Chương 733: Chapter 732: The Grand Token

The entire Void Shell Citadel transformed in the blink of an eye. The moment the terrifying explosion of pure Qi erupted from Patriarch Karkin's private quarters, the floating fortress went into total lockdown. Deep purple defensive arrays flared to life across the interlocking chitinous gates. The swirling void pools beneath the courtyards surged with power and were feeding an impenetrable energy dome that quickly encased the central spire. Hundreds of elders shot into the sky like streaks of lightning.

They were all taking up strategic positions in the air. Thousands of elite soldiers drew their weapons and formed tight perimeters around the inner rings. There was absolutely no panic. There was only flawless precision and overwhelming unity. Li Yu stood in the eastern pavilion and watched the entire clan mobilize to protect their leader. He was incredibly impressed. The sheer scale of their coordination was something he had never witnessed in his original world or the demonic realm.

"The unity of your clan is truly amazing." Li Yu commented as he was watching Kaia's group secure the bridges below.

"Everyone moved without a single moment of hesitation."

"Of course they did," Muten replied casually. He was standing tall and watching the central spire with intense pride.

"My father is the Patriarch. He is the foundation of our strength. He is probably the most important person in the clan as well. If he falls, the entire Void Shell Citadel is put at massive risk. Protecting him during a vulnerable breakthrough is our highest duty." Li Yu nodded slowly. He leaned against the stone railing of the pavilion and watched the elders circling the spire.

"Family is really nice to have," Li Yu said as his voice dropped to a soft whisper. A sense of sadness washed over his face. He thought about his own solitary path in the cultivation world. He had wandered the realm, fought for his survival and forged his own way in the dark. He had made friends along the journey but he had never known the unconditional backing of a massive family like this. He had no towering father figure to protect and no ancient lineage to call his own.

Muten turned his head slightly and caught the melancholic look in the young wanderer's eyes. The prodigy possessed an incredibly sharp analytical mind but he also possessed a deep emotional intelligence. Muten did not say anything. He simply looked away and gave Li Yu the quiet space he needed to process his own feelings. He refused to pry into the personal trauma of his guest. The quiet moment was suddenly shattered by a violent, crushing sensation. Li Yu gasped and doubled over while grabbing his chest.

The invisible hand pressing against his body returned with terrifying force. It was no longer a dull ache. It felt like the entire realm was physically trying to crush his bones into dust. Garrick groaned loudly next to him as well. The Great Sage dropped to one knee.

"It is growing even faster now." Garrick gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing with a dangerous light.

"The rejection force is compounding exponentially." Li Yu forced himself to stand upright and was pushing his Qi through his meridians to fight off the suffocating pressure. He looked over at Muten who was completely unaffected by the anomaly. Since they had already told the young prodigy that they were not from this realm, Li Yu decided to ask for his insight.

"Muten." Li Yu breathed heavily while wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead.

"You understand the laws better than anyone here. What exactly is happening to us? Why is the realm pushing back this hard?" Muten studied the two struggling travelers. He analyzed the ambient space around them and noted how the laws of the world were actively bending away from their bodies like oil separating from water.

"There could be a few different reasons," Muten began to explain. He was applying his cold logic to the situation.

"Every realm possesses its own foundational will. It acts very much like an immune system. The realm could simply see your foundation as a foreign threat so it is forcefully ejecting you to protect its own internal balance." Muten crossed his arms and continued his assessment.

"Or there could be something fundamentally different about your specific existence that this realm simply does not like." Muten theorized.

"Perhaps your soul clashes with the laws here. There are many reasons. But the cause does not really matter right now. If you are feeling that rejection force is increasing this rapidly you should prepare for being ejected. You do not have much time left." Li Yu did not get a perfectly clear answer but at least he knew what some of the mechanical reasons could be. The universe was simply rejecting a foreign sickness.

For the next three days, the Void Shell Citadel remained in a state of lockdown while the swirling vortex of spiritual energy raged above the central spire. Li Yu and Garrick spent those three days residing within a luxurious guest estate near the eastern pavilion. The clan treated them extremely well. Servants brought them the finest medicinal teas and rare glowing fruits to help them combat the ever increasing physical toll of the rejection force. Muten did not always show Li Yu around during this time.

