After a week of this quiet exploration, he knew it was time to begin his life's work. He gathered his three friends and the newly-arrived, tearfully grateful Uncle Wei. Together, the five of them traveled to their new domain: the Southern River Valley.
It was a vast, untamed wilderness. A great, powerful river, a hundred yards across at its narrowest point, snaked through a valley flanked by tall, verdant cliffs. The spiritual energy here was rich and wild, the water pure and deep. It was a perfect, untouched canvas upon which Li Yu could build his kingdom.
"It's… huge," Hu Jian said, his voice a low, awed whisper as they stood on a high cliff overlooking the valley.
"This is a monumental task," Brother Kai estimated, his practical mind already calculating the immense logistical challenges. "It will take a few months just to get the basic facilities operational, and several years to fully complete your vision."
"Then we have no time to waste," Li Yu said, a calm, determined light in his eyes. He unrolled a large scroll upon which he had already drawn a rough blueprint of his vision. "Brother Kai, you will be the chief steward of this project. You will work with the sect's construction teams to build the main facilities here, on this central plateau. I want a main hall, living quarters, and a series of defensive formations that will make this valley a fortress. Once the basic habitats are complete, you will also oversee the transfer of our existing stock from the Azure Serpent Lake. All the beasts we have been raising there, especially our Azure-Jade Carp, will form the initial core of our new home."
He then turned to Hu Jian and Lin Tao. "You two will be the marshals of the menagerie. Your first task is to lead a security team to clear the valley of any hostile beasts below Rank 5. Be thorough, but be careful. Do not engage anything you cannot handle."
Finally, he looked at Uncle Wei. "Uncle Wei, you have the most important job of all. You will be the Head Caretaker. I need you to design the habitats. The ponds, the lakes, the underwater caves. I need this valley to be not just a farm, but a paradise for our beasts. A place where they can thrive."
The old man's eyes shone with a new, profound sense of purpose. "I will not fail you, Young Master."
With his team given their directives, Li Yu knew what his own task was. "I am going to Sunken Treasure City," he announced. "We cannot build a menagerie without beasts. I will use my connections to procure our founding stock on top of what we had from before."
He traveled alone, as before, on the Silver-Winged Flying Swordfish, a single, unassuming disciple on a private journey. When he arrived, he went directly to the Golden Sea Guild's pavilion.
He was welcomed not as a junior, but as an honored guest. Elder Quan met him in his private, seventh-floor office, his eyes widening in shock as he felt the profound, unshakable depth of Li Yu's new aura.
"Foundation Establishment…" the old man whispered, his voice a mixture of disbelief and sheer, unadulterated awe. He let out a great, booming laugh. "Boy, oh boy, your Green Mountain Sect has truly found a divine treasure. To reach this realm at such an age… incredible!"
"Elder Quan is too kind," Li Yu said with a humble bow. "I was merely fortunate."
"Fortune, talent, it matters not," the elder boomed. "What matters is the result. Come, sit. You said you wished to procure beasts. Tell me what you need. For a friend of my Guild, no request is too great." Elder Quan had watched him grow up as well and there were definitely feelings of a proud father seeing his boy succeed.
They spoke for hours, sharing tea and discussing the intricacies of beast husbandry. Li Yu laid out his grand vision: a massive farm dedicated to the mass production of high-quality, edible aquatic beasts from Ranks 1 to 3, with a specialized division for breeding powerful, combat-oriented beasts of Rank 4 and above.
"A bold plan," Elder Quan noted, stroking his long, white beard. "Most sects focus only on combat beasts. To mass-produce spiritual food is an immense, but potentially highly profitable, undertaking. The market is limitless as cultivators tended to focus on the combat aspects."
"For the food production, I need a large, stable breeding stock," Li Yu explained. "Silver-Gilled Minnows, Iron-Shelled Crabs and others. Common, hardy beasts that reproduce quickly. Can the Guild provide them as part of the breeding stock? We would need many to get things going quickly"
"Consider it done," Elder Quan said with a wave of his hand. "We will sell them to you at a good price. It is a small matter as that isn't our core business."
"There is… a larger matter, Elder," Li Yu said, his expression turning serious. "The core of my menagerie, the beasts that will form my own personal army and serve as the ultimate guardians of my valley, must be of the highest quality. I wish to purchase breeding pairs of Rank 5 and even Rank 6 beasts."
Elder Quan's easy smile vanished. "Rank 6?" he whispered, his eyes widening. "Boy, you are not just building a farm; you are trying to raise a calamity. A single breeding pair of Rank 6 beasts… their price is astronomical. To control them…"
"I have my methods," Li Yu replied calmly.
