the first time.

  "Excuse me, pardon me," Li Yu said while squeezing past a hulking armored man holding a giant axe. "Ooh, nice axe. Is that made from deep sea iron?"

  The man blinked, stunned at the sudden comment. "Uh... yes?"

  "Shiny," Li Yu commented. He finally found an empty spot on a wooden bench next to a group of rogue cultivators who looked like they hadn't bathed in a week. He sat down while adjusting his robes.

  The rogue cultivator next to him, a scrawny man with a missing tooth, stared at Li Yu. Then seemed to be able to piece together the rumors, stories and descriptions he has heard. It was of a very young looking boy with a crab claw emblem on his robe. Li Yu, Tide Breaker, Crimson Fang Destroyer, Don’t Look at Him Li Yu and all other kinds of ridiculous names and titles he has been given.

  "You're... him," the man whispered.

  "I'm Li Yu," Li Yu smiled while pulling another orange out of his spatial ring. "Want half?"

  The man took the orange slice with a trembling hand. It looked like he had just been given a holy relic. The man didn’t know what to do with half an orange. He was trying to go through all the stories and rumors he had heard about Li Yu. Trying to figure out if the right move was to eat it or hold it in his hand. As if the decision will determine his life and death.

  Shen Tu was standing on the dais and spotted Li Yu in the crowd. He closed his eyes for a brief second, exhaled slowly and then proceeded with the speech. He wanted Li Yu to take a seat up here to honor him and also to make him a figurehead. Shen Tu had taken a liking to Li Yu and since Li Yu was never greedy for anything that Shen Tu cared about, their goals aligned well.

  The plan outlined was ambitious. A simultaneous push across the entire front. It was a gamble, risking everything to reclaim the fortified positions of the Great Divide. When Shen Tu announced the assignments, tension rose. No one wanted to be assigned to places that were incredibly dangerous so far during this war.

  "The Southern Jagged Peaks," Shen Tu announced with his voice booming. "A critical sector. Rugged. Dangerous. Formerly the CrimsonFang were tasked with working to reclaim this area. This front will instead be led by Li Yu, who I am sure all of you have already heard about."

  Every head in the hall turned to look at the guy in the cheap seats eating an orange. Word had already begun spreading through the meeting during the speech and assignments earlier. All the leaders already knew by now where Li Yu was seated. Most were curious about him. He was a new power that had come from the Southern Continent to help.

  Not only had he stopped one of the biggest and most dangerous threat as soon as he got here. He also wiped out the Crimson Fang. Many forces didn’t like the Crimson Fang but had to put up with them so this was a welcome surprise. Those that aligned themselves with the Crimson Fang have been on the defensive as forces were fighting them back now without the Crimson Fang’s protection.

  Li Yu waved with the orange peel in his hand. "Present."

  "He will be accompanied by the forces formerly under the CrimsonFang command during this war. He is now their leader and all commands must be followed. I do not want to hear anything further on this topic." Shen Tu continued. "You will rendezvous together immediately after this council."

  The "vassal forces" were a collection of about fifteen smaller sects and clans. They were gathered outside and were staring up at Tekton. The Sky-Iron Dreadnought in the flesh. ‘What an incredibly powerful beast. How strong is the tamer then?’ They all thought.

  The two hundred or so representatives from those fifteen forces stood in a loose huddle. The atmosphere was a bizarre cocktail of terror, awe and slight confusion.

  Li Yu walked up to them and gave everyone a slight bow in greeting. "Hi everyone. I'm Li Yu. Looks like we're travel buddies as we head back to where your forces are."

  "Right," Li Yu said while sensing the tension. "So, we will be riding on the back of Tekton. Come on up.”

  He didn't wait for an answer. As soon as he finished he jumped up and landed on Tekton’s broad, flat shoulder. As the cultivators began to fly up as well, Li Yu sat cross-legged on the flat expanse of Tekton’s upper back armor..

  Once they were all settled on the broad metal surface, Tekton lifted off. The journey to the Jagged Peaks would take about three hours. They could have gone there faster but the commanders at the location they were heading to said they would need at least three hours to prepare for the assault.