Even though Li Yu had slightly influenced him and taught him the value of a nap, the young prodigy was still fundamentally himself. He was incredibly busy. He spent his days cultivating, refining his newly enlightened Void laws and managing vital clan affairs while his father was indisposed. He was the heir and he took his responsibilities with utmost seriousness. However, Muten did make one significant change to his strict grueling routine.

Every single evening, without fail, Muten carved out time to have dinner with Li Yu and Kaia. They gathered in the eastern pavilion as the sun set over the floating fortress. The three of them would sit around the stone table eating roasted meats and drinking sweet teas. Kaia would talk about her troops, Muten would discuss his spatial theories and Li Yu would tell them wild stories about the strange sights he had encountered on his journey.

Those dinners happened on all three days and it seemed to bring Muten an immense amount of joy. He was no longer just the untouchable perfect genius. He was a young man enjoying the company of the girl he loved and a strange friend who challenged his rigid worldview. Li Yu could clearly see the tension had faded slightly away from Muten's shoulders every single night. The young prodigy smiled more often and his laughter echoed across the quiet pavilion just a little bit more.

On the afternoon of the fourth day, the heavy sky above the Void Shell Citadel suddenly cleared. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. The massive and swirling vortex of raw spiritual energy collapsed inward and shot directly down into the Patriarch's private chamber. A shockwave of power rippled across the floating fortress. It was a completely stabilized aura that carried weight and power. Patriarch Karkin had finally finished his breakthrough.

The timing was incredibly close. In the guest estate, Li Yu and Garrick were currently sitting on the floor and were struggling to breathe. The rejection force had reached a critical mass. The air around them was vibrating violently and the invisible pressure was threatening to completely crush their internal organs.

"We are going to be ejected at any second now." Garrick said while gripping the edges of his dark robes.

"I have you kid." Garrick assured Li Yu.. The Great Sage stepped close to Li Yu and flared his Qi. He was preparing to shield the fragile human from the violent spatial displacement. They expected to just vanish from the room quietly. But before the realm could tear them away, the wooden doors of the guest estate burst open. Patriarch Karkin strode into the room. He had surprisingly hurried to see Li Yu almost immediately after finalizing his breakthrough.

He had not even taken the time to properly change his robes or address his cheering clan. He grabbed Star Crusher and hurried over to Li Yu. His dark eyes were burning with an intense emotion. Karkin looked vastly younger and unthinkably more powerful but his face carried the raw vulnerability of a man who had just been given perhaps the greatest gift. Muten, Kaia, Elder Jaro and Elder Torin hurried into the room right behind the Patriarch.

They were entirely confused by his sudden and desperate rush to the guest quarters. Karkin stopped directly in front of Li Yu. He gently handed the dark staff back to the young wanderer. Li Yu took back the weapon and felt the familiar comforting hum of the void energy. Then Patriarch Karkin did something that stunned everyone watching. The supreme ruler of the Void Shell Citadel took a step back, brought his hands together and gave Li Yu a grand 90 degree bow.

He bent perfectly at the waist, lowering his head in a grand gesture and with gratitude on his face. Muten gasped out loud from the sight. Elder Jaro and Elder Torin nearly collapsed from the shock. Patriarch Karkin was a supreme figure. He bowed to absolutely no one. He would not even bow that deeply to the most respected people in this realm who were his peers. Seeing him bend his back for a young wandering at the Divine Transformation realm was a sight that defied all logic and reason.

"I do not know how to adequately thank you, friend." Karkin spoke as his voice was trembling with thick emotion. He remained bowed and was refusing to stand back up. This also terrified Li Yu as he thought this was too much as well.

"I gained a great deal due to you, Li Yu. You have given me something that is impossible." Everyone in the room naturally assumed that Karkin was talking about the breakthrough. They thought Li Yu had provided hidden insight through his staff. Those insights allowed the Patriarch to cross the threshold. They thought Karkin was bowing out of respect for a martial favor. But only Karkin knew the truth. It was much more special than that.

He was bowing because Li Yu had brought him the voice of his son across the impossible expanse of space and time. It was something unthinkable and beyond any repayment he could give back. Li Yu was completely overwhelmed.