The old elder looked at the quiet, composed young man before him, at the bottomless depth in his eyes, and knew he was not boasting. "Very well," he said with a sigh. "Our Guild at this location currently has three breeding pairs that might suit your needs. But their price… it is a king's ransom. It would be a staggering sum."
He led Li Yu to the Guild's most secure vault. Inside, in three massive, separate containment arrays, were the beasts.
The first was a pair of Rank 5 Coral-Fortress Crabs. They were beautiful, defensive-type beasts, their massive shells covered in a living, spiritual coral that could absorb and redirect elemental attacks. They were the ultimate living shields.
The second was a pair of Rank 5 Mind-Weaver Squids. They were control-type beasts, their psychic abilities capable of creating complex illusions and dominating the minds of lesser creatures.
The final pair took Li Yu's breath away. They were not serpents, but something far stranger. They were Rank 6 Hegemon Beasts, a pair of colossal Stygian Maw-Lurkers. They were enormous, anglerfish-like predators, their bodies a mass of mottled, abyssal-black flesh that seemed to absorb the light. Their most terrifying feature was their cavernous mouths, which took up half their bodies, filled with rows of long, needle-sharp, crystalline teeth. A single, bioluminescent lure dangled before each of their faces, pulsing with a hypnotic, spiritual light that could mesmerize even a powerful cultivator. They were pure, unadulterated ambush predators.
Li Yu looked at the three pairs, his mind racing. "Elder, the value of these creatures is indeed immense. Even with the resources my master has provided, I cannot afford the full price."
Elder Quan sighed. "I feared as much. They are treasures of the highest order."
"However," Li Yu said, his voice calm and steady, "I will be head of what will soon be the largest aquatic beast supplier in this region. Let me propose a different kind of payment. I will pay what I can now. For the remainder, I ask the Guild to grant me a loan. A debt that I will repay with interest, and with a guaranteed, long-term contract to supply your Golden Sea Guild with our highest-quality spiritual beasts at a discounted price."
The old elder stared at him, a slow, disbelieving smile spreading across his face. The boy was leveraging his own future, a future that, given his talent, was almost certain to be incredibly valuable. He was asking the Guild to invest in him.
"You are a terrifying monster, Li Yu," Elder Quan finally said, shaking his head. He let out a great, booming laugh. "Done! A deal is struck. Our Guild is happy to invest in your future. Consider it a loan, to be repaid when your grand menagerie is profitable. All I'll ask is in the future if we are ever in trouble, you would come help if you are able to."
At that a deal was struck and both sides were happy.
Li Yu did not neglect his other purpose. He spent his evenings at the Fisherman's Wharf, once again setting up his simple stall. The common folk flocked to him, their gratitude a palpable thing. His reputation for kindness allowed him to acquire several unique, low-rank breeds that the major guilds would overlook. An old woman, whose Pearl-Eyed Clams he had saved from a wasting sickness, gifted him a breeding pair. A group of fishermen, whose boat he had helped repair with a clever application of water-attribute Qi, sold him a rare, deep-water variant of the Silver-Gilled Minnow; he always paid market price. He didn't want to take advantage of them and their own pride wouldn't allow him, someone who had helped them, to over pay.
His most interesting acquisition came from a young, starry-eyed fisherman whose family he had saved from ruin by curing their prized fishing cormorant, a thing he did often on these docks. The boy had caught a strange, fist-sized, rainbow-colored fish that no one could identify. He gave it to Li Yu as a gift, a humble offering to the kind physician.
Li Yu accepted the beautiful fish, his spiritual sense telling him it was special, though its species was a complete mystery to him. It seemed to possess a strange, innate connection to the spiritual energy of the world. He simply accepted the heartfelt gift, a new puzzle to be explored later in the quiet of his sanctuary. He secretly paid his father a sum that could feed his family for a few months as respect.
He returned to the sect after everything was ready for him. He stored most of the lower rank beasts in different beast bags while his sanctuary was filled with a new army and teeming with a vibrant, new ecosystem of low-ranked, rare breeds from the wharf as well as a good stock of the lower rank beasts he had purchased. He was going to grow them in both places. As he introduced the new high-ranking beasts into the Koi's Sanctuary, he felt a familiar wave of disdain from its most powerful resident.
The two Coral-Fortress Crabs settled at the bottom of the misty lake, becoming two silent, living fortresses. Hiding in shells, Khaos's thought was a wave of pure, ancient contempt. The strategy of the weak. How pathetic. Aren't you in a shell too? Li Yu thought but wasn't brave enough to say it to him.
Li Yu simply smiled. He stood on the cliff overlooking the Southern River Valley, which was now a bustling construction site. The first stone of his kingdom had been laid. Now, it was time to populate it with monsters.