"Please stand up Patriarch. You do not need to bow to me. I just lent you a weapon." Karkin slowly straightened his back. He smiled warmly at Li Yu. He reached into his dark robes once more and pulled out a heavy object. It was a thick and intricate token forged entirely from a strange glowing and purple metal. The token was carved with the exact likeness of the ancient petrified crab shell and radiated an aura of supreme authority. Karkin stepped forward and pressed the purple metal token firmly into Li Yu's hand.

"From this day, until the end of time." Karkin declared his voice booming with undeniable power so that every elder and guard in the entire citadel could hear him clearly.

"You will forever be a Special Ancestor of the Void Shell Citadel." The entire room went completely dead silent. Muten stared at his father in pure disbelief. Kaia covered her mouth with her hands. A Special Ancestor was not like Kaia's title. It was a legendary and ancient rank that had not been used in tens of thousands of years. It was the highest honor the clan could bestow an outsider. Granting that specific title placed Li Yu on the exact same hierarchical standing as Patriarch Karkin himself.

It meant Li Yu could command the entire clan, the armies and the elders with a single word. No one understood the reasoning behind such a massive reward. It was entirely disproportionate even for assisting with a major breakthrough. It was a reward that Li Yu did not deserve but yet one that was granted anyways. However, no one dared to protest or even voice any objections. Such was the absolute power that Karkin held. His word was binding law within the citadel. Li Yu held the heavy purple metal token in his hand.

He was utterly confused by the sheer magnitude of the reward but he knew it would be incredibly disrespectful to refuse. He was being ejected from this realm anyways, he would never get to use such power. Perhaps that was why he was being given it, he thought. Li Yu tucked the token safely into his robes and offered Karkin a respectful bow of his own.

"I accept this honor, Patriarch." Li Yu said sincerely.

"Thank you." Karkin smiled while placing a heavy warm hand on Li Yu's shoulder.

"Make sure you let your teacher see that token as well." Karkin requested. His dark eyes gleamed with a hidden light.

"Make absolutely sure he sees it." Li Yu did not fully understand the strange request but he nodded in agreement.

'Perhaps from looking at the staff the Patriarch had realized that they were from a common clan that had split apart or that Khaos's family went missing from the clan at some point.' Li Yu thought to himself.

"I will. I promise." At that exact moment the fabric of the realm finally broke. A jagged rift violently tore open directly above the guest estate and completely destroyed the ceiling of the luxurious building. The rift did not look like the purple portals of the Void Shell Citadel. It was a swirling maw of black lightning and raw energy. The rejection force reached its absolute zenith. A terrifying and irresistible suction grabbed Li Yu and Garrick.

It was pulling them violently upward toward and towards the tearing sky. Their time in the realm was officially up.

"Li Yu!" Muten shouted while taking a step forward as the violent winds whipped through the ruined room. Li Yu floated upward. He looked down at the young prodigy, the beautiful Special Elder and the imposing Patriarch. People who had treated him kindly and with patience. Li Yu smiled brightly and waved his hand to the people below. However, there was something that continued to nag at him and he couldn't help but say something about it as he was being lifted out.

"Goodbye Muten!" Li Yu yelled over the roaring thunder of the rift.

"Actually, you know that name doesn't suit you at all. If you are going to use a fake name, at least make it ridiculous or grand! I've been known to come up with great names. Little Crab! Or Abyssal Crusher! How about Crab King?!" Muten and the others physically recoiled as if they were struck when they heard the names.

'This guy is known to be good at coming up with names?!' Everyone thought simultaneously.

"I got it! How about VoidClaw! Yeah, that sounds pretty good! Also! Remember to take a nap every once in a while!" Li Yu finally shouted as he gave them one big smile and wave. Muten was surprised by the odd name but then a small smile broke across his handsome face. He looked towards Kaia and his smile grew even brighter. He raised his hand and waved back, honoring the strange wanderer who had slightly changed his perspective on life. As they neared the chaotic edge of the rift, Garrick moved with explosive speed.

The Great Sage grabbed Li Yu by the back of his robes and pulled him close. Garrick formed a thick and impenetrable barrier of glowing Qi around them. The protective dome shielded them from the violent spatial shredding as they were violently sucked into the swirling maw. With a deafening crack of thunder, the spatial rift snapped shut. The heavy sky above the Void Shell Citadel cleared instantly and quickly returned to its peaceful state. The young wanderer and his giant bodyguard were gone.

They left behind a newly ascended Patriarch and a young prodigy who would eventually meet him